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Guest Commentary: Flint’s unique opportunity for better, safer streets should design for more than cars

Posted by on 11:28 AM in Analysis, Commentary, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Guest Commentary: Flint’s unique opportunity for better, safer streets should design for more than cars

Guest Commentary: Flint’s unique opportunity for better, safer streets should design for more than cars

Guest commentary by Joel Arnold, Planning and Advocacy Manager at Communities First, Inc. If there’s one thing we hear regularly in our city and region, it’s that people drive far too fast and far too dangerously.  In the Flint area, we’ve seen business after business — whether a fast-food restaurant on Dort Highway, Mega Coney Island in Flint Township, or even Dawn Donuts on Clio Road — get hit by vehicles.  A consistent theme in all these incidents is that they take place on roads designed for one thing: moving cars as fast as...

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Education Beat: Flint Community Schools challenged by its aging lineup of buildings; Washington demo approved

Posted by on 9:26 AM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat: Flint Community Schools challenged by its aging lineup of buildings; Washington demo approved

Education Beat: Flint Community Schools challenged by its aging lineup of buildings; Washington demo approved

By Harold C. Ford In May, the Flint Board of Education (FBOE): approved the spending of tens of millions of ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) dollars for infrastructure upgrades; turned down a substantial offer to sell the Zimmerman property on Corunna Road; approved the demolition of Washington Elementary on Flint’s east side which burned down in October 2021. This slideshow requires JavaScript. Infrastructure  upgrades  approved Tens of millions of ESSER funds for infrastructure upgrades in Flint’s aging school...

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Is it time to park the meters?

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Is it time to park the meters?

By Paul Rozycki As the bricks on Saginaw Street are being redone to give us a smoother ride downtown, perhaps it is time to reconsider what happens when that ride is done. Where to park the car? For almost the last four years, Municipal Parking Services has been running the Flint parking system. It is a private firm that shares the parking revenue with the Downtown Development Authority. It has installed meters with remote sensors and pay stations that were designed to make parking, and paying for parking, more efficient in our computer age....

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Sports Beat: Home openers Saturday at Atwood for Flint City Bucks (men) Friday for Flint City AFC (women)

Posted by on 1:41 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Sports Beat: Home openers Saturday at Atwood for Flint City Bucks (men) Friday for Flint City AFC (women)

Sports Beat:   Home openers  Saturday at Atwood for Flint City Bucks (men)  Friday for Flint City AFC (women)

By Harold C. Ford The Flint City Bucks men’s soccer club hosts its first match of the 2023 season at Atwood Stadium in downtown Flint on Saturday, May 27 starting at 7:30 p.m. Flint will take on Grand Rapids-based Midwest United FC (football club). A fireworks display will follow the match. The Bucks opened the season on the road with a 2-0 win over Kalamazoo FC May 19 with goals from Josemir Gomez and Palmer Ault. The goals were assisted, respectively, by Malik Henry and Wylie Trujillo.  Flint’s Dominic Nascimben earned the shutout in goal....

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Council considers an update to the city’s employee compensation schedule; and a $474,000 invoice from MDOT

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Council considers an update to the city’s employee compensation schedule; and a $474,000 invoice from MDOT

By Tom Travis Council considered 12 resolutions in the finance committee at last night’s meeting. Including a resolution for the payment of a $474,000 invoice from MDOT for damage caused by a former city of Flint employee to an overpass in Flint Township and another resolution that seeks an updated city employee compensation schedule that hasn’t been revised since 1999. Quorum was lost around 9 p.m. after meeting for four hours as council members began to exit beginning with Dennis Pfeiffer (Ward 8), then Quincy Murphy (Ward 3)...

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Education Beat: UM – Flint Critical Issues Conference Friday and Saturday highlights teaching and learning in the era of COVID

Posted by on 2:27 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat: UM – Flint Critical Issues Conference Friday and Saturday highlights teaching and learning in the era of COVID

Education Beat: UM – Flint Critical Issues Conference Friday and Saturday highlights teaching and learning in the era of COVID

By Harold C. Ford The University of Michigan-Flint (UM-F) is hosting a critical issues conference starting at 6 p.m. Friday May 19 and continuing  from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 20. at its downtown Flint campus. The conference will focus on the state of affairs in education during the time of a pandemic.   Conference overview FRIDAY Friday’s events begin with dinner at 6 p.m. in the UCEN Michigan Rooms followed by a keynote address from Alicia Meriweather, deputy superintendent for Detroit Public Schools. A panel discussion at 7:15 p.m....

