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Genesee Health Plan receives grant for $219,492 to help people enroll in health care
By Tom Travis Genesee Health Plan (GHP) has received a three-year federal Navigator Cooperative Agreement Award of $219,492 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The grant will fund what are called Support Navigators in Federally-facilitated Exchanges to help people access a variety of federally-funded health care services, including Obamacare and Medicare during open enrollment periods. Open Enrollment through the Federal Health Insurance Exchange, also known as HealthCare.gov (Affordable Care Act/Obamacare) began Nov. 1...
read moreCouncil aims to hold “community listening meetings” for ARP funds, as rules for use emerge
By Tom Travis In a 5-0 vote Wednesday city council voted to hold four community listening meetings throughout the city for residents to say how they think the $94 million federal stimulus American Rescue Plan allocated to the city should be spent. The first half of the allocation already has arrived, with the second half expected within the next 60 days. However, after a presentation by a representative from U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee’s office and give-and-take with city officials, several council members wondered if community meetings...
read moreEducation Beat: Pontiac School District officials share their fiscal recovery story with Flint Board of Education
“It doesn’t look good when you’re divided … it makes you look dysfunctional.” –Shaquana Davis-Smith, treasurer, Pontiac Board of Education “We’re not going to present a united front as if everything is OK, because it’s not OK.” –Laura MacIntyre, treasurer, Flint Board of Education By Harold Ford At a special meeting of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) Nov. 16, five Pontiac School District (PSD) officials shared their remarkable story of financial recovery with FBOE members. In the past decade, PSD turned a $52 million debt into...
read moreCouncil votes to establish a Revenue Estimation Commission
By Tom Travis The Flint City Council passed a resolution, on a 8-0 vote Monday night to establish a Revenue Estimation Commission (REC). The REC is required by the city’s charter (Section 7-104). The REC’s responsibilities include, “reporting to the public, the Mayor and City Council on the anticipated revenue for the City of Flint. The reports are to detail each source of revenue along with the purpose and/or restrictions for use of each source of revenue.” Councilperson Quincy Murphy (Ward 3) made the motion to...
read moreCity considers spending $3.9 million for “compliance and implementation” consultant for American Rescue Plan stimulus funds
By Tom Travis The City of Flint is considering contracting with compliance consultant Ernst & Young of Detroit for compliance and implementation of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) stimulus money. According to a pending resolution by the Flint City Council, the contract would not exceed $3,994,074 for budget years FY2022 to FY2027. Meeting as the Finance Committee, the council discussed the proposal at a Friday night meeting. Earlier this year the city was notified it would receive $94 million in ARP stimulus money from the federal...
read moreWard boundaries redrawn for all nine of Flint’s wards; public review open over the next 90 days
By Tom Travis The Flint city council and community members have 90 days to discuss and review the city’s redrawn ward boundaries, according to City Attorney Angela Wheeler. The city council will give final approval to the new boundaries. The city’s nine wards are being redrawn based on new Census 2020 data and as required by the city’s charter. At a Tuesday evening special city council meeting held in the Dome behind city hall, the public and city council members had an initial opportunity to view the map of the proposed...
read moreEducation Beat : Flint School Board selects Kevelin Jones as superintendent
By Harold C. Ford This article has been updated to show the correct date Anita Stewart became FCS Superintendent which was June 2020 and not as we originally reported as being January 2021. EVM Editors. The Flint Board of Education (FBOE) named Kevelin Jones superintendent of the Flint Community Schools (FCS) at its Nov. 17 meeting. Jones had been serving as the district’s interim superintendent since September. He replaces Anita Steward, whose brief tenure began in January 2021 and ended with her resignation Nov.12. Jones is the eighth FCS...
read moreAverill Ave and Lapeer Road area site of this week’s mobile COVID vaccine unit – COVID third dose and booster information
By Tom Travis A mobile COVID-19 and flu vaccination unit will be in the neighborhoods surrounding Averill Avenue and Lapeer Road from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18 and Saturday, Nov. 20. A new community collaboration is bringing COVID vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch, COVID-19 vaccines and flu vaccines available. The approved pediatric COVID-19 vaccination is not yet available from the mobile units but is available throughout Genesee County. Vaccination sites for the...
