My bug splattered windshield was a metaphor for life that can be tough
By Tom Travis It was one of the first warm summer weekends. The bugs were all abuzz as I zoomed down I-69 on my 500-mile trip to southern Indiana for my youngest son’s high school graduation. Along the way, my car window got splattered with bugs. I’m usually kind of...
It’s the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library now: local leaders praise Coles’ legacy of “inclusivity” and “a bold, dynamic vision” at naming ceremony
By Jan Worth-Nelson Under a tent on the lawn on a steamy afternoon, more than 100 of Flint's leadership aristocracy gave Gloria Coles a standing ovation as the library she served as director for 20 years was officially named in her honor. It is now the Gloria Coles...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The East Village Magazine – May 2023
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: [pdfjs-viewer url="https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/EVM-May-23.pdf" attachment_id="37401" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px fullscreen=true...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