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Budget hearings conclude; council chaos continues with loud racial accusations

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Budget hearings conclude; council chaos continues with loud racial accusations

By Tom Travis This article has been updated with information of a budget hearing call back set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18. The Water Pollution Control department and the Purchasing/Finance department budget hearing will be held in the Genesee County Administration building on the third floor. The city council concluded the final scheduled budget hearing on Monday night after a month of four different hearings that covered all of the city departments’ budgets. Monday’s meeting was not without dramatic moments that have become...

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Local group, The Soggy Bottom Band featuring singer Danielle Bollinger, to perform at Flint’s Capitol Theatre May 17

Posted by on 8:23 AM in Features, Local News | Comments Off on Local group, The Soggy Bottom Band featuring singer Danielle Bollinger, to perform at Flint’s Capitol Theatre May 17

Local group, The Soggy Bottom Band featuring singer Danielle Bollinger, to perform at Flint’s Capitol Theatre May 17

By Tom Travis The Soggy Bottom Band featuring singer Danielle Bollinger will perform a free concert, “Flint Under the Stars”  at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 17  in Flint’s Capitol Theatre. “Flint Under the Stars” aims to become a regular event where local talent is featured at Flint’s Capitol Theatre every third Wednesday of the month. “We hope it will grow and become bigger, ” Flint Institute of Music (FIM)’s President and CEO Rodney Lontine told EVM. The Soggy Bottom Big Band, under the...

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Community Foundation leader Isaiah Oliver departing for new job in Florida, asserts “Love is never lost”

Posted by on 11:57 AM in Features, Local News | Comments Off on Community Foundation leader Isaiah Oliver departing for new job in Florida, asserts “Love is never lost”

Community Foundation leader Isaiah Oliver departing for new job in Florida, asserts “Love is never lost”

By Canisha Bell Isaiah M. Oliver, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint (CFGF) has announced his resignation effective July 28, 2023. Oliver, his wife Shay and the couple’s four children Zaiah, Carrington, Chelyn and Isaiah II are moving to Jacksonville, Florida where he has accepted the position of president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, according to a press release from the CFGF.  A Flint native and 1999 graduate of Flint Northwestern High School, Oliver, the youngest and first African-American...

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“We have chaos in the chamber” – Council Vice-President Ladel Lewis struggles to keep order in Monday’s boisterous meeting

Posted by on 9:01 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on “We have chaos in the chamber” – Council Vice-President Ladel Lewis struggles to keep order in Monday’s boisterous meeting

“We have chaos in the chamber” – Council Vice-President Ladel Lewis struggles to keep order in Monday’s boisterous meeting

By Tom Travis The City Council meeting spiraled into a chaotic abyss on Monday night. The special affairs committee began at 4:30 p.m. and ended at 9:30 p.m. after five hours of mostly arguing and bickering amongst the council. Additionally, there was a group of vocal members of the public that spoke during public speaking and shouted out at other times during the meeting. The council is temporarily meeting in the Genesee County Commissioners board room, across the street from City Hall, during council chamber renovations. The renovations are...

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Emily Doerr named City of Flint Planning & Development Director

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Emily Doerr named City of Flint Planning & Development Director

By Tom Travis Flint native and resident Emily Doerr will become the new Director of Planning and Development for the City of Flint beginning June 12, 2023, according to a press release from Mayor Sheldon Neeley. Doerr will replace retiring Suzanne Wilcox who has served in the the position for the last six and a half years. Doerr currently leads the Michigan State Land Bank Authority. She previously served as Community Economic Development Program Manager for the City of Flint’s HOME, Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and Community Development...

