Mayor Neeley responds to Michigan Supreme Court ruling against Gov Whitmer
By Tom Travis Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley Monday urged residents and businesses "to continue following all recommended precautions against the spread of COVID-19," following a ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court to overturn Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's actions to attempt...
Flint city clerk reports 15,000 absentee ballots mailed out; extended and weekend hours offered for voters
By Tom Travis Over fifteen thousand absentee ballot applications have been processed and ballots have been mailed out so far from the Flint City Clerk's office, and extended weekly hours and Saturday and Sunday hours continue to be made available for voting,...
Hundreds of area small businesses and non-profits awarded $2.34 million in grants
Today, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) announced that 236 small businesses and nonprofits in Flint and Genesee County were awarded grants totaling more than $2.34 million through the Michigan Small Business Restart Program. The grantees were among the...
East Village Magazine – October 2020
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here: https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EVM-10.20_web.pdf
City Council beat: City collected $31 million in property taxes and $2.9 million in income taxes in first months of fiscal year
By Tom Travis The City of Flint has collected $2.9 million in income taxes and $31 million in property taxes only a few months into the FY 2021 budget year, according to Amanda Trujillo, City Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, in a report to the Flint City Council...
Mayor Neeley speaks about Breonna Taylor ruling; the community protests
By Tom Travis In a statement issued Friday, Mayor Sheldon Neeley denounced the outcome of the Breonna Taylor case, in which a grand jury ruled to not indict any of the officers involved in the shooting death of Taylor, 26, in her home in Louisville, Kentucky March 13....
Judge Bell grants most ACLU complaints; Flint voters still holding their breath with election season underway
By Tom Travis Flint voters have been given some reassurance about safeguarding election processes by the 7th Circuit Court, where Judge Celeste Bell has granted the bulk of the relief sought by the American Civil Liberties Unions (ACLU) and five Flint voters against...
City Clerk’s office receives $475K grant for fall election season; Council approves eight appointments
By Tom Travis A $475,625 grant for the Flint City Clerk's office to provide additional ballot drop boxes, additional staffing, strengthened election security, and processing of absentee ballots has been approved by the Flint City Council. The grant, from the...
Shelter of Flint announces new president/CEO
Linda Bielskis has been appointed president and CEO of Shelter of Flint by the agency's board of directors. Bielskis, who has 25 years' experience in non-profit social service organizations joined Shelter of Flint on an interim basic March 2 as part of a transition...
VP nominee Sen. Kamala Harris makes first campaign stop in Flint; visits local businesses and Farmers Market
By Paul Rozycki Greeted with cheers of “Kamala, Kamala,” and “Welcome to Flint," Democratic vice- presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris began her Michigan campaign tour Tuesday, with a stop in Flint. She visited the new Comma Bookstore near Buckham Alley before...
St. Paul’s Episcopal Sunday concert cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns
The first concert scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 27 in St. Paul's Episcopal Church recently resurrected live music series has been called off, Rector Dan Scheid announced today. "I regret to inform East Village Magazine readers that the recital scheduled for this...
Pipeline replacement deadline Sept. 18, FNU reminds residents; census, blight, COVID testing, placemaking also discussed
By Coner Segren Reminders of the Sept. 18 pipeline replacement deadline, COVID-19 testing sites, the census, placemaking projects featuring porches, and ongoing efforts against blight were the main topics of discussion of the Sept. 12 meeting of Flint Neighborhoods...
Neeley offers “Conversations in the Courtyard” for Flint residents
Starting Thursday, Sept. 17, Flint residents are invited to meet with Mayor Sheldon Neeley for what the city has announced will be "Conversations in the Courtyard." Designed as scheduled one-on-one conversations between residents and the mayor, the sessions will take...
GCCARD director Matthew Purcell resigns, Stephanie Howard named interim director
By Madeleine Graham Genesee County Community Action Resource Department (GCCARD) director Matthew Purcell resigned suddenly effective Aug. 5, 2020. Purcell has been GCCARD director since November 2015. Stephanie Howard will act as the interim director of GCCARD. ...
Review: Flint native filmmaker’s latest production puts pandemic focus on frontline workers
By Harold C. Ford “Private industry really stepped up.” --Erin Brennan, emergency room physician “On the Line” is a refreshing antidote to a steady stream of stories about a chief executive who mishandled a pandemic and lied to the nation about its worst health crisis...
Review: Provocative “Black Matters” exhibit continues at FIA through Oct. 11
By Harold C. Ford “On a daily basis, every moment, black folks are being bombarded with images of our death and after a while that does something to your psyche. It’s literally saying, ‘Black people, you might be next. You will be next.' ” …Matthew Wead, artist The...
Low income and marginalized voters face many challenges, Neighborhoods Without Borders panel warns
By Coner Segren With fewer than three months until election day, and fewer than three weeks until mail-in ballots begin going out, Michigan voters still are facing a high degree of uncertainty around a national election that will be unprecedented in the modern era. In...
City Clerk expands office hours, summarizes deadlines and voters’ rights, leading up to Election Day, Nov. 3
By Tom Travis Extended hours for election-related services and for voters to request an absentee ballot will start Monday, Sept. 14 at the Flint City Clerk's office. According to Michigan election law, county clerks can deliver ballots to local clerks beginning Sept....
Flint muralist creates bus mural celebrating poet Theodore Roethke
By Tom Travis Flint muralist Pauly Everett has been commissioned by the Theodore Roethke Poetry and Arts Festival in Saginaw to paint a mural on the side of a bus. The theme for the mural is Saginaw native poet Theodore Roethke (1908-1963). The bus will be displayed...
Village Life: A reclaimed piano reclaims grace in a time of plague
By Jan Worth-Nelson Some days, no matter how hard you try to stay sane, it’s just too much. Picture me roaming around my house — a sprawling old place with several routes for pacing and hiding — where we’ve been mostly cloistered, like any reasonable oldsters...
New Police Chief Terence Green sworn in
By Tom Travis Flint's new Chief of Police, Terence Green sworn in today on the recessed court yard behind City Hall. Circuit Court Judge David Guinn administered the oath of office. In Mayor Neeley's remarks before the swearing in, he referred to Chief Green as a...
Overview: Fifth Flint Youth Film Festival powered through the pandemic, thanks to teamwork and YouTube
By Patsy Isenberg COVID-19 has thrown a big hit to performance arts and entertainment. Visual arts are coming back, now that the FIA and galleries in the area have reopened. Theatre is the most challenging since audience members could wear masks and social distance...
East Village Magazine – September 2020
The latest edition o The East Village Magazine is available for download here: https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/EVM-09.20_web.pdf
“No longer will the City of Flint be an arms dealer” – Mayor Neeley; 384 guns destroyed today
By Tom Travis A total of 384 guns were destroyed today, the first day on the job for Flint's new Chief of Police Terence Green. In July Mayor Neeley had declared, “We will no longer put these weapons back out on the street. It’s just not worth it." Today that promise...
Community Advisory Task Force to Flint Police Department “to be a bridge between the community and police”
By Tom Travis The City of Flint is creating a task force so that residents can have "a seat at the table" to engage with local law enforcement, according to a press release issued Monday. "This task force will serve as the voice of the people to help bridge any gaps...