read moreEric Mays and Allie Herkenroder elected president and vice-president of city council
By Tom Travis The newly elected Flint City Council held their first meeting Monday night since last week’s election. In line with the rules of the charter, the City Clerk, Inez Brown called the meeting to order and chaired the meeting until a president was chosen. The longest serving council member, Eric Mays (Ward 1) was elected in a 5-4 vote in a single round of verbal nominations as president of the council. Councilpersons Judy Priestley (Ward 4), Jerri Winfrey-Carter (Ward 5), Tonya Burns (Ward 6) and Dennis Pfeiffer (Ward 8) along...
read moreHostile Terrain 94 art exhibit displayed at Farmer’s Market brings awareness to more than 3,200 immigrant deaths at U.S.-Mexico border
By Tom Travis Hostile Terrain 94 is an art exhibit on display at Flint Farmer’s Market until Nov. 27. Created by UCLA anthropologist Jason De Leon the exhibit aims to raise awareness about the realities of the U.S-Mexico border, focusing on the deaths that have been happening almost daily since 1994 as a direct result of the Border Patrol policy known as “Prevention Through Deterrence” (PTD), described in materials at the art exhibit. Public invited to “participate” in the Hostile Terrain 94 art exhibit An online...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – November 2021
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download here: View...
read moreFlint water crisis settlement of $626 million finalized by federal judge
By Tom Travis “This is a remarkable achievement,” said U.S. Federal Judge Judith Levy, in her ruling handed down this week in the $626 million Flint Water Crisis settlement, one of the largest in Michigan history. “The settlement reached here is a remarkable achievement for many reasons, not the least of which is that it sets forth a comprehensive compensation program and timeline that is consistent for every qualifying participant, regardless of whether they are members of a class or are non-class individuals represented by...
read moreFlint public schools’ confrontations with race and inequality inadequate, part of history and still an issue, Tendaji panel participants contend
By Jan Worth-Nelson Three generations of Flint residents who’ve been students in the Flint public schools agreed in a Tendaji Talk event Tuesday evening that they had not been adequately introduced to race or inequality issues in their education, and that they directly experienced the effects of systemic racism and inequality whether they understood it at the time or not. They further contended that systemic racism in the Flint schools is not a thing of the past — not just in its individual effects but in its overall institutional...
read moreCommentary: “We all have to do better” when it comes to Flint and Genesee County government
By Paul Rozycki Last Monday, the new members of the Flint City Council were sworn in at City Hall, with much ceremony and celebration. Family, friends, and supporters attended and congratulated the new council members on their election victories, and their new positions. Later that evening the new council was expected to meet and choose its leaders for the year to come. Except it didn’t happen. In fact, the swearing in shouldn’t have happened at that time as well. According to the current city charter, adopted in 2018, the new council...
read more“Both the city and the county messed up” on “invalid” Flint council swearing-in, according to County Clerk Gleason
By Tom Travis “We all have to do better. Both the city and the county messed up,” County Clerk John Gleason told East Village Magazine (EVM) in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon after declaring Monday’s swearing-in of the new Flint City Council “invalid.” “The board of commissioners appointed someone that should not have been appointed [to the county board of canvassers] and the city swore in people that should not have been sworn in. We gotta do better,” Gleason said. Monday afternoon, soon...
read moreE. Pierson Road and Dort Highway neighborhoods site of this week’s mobile COVID and Flu vaccination unit: free lunch, shots offered Thursday and Saturday
By Tom Travis A mobile COVID-19 and Flu vaccination unit will be in the neighborhoods surrounding E. Pierson Road and Dort Highway from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11 and Saturday, Nov. 13. A new community collaboration is bringing COVID vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch, COVID-19 vaccines and flu vaccines available. The approved pediatric COVID-19 vaccination is not yet available from the mobile units but is available throughout Genesee County. Vaccination sites for the...
read moreMajority female Flint City Council sworn in; first meeting cancelled as County Clerk declares ceremony “invalid”
By Tom Travis For the first time in Flint’s history, the city council is majority female. Of the six female councilpersons four are serving for the first time: Ladel Lewis (Ward 2) Judy Priestley (Ward 4), Tonya Burns (Ward 6) and Allie Herkenroder (Ward 7) joining re-elected Councilpersons Jerri Winfrey-Carter (Ward 5) and Eva Worthing (Ward 9). This slideshow requires JavaScript. Quincy Murphy (Ward 3) and Dennis Pfeiffer (Ward 8) join the currently longest-serving councilperson Eric Mays (Ward 1). This slideshow requires JavaScript....