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Education Beat : Two days, two memos, two views of Flint school district: Superintendent elevates “positive stories”; teachers’ union cites “grave concerns”

Posted by on 12:18 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat : Two days, two memos, two views of Flint school district: Superintendent elevates “positive stories”; teachers’ union cites “grave concerns”

Education Beat :   Two days, two memos, two views of Flint school district:  Superintendent elevates “positive stories”; teachers’ union cites “grave concerns”

By Harold C. Ford Within two days, two memos with two different views were issued by the superintendent and teachers’ union leaders at Flint Community Schools (FCS).   FCS Superintendent Jones On May 5, FCS Superintendent Kevelin Jones issued a statement that attempted to elevate the “positive stories happening in our district every single day.” An excerpt from that memo: “We know there is an influx of negativity surrounding the district, whether that is out in the community on social media or in the news. We are working with the Board of...

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Immigration Advanced as a Strategy for Stabilizing, Growing Flint

Posted by on 9:12 AM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Immigration Advanced as a Strategy for Stabilizing, Growing Flint

Immigration Advanced as a Strategy for Stabilizing, Growing Flint

By Harold C. Ford “This is the ultimate win-win.” –John Austin, Michigan Economic Center, March 29, 2023 The International Center of Greater Flint (ICGF) recently assembled about 40 people representing nearly 20 organizations at the Flint Public Library March 29 to promote immigration as an approach to growing the population and economy of the greater Flint community.   Phyllis Sykes and Adil Mohammed, co-founders of ICGF were organizers of the event,  co-hosted by Greater Flint Health Coalition. Sykes was moderator. “The increase in...

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Actress brings iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “cranky” and very human, to life in “All Things Equal” Thursday May 4 at The Whiting

Posted by on 3:26 PM in Calendar, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Actress brings iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “cranky” and very human, to life in “All Things Equal” Thursday May 4 at The Whiting

Actress brings iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “cranky” and very human, to life in “All Things Equal” Thursday May 4 at The Whiting

By Tom Travis “How do we fill in the gaps of her very public persona?” Actress Michelle Azar said that question propelled her as she relied on books and movies to tell the story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RPG) in a new play by playwright Rupert Holmes. The play depicts “human” moments showing RBG to be cranky, not getting enough sleep and even sexual. “What are those human moments like? How human can we make her? What kind of license do we have to portray these moments from her life?” Azar said. The answers to...

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The East Village Magazine – May 2023

Posted by on 12:10 PM in Features, Print Edition | Comments Off on The East Village Magazine – May 2023

The East Village Magazine – May 2023

The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...

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Education Beat Flint Community Schools: Assistant Superintendent Keiona Murphy Resigns; Terae King Removed as Flint Board Vice-President; Charges of Racism Block Bid to Make MacIntyre Treasurer

Posted by on 12:55 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat Flint Community Schools: Assistant Superintendent Keiona Murphy Resigns; Terae King Removed as Flint Board Vice-President; Charges of Racism Block Bid to Make MacIntyre Treasurer

Education Beat  Flint Community Schools: Assistant Superintendent Keiona Murphy Resigns; Terae King Removed as Flint Board Vice-President; Charges of Racism Block  Bid to Make MacIntyre Treasurer

By Harold C. Ford “We have met the enemy and he is us.” –Cartoonist Walt Kelly’s Earth Day 1970 parody of a similar statement by Master Commandant Oliver Perry in the War of 1812 The resignation of Keiona Murphy, assistant superintendent for Flint Community Schools (FCS), was announced by Superintendent Kevelin Jones in a statement made available to the public April 25. Later the same day, four members of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) Trustees Laura MacIntyre, Joyce Ellis-McNeal, Melody Relerford, and Claudia Perkins, board secretary –...

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UM – Flint tenured faculty begin unionization efforts, propelled by governance, pay, work life, university climate concerns

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UM – Flint tenured faculty begin unionization efforts, propelled by governance, pay, work life, university climate concerns

By Jan Worth-Nelson The tenured and tenure-track faculty at the University of Michigan – Flint (UMF)  have begun efforts to unionize. A group of about 16 organizers have been meeting, circulating information and membership cards, and consulting with eligible colleagues.  The union would be called UMF AFT-AAUP Local 5671 [American Federation of Teachers — American Association of University Professors,  affiliating with a labor union representing more than 270,000 higher education workers nationwide. They say they are propelled by...

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Is it time to unelect the electors?

Posted by on 7:15 PM in Commentary, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Is it time to unelect the electors?

