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Motion to prevent hiring ombudsperson denied; process moving forward
By Melodee Mabbitt Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge F. Kay Behm denied a motion to prevent the hiring of an ombudsperson filed by Linda Pohly, a Flint resident with a complaint before the court alleging that the City of Flint failed to follow the Open Meetings Act, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the Flint City Charter. Eight people had applied for the ombudsperson positions, but only three applicants were provided by the City’s Human Resources Department to the Ethics and Accountability Board (EAB) for review. Interviews of...
read morePublic hearing on Flint’s alleged failures to follow charter 10 a.m. Tuesday
TRO denied: see followup story here: By Melodee Mabbitt A hearing is scheduled at 10 am. tomorrow, Sept. 10, before Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge F. Kay Behm on the complaint filed by Linda Pohly alleging that the City of Flint failed to follow the Open Meetings Act, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the Flint City Charter. “We are seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the hiring of an ombudsman until the city allows the Ethics and Accountability Board [EAB] to review all of the resumes and to hold...
read moreEast Village Magazine – September 2019
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
read moreEducation Beat: Flint schools test scores show modest gain, still lag behind area, state averages
By Harold C. Ford Test scores for students in Flint Community Schools (FCS) showed modest gains in 2018-2019, but lagged significantly behind “similar students” and state averages, according to data released the last week of August by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) scores in Grades 3-7 show overall modest improvement: M-STEP was administered to students in Grades 3-7 during spring 2019 in English Language Arts (ELA), math, and social studies (5th grade only). In Flint, the...
read moreFlint City Council chaos continues: Mays and Gilcreast’s attorney face off
By Tom Travis Meeting in committee sessions Wednesday night, the Flint City Council’s attempt to get answers from City Hall about the handling of bids and rebids for restoration work following water pipeline replacement in the city ended in a shouting match between First Ward Councilman Eric Mays and the attorney for Mayor Karen Weaver’s chief advisor Aonie Gilcreast. The council also heard from the Hurley Medical Center board of managers chair, Jason Caya, about the role of the board. He also assured them the city’s public hospital is...
read moreThis Month in the Village: September Features
In the Village, the month of September features a car show, Bikes on the Bricks, The Artwalk, and much more: SeptCalendarPrint Click here for a larger view
read moreEducation Beat: Flint Schools launch balanced calendar as donated AC units help mitigate heat
By Harold C. Ford “We always talk about our kids being our most valuable resource, so let’s act like it.” — Flint Mayor Karen Weaver at Brownell STEM Academy assembly upon delivery of donated air conditioners Aug. 20 Flint Community Schools (FCS) launched its newly adopted balanced calendar for the 2019-20 school year on Aug. 7, the first day of school for its students. “We had a tremendous first day of school,” according to Derrick Lopez, FCS superintendent. “Unsurprisingly, kicking off the school year of any school district can...
read more99 years of women’s right to vote celebrated at Crossroads Village
By Paul Rozycki It’s been almost a century since women won the right to vote in the United States. The 99th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women that long fought-for right, was commemorated Aug. 31, at Crossroads Village by nearly 100 women (and some men) dressed as they might have been in the early 20th century. The women all wore white dresses and hats with purple sashes, which in the history of the suffragist movement expressed support for the proposed amendment. The event featured songs that were part...
read moreCommentary: Are Flint foundations replacing city government? Does it matter?
By Paul Rozycki Editor’s Note: This story was updated Sept. 3 to clarify that the C.S. Mott Foundation, in the fourth year of its five-year $100 million water crisis commitment, has awarded $93.5 million. East Village Magazine’s Mott Foundation grant is separate from that commitment. Also, we have clarified that over the last decades the Ruth Mott Foundation has paid out between $4 million and $7 million annually in grants to Flint groups and organizations. The city of Flint is now in the midst of a competitive campaign, and by...
read moreFlint City Council OKs Chevy Commons sale to Genesee County, rescinds ZMW lease, supports bid protest
By Luther Houle The Flint City Council voted Aug. 26 to sell Flint’s Chevy Commons to Genesee County for $6.2 million in a plan to restore and improve Flint’s riverside parks. The council also passed a resolution to rescind a lease with water bottling company Zero Mass Water, and supported Austin Morgan Contracting in a bid protest against the City. The panel conducted committee meetings for two hours, followed by close to four hours in the regular council meeting. Three and a half hours into the council meeting, First Ward...
