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...
Education Beat Analysis: A tale of two board meetings, Part Two — Civility erodes, familiar tensions resurface
June 8: Amidst uncommon civility, unanimous adoption of Strategic Plan June 9: Civility erodes, familiar tensions resurface By Harold C. Ford “It’s been going on for years and years – hostile work environment, hostile board environment.” –Joyce Ellis-McNeal,...
Education Beat Analysis: A tale of two board meetings, from “uncommon civility” to “familiar tensions” Part One
June 8: Amidst uncommon civility, board unanimously adopts Strategic Plan [Click here for Part Two, June 9: Civility erodes, familiar tensions resurface] By Harold C. Ford “Sometimes, for the sake of the children, we have to put aside our personal philosophies and...
City Council tosses out months’ long investigative hearing on botched waste collection bid
By Tom Travis A botched bid for the city's waste collection contract in 2021, revealed in a June 2021 city council meeting, launched an investigative hearing that lasted nearly a year and over two different city councils. One year later, in Wednesday's Finance...
Review: Fantastic adaptation of “The Fantasticks” celebrates a new perspective
By Patsy Isenberg and Tom Travis A festive conclusion of The Rep’s final presentation of the season, The Fantasticks, opened to an appreciative full house Friday, June 3. The iconic musical is the longest-running production in the history of the American stage and...
Flint City Council passes $64 million “balanced” budget after Winfrey-Carter’s dramatic pause during rollcall vote
By Tom Travis In a dramatic and unprecedented vote, the city council passed a $64 million budget in its Monday meeting. According to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Robert Widigan, the budget allocates $64 million for the city's expenditures and is based on $50.7...
Review: Connor Coyne’s URBANTASM Book Four: THE SPRING STORM finishes the gripping allegory with a hammer blow
By Robert Thomas The publication of the fourth and final book of Flint author Connor Coyne’s serial novel, URBANTASM, marks the finale of his epic allegory set in the heart of the American Rust Belt in the fictional city of Akawe, Michigan, somewhere north of Detroit....
“At the Intersection” 182-year-old Flint congregation considers their place in the community
By Tom Travis As the congregation of St. Paul's Episcopal Church celebrates the 150th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone in 1872, they also are considering what it means to be "at the intersection" and what kinds of impact the church will and should have in...
Commentary: The legal road to Roe v. Wade and back: It’s more than just a court case
By Paul Rozycki Perhaps nothing illustrates both the legal and personal sides of the abortion issue better than two unrelated recent events. A few weeks ago, we learned that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to overturn a half century of protection for abortion rights,...
Education Beat : At May Flint School Board meetings, EDEP dismissed; no school closings or staff layoffs; infrastructure woes continue; intra-board tensions ongoing
By Harold C. Ford The May 11 and 18 meetings of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) – together lasting nearly 12 hours – began with purported good news that Flint Community Schools (FCS) had been released from the imposition of an enhanced deficit elimination plan...
FPL architect says “Libraries are the greatest act of love you can give your community” as area residents pour in
By Jan Worth-Nelson When Kay Schwartz and her crew of 31 staff and the library's board of trustees began the planning process seven years ago for the Flint Public Library's major renovation which culminated with a three-day opening celebration May 19-21, one value...
“A community jewel,” “Magnificent legacy, ” — Community leaders celebrate Flint Public Library reopening after $30 million renovation
By Jan Worth-Nelson "Wow!" "Awesome!" "Spectacular!" "A polished community jewel" "Wonderful" "A magnificent legacy" Speakers at the re-opening ceremony and ribbon cutting Thursday of the renovated Flint Public Library outdid each other with superlatives in...
Flint Schools Superintendent considers library opening: “We got next”
By Jan Worth-Nelson After the joyful ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Flint Public Library Thursday, Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones slipped away alone across the parking lot from the glossy new building to the empty wreck that is the former Flint...
Library reopens after $30 million renovation with three-day celebration
By Jan Worth-Nelson A two-year-long, $30 million renovation of the Flint Public Library culminates with a three-day celebration beginning Thursday, reopening the 90,000-square-foot facility to the public after a long wait made even longer by the COVID pandemic. A...
Education Beat: Schools board postpones closures after 30 speakers plead to keep Pierce, ALA open; district released from State-imposed Emergency Finance Plan
By Harold C. Ford A six-hour meeting of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) on May 11 began with purported good news that Flint Community Schools (FCS) had been released from the imposition of an enhanced deficit elimination plan (EDEP) by the Michigan Department of...
“Phenomenal” threat to abortion rights a “major wakeup call,” longtime pro-choice advocate asserts
By Jan Worth-Nelson In the wake of the leak of a draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court is about to overturn Roe v. Wade, some have suggested men should, as the memes go, "STFU," or "Shut the F--k up." But if any area man has a voice worth hearing on the...
“Heinous,” “scary,” “devastating”– Area women react to possible end of Roe v. Wade
By Jan Worth-Nelson I set out to try to find out how some area women view the possibility that Roe v. Wade might be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1973 decision gave women the right to decide whether they wanted to continue a pregnancy; at long last,...
“Defend Roe Rally” draws 250 to downtown protest: “It’s not just about protests — VOTE!” speakers say
By Jan Worth-Nelson, Tom Travis and Paul Rozycki Chanting "We are not your incubator," "No uterus, no opinion," "Keep your laws off my body," "My body, my choice," "Abortion is health care," "We want Roe," and "We're not going back" among others, about 250...
The East Village Magazine – May 8, 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/2022/05/EVM-May-22.pdf" attachment_id="28379" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px fullscreen=true...
Education Beat: Keiona Murphy settles in as Flint School’s assistant superintendent; aims to help district “move forward”
By Harold C. Ford Keiona Murphy has settled in to her new position as assistant superintendent of Flint Community Schools. Murphy was elevated from her interim status as assistant superintendent. Her salary of $114,954 is augmented by an additional $4,200 stipend. ...