Is it time to unelect the electors?

By Paul Rozycki In the United States we elect over 500,000 individuals to office. Every election year, the voters choose who will be their governors, senators, state representatives, mayors, city council members, judges, county commissioners, school board members, township clerks, drain commissioners, and perhaps an occasional dog-catcher here and there. And all of those individuals are chosen based on one cardinal rule. Whoever gets the most votes wins. With one exception. The President of the United States. We elect the president by way of...

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Iconic Saginaw Street brick replacement underway; $5 million project to continue through 2024

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Iconic Saginaw Street brick replacement underway; $5 million project to continue through 2024

By Elizabeth Ireland-Curtis The iconic bricks on Saginaw Street, along with the Weather Ball are part of Flint’s identity and history. The bricks on Saginaw are being replaced in a two-year project that began Monday, April 10. Mayor Sheldon Neeley presented plans for the historic restoration at a press conference that same day. A website, FixTheBricksFlint.com, can be accessed by residents for street closings and updates. City Engineer Mark Adas said he hopes to make the project “as painless as possible” which, when completed by the end...

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Education Beat: Turmoil at the top continues at Flint Community Schools

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Education Beat:  Turmoil at the top continues at Flint Community Schools

By Harold C. Ford Editor’s note – This article has been updated naming the former FCS employee who received the $61,000 retirement payout. The tumult that has plagued the leadership team(s) at Flint Community Schools (FCS) in recent years was fully on display in and around the April 12 Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE). Michael Clack, board president, announced an investigation by the Michigan State Police (MSP) into an alleged excessive retirement payout of $61,000 to Monaca Elston,...

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Village Life: Flint’s “coney culture” fed us, brought us together, inspired art, music, literature, poetry — and even some brawls, presenters declare

Posted by on 10:13 AM in Analysis, Features, Local News, Village Life | Comments Off on Village Life: Flint’s “coney culture” fed us, brought us together, inspired art, music, literature, poetry — and even some brawls, presenters declare

Village Life:  Flint’s “coney culture” fed us, brought us together,  inspired art, music, literature, poetry — and even some brawls, presenters declare

By Jan Worth-Nelson One thing was clear as a sell-out crowd  lined up for their food Saturday in a big meeting room at — where else — Koegel Meats, the origin and home of the legendary frankfurter. The coney is more than a hot dog. The “Salute to Flint’s Coney Culture” sponsored by the Genesee County Historical Society, started with a simple formula:  volunteers doling out a well-grilled dog slipped into a bun, sauce from the Starlight Diner, buns from Mr. Bread, plenty of mustard and chopped onions. Little bags...

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City council announces budget hearings for April and May; new CFO joins hearing

Posted by on 7:47 PM in Features, Local News | Comments Off on City council announces budget hearings for April and May; new CFO joins hearing

City council announces budget hearings for April and May; new CFO joins hearing

By Tom Travis The city council has announced a series of four hearings on the city’s 2023-2024 budget between April 12 and May 15. The hearings will allow city council and members of the public an opportunity to hear from department heads on their budgets and to ask questions. City Clerk Davina Donohue explained to the three council members present (Quincy Murphy (Ward 3), Judy Priestley (Ward 4) and Tonya Burns (Ward 6)) for Wednesday’s hearing that quorum is not required for a hearing to take place. During hearings the council...

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City Council Beat: “I’ve never seen it this bad” City’s sewer system supervisor on raw sewage back ups

Posted by on 12:35 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on City Council Beat: “I’ve never seen it this bad” City’s sewer system supervisor on raw sewage back ups

City Council Beat: “I’ve never seen it this bad” City’s sewer system supervisor on raw sewage back ups

By Tom Travis Despite shouting, near physical fights, repeated racial slurs, and loss of quorum that have continued to characterize a dysfunctional Flint City Council, the elected body still managed to conduct some of the people’s business. Those actions included  acceptance of $21 million in grants — for an upgraded pump station, for St. John’s Street neighborhood, for Choice Neighborhoods assistance to the Genesee County Land Bank.  Their actions also included allocation of $350,000 for a “cold case unit” for...

