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Village Life: Midnight run leads to handcuffs and a jolt about privilege
Editor’s note: EVM editor Jan Worth-Nelson offered her Village Life column this month to Flint-based writer Connor Coyne, who has a good story to tell. By Connor Coyne Chicago in one day is always a whirlwind, but I did it anyway because in the writing life, a person will do almost anything for an audience and a mug of good beer. I had been invited to read at a literary event among old friends and I didn’t have the luxury of an overnight. I left Flint in the afternoon and didn’t get into the Windy City until well after dark. The...
read moreDayne Walling and the Flint water crisis: victim, villain or faithful servant?
Some 32 months after former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling raised a celebratory glass and pressed a small black button to switch the source of water flowing to Flint citizens from Detroit to the Flint River, he agreed to share his version of Flint’s most devastating man-made disaster with East Village Magazine. Since his defeat by Karen Weaver, Walling, now 42, has been living quietly in his 1927 colonial home in the College Cultural neighborhood with his wife, Carrie, an Albion College professor; their two teenage sons; and their rescue dog...
read moreLocal presidential elector with deep Flint roots says Trump will help blacks
By Jan Worth-Nelson The first Republican Henry Hatter knew was his uncle from Davison — a “prosperous-looking” man with a gold tooth and a pocket full of quarters for the kids. “He was generous and he was easy to love,” Hatter, now a youthful 80, recalls with a smile. When his uncle came around to the family home in Flint, Hatter remembers, his mother would say, “There’s a Republican.” Later, as a high school student, he went downtown with mostly white kids for a parade honoring Dwight D....
read moreFlint Fresh Mobile Market a healthy food oasis on wheels
By Megan Ockert In the face of local food deserts, lead contamination and chronic disease in the community, Amber Hasan and her Flint Fresh Mobile Market are trying to provide an oasis on wheels. Supported in partnership with the Flint Farmers’ Market, the Local Grocer and Flint Food Works, Hasan and her assistant manager Bobby Blake have taken to the streets in a delivery van loaded with fresh locally grown food and other healthful items. Hasan and Blake stock the mobile market with produce from local growers, including onions, potatoes,...
read moreCommentary: What’s the new normal for 2016 and 2017?
By Paul Rozycki Looking back on 2016, it is strange how quickly the abnormal became normal. One of the most worrisome aspects of the Flint Water Crisis is how normal certain things have become. I’ve gotten used to having the house littered with water bottles and having cases of water piled all over the kitchen. I’m used to changing filters every week or so. I’m used to picking up a carload of water every few weeks. I’m used to planting a huge trash bag full of empty plastic bottles at the curb every recycling week. I’m used to not drinking...
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Commentary: Post-mortem on the 2016 election poses a “Top Ten” list of questions
By Paul Rozycki We all thought it would be over after Nov. 8. Almost everyone expected Hillary to win by a close, but decent margin. She had a half dozen ways she could win the Electoral College. Trump barely had one. Yet after the shock and dismay of this unprecedented and vicious campaign, we are still reeling from the results. It may take years to assess the full impact and implications of the 2016 campaign, but there are at least 10 things worth examining as we look back at the scarred and scorched political landscape of the past year....
read moreFlint Mayor Weaver on EM indictments: “Take away the voice of democracy, you see what happens”
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said there is another indictment in today’s charges filed by the Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette of the last two state-appointed emergency managers in the embattled city: an indictment against the whole emergency manager system. “I’m so happy about what is happening right now,” Weaver said into a scrum of microphones after the press conference at which Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose, both emergency managers during the events that led up to the water crisis, were indicted on four...
read moreEarley, Ambrose, last two Flint emergency managers, indicted on felony charges in water crisis
By Jan Worth-Nelson Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced charges against four more people involved in the Flint water crisis: former state-appointed emergency managers Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose; and two former City of Flint employees Howard Croft, the City of Flint’s former public works director; and Daugherty Johnson, the city’s former utilities director in the Department of Public Works. Earley, emergency manager from September 2013 to January 2015, and Ambrose, emergency manager from January to April...
