Rides to Wellness services resume May 17 after temporary COVID disruption
By Madeleine Graham Rides to Wellness will resume service May 17 after a temporary suspension of veteran rides and rides to the grocery store, pharmacy, and doctor appointments, according to Ed Benning, CEO of Mass Transportation Authority (MTA). Services for...
“Not a hand-out but a hand up,” officials say of new child tax credit announced by Rep. Kildee
By Tom Travis "This is not a hand-out, but an immediate hand-up to support families like mine. I encourage everyone, working or not, to file their taxes for 2020. Let's take advantage of the resources we voted for," said 2nd Ward Flint resident Ladel Lewis. Lewis, a...
The East Village Magazine – May 2021
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download here: [pdfjs-viewer url="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eastvillagemagazine.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F05%2FEVMMay2021_web.pdf" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px fullscreen=true download=true...
Area teens take the jab at MCC, prepare to promote the COVID vaccine
By Tom Travis "If you want Friday nights at football games then get the vaccine," is what Jackson Langford, 16, of Grand Blanc High School plans to tell his friends about being vaccinated. "I was afraid it was going to hurt but after seeing all the other kids get it,...
All four Flint ballot measures pass with 6 percent voter turnout: police and fire, MTA, and mental health
By Paul Rozycki May elections in Michigan are typically low profile affairs, with few voters taking the time to cast a ballot. Flint’s election was no different. In Tuesday’s election, with little visibility, few items on the ballot, and little controversy, only 6.3...
A new home in the heart of the city for Flint River Watershed Coalition and Kayak Flint
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has granted $350,000 to support a Flint River revitalization project along Kearsley Street in Flint, according to a press release from the C.S. Mott Foundation issued this week. The grant will provide funding to the Foundation for...
“Transformational” federal funds to city, funeral home demo, funds for home repair, highway project topics at FNU
By Coner Segren Federal relief dollars coming to Flint will be "transformational," Mayor Sheldon Neeley predicted at the recent monthly meeting of Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU). Participants in the Zoom meeting also heard updates about expected funds for several...
Commentary: A visionary plan to revive Flint Community Schools — “Let’s make this work.”
By Paul Rozycki Are you ready for some good news for Flint and its students? We all know this has been a year of bad news that included a national pandemic, statewide infection spikes, racial division, daily mass shootings, a rash of fires in Flint, bears in our...
Book Review: “Standpipe–Delivering Water to Flint” an ode to one man’s witness of troubled times
By Jan Worth-Nelson I was prepared to dislike and resent David Hardin’s new book, Standpipe: Delivering Water in Flint. I expected to rail against it and pronounce my irritation with the tedious audacity of yet another out-of-towner carpetbagging into town and making...
Flint residents can weigh in on how to spend $99 million in federal Rescue Plan funds coming to the city
By Tom Travis As part of the federal coronavirus stimulus bill, The American Rescue Plan (ARP), the City of Flint will receive an estimated $99.33 million. The sweeping ARP $1.9-trillion measure also includes support for small businesses, schools, counties and states....
Local forums tackle tough topics — Flint Area Public Affairs Forum: “Racial Justice and Public Safety” Tendaji Talk: “Racism and Public Health, Part 2”
By Harold C. Ford “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem…but…every day I come to work, a citizen of this community is on my phone complaining about crime in their area where they live …What’s the answer for that citizen?” …Terence Green, chief of police, Flint...
Flint Repertory Theatre and Flint Mural Project partner to bring mural plays and roof-top musical to Flint this summer
By Patsy Isenberg Flint theatre and art lovers can enjoy two new venues this summer. Flint Repertory Theatre (The Rep) in partnership with The Flint Public Art Project has commissioned 27 playwrights to write 25 micro audio plays, each inspired by the playwrights’...
Seven years into water crisis, Flint’s “reputation for social justice” continues, as activists convene, declaring, “We don’t tolerate injustice and inhumanity.”
By Tom Travis "We have a reputation in Flint for social justice. The home of the Sit Down Strike, the first major city to institute open housing: We don't tolerate injustice and inhumanity." So declared water warrior and local activist Claire McClinton to a fully...