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Remembering Viola Liuzzo, murdered 58 years ago in the cause of voting rights: a personal reflection 

Posted by on 6:31 PM in Analysis, Features | Comments Off on Remembering Viola Liuzzo, murdered 58 years ago in the cause of voting rights: a personal reflection 

Remembering Viola Liuzzo, murdered 58 years ago in the cause of voting rights:  a personal reflection 

By Harold C. Ford Viola, Viola you laid your young life down, From Selma to heaven, 3 Ks took you out, Colorblind angel battled bigotry, Viola, Viola lives on in history. –“Color Blind Angel,” Robin Rodgers, 2008 [Author’s note: I was moved to write this personal reflection when my son Justin Ford gifted me a book: From Selma to Sorrow, The Life and Death of Viola Liuzzo, by Mary Stanton, University of Georgia Press, 1998. This review of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march and the murder of Viola Liuzzo includes excerpts from...

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The East Village Magazine – April 2023

Posted by on 5:17 PM in Features, Print Edition | Comments Off on The East Village Magazine – April 2023

The East Village Magazine – April 2023

The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...

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Village Life: A comfy leather couch, a wide bay window and spilling my guts

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Village Life:  A comfy leather couch, a wide bay window and spilling my guts

By Tom Travis Twice a month I drive 20 minutes to sit on a long leather couch, long enough for about five people. From that couch I look out a big bay window and I spill my guts. Or, as my therapist says, to get “psychoanalyzed.” I tend to be very private and have found it difficult to share with friends when I’m struggling. Over the years I’ve seen about four or five different therapists, counselors or clinical psychologists. I’ve never been diagnosed with a mental health issue by a professional. I’ve...

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Education Beat: Glimpses of possible paths forward for Flint’s public schools include “6 Month Focus” and images of new high school campus

Posted by on 11:31 AM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat: Glimpses of possible paths forward for Flint’s public schools include “6 Month Focus” and images of new high school campus

Education Beat:   Glimpses of possible paths forward for Flint’s public schools include “6 Month Focus” and images of new high school campus

By Harold C. Ford Amid the din of Flint’s newly-assembled school panel searching for productive equilibrium, two glimpses of possible paths forward have recently emerged: Prior to its March 15 meeting ending in considerable chaos, the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) unanimously adopted a document titled “Superintendents Proposed 6 Month Focus.” The five-page document, amended before its passage, was affirmed by all seven members, a rare happenstance recently on an issue of consequence. Images of a new secondary school complex on the site of...

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Yard waste collection begins in Flint April 3

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Yard waste collection begins in Flint April 3

Yard waste collection begins April 3 in Flint Yard waste collection begins Monday, April 3 for Flint residents. Yard waste is picked up weekly on residents’ normal trash collection days through Dec, 1, 2023. A separate truck collects yard waste on the same day as residents’ regularly scheduled trash day. How yard waste should be placed at the curb Compost materials should be placed at the curb at least 10 feet from regular trash no later than 7 a.m. on pickup day. Acceptable yard waste includes grass clippings, leaves, shrubs and brush...

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“This budget offers a level of stability” Mayor Neeley – an increase of $13 million from previous year

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“This budget offers a level of stability” Mayor Neeley – an increase of $13 million from previous year

By Tom Travis Update: This article has been updated on March 27, 2023 to reflect more information from the Mayor and the city’s 2024 budget. Please note that entire city budget is available at the end of the article. And also, here. “This budget offers a level of stability,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley declared in his budget presentation to City Council’s Finance Committee. The 2024 proposed budget of $63 million reflects an increase of more than $9 million from the 2022 budget and a $13 million increase from the 2023 budget....

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Education Beat Analysis: Flint’s public schools tipping into arguable freefall

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Education Beat Analysis:  Flint’s public schools tipping into arguable freefall

By Harold C. Ford As the newly-constituted Flint Board of Education is beginning to look a lot like the old board, with chaos repeatedly breaking out,  a multitude of sobering realities about the school district are undeniable. Arguably, Flint’s public schools are in freefall. Its student population has fallen from around 40,000 a few decades ago to about 3,000 at present. Though economic malaise and population loss explain away most of that loss,approximately two-thirds of K-12 students and their parents that reside in Flint opt...

