What are your plans for the weekend?
If you have some free time you could catch up on what's been happening at Michigan Radio this month.
Here's some recommended reading and listening for State of Opportunity fans:
1. Black political power grows, but prosperity remains elusive
In this report from The Detroit Journalism Cooperative, Michigan Radio's Lester Graham and Sarah Cwiek, along with Bill McGraw from Bridge Magazine explore the current state of race relations.
There is resentment surrounding issues of race that has been building over those decades; resentment among blacks who still find themselves at the bottom of the economic ladder; and resentment among whites who’ve been knocked down a rung or two.
2. To prevent HIV, meet young folks where they are: on their phones
Could an app help prevent HIV? Researchers at the University of Michigan hope so. From The Next Idea, this story examines an unconventional way of getting the word out to young people about sexual health.
The scientific community worries that a barrage of messages about HIV and other STIs can actually create, rather than eliminate, stigma around these diseases and their association with gender- and sexual minority youth populations.
3. Research suggests poor people pay more at the store
For poor people, it's not always an affordable option to buy in bulk. But making purchases like single rolls of toilet paper can put them in a common and costly cycle.
...when you run out of a toilet paper, you’re not exactly able to wait around for a sale. So you buy what’s on the shelves, even if it’s more expensive than you’d like.
And from our ongoing coverage of the Flint water crisis, help for residents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
4. Flint Head Start will get $3.6 million boost
The one-time emergency funds will go toward expanding and enhancing services for families affected by the city's lead crisis.?
5. Feds approve Medicaid expansion in Flint to assist with city's water crisis
Expanding Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands of expectant mothers and youth means the most vulnerable citizens served by the Flint water supply can now be connected to a wide range of needed health and developmental services, including lead blood-level monitoring and behavioral health services.
Do you have something to add to this list? If so, let us know in the comment section below.