read moreStoryCorps “Listening Event” captured powerful, moving accounts of Flint lives
By Paul Rozycki As the StoryCorps wraps up its month-long stay in Flint, a “Listening Event” at the Flint Institute of Arts Aug. 29 shared remarkable tales of life in Flint: A story about a woman who met her birth mother for the first time. A story about an ex-con who turned his life around and is doing the same for others. A story of a women who interviewed her 96- year-old father recovering from a stroke, who told of growing up and working in Flint a half century ago. A story of a Jewish teacher at the Islamic Center of Flint...
read moreNews Brief: City Hall closed Monday; trash delayed one day next week
Flint City Hall will be closed Monday, Sept. 2 for the Labor Day holiday, It will reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, according to the City’s public information officer Candice Mushatt. Because of the holiday, trash pickup will be delayed by one day next week. –EVM Staff
read moreVillage Life: The Flint River dumped us, but we got a story (or two)
By Jan Worth-Nelson I told Sarah Carson the river would give us solace—that was how I talked her into it, for my part always wanting an accomplice in my adventures. Two writers who revel in sedentary hours alone. Two writers—one young, one old—rampantly hopeful but almost comically expecting the worst. Two writers who’d never been in a tandem kayak together on an end-of-summer Wednesday. What could go wrong? Ha ha! Here’s the lead: that old river grabbed us and dumped us right in. We did get a little solace—the solace that we survived....
read moreCreating Sanctuary in Pierce Park: “To heal ourselves and heal the land”
By Melodee Mabbitt When Desiree Duell’s parents divorced, they sent her to weekend classes at the Flint Institute of Arts. It was there she learned that art could be very therapeutic. Now living and working in the College and Cultural Neighborhood, Duell’s latest art seeks to help everyone in Flint heal from the water crisis, as well as other environmental injustices and longstanding socioeconomic and racial inequalities she sees in the city. Her latest work, Sanctuary, is underway on Flint-owned land that previously was the nine-hole Pierce...
read morePierce Park out for Zero Mass Water proposal; concerns linger as ZMW eyes other sites
By Melodee Mabbitt Neighbors voicing their concerns prevented Pierce Park from becoming the location for a private company to install up to 1,000 solar panels and a bottling facility on Flint’s public land in order to produce bottled water for sale. Zero Mass Water, a water technology company that uses solar panels to make “drinking water from sunlight and air,” contacted the president of the College and Cultural Neighborhood Association Mike Keeler on Aug. 14 seeking support from neighbors for their proposal to locate in Pierce Park. In...
read moreSuper volunteer, Beecher coach, labor/environmental justice priest honored with Riegle Community Service Awards
By Jan Worth-Nelson Three lifelong activists with deep roots in Flint will be honored Thursday, Sept. 12 as recipients of the 30th annual Donald Riegle Community Service Awards. The three are League of Women Voters leader Rhina Griffel, Beecher High School football coach and former NFL star Courtney Hawkins, and Christ the King Catholic Church pastor, Father Phil Schmitter. The fundraising event, hosted by the Flint Jewish Federation, will begin at 5:30 p.m at the Flint Institute of Arts. A three-term U.S. Senator from 1976 to 1995, Riegle,...
read moreReview: Riveting Semaj Brown “bleeds fire” at Mott Warsh Gallery performance
By Jan Worth-Nelson Facing lies, atrocities and daily affronts to self-love and spiritual peace, “we have to tap that eternal spring of regenerative light,” Flint poet, artist, musician, scientist and activist Semaj Brown implored a rapt audience Aug. 21 at the Mott-Warsh Gallery, 815 Saginaw St. Brown, who moved to Flint from her hometown Detroit in 2003 after marrying local family physician James Brown, combined readings of a half dozen poem and prose pieces and a conversation with University of Michigan – Flint...
read moreCouncil gets crime summary, considers anti-bullying and pot policies and Chevy Commons purchase
By Tom Travis The Flint City Council last week considered anti-bullying and pot policies for city employees, tabled a proposal for Genesee County to purchase Chevy Commons, and heard a plea for more resources for the Flint Police Department. The work occurred as the council convened as two specialized “committees of the whole,” the legislative committee and the finance committee. City Attorney Angela Wheeler was present to add legal opinions about the proposed resolutions regarding bullying and drug and alcohol...