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Education Beat Analysis: March 15 Flint School Board meeting collapses into chaos

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Education Beat Analysis: March 15 Flint School Board meeting collapses into chaos

By Harold C. Ford “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” –The Who’s Peter Townshend, “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” 1971 After a few months of fragile collegiality sprinkled with polite platitudes, the newest iteration of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) has descended into a chaotic reminder of what board-watchers have regrettably witnessed again and again in recent years. The March 15, 2023 affair signaled, perhaps, a local, modern-day version of the infamous Ides of March. The very public bad-blood board relationships continued at the...

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Book Bans: What’s the real motive?

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Book Bans: What’s the real motive?

By Paul Rozycki “Controversial LGBTQ+ memoir the subject of heated Lapeer library meeting”   (MLive, March 17, 2023) That was the headline of a story about a recent Lapeer District Library Board meeting where a crowded room of local residents attacked and denounced the local library for placing the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe on its shelves. The controversy began when the Lapeer County prosecutor inquired about the book, and reportedly raised the possibility of criminal charges against the librarian or library...

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Mindful Civic Leadership Program brings community and police together – a model for the nation

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Mindful Civic Leadership Program brings community and police together – a model for the nation

By Canisha Bell The Mindful Civic Leadership Program, designed to bring Black community members and police officers together to build mindfulness skills, launched a second run March 27. The next session will begin April 10. The program is part of the Mindful Flint Initiative, led by the Crim Fitness Foundation.  Theresa Roach, associate director of the Initiative, said the program aims to “build the skills of mindful leadership, engage in a mindful dialogue and practice communication strategies  around the future of policing in our...

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Council approves new rules, adds support for repealing Emergency Manager law; Mays is ousted, again

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Council approves new rules, adds support for repealing Emergency Manager law; Mays is ousted, again

By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include a link to view and/or download the Rules Governing City Council meetings. – Editor Flint City Councilperson Eric Mays (Ward 1) was removed again for “disorderly conduct” from Monday’s council meeting.  Council President Allie Herkenroder (Ward 7) called out Mays for continuous incorrect use of the the parliamentary procedure (point of order and point of information) and for continually disrupting the meeting. By the end of the meeting,  the rest of the council...

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The East Village Magazine – March 2023

Posted by on 2:43 PM in Features, Print Edition | Comments Off on The East Village Magazine – March 2023

The East Village Magazine – March 2023

The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...

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UM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay, $10K bonus

Posted by on 1:08 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on UM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay, $10K bonus

UM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay,  $10K bonus

By Jan Worth-Nelson In one of the first publicly visible moves to address its fiscal woes since the campus-wide “Strategic Transformation” process began last fall,  the University of Michigan – Flint has rolled out a faculty buyout incentives plan paying up to a year’s salary with a $10,000 bonus. The “2023 Faculty Voluntary Retirement Incentive Plan” was announced last week. The plan applies to any tenured, tenure-track and “non-adjunct” clinical faculty in all of the campus’s six schools...

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Village Life: “Where am I from?” or “Who are my people?” are questions worth exploring

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Village Life: “Where am I from?”   or   “Who are my people?” are questions worth exploring

By Tom Travis I’m writing this on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Soon after Putin’s unprovoked invasion last year I reached out to some local Ukrainians for their reactions. I soon found out they all wanted to talk. They all wanted to share their unique stories and emotions about the impending doom of their beloved Ukraine. There was a deep emotional tie that emerged as I interviewed local Ukrainians about the connections they had to their “homeland.” The interviews were filled with...

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Education Beat: Flint Ed Board badly divided on two “safety” issues — clear backpacks, legal reimbursement

Posted by on 5:20 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat: Flint Ed Board badly divided on two “safety” issues — clear backpacks, legal reimbursement

Education Beat: Flint Ed Board badly divided on two “safety” issues — clear backpacks, legal reimbursement

By Harold C. Ford “Enhancing safety measures, such as a clear backpack policy, should not need debate, nor should it take months to implement.” – Bruce Jordan, Michigan Education Association UniServ Director, reacting to a Flint Board of Education  vote rejecting a clear backpack policy “I think we’re basing this on emotions and not evidence-based research.” –Laura MacIntyre, Flint Board of Education trustee, during discussion of a clear backpack policy, Feb. 15, 2023 At its Feb. 15 regular meeting, the seven members of the Flint Board of...