read moreIncumbents Galloway, Fields, and Griggs defeated; Flint City Council to have six new members
By Paul Rozycki Flint voters turned out in low numbers but made some big changes as they elected their new city council, defeating three incumbents, and electing three new members in wards where incumbents were not running again. The turnout for Genesee County was just under 13 percent of the registered voters, but the turnout in Flint was even lower, with most wards showing a turnout below 10 percent. The new council will have six new members. In the 3rd and 6th wards incumbents chose not to run and in the 2nd Ward, incumbent Maurice Davis...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint School Board fiscal scrutiny of Williams legal services and Lambert public relations firm intensifies
By Harold C. Ford “It’s going to get ugly … I’m ready for the fight … This man here [former Flint school board attorney Kendall Williams] making a million dollars. Unbelievable.” –Joyce Ellis-McNeal, Oct. 13, 2021, Flint school board meeting Fees charged to Flint Community Schools (FCS) by The Williams Firm, for legal services, and Lambert & Co., for public relations work, came under intense scrutiny by the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) at its Oct. 13 and 20 meetings. Long-held suspicions by some FBOE members, and others, about alleged...
read moreCommission aims to give residents a voice – no more gerrymandering as voting districts are redrawn
By Tom Travis Residents stood up and spoke up Tuesday at a public hearing at The Dort Federal Event Center on Lapeer Road with their thoughts and comments about redistricting in Michigan. Standing at a podium, residents addressed the new 13-member Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), who sat at tables on an elevated stage looking down on the speakers. Masks were required and social distancing was followed. Flint resident and local activist Claire McClinton was among those addressing the ICRC at the hearing, which ran from 1...
read moreVillage Life: Memories burned into Washington School’s demise: “This one hurts the most”
By Gary Fisher She was nearly half a century old by the time I showed up. Creaky wooden windows, stifling forced heat, so thick you could taste it, zero air conditioning, lead paint everywhere, and asbestos-covered pipes. The ancient bathrooms with the old radiators (an especially egregious artifice when some miscreant relieved himself on it), with wooden stall doors, long ago removed, meant zero privacy. Really tough kids, and playground brawls. Giant concrete drainage tubes as our clubhouse, and dangerously engineered monkey bars so...
read moreTendaji Talk: “The Deep Sting of Slavery”
By Harold C. Ford “It’s really not enough to say, ‘Those were horrible days and let them pass.’ Uncovering this buried history … could also help ease the kind of intergenerational trauma that silence can mask, trauma that can seep through entire communities.” –Margaret Burnham, Northeastern University professor, from “Healing Requires Truth” by Samantha Michaels, Nov-Dec 2021 issue of Mother Jones ‘Slavery has tentacles and they are deeply rooted in society today.” –Kenyetta Dotson, Tendaji Talk moderator, Oct. 12, 2021 The most recent...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint School Board votes unanimously to talk with Mott Foundation CEO Ridgway White about abandoned Central-Whittier campus
By Harold C. Ford On Wednesday, Oct .20, near the end of another long meeting (four hours and 22 minutes), the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) voted 6-0 to invite C. S. Mott Foundation CEO Ridgway White to visit and talk about the future of the long-abandoned Flint Central High School-Whittier Middle School campus. Votes supporting the motion, made by board treasurer Laura MacIntyre, came from: Carol McIntosh; MacIntyre, treasurer; Joyce Ellis-McNeal, secretary; Adrian Walker, assistant secretary/treasurer; Chris Del Morone, trustee; and...
read moreCommentary: Secure MI Vote petition won’t secure your vote — or democracy
By Paul Rozycki A few years ago I was asked to give a presentation on the right to vote to a large number of prospective election workers at City Hall. As I looked out over the audience, I realized that almost none of those present could have voted when this nation began. The great majority of those in the council chambers that day, preparing to conduct our elections, were female and/or African-American. None could vote when this nation began. We like to think that once we got rid of King George in 1776 and wrote a Constitution in 1787,...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint Cultural Center Academy survived COVID, construction and start-up challenges to make it to third year
By Harold C. Ford In its third year of operation, Flint’s newest school, the nonprofit charter Flint Cultural Center Academy (FCCA), has managed to survive and continue adding grades despite adjustments to COVID, construction at the nearby Sloan Museum and Flint Public Library, and challenges faced by some of its economically-disadvantaged students. “We’re not where we thought we’d be after two full years of school,” said Eric Lieske, FCCA principal, in a recent wide-ranging interview with East Village Magazine (EVM). “Nobody knew...