read moreFlint Public Library launches $27.6 million campaign for building renovation
By Jan Worth-Nelson When Flint Public Library facilities technician Mike McMillan looks around the 60-year-old building at the west end of Kearsley Street, what he sees is trouble. “The plumbing is falling apart,” he said at the first of a series of open houses to inform the public about a major renovation effort. “Even today, as we were setting up in here, a radiator started leaking right down into the basement. The HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] system is falling apart.” And even maintaining general cleanliness is a...
read morePEN America teams up with Flint Festival of Writers for September event
FLINT, Mich. – Organizers of the Flint Festival of Writers announced today that renowned literary institution PEN America will partner with the festival in September 2019 to host a free workshop with 2019 PEN/Osterweil Award for Poetry Honoree Jonah Mixon-Webster. Mixon-Webster, who grew up in Flint, is the author of the poetry collection Stereo(TYPE) from Ahsahta Press. The book explores the intersection of space and body, race and region, and sexuality and class and wrestles with the ongoing crisis in Flint. His workshop, “Art Activism...
read moreZero Mass Water/Pierce Park proposal presentation cancelled for tonight
Sherry Hayden, vice president of the College Cultural Neighborhood Association, has just issued this notice: “A special meeting of the CCNA regarding the proposed use of Pierce Park Golf Course on Thursday, Aug. 22, 7-9 pm has been cancelled. “The Director of Zero Mass Water, Colin Goddard, called last night to say that over the past couple days he has spoken with several members of the community, learned about some use restrictions, and determined Pierce Park Golf Course does not make sense for the project. The company is looking...
read moreFlint Junior High closed because of heat Wednesday
This news was just issued by the public relations firm of the Flint Community Schools: Due to high temperatures, the Flint Junior High School will be closed Wednesday, Aug. 21, as the District works to mitigate climate control issues in the building. All other schools will be in session. Classes at the Junior High will resume Thursday, Aug. 22. All Junior High staff report to the Administration Building for professional learning. [After a fund-raising effort by pastors and community leaders, air conditioners were delivered Tuesday by Mayor...
read moreReview: Paper recreations of historical fashion “amazing” at FIA through Sept. 8
By Patsy Isenberg Is fashion art? Designer Isaac Mizrahi said on the CBS News show Sunday Morning in 2016, ”Some fashion belongs in museums… some really doesn’t… sometimes you do go into a museum where they have a show of clothing, and it does feel like a store window…” Still, museums are exhibiting fashion more frequently these days, and the debate goes on. In answer, the current exhibit at the Flint Institute of Arts is fashion, craft, history and, yes, definitely art. The massive exhibit of life-sized recreations of fashion, Fashioning Art...
read moreIt’s Back to the Bricks weekend: grilles, fins, vintage cars by the hundreds shine in Vehicle City
Photos and captions by Tom Travis It’s Back to the Bricks weekend in Flint — a tribute and celebration of the automobiles that made Vehicle City famous, and anybody can figure that out — by the hundreds of beautiful cars angled from south to north on Saginaw Street. EVM staff writer Tom Travis checked out the scene Friday and captured a few of the colors, style and stories. The car fest, in its fifteenth year, has included a week’s worth of events, including a cruise from Grand Blanc to downtown, concerts, a military...
read moreIn another marathon session, Flint City Council acts on block grants, Chevy Commons sale, Clio Road grocery co-op
By Luther Houle As bars around town closed down and folks stepped out into the dark, so too did Flint’s City Council members at 2 a.m. Monday night after a nearly 10-hour-long council meeting. While the meeting tested the endurance of those who attended, the council made progress on some of Flint’s key developments and proposals. Highlights include accepting nearly $3.9 million funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, discussing a potential $6.2 million purchase of Chevy Commons by Genesee County, and green...
read moreCelebrating its first century, College Cultural Neighborhood residents gather for history and pizza
By Paul Rozycki East Court’s College and Cultural Neighborhood may be 100 years old, but it was looking pretty spry on Saturday, Aug. 10, when more than 100 friends and neighbors gathered at the Regional Tech Center, (RTC) on the Mott Community College campus for its annual meet-up and get-together. For someone who’s been around since September of 1919, the CCNA devoured a healthy share of pizza, salads and ice cream bars at the annual picnic as neighbors shared with old friends and met new ones. A century of history During the picnic, maps...