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Commentary: MSU, Mass shootings, and guns. Will anything change? What’s next?

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Commentary:  MSU, Mass shootings, and guns. Will anything change? What’s next?

By Paul Rozycki Two days. That’s all it took for the horrific shooting at Michigan State University to become old news and be replaced by the newest shootings.  In the two days following the Feb. 13 shooting that killed three MSU students, sent five to the hospital, and dominated the state and local news, the nation saw four more mass shootings—three on Feb. 14 and one more on Feb. 15. By the end of the weekend there were ten more reported mass shootings.  On the first day of 2023—New Year’s Day, there were seven mass shootings,...

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Promise of a “bold, strategic, transformative” future laid out by deans at UM – Flint town hall

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Promise of a “bold, strategic, transformative” future laid out by deans at UM – Flint town hall

By Jan Worth-Nelson “Here at the University of Michigan – Flint, we dare to dream big.  With  market analyses, stakeholder engagement, and program economics,  we have envisioned a bold, strategic and transformative future that is like nothing this university has ever experienced before here at the University of Michigan – Flint.  We will.” With that determined affirmation,  at a town hall Feb. 17 at Riverfront Center, University of Michigan – Flint Provost Sonja Feist-Price introduced  presentations by all six of...

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Sen. John Cherry hopeful about legislative agenda: “We can get that done”

Posted by on 5:34 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Sen. John Cherry hopeful about legislative agenda: “We can get that done”

Sen. John Cherry hopeful about legislative agenda:  “We can get that done”

By Jan Worth-Nelson and Tom Travis When  somebody texted John Cherry at home early in the morning after election night Nov. 8 to tell him the Democrats had taken the majority in the Michigan Legislature,  he says he “literally started crying.” The next morning, he hurried from Flint into his Lansing office as a state representative,  a position he had held since 2018. On the wall, there was a white board listing all the bills he had been proposing and hoped to pass. “I went down that list one by one and I said, “yeah,...

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Education Beat: Flint School Board votes unanimously to reopen talks with Mott Foundation about new building(s)

Posted by on 7:14 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat: Flint School Board votes unanimously to reopen talks with Mott Foundation about new building(s)

Education Beat: Flint School Board votes unanimously to reopen talks with Mott Foundation about new building(s)

By Harold C. Ford “That door to work with our partners in the community is open … I need partners to build a new building,” –Kevelin Jones, superintendent, Flint Community Schools, at a Feb. 9, 2023 community forum At its Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Feb. 8, 2023 , the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) voted unanimously to explore the possibility of reopening talks with the Flint-based Mott Foundation about the construction of new school buildings.   The very next evening, Feb. 9, at a community meeting in the auditorium of...

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UMF Chancellor mum on Strategic Transformation at Regents meeting; professor, student critique process

Posted by on 9:52 AM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on UMF Chancellor mum on Strategic Transformation at Regents meeting; professor, student critique process

UMF Chancellor mum on Strategic Transformation at Regents meeting; professor, student critique process

By Jan Worth-Nelson University of Michigan  – Flint Chancellor Deba Dutta offered no news or comments about the downtown Flint campus’s “Strategic Transformation” process in his 3:50 minute presentation to the University of Michigan Regents at their regular monthly meeting in Ann Arbor Thursday. Some observers had predicted the Regents’ meeting might have been a time when something concrete about plans for UM – Flint would be revealed.  A process begun last September to try to find solutions to a batch of...

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Effort to repeal State’s emergency manager law gains steam but is delayed by Flint City Council bickering

Posted by on 2:02 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Effort to repeal State’s emergency manager law gains steam but is delayed by Flint City Council bickering

Effort to repeal State’s emergency manager law gains steam but is delayed by Flint City Council bickering

By Tom Travis An effort by Michigan Democrats to repeal Michigan’s much-contested emergency manager law hopes to gain strength through a resolution from Flint City Council (FCC). On Feb. 1, 2023, House Bill 4065 (H.B 4065) was introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives, and if enacted would repeal the entirety of P.A. 436. At a Monday press conference at City Hall, Mayor  Sheldon Neeley was joined by State Representative Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac) and State Representative Cynthia Neeley (D-Flint) to explain the resolution aimed...

