Education Beat: Staff shortages at Flint schools at a “critical” stage
By Harold C. Ford “Teachers are walking away.” -- Joyce Ellis McNeal, president, Flint Board of Education The central issue at a four-hour Flint Board of Education (FBOE) Committee of the Whole meeting Aug. 10 was the “critical” shortage of candidates to fill vacant...
Art Review: “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” explored at latest Mott-Warsh exhibit
By Harold C. Ford “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” is the current exhibit at the Mott-Warsh (MW) Gallery, 815 S. Saginaw St. (corner of Court and Saginaw streets), Flint. The exhibit ends Aug. 20. According to Stephanie James, director and curator of the...
City’s financial peril thwarted with $220 million boost from State coffers
By Tom Travis An infusion of $220 million into the city's coffers from the State Treasury will give enduring relief to the city's finances. On July 6, Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced the City of Flint will receive $220 million from State budget allocations to fund the...
City Council Beat: Lead line replacements and restorations to begin as council approves $17.8-million contract
By Tom Travis City of Flint residents can expect remaining lead line replacements and restorations to sidewalks, curbs and yards to begin in the coming weeks. At its Monday meeting, the city council approved a $17.8 million contract with LGC Global, based in Detroit,...
Sports Beat: Flint City Bucks booted from USL2 Semifinal after strong season
By Harold C. Ford The Flint City Bucks soccer club was booted from the United States League Two (USL2) semifinal in Des Moines by Ventura County Fusion FC (football club) July 31. The California club prevailed 2-1 and will host the championship match Aug. 6. Ventura...
Election Beat: Primary voters choose nominees — Neeley, Weaver, Dixon win, advance to November
By Paul Rozycki The August primary election in Genesee County saw nearly 23 percent of voters cast ballots as they chose the nominees for the November election. That is slightly higher than the average turnout for most August primaries county-wide. However, the Flint...
Education Beat: Flint Board of Education — Some good news stories and some same old stories
By Harold C. Ford [Editors’ Note: Harold C. Ford, East Village Magazine’s (EVM) education reporter, had intended to write a July piece featuring some good news stories he’d collected about Flint Community Schools (FCS) in the past few months. But, alas, the Flint...
The East Village Magazine – August 2022
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: East Village Magazine - August 2022 [pdfjs-viewer url="https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/EVM-Aug-22.pdf" attachment_id="30600"...
Village Life: At 76, he’s run marathons in all 50 states and the Great Wall of China
By Tom Travis From the Great Wall of China to the Hoover Dam, Ortonville resident Jay Cummings, 76, experiences life 26 miles at a time -- again and again. A retired United Church of Christ minister, he's a devoted marathon runner who finds the discipline of his...
Neeley, Weaver, and Mays respond to voters’ questions at Mott Park forum
By Paul Rozycki With a forum that could have been titled “Two Mayors and Mays,” incumbent Mayor Sheldon Neeley, former Mayor Karen Weaver, and city council member Eric Mays responded to questions from a standing-room-only audience of Mott Park residents for more than...
Sports Beat: Flint City Bucks power into playoffs, Central Conference Championship match vs. Des Moines Menace July 29
By Harold C. Ford * * * * * United States League Two Central Conference Championship Flint City Bucks at Des Moines Menace Friday, July 29, 8:15 p.m. EDT Valley Stadium, 4400 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50265 Online video transmission at uslleaguetwo.com * *...
Education Beat Flint Board of Education: Some same old stories and some good news stories
By Harold C. Ford [Editors’ Note: The Flint Board of Education (FBOE) meeting witnessed on July 20 was troubling to cover for Harold C. Ford, East Village Magazine’s (EVM) education reporter. For purposes of readability and thematic tidiness, EVM is dividing this...
In praise of (good) politicians
By Paul Rozycki “Politics is more difficult than physics.” -Albert Einstein Last month’s East Village Magazine was devoted to the idea of good governance and the problems with dysfunctional government in Genesee County, as we took a look at the Flint City Council, the...
Sports Beat: Flint City Bucks Power into Playoffs with 6-0 Romp over Midwest United
By Harold C. Ford * * * * * United States League Two Central Conference Quarterfinals Friday, July 22, 2022; 4 and 7 p.m.; Atwood Stadium, Flint Chicago FC United vs. Peoria City, 4 p.m. Flint City Bucks vs. South Bend Lions, 7 p.m. General admission tickets: $10 for...
Re-made Sloan Museum of Discovery opens doors to “more voices lifted up,” inspiration for math and science, enriched local history
By Jan Worth-Nelson Three years after a groundbreaking at which a host of dignitaries foresaw local opportunities to champion science and history, the promise has been delivered. The newly renamed Sloan Museum of Discovery opened its doors to the public July 16 after...
The East Village Magazine – July 2022
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/2022/07/EVM-July-22.pdf" attachment_id="29938" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px fullscreen=true...
Village Life: It’s too hot for lies and threats to democracy, even for journalists here at home
By Jan Worth-Nelson Today’s it’s 95 degrees outside and the AC is rumbling like a 19th century train. I’m passing on taking my daily walk, and I hurry outside only briefly to add water to the bird bath, hoping all the creatures will find a cool retreat. I’m...
Legendary Golden Leaf club receives new mural as part of Flint City Mural Festival
By Tom Travis Finishing a vividly bright mural at Flint's famed Golden Leaf Club, Florida visual artist Zulu Painter declared, "Hopefully I can pay homage to all the legendary acts here and the energy itself that's here that's gone on for over 100 years. It's an honor...
Commentary: Good governing betrayed by “knuckleheads”– the public urgently needs better
By Tom Travis This is not the usual city council article. No "news" here, just observations and commentary from a local city government beat community journalist. As editor, and supported by the board of East Village Magazine, this entire issue is dedicated to...
Education Beat Analysis/Commentary: Monumental challenges for Flint Schools; progress slowed by instability
By Harold C. Ford [Editor’s note: For this special "good governance" issue of East Village Magazine, we have invited Education Beat writer Harold C. Ford, who's been covering the Flint Board of Education for more than five years, to submit not just a factual report...
The East Village Magazine – June 2022
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/2022/06/EVM_June_22.pdf" attachment_id="29677" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px...
What’s on the Aug. 2 primary ballot? Here’s a preview from state to city
By Paul Rozycki The upcoming Aug.2 primary election is only weeks away and, if this year is like most, we will have a light turnout for our summer election as voters are otherwise occupied with travel plans, cookouts, and staying cool. Yet this primary may be more...
Commentary: Good government isn’t easy. It’s up to all of us to make it work
By Paul Rozycki When Flint School Board President Danielle Greene [allegedly] assaulted board Treasurer Laura McIntyre during a Flint Community School Board meeting last March, the school board accomplished something that few thought humanly possible. If even for a...
“Can You Help Me Tie My Shoes?” Local young author promotes her new book at Flint Farmers Market
By Tom Travis Aspiring eight-year-old author, Taylor Grundy, carefully stacked a dozen or so of her books in a rack that sat on a long white table at the Flint Farmers' Market. Straightening some matching bookmarks, she sat smiling with her mom, Leslie Grundy. As...
“Blight elimination” top priority in Mayor’s plan to allocate $94 million ARPA funds
By Tom Travis Mayor Sheldon Neeley and his administration outlined a proposal to allocate the $94 million American Rescue Plan funds awarded to Flint in April 2021 at a special city council meeting Monday. The proposal calls for $69.5 million of the funds to be used...
