Category: News
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Will a new president jumpstart the transition to electric vehicles in New York, or let it stall?
Originally published on 10.28.24 with City and State Steve Wehr loves his Tesla. He enjoys the electric car’s instant torque, its futuristic technology and its 300-mile range, so much so that he advises others on how to switch from a traditional combustion engine to a battery-powered car. A clean energy coach at New Yorkers for…
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Florida’s Marijuana Ballot Measure Keeps Breaking Fundraising Records
Originally published on 6.21.24 with OpenSecrets Florida is on its fifth try to legalize recreational marijuana with a ballot initiative, and more money is pouring into supporting the measure than any other like it that came before. If it passes the 60% supermajority required by the state to ratify ballot measures, Florida would join 16 other…
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Major fintech companies ramp up 2024 lobbying spending
Originally published on 8.9.24 with OpenSecrets Many companies in the fintech space set new lobbying records in the first two quarters of 2024. From peer-to-peer money transfer apps — apps that let users borrow from their next paycheck — to “neobanks,” lobbying spending is up, and details on why are scant. Peer-to-peer payment platforms Peer-to-peer…
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Texas oil regulator sets new $9.2M fundraising record with energy industry support
Originally published on August 16, 2024 with OpenSecrets The incumbent chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas’ state commission overseeing the oil and gas industry, set a new fundraising record this year, raising nearly $9.2 million as of July 15. At least a quarter of Chairwoman Christi Craddick’s total fundraising has come from donors in…
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Zero to a million in five days
Originally published 3.29.23 Just a few short months ago, the most advanced AI chatbot available to the public was CleverBot, an AI that would turn out responses closely related to what was inputted without adding much to the conversation. Today, a simple one-sentence prompt can turn out anything from an Olive Garden ad script to…
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A summer of innovation
Originally posted 9.21.22 Rather than relaxing and soaking up the sun for four months, the 2022 Summer Research Fellows spent their break rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. The SRF program promotes the diversity of the student body by offering research opportunities to underrepresented students in a vast array of disciplines. This year…
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FFA to proceed with vote of no confidence in provost
Originally published 9.14.22 The Ferris Faculty Association unanimously voted on Wednesday, Sept. 7 to proceed with an official vote of no confidence in Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Bobby Fleischman. This comes after three consecutive semesters of forced increases to online course sizes, which began just four days before the spring 2022 semester.…
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Dr. Barry Mehler settles with Ferris for $95,000
Originally published on 8.24.22 Dr. Barry Mehler was suspended in January after his semester introduction video titled “More Bad News” went viral, amassing over 500,000 views on YouTube and over a combined 12 million views on TikTok. The settlement was reached after Mehler’s request for a temporary injunction was denied at his March 7 hearing.…
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Getting around campus just got easier
Originally posted on 8.24.21 Bird just updated their Big Rapids map to include Ferris’ campus as the semester begins. With more than 80% of classes projected to be in-person and this new mode of transportation, campus will be alive again. On April 5, Big Rapids city commissioners gave a memorandum of understanding to Bird Rides,…
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Vaccines for all
Originally posted on 3.15.21 The COVID-19 vaccine is about to become widely available across the state of Michigan with the announcement that the original phasing plan is being abandoned. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday, March 12 that every Michigander age 16 and older will become eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, April 5.…
Noah Kolenda 