read moreCouncilperson Monica Galloway leads Michigan Municipal League as its president
City Councilperson Monica Galloway (7th Ward) was elected the 2021-2022 president of the Michigan Municipal League (MML) at the non-profit’s annual convention held in Grand Rapids last month. The MML’s 18-member Board of Trustees met and elected Galloway. Sterling Heights Councilperson Barbara Ziarko was elected vice-president of the MML. “The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington DC and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and...
read moreNeighborhoods on Flint’s east side site of this week’s mobile vaccination unit: free lunch, shots offered Thursday and Saturday
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch and COVID-19 vaccines available in the neighborhoods near Davison Road and North Franklin Ave area Thursday, Oct. 21 and Saturday, Oct. 23 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Genesee County’s rate of full vaccination stood at 46.8 per cent, as of Oct. 19 an increase of 0.1 per cent since last week, according to the Genesee County Health Department (GCHD). The Greater Flint Health Coalition...
read moreDale Kildee, Flint’s Congressman for 36 years, dies at age 92
By Paul Rozycki Dale Kildee, who served as Flint’s congressman for 36 years, died Oct. 13 at age 92. He was one of the longest serving members of Congress and was reelected to the U.S. House 18 times, retiring in 2012. Kildee, who had considered entering the priesthood, earned his B.A. at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, earned a teaching certificate at the University of Detroit, and did graduate work in political science and history in Peshawar Pakistan on a Rotary Fellowship. He began his career at the University of Detroit Jesuit High...
read moreNeighborhoods in Beecher site of this week’s mobile vaccination unit: free lunch, shots offered Thursday and Saturday
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch and COVID-19 vaccines available in the neighborhoods in Beecher on Thursday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 16 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. both days. Genesee County’s rate of full vaccination stood at 46.7 per cent, as of Oct. 13 an increase of 0.7 per cent since last week, according to the Genesee County Health Department (GCHD). The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) has created a...
read moreReview: One weekend only of The Rep’s first show, an absurdist comedy, reminds audience of humans’ dark predicaments
By Patsy Isenberg The Rep made a surprising choice for the first play of the 2021-22 season. It was the absurdist comedy, “Happy Days,” a two-act play by Samuel Beckett, written in 1961. Theatre of the Absurd “Theater that seeks to represent the absurdity of human existence in a meaningless universe by bizarre or fantastic means,” is how Webster dictionary defines theater of the absurd. It was a surprising choice because some may have expected a popular or well-known play for The Rep’s first one in more than 18 months. A few people...
read moreBill to change “Good Time” policy for incarcerated prisoners focus of Michigan Justice Advocacy event Saturday, Oct. 9
By Tom Travis In the last 40 years, Michigan’s prison population has ballooned 71 percent, with State expenditures on prisons and the incarcerated also jumping from $330 million to $2.4 billion — an average of $44,000 per prisoner per year. These are among facts that the The Michigan Justice Advocacy (MJA) organization hopes to highlight in a Saturday, Oct. 9 event to draw support and awareness to Michigan Senate Bill 649. The bill aims to change the so-called “Good Time” policy for Michigan’s incarcerated...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – October 2021
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download here: View...
read moreNeighborhoods surrounding N. Saginaw and E. Pierson Roads and Whaley Park site of this week’s mobile vaccination unit: free lunch, shots offered Thursday and Saturday
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch and COVID-19 vaccines available in the neighborhoods surrounding Saginaw Street. and E. Pierson Road on Thursday, Oct. 7 and in the neighborhoods surrounding Whaley Park on Saturday, Oct. 9 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. both days. Genesee County’s rate of full vaccination stood at 46% as of Oct. 5, according to the Genesee County Health Department (GCHD). The Greater Flint Health...