read moreCCNA is 100: pizza party to celebrate the century Saturday at MCC
The College Cultural Neighborhood Association will celebrate its 100th birthday with a pizza party from noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mott Community College Regional Technology Building Veranda facing Second Street. CCNA Vice-president Sherry Hayden said the event is made possible by Mott Community College, with hosts Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea and the president’s executive cabinet, in conjunction with the MCC Institutional Advancement office and MCC neighborhood representative Dawn Hibbard. Hayden said the group will meet at the Regional...
read moreBoil water advisory lifted
The following press release was just issued by the City of Flint: Precautionary City Wide Boil Water Advisory LIFTED Flint, Mich. – The City of Flint Director of Public Works, Rob Bincsik, reported Friday that crews have completed repairs on a water main break that triggered a Precautionary Boil Filtered Water Advisory Thursday morning for water customers in Flint. “The break has been fixed and we have received satisfactory results from samples collected showing the water is now safe to use without boiling first,” said Bincsik....
read moreCity Council update: another week, another five-hour squabbling session
By Tom Travis The air conditioning was running full blast but tempers were hot and emotions on edge as the Flint City Council met as the Finance Committee of the Whole Wednesday night. In a context in which council squabbling among themselves and with city officials has been an every-week occurrence, subjects of the turmoil this time included alleged inappropriate social media behavior by Eighth Ward Councilperson Allen Griggs, confrontations between the council and the city’s director of public works and the acting finance director,...
read moreEast Village Magazine – August 2019
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
read moreWhat’s your story? Tell it to StoryCorps, at the FIA through Sept. 4
By Tom Travis Let the stories begin: StoryCorps has arrived in Flint. As part of a year-long nationwide tour with stops in 10 cities and a plan to record more than 1,000 conversations, the recording studio on wheels is parked at the Flint Institute of Arts until Sept. 4. What is StoryCorps? StoryCorps is a non-profit organization that has been recording people having meaningful conversations since 2003. They are now on their 2019 tour of cities across the country. The recordings happen in a mobile booth – a recording studio on wheels....
read moreWeaver, Neeley come out on top in mayoral primary; turnout 12 percent
By Paul Rozycki Flint’s first mayoral primary election under its new charter delivered victories to incumbent Mayor Karen Weaver and State Representative Sheldon Neeley (34th District). In Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Weaver came out ahead with 42 percent of the vote, and challenger Neeley came close with just under 40 percent. Weaver had 3815 votes, and Neeley had 3586 votes. They defeated two other challengers, businessman Don Pfeiffer, who got 13 percent of the vote, and Greg Eason, former city administrator under Mayor Dayne Walling, who picked...
read moreTambe’s PK goal nets league championship for Flint City Bucks in ecstatic Atwood Stadium night
By Harold C. Ford The Flint City Bucks soccer club captured the championship trophy of the United States League Two (USL2) Aug. 3 with a 1-0 victory over Reading United AC at Flint’s Atwood Stadium in front of a joyous crowd of 7,200. The win by the Bucks, a recent but already much-loved arrival on the Flint sports scene, is the 15th team championship in Flint’s storied sports history. The winning goal came during the second 15-minute overtime period at the 110th minute on a penalty kick (PK) by Ayuk Tambe (Blaine MN;...
read moreNestle to continue Ice Mountain water delivery, mayor’s office announces
The following press release was issued today from City Hall: FLINT, Mich. — Mayor Karen Weaver and the City’s Chief Recovery Officer, Jameca Patrick-Singleton, announced today that Nestlé Waters North America will continue supplying Ice Mountain®Brand 100% Natural Spring Water to Flint residents. “We appreciate that Nestlé Waters has agreed to extend supplying bottled water beyond the August end date,” said Mayor Weaver. “Since the spring of 2018, Nestlé Waters has generously provided nearly 5 million bottles of water to Flint, and this...
