A passion for ice hockey lands Rico Phillips in local sports hall of fame
By Harold C. Ford While many of Flint’s most notable athletes found success in basketball, football, baseball, and track and field, Rico Phillips found it in ice hockey. The son of an African American father and a German immigrant mother, Phillips grew up in Flint and...
Education Beat: Flint Community Schools receives $35.9m to close underused facilities, ‘maximize’ use of remaining schools
By Harold C. Ford In another big number for Flint Community Schools (FCS), the Michigan Department of Education (MDOE) and FCS announced on April 24, 2025 that the school district had been awarded $35.9 million to close its “underutilized facilities.” More...
The East Village Magazine – May 2025
The May 2025 issue of #EastVillageMagazine is on newsstands now! Can't wait for your issue? Click below for a digital copy now. Happy reading! [pdfjs-viewer url="https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EVM-May-25.pdf" attachment_id="45989"...
Flint holds Third Ward Special Primary Election today
By EVM Staff It's voting day for residents of Flint's Third Ward. According to a press release from Flint City Clerk Davina Donahue, all Third Ward voting precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, May 6, 2025, to fill the Flint City Council seat left vacant...
Opinion: Mott Community College Board should back up to go forward
By Paul Jordan Mott Community College (MCC) was very fortunate to enjoy two decades of relatively harmonious leadership from its two most recent presidents, Dr. Richard Shaink and Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffia. Unfortunately, we are now in a period of drama and intrigue....
Parks & Rec in Flint and Beyond: Chevy Commons
By Christina Collie This is the fifth in a series about parks and recreational areas to explore in Flint and surrounding areas within 20 miles, presented in no particular order. Chevy Commons Park 200 N. Chevrolet Avenue Flint, MI 48503 Hours: Dawn – Dusk Located near...
Commentary: The turmoil of Trump’s first 100 days, impact on Michigan
By Paul Rozycki With all the executive orders, reversals and delays of those orders, court rulings, and appeals of those court rulings, it’s increasingly difficult to gauge the impact of President Trump’s first 100 days. There are already over 100 lawsuits aimed at...
Village Life: I’m bad at running away
By Kate Stockrahm When I was around five-years-old, I ran away from home. Well, more accurately, I ran away as far as I dared to go without permission, which meant I went to the fenced-in backyard of my family’s suburban Detroit home. I can’t remember what happened...
Education Beat: Shake-ups at highest level of government may put research funding at risk for local universities
By Nathan Waters Given a recent funding freeze and layoffs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), millions in grant money may be in limbo for the University of Flint-Michigan (UM-Flint) and Kettering University. Since its creation in 1950 to “promote the progress...
The East Village Magazine – April 2025
The April 2025 issue of #EastVillageMagazine is available bellow for download and viewing.. Happy reading: [pdfjs-viewer url="https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/EVM-April-25.pdf" attachment_id="45740" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px...
Village Life: East Village Magazine, an old friend made new
By Nic Custer In the 1990s, one afternoon each month, my father would pick me up from school in his Plymouth minivan and instead of heading home, I’d help distribute this magazine. Dwarfed by seats stacked high with rubber-banded East Village Magazine issues –...
Education Beat: COVID-relief confusion for Flint schools after announcement by Trump administration
By Harold C. Ford Flint Community Schools (FCS) finds itself in increased fiscal uncertainty after U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced on March 28, 2025, that the deadline on federal reimbursement for COVID-related projects was changed to that very day...
Parks & Rec in Flint and Beyond: Jack N. Abernathy Park
By Christina Collie This is the fourth in a series about parks and recreational areas to explore in Flint and surrounding areas within 20 miles, presented in no particular order. Jack N. Abernathy Park 402 Dayton St Davison, MI 48423 Hours: 8 am – 8 pm Jack N....
Education Beat: Diminished enrollment and test data dismay Flint Board of Ed president
By Harold C. Ford “Evidently there is something missing.” – Joyce Ellis-McNeal, president, Flint Board of Education, Feb. 19, 2025 An outpouring of frustration by Flint Board of Education (FBOE) President Joyce Ellis-McNeal – fueled by persistently diminished student...
The Kildee Legacy: From Flint to Lansing to Washington and back again
By Paul Rozycki Those of us in Flint and Genesee County owe much to the many families that made our city and county what it is today. Flint wouldn’t be Flint without the early and continuing influence of the Motts, the Ballengers, the Dorts, the Durants, the Whitings,...
Review: ‘A Driving Beat’ premieres at The Rep
By Nathan Waters Saturday night saw the world premiere of “A Driving Beat” at Flint’s Elgood Theatre. The original play by Jordan Ramirez Puckett focuses on a mother, Diane (played by Dani Cochrane), and son, Mateo (Mikee Loria), traveling cross-country from Ohio to...
Sports Beat: Flint Central’s ‘Lightning’ Ervin Leavy Jr. finds rewarding career at UM-Flint
By Harold C. Ford Ervin Leavy Jr. was motivated to improve his basketball game after being bested again and again by his older brother at the playground behind Flint’s Gundry School on Flint’s north side. “He would beat up on me every day until I finally beat him...
The East Village Magazine – March 2025
The March issue of #EastVillageMagazine is hitting newsstands soon! Can't wait for your issue? Click below for a digital copy now. Happy reading! [pdfjs-viewer url="https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/EVM-March-2025.pdf"...
William Harvey comes back to his earliest roots in Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson Violinist William Harvey, featured performer at the FIM Flint Symphony Orchestra’s concert on Saturday, March 15, has amassed a rich and impassioned musical life in performing, teaching, and composing internationally. A longtime resident of Mexico...
International Women’s Day Rally scheduled in Flint
By EVM Staff An International Women’s Day Rally is scheduled for this Saturday, March 8 at noon in Flint's Willson Park. The event was organized by community members Megan Ropeta and Samantha J.L. Siebert and features a roster of performers and speakers, including...
Press Release: City of Flint, Legal Services of Eastern Michigan to host free property tax foreclosure clinic
By EVM Staff The City of Flint is teaming up with Legal Services of Eastern Michigan and First Ward City Councilman Leon El-Alamin to offer a free property tax foreclosure clinic this Friday, March 7, 2025. According to a City of Flint press release on Tuesday, the...
FlintNOW Fund announces over $1.5m in grants to support the Flint community
By EVM Staff The FlintNOW Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint (CFGF) announced its first round of grant funding in mid-February, totaling $1,595,000, to support what it called "essential programs" in the Flint community. The grants range from $50,000 to...
Mott Community College to host free screening of ‘St. John Street: Story of a Neighborhood’
By Kate Stockrahm Mott Community College (MCC) will host a screening of the new PBS documentary “St. John Street: Story of a Neighborhood” on February 26, 2025. The documentary features first-person interviews “chronicling families in Flint who built a vibrant...
Education Beat: Last month at the Flint Ed. Board: a first step for Central, officer elections, bye bye to the balanced calendar, a $700k settlement and more
By Harold C. Ford By any measure, January 2025 was a consequential month for Flint Community Schools (FCS) and its school board. Most newsworthy, perhaps, was a kick-start to the possible reopening of long-abandoned Flint Central High School, which EVM covered earlier...
2025: What will the year bring in politics?
By Paul Rozycki During President Trump’s first weeks in office, we’ve seen more than 1,600 pardons; dozens of executive orders on everything from oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to withdrawing from the World Health Organization; tariffs on Canada,...