read moreEducation Beat: busy Flint Community Schools board settles teachers’ contract, fills board vacancies, addresses bats and black mold as teacher attrition continues, enrollment dips below 3,000
By Harold C. Ford It took more than four hours, but the remaining five members of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) got work done at their Sept. 29 meeting, including settling a contract with the teachers’ union, filling the two board vacancies created by recent resignations, electing officers, reviewing efforts to sell vacant schools, and approving action to eliminate bats and black mold in elementary schools. Teacher contract settled The board and the United Teachers of Flint (UTF) have ratified a new contract. The FBOE approved...
read moreCommentary: City Council election crucial to Flint’s future — Vote Nov. 2! Don’t put it off!
By Paul Rozycki Update: EVM has learned that Chris Del Morone is a write-in candidate in Ward 6. We have added his name below and apologize for this omission. Recently a scheduled forum hosted by write-in candidates Tanya Rison (1st Ward), and Lakeisha Tureaud (7th Ward), presented a worrisome portent for the Nov. 2 city council election. The meeting, where voters could have a chance to meet write-in candidates for the Flint City Council, was held at Kearsley Park Sept. 18, and all five write-in candidates, as well as those on the ballot...
read moreMt. Morris site of this week’s mobile vaccination unit: free lunch, shots offered Thursday and Saturday
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch and COVID-19 vaccines available in the neighborhoods of Mt. Morris from 12 noon until 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, Saturday, Oct. 2, Thursday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 9. Genesee County’s rate of full vaccination stood at 46.6% as of Sept. 29, according to the Genesee County Health Department (GCHD). The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) has created a partnership with...
read morePriority Waste contracted for $19.7 million through 2024 for residential waste collection
By Tom Travis The City Council passed a new waste service provider contract that will begin Oct. 1, 2021 with Priority Waste that will include waste collection every week for trash, recycling and yard waste. The contract is for $19.7 million for waste pick-up through June 30, 2024. The resolution allows for the option of a two-year extension to that contract. The $19.7 million breakdown per budget year are as follows: $4.7 million for FY 2022, $6.5 million for FY 2023, $6.7 million for FY 2024. Comparatively, Republic was paid $4.1 million in...
read moreFlint Repertory Theatre returns to the stage Oct. 8 with Beckett absurdist comedy
By Patsy Isenberg After eighteen months of no live theatre indoors in Flint, the Flint Repertory Theatre (The Rep) begins its 2021-2022 season with a production of the absurdist comedy “Happy Days.” The play opens with an 8 p.m. Oct. 8 performance, with a run of eight more performances through Oct. 17. All audience members will be required to wear masks and present either proof of vaccination or negative results of a COVID test. Tickets can be purchased at 810-237-7333. More information on performance dates and times is available at...
read moreMDOT earmarks $300 million to rebuild I-475 through Flint – Public comments invited for next 12 months
By Tom Travis The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has announced it will invest $300 million to rebuild I-475 from Bristol Road to Carpenter Road, estimating the work will begin in the Fall of 2023. The proposed project is an eight-mile span of road and will include bridge repairs and I-69 and I-475 interchange repairs. MDOT estimates the project will last from November 2023 to December 2027 and will provide for more than 3,800 jobs. On Sept. 15 about eight MDOT representatives and two representatives from consulting firm HNTB...
read moreMemories of Jack Minore, Michigan, Flint, and East Village
By Paul Rozycki There have been many official obituaries, tributes, and memorials written about Jack Minore, the offices he held, the causes he championed, and the commitment he had to the state of Michigan and the Flint community. Most political leaders in the area have spoken about his commitment to Michigan, Flint and a long list of causes—civil rights, women’s rights, labor and the environment. But beyond those, I’d like to share some personal memories of Jack Minore. He was the first politician that I met after moving to Flint. Our...
read moreMax Brandon Park site of this week’s mobile vaccination unit visits: free lunch, shots offered Thursday and Saturday
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch and COVID-19 vaccines available at Max Brandon Park noon to 3 p.m. Thursday. Sept. 23 and Friday, Sept. 25. The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) has created a partnership with Genesee Community Health Center (GCHC), the Genesee County Community Action Resource Department’s (GCCARD) Meet Up and Eat Up program, and the United Way of Genesee County (UWGC) to provide...
