Commentary:  Addressing Flint’s racial and economic inequities should be top priority for $94.7 million ARPA funds use
Feb16

Commentary: Addressing Flint’s racial and economic inequities should be top priority for $94.7 million ARPA funds use

By Linda Pohly On June 1, 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd murder and during the early days of the COVID -19 pandemic, the city council and mayor of Flint adopted a joint resolution declaring that racism is a public health crisis and setting out a plan for addressing the crisis as a city. The joint resolution described the marked disparities in the economic and health impacts of the pandemic on communities of color.  It stated:...

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Commentary:  How COVID has changed us, and what it means for East Village Magazine
Feb14

Commentary: How COVID has changed us, and what it means for East Village Magazine

By Paul Rozycki It’s been two years.   March 10, 2020. That was the day when Michigan saw its first two COVID cases. Ironically, it was also an election day, and the beginning of the widespread shutdown of much public activity in the state. Within days, colleges and K-12 schools were closed to in-person learning. Bars, restaurants, gyms, and factories shut down, and emergency restrictions were imposed on many public gatherings in the...

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Profile: “What if he had opened his eyes?”  Kelsey Ronan on grief, healing, breaking a curse in “Chevy in the Hole”
Feb10

Profile: “What if he had opened his eyes?” Kelsey Ronan on grief, healing, breaking a curse in “Chevy in the Hole”

By Jan Worth-Nelson Twelve years ago, Kelsey Ronan found her longtime partner Bryan dead of a heroin overdose in their Flint apartment. Out of what she describes as an onslaught of grief, anger, loss, and finally, a hard-won,  unsentimental hope,  the novel Chevy in the Hole was born. For Ronan, the book emerged from one poignant question:  “What would have happened if Bryan had opened his eyes”  instead of dying.  She has...

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American democracy is facing serious threats. Let’s make sure it survives.
Jan26

American democracy is facing serious threats. Let’s make sure it survives.

By Paul Rozycki  “The ship of democracy, which has weathered all storms, may sink through the mutiny of those on board.” -Grover Cleveland “While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile”. -Madeleine Albright Democracy isn’t easy. It’s not easy to make it work well. And it’s not easy to keep it. In our place and time in history, we assume that democracy is the best...

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Guest Commentary:  Thanks for the early Christmas gift – air pollutants and toxins
Dec22

Guest Commentary: Thanks for the early Christmas gift – air pollutants and toxins

By Ted Zahrfeld Thank you for the early Christmas “gift,” Governor, Michigan “EGLE” Director, Genesee Township Zoning, and Ajax CEO, of allowing a polluting asphalt plant in our poorest Flint neighborhood. This “gift” will bring and keep on giving air pollutants, toxins, and odors to the surrounding low-income predominately Black community as it operates in years to come. Yes, Flint, there are indeed four Grinch Santa Clauses:...

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Opinion: A new offense – water settlement objections denied by federal judge
Dec14

Opinion: A new offense – water settlement objections denied by federal judge

By Rev. Deborah D Conrad A new offense has insulted Flint this week, in the form of a court ruling — this time from District Judge Judith Levy. At issue was the Flint Water Settlement, the financial compensation for the residents of this city of 90,000 poisoned by state action in 2014, finally acknowledged in 2015, and yet to be reconciled. People died. Pregnant people miscarried. Children experienced neurological damage — the...

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