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UM – Flint offers public Town Hall on “Strategic Transformation” updates as decisions approach

Posted by on 6:07 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on UM – Flint offers public Town Hall on “Strategic Transformation” updates as decisions approach

UM – Flint offers public Town Hall on “Strategic Transformation” updates as decisions approach

By Jan Worth-Nelson A town hall offering updates on the progress of the University of Michigan – Flint’s “Strategic Transformation” process has been scheduled for 10-11:30 a.m.  Friday, Feb. 17 at the Riverfront Conference Center, Chancellor Deba Dutta has announced. Dutta said the deans of each of  UMF’s schools and six colleges will present “ideas about future-focused academic plans. In addition,  the consultants hired to conduct the process, Huron  Group,  are set to present “a synthesis of...

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Education Beat: Flint Ed Board committee signals readiness to move on vacant properties and Mott Foundation partnership

Posted by on 12:59 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat: Flint Ed Board committee signals readiness to move on vacant properties and Mott Foundation partnership

Education Beat: Flint Ed Board committee signals readiness to move on vacant properties and Mott Foundation partnership

By Harold Ford “We haven’t been able to move; that’s been an issue for us.” –Kevelin Jones, superintendent, Flint Community Schools, citing the unwillingness of the previous Flint Board of Education to move on vacant properties, Jan. 30, 2023 The Finance and Operations Committee of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) – with two new members who ran as part of an electoral slate in the November, 2022 election –  signaled a readiness at its Jan. 30, 2023 meeting to move more forcefully on the matter of vacant school properties and a willingness...

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Village Life – Blissfully single in community

Posted by on 11:45 AM in Analysis, Features, Village Life | Comments Off on Village Life – Blissfully single in community

Village Life – Blissfully single in community

By Tom Travis It’s called “cuffing season.” I quite hate that term. The term “cuffing” refers to the restrictive and restraining purpose of handcuffs. If you don’t know about cuffing season it begins sometime in October and culminates up to the egregiously capitalized holiday Valentine’s Day. The intention of “cuffing” happens when single, unhitched people begin to prowl around for a partner, a lover or someone to date. Their hope is to find a person to “be with” “to...

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Sports Beat: Steve Schmidt surpasses 1000 games in his 32nd season as Mott CC’s men’s basketball coach

Posted by on 7:53 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News, Special Events | Comments Off on Sports Beat: Steve Schmidt surpasses 1000 games in his 32nd season as Mott CC’s men’s basketball coach

Sports Beat:    Steve Schmidt surpasses 1000 games in his 32nd season as Mott CC’s men’s basketball coach

By Harold C. Ford If successful sports coaches are measured by longevity, wins, and winning percentage, then Steve Schmidt, men’s basketball coach at Mott Community College (MCC), is, at present, one of the most successful coaches in America at any level in any era.   Schmidt coached his 1000th game for Mott on Dec. 12, 2022m,  when his team lost for the first time this season against Lansing Community College (LCC), 81-77. Upon reaching the 1000th game milestone, Schmidt said: “I’ve been humbled all night … To be able to do something you...

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The East Village Magazine – February 2023

Posted by on 1:03 PM in Features, Print Edition | Comments Off on The East Village Magazine – February 2023

The East Village Magazine – February 2023

The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...

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Education Beat: Threat at ALA prompts backpack review; parliamentary woes continue to plague Flint school board

Posted by on 4:02 PM in Analysis, Features, Local News | Comments Off on Education Beat: Threat at ALA prompts backpack review; parliamentary woes continue to plague Flint school board

Education Beat:  Threat at ALA prompts backpack review; parliamentary woes continue to plague Flint school board

“Sunlight or prison walls: I’m going to go with sunlight and having windows.” –Kelly Fields, principal, Accelerated Learning Academy, Jan. 18, 2023 “There was nothing that happened here (ALA) on campus … The campus has been safe and secure.” –Keiona Murphy, assistant superintendent, Flint Community Schools (FCS) By Harold C. Ford The Flint Board of Education (FBOE) wrestled with two recurring issues – one national in scope and another particular to the Flint panel – at its most recent public meeting on Jan. 18, 2023.   Flint’s Accelerated...

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