read moreFlint River Flotilla draws 300 paddlers, “gazillions of beautiful kayaks”
By Jan Worth-Nelson A giant flamingo, a raft made of recycled water bottles, dozens of multi-colored canoes, paddle boards and kayaks, and a man suspended in his own specially designed wetsuit floated down the Flint River Saturday afternoon at the fifth annual Flint River Flotilla. It was what Flotilla planners hoped would be “the best river party of the year,” offering a generous dose of “endless summer.” Rebecca Fedewa, executive director of the co-sponsoring Flint River Watershed Coalition, said at least 300 river...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint Schools move into second year of state partnership with new calendar, staff training, student enrichment
By Harold C. Ford The Flint Community Schools district has just concluded the first year of a critical three-year partnership imposed by the State of Michigan. The district will moves into the 2019-20 school year with a “balanced calendar” that has school starting for students Aug. 7 and with commitments to a program of staff training. In addition, the district concluded its summer after what district officials described as a highly successful “Summer Scholars” enrichment program for several hundred students. Of significance,...
read moreFirst year in Flint, Bucks play for national championship Saturday at Atwood Stadium
By Harold Ford Flint’s pre-professional soccer club, the Flint City Bucks, will play for the national championship of United States League Two (USL2) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3 at Kettering University’s Atwood Stadium in downtown Flint. The Bucks will host Reading United AC, a soccer club based in Reading, Pennsylvania, The Bucks gained a berth in the championship match with a 1-0 semifinal victory over Golden State Force, a club based in Whittier, CA, last Saturday, July 27 before a home crowd exceeding 4,600 fans. Flint forward Yuri...
read moreLove, goodness, and Flint’s musical heart echoed as Jazz Fest turned up the heat
By Tom Travis Mother Nature turned up the heat and local and regional and national musicians turned up the jazz this weekend as the 38th Flint Jazz Fest returned to where it was born – Flint’s Riverbank Park. After several years of being bounced around Flint, the Jazz Fest in the heart of downtown seems to hit the right vibe. The crowds were small to begin with but by the Saturday night and Sunday night performances, the Riverbank amphitheater was near capacity seating. Flint’s jazz fans were ready for some jazz. Greg Fiedler,...
read moreBook Review: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism–the Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
By Robert R. Thomas When entering foreign territories, orientation is the key to survival. Who is in charge? What are the rules? In her masterful analysis of the current state of global capitalism, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, Shoshana Zuboff, the Charles Edward Wilson Professor emerita at Harvard Business School, puts it like this: “Who knows? Who decides? Who decides who decides?” Like all ideologies, economic theories and systems reside on the shifting sands of change in a...
read moreCommentary: Flint City Council meetings a long day’s journey into night
By Paul Rozycki On a recent Monday evening, of the approximately 96,448 residents in the city of Flint, 96,423 were most likely spending their time doing worthwhile, rewarding, or satisfying activities. The other 25 were at the Flint City Council meeting. To be sure, some of them had to be there. Nine were elected from their wards as members of the council. Perhaps another half dozen were city employees who were expected to be there. A few reporters attended, also out of a sense of duty, as did some who planned to report on one topic or...
read moreIt’s Jazz Festival weekend at Riverbank Park: Events tonight through Sunday
The 38th annual Flint Jazz Festival kicks off at Riverbank Park tonight featuring local favorite Kevin Collins at 5:30 followed by Banda Magda at 7 p.m. Saturday’s performances start at 1:30 p.m. with American saxophonist Najee. Sunday performances start at 2, concluding at 7 p.m. with smooth jazz gospel musician and native Detroit Tim Bowman. See full schedule below. Admission is $10 per day or $25 for a weekend pass. The weekend pass is only available today; tickets are cash only at the gate. “Make no mistake, this year’s...
read moreBanging pots and pans signal celebrations at midnight: EVM reporter in Puerto Rico describes Rosselló’s demise
Editor’s Note: EVM Staff Writer Harold Ford is vacationing in Puerto Rico but, as a true journalist, couldn’t resist reporting on what was happening there as Governor Ricardo Rosselló resigned. In an email, Ford wrote, “The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was in an uproarious celebration last night. It was in a state of revolt prior to that…While many eyes in the States are focused on a corrupt leader that the citizens can’t get rid of, Puerto Rico demonstrated to us how you do it.” Here is his report. ...