Education Beat Op-Ed: Put Flint kids first — say YES now to Flint Education Continuum
By Harold C. Ford '”Noli equi dentes inspicere donate.” (“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”) …Latin text of St. Jerome, The Letter to the Ephesians, circa AD 400 “Shame on you, Mr. Ford.” …Laura MacIntyre, treasurer, Flint Board of Education (FBOE), Apr. 21, 2021...
Book Review: In “Running for Home” descendants of the Sit Down Strike find their race tough to win, no matter how fast they run
By Jan Worth-Nelson Hard on the heels of his well-received nonfiction book Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike that Created the Middle Class, Edward “Ted” McClelland has now released his first novel, Running for Home. [McClelland, Edward....
Shelter of Flint hosts “Drive-Up Breakfast” fundraiser to help provide homes for homeless
Shelter of Flint is hosting “A Home of Their Own Drive-Up Breakfast” from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. May 4 to raise funds to support moving homeless families into a home of their own. Individual tickets start at $50. Participants must reserve their breakfast and pick-up...
Education Beat: Massive plan to rescue Flint Community Schools unveiled–calls for new high school, many partnerships
By Harold C. Ford The details of a massive, several hundred-million-dollar plan to rescue Flint Community Schools (FCS) from its decades-long descent are contained within a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) just made available to East Village Magazine from an...
Starting now: voters can apply for, receive and submit absentee ballots in City Clerk’s office; new hours announced
By Tom Travis Voters can begin in-person voting at the City Clerk's office on the 2nd floor of City Hall located at 1001 S. Saginaw Street, 48502. In a press release the City Clerk's office announced their office hours during the upcoming voting season for the May 4,...
City Hall open for voters to cast May 4 election ballots; four items cover police, fire, 9-1-1, mental health support
By Tom Travis Flint City Hall is now open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for in-person absentee voting for the May 4, 2021 election, according to a press release from the City of Flint. Residents may register to vote, receive an absentee ballot and vote in person all...
Vaccine Beat: Genesee County is 24% fully vaccinated; MTA providing free transport to vaccination sites
By Tom Travis The alarming number of new coronavirus cases and deaths throughout Michigan has brought renewed urgency for a vaccine. Three major vaccines have been distributed in the area and throughout the country since mid-December 2020: Moderna and Pfizer both...
“Unconscionable” and “blatant filibustering” – Mayor Neeley accuses City Council; work on last 500 water lines halted by council’s inaction
By Tom Travis Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley Tuesday scolded the City Council in a scathing statement released a day after a seven-and-a-half-hour meeting in which the council failed to address a resolution to allow additional funds to complete water pipeline replacement....
“This will not be tolerated,” Pastor Chris Martin, State Sen. Ananich and other activists declare about GOP voter suppression moves; protest set for noon Tuesday
By Tom Travis Michigan State Senator Jim Ananich (D - 27th District) joined Flint Pastor Chris Martin of the Cathedral of Faith, community activists and other pastors in front of Berston Field House this morning to voice their opposition to 39 Michigan Republican...
Harmonious voices rise from the parking lot: local choir meets to safely socialize and sing
By Tom Travis On a warm spring evening amid the pavement, sidewalks and brick buildings of downtown Flint, the sound of harmonious singing voices rose from a church parking lot across the street from the county courthouse. They were the voices of the Carolyn Mawby...
Education Beat: Flint Schools pause face-to-face instruction and all athletics on April 12 as pandemic numbers spike
By Harold C. Ford It’s been a school year unlike any other in several generations. Flint Community Schools’ (FCS) off-again/on-again face-to-face instruction inside its school buildings is off-again. FCS Assistant Superintendent Kevelin Jones announced on April 6...
Public Hearings to be held throughout April on Flint’s $71 million budget
By Tom Travis The City of Flint's $71 million budget will be discussed in public hearings held by the city council on four days in April. The city council will hold departmental budget hearings for both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 city budgets. According to a press...