read moreCity council in a 5-4 vote drops a proposal allowing McLaren Hospital to reduce their Water Crisis Settlement amount from $20 million to $5 million
By Tom Travis Grappling with the most recent development in the Flint Water Crisis Settlement the City Council had a heated discussion for over two hours of their nearly nine hour meeting on Monday. The discussion centered around a resolution to amend the Flint Water Litigation Settlement agreement. McLaren released a statement containing details of changes saying, “our hospital has modified its participation in the fund…We have notified the court of our plans to maintain a $5 million contribution to the fund.”...
read moreEducation Beat: Uncertain leadership, uncertain infrastructure challenges roil Flint Community Schools board
By Harold C. Ford Flint schools superintendent Anita Steward files lawsuit against board of education Kevelin Jones appointed interim superintendent Two board of education members abruptly resign Doyle-Ryder building closed due to presence of black mold; $440,000 roof repair plan approved by board Board president signals resumption of talks with Mott Foundation “We are at a very fragile state in this district.” –Carol McIntosh, president, Flint Board of Education, Sept. 8, 2021 Anita Steward, Flint Community Schools (FCS) superintendent, has...
read moreMobile Vaccination Units continue through summer in greater Flint area – water and free meals included
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods. The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) has created a partnership with Genesee Community Health Center (GCHC), the Genesee County Community Action Resource Department’s (GCCARD) Meet Up and Eat Up program, and the United Way of Genesee County (UWGC) to provide neighborhood-based COVID-19 vaccine opportunities for residents. Upcoming mobile vaccination units: Thursday, Sept. 9 at Carpenter Road and Clio Road and...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – September 2021
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download here: View...
read moreCommentary: Flint loses 20,000 residents. What does it mean for the city?
By Paul Rozycki With the current census, the city of Flint has lost Grand Blanc, Davison, Swartz Creek, and Montrose. I don’t mean that those places are gone. They are still here in Genesee County and doing fine. But the City of Flint has lost enough population to fill those cities, and that has powerful implications for Flint and those living here. Based on the current census data just released, Grand Blanc has 8091 residents, Swartz Creek has 5897 residents, Davison has 5143 residents, and Montrose has 1743 residents, for a total of...
read more“This is a message from the residents of the City of Flint” – Activists deliver two petitions to the City Clerk
By Tom Travis A group of seven Flint residents gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday to announce they had collected more than 1,000 signatures on two separate petitions. The group was led by activist and Flint water warrior, Claire McClinton, who said she was going to deliver the signed petitions to the City Clerk. “This is a message from the residents of the City of Flint,” McClinton said to members of the media. The two petitions concerned water affordability and a demand for a permanent ban on water shut-offs, McClinton...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint Schools leadership besieged by aging infrastructure in buildings averaging 70 years old
By Harold C. Ford Students in Flint Community Schools (FCS) will miss six days of school in the just-started 2021-22 school year due to the heat. FCS ordered schools closed the entire week of Aug .23-26; an instruction day had not been scheduled for Friday, Aug. 27. FCS Superintendent Anita Steward issued a revised public statement about school closings on Monday, Aug. 23 on the district’s website that read, in part: “At Flint Community Schools, the safety and well-being of our staff and scholars is always a primary concern. As we look at...
read moreSports Beat: Team Handball Emerging at Flint’s Berston Field House
By Harold C. Ford “This sport is so cool. There’s gotta be a way that America can get good at this sport.” —Mike Tirico, NBC’s anchor for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, commenting on team handball The venerable Berston Field House — the nearly 100-year-old facility on Flint’s near north-side where Olympic champion Claressa Shields honed her boxing prowess and future NBA players sharpened their basketball skill — is now the starting point for a new sport that’s come to Flint: team handball. Yes, handball. No, not the kind played in a cracker...
read more“When your hometown calls, you go” – Robert Widigan, City of Flint’s newest Chief Financial Officer
By Tom Travis Robert Widigan, 31, has joined the City of Flint’s finance department as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Widigan is a Flint native and attended Mott Community College and transferred to the University of Michigan – Flint graduating in 2014 with a concentration in finance. Currently living in Lansing, Widigan hopes to move into downtown Flint soon. He is not married and has no kids and no pets. He says he has been thinking about getting a dog but added, “I work such long hours in city government it may not...
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