read more“Beto” praises Flint’s “fierce pride,” touts 100K Ideas, calls for better health care
By Paul Rozycki The 2020 presidential campaign came to Flint Wednesday with a visit from Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who held a town hall meeting and rally for several hours with enthusiastic supporters at the Ferris Wheel in downtown Flint. O’Rourke addressed a full house of more than a hundred people, where he spoke of the new opportunities he said he hoped to see in Flint. O’Rourke said he came to Flint, and 100K Ideas, a nonprofit business incubator at the Ferris Wheel, to learn how the...
read moreFlint Festival of Writers to feature “Dreams Like Mine” author LaTashia Perry
Flint Festival of Writers 2019 featured author LaTashia Perry ( Photo Credit 770 Photography) It has a new name, a new date, a new location, new talent and a fresh line-up of programs. The Flint Festival of Writers – formerly the Flint Literary Festival—will be held Sept. 13-14 in the Ferris Wheel, 615 Saginaw St. in downtown Flint. As a part of the festival’s ongoing mission to create accessible, engaging opportunities for writers of all ages, abilities and levels of experience, this year’s event will feature many of the same events...
read moreOmbudsperson search process moves forward: Ethics Accountability Board to set interviews soon
By Melodee Mabbitt Flint residents could meet their new ombudsperson as soon as September. This was announced by the Ethics and Accountability Board at a press conference in city council chambers July 23 to reveal the hiring process for the position. Applications closed July 12 and interviews will begin in August. Board members said they continue to struggle to work closely with the City’s Human Resources and Labor Relations Department during the hiring process. EVM and Channel 25 TV were the only press present at the conference. Former...
read moreFive years after move, Flint Farmers’ Market thriving, addressing challenges
By Jan Worth-Nelson You can get almost every element of the good life at the Flint Farmers’ Market: fresh asparagus, triple cream brie, Michigan strawberries and tomatoes in season, premier pinot noir, flaky croissants. You can pick up locally-made honey, sauerkraut for your upset gut, Lake Superior stones to dangle from your wrists or earrings. You can get endless varieties of soothing oils, or in another aisle, colorful African dresses, witty “Mitten” teeshirts, ball caps and onesies. What you might not be able to get...
read moreNine hours, shouting match, two resolutions, one fail, “restoration” plans incomplete
By Tom Travis and Jan Worth-Nelson Editor’s Note: This story has been updated on July 23 to clarify that Ninth Ward Councilperson Eva Worthing was temporarily out of the room during the vote on the Goyette resolution. She said she would have noted “no,” That vote would not have changed the outcome. In a nearly empty Flint city council chamber, a session of contentious arguments and boisterous discussion among council members, city officials, and contractors echoed to nearly midnight Monday. At the end of it, a split...
read more“Restoration” of sidewalks and lawns post-pipe replacement turns into labyrinth of delays
By Jan Worth-Nelson and Tom Travis When will the residents of Flint get their lawns and sidewalks restored following three years of water pipe excavations and replacement? The answer to that, yet another sign of how elusive “closure” can be in the years’ long community water crisis, is apparently — eventually. Like many other aspects of the water crisis, the details are a labyrinth of federal, state and city funds and bureaucracies, along with city council bickering, protests over the bidding process, suggestions of preferential...
read moreMTA specialized programs “a blessing,” offering expanding services to Flint
By Madeleine Graham My life changed when my car broke, and I did not have the funds to repair it. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) started when I missed a flight, and then I boarded a wrong bus in Washington State. Fortunately with a lot of friends and family support, I made it back to Michigan. As a person with both PTSD and bipolar disorder, I depend on two services of the Mass Transportation Authority (MTA): Your Ride and Rides to Wellness. I am also a companion rider with Vets to Wellness. With Your Ride, I am pretty much assured...
read moreArt Walk Scene: Hip-hop, pop-ups, ice cream, art–downtown’s alive
By Tom Travis Entering the Flint Art Walk Friday night at Third Street and Saginaw, you hear the sounds of hip-hop and R&B. An open mic is provided for anyone brave enough to try a song on karaoke–though nobody’s there yet in the early evening sunlight. Right away, you’re greeted by various vendors participating in pop-up shops with #imbuildingsomething, a consulting business started by Ebony Gipson. She offers to tell her story. Gipson said she started the business to “elevate the role of small businesses in our...
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