read moreVillage Life snapshots: Not everything is gloomy in Flint Town
It’s been a rough year but there are so many moments of cheer available, even in Flint. Take for instance the annual Santa Run (three photos pictured here) and the much beloved Tuba Christmas at the Flint Farmers’ Market last weekend. Wonderful reprieves from worry and bad news. Photos by Jan Worth-Nelson
read moreCommunity trust an issue in water crisis recovery, Kildee, Nelson assert
By Jan Worth-Nelson To Flint City Council President Kerry Nelson, one of the biggest challenges following approval of $170 million in federal funds for water crisis response in Flint is healing the community’s doubts about its public servants. Nelson voiced appreciation for how Senators Peters, Stabenow and Kildee “rolled up their sleeves and went to fight for Flint.” He also noted the bipartisan nature of the act “had to be an across the aisle thing — the Democrats alone couldn’t do it, so some...
read moreFollow up: state official reacts to local call for more aid, recalls early federal reluctance
By Jan Worth-Nelson Contacted after Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and the city’s congressional delegation called for the State of Michigan to contribute more to the city’s water crisis recovery efforts, Richard Baird, senior advisor to Governor Rick Snyder and “transformation manager,” a familiar face and voice in Flint since early this year, had an answer of his own. Baird, a Flint native who has called himself “the godfather of Flint” since he landed in town for water crisis coordinating and communication...
read moreU.S. House Committee closes investigation of Flint water crisis
The investigation of the Flint water crisis in Washington D.C. has been closed. Here’s Congressman Kildee’s response. Statement by Congressman Dan Kildee on Flint Congressional Hearings Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) issued the following statement today after the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, under Chairman Jason Chaffetz (UT-03), closed its investigation into the Flint water crisis before the panel had all of the information it requested from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder: “Justice for Flint families...
read moreKey players for Flint celebrate federal funds, pledge speedy pipe replacement
By Jan Worth-Nelson A smiling quintet of powerful Flint champions assembled at the Riverfront Center in downtown Flint today to celebrate approval last week of a $170 million aid package passed by Congress to address the Flint water crisis. They also clearly called out the State of Michigan, which they agreed is principally at fault for the water debacle, repeating admonitions for the State to step up to its responsibilities not just with apologies but with financial resources. “I feel like Christmas has already come,” Mayor...
read moreLA comics remember their Michigan hometowns in benefit for Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson A group of comedians with Michigan roots remembered their home state Thursday night in Los Angeles, performing a benefit in response to the Flint water crisis. According to event organizer Sarah Halstead, the event at the Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank drew about 50 people and raised $2,000 for the Flint Child Health and Development fund, part of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. Halstead, a Flint native who’s now an actor, comic and writer, said she would deliver the funds directly to the Community...
read moreWater infrastructure act vote drew bipartisan support, opposition
By Jan Worth-Nelson Last night’s Senate passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvement for the Nation (WiiN) Act, S.612, with a vote of 78-21 drew a mix of Republications and Democrats on each side. Runner-up primary presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont, back to voting as an independent, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, both voted against it. As expected, “yea” votes included the Michigan delegation, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Sen. Gary Peters, along with 29 other Democrats. Other yea votes came from Cory...
read moreMayor Weaver celebrates federal act approval, calls for state to do more
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver released the following statement this morning following the Friday night approval by the U.S. Senate of the $170 million infrastructure act including $100 million for Flint: “I am thrilled that the U.S. Senate has passed a $170 million package that will help the City of Flint recover after state and federal actions left its drinking water system poisoned by lead. I especially want to thank Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, as well as Congressman Dan Kildee, for their relentless efforts to get Flint and its...
read more$170 million water infrastructure aid act clears Senate, awaits President’s signature
The following press release, announcing approval of The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, was provided jointly by the offices of Senator Debbie Stabenow, Sen. Gary Peters and Congressman Dan Kildee. It was issued early this afternoon after a morning press call. The act authorizes about $100 million in infrastructure aid for Flint and $70 million for other communities affected by lead and water issues. It was part of the government funding bill approved late Friday night. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress has finally...
read moreJudge Beagle, Pastor Sherm McCathern named Sybyl Award winners
By Jan Worth-Nelson Judge Duncan Beagle of the Seventh Judicial Circuit and Probate Courts, and Pastor Robert “Sherm” McCathern, pastor of the Joy Tabernacle and a Civic Park Community activist, were named the 2016 Sybyl Award winners tonight at the Genesys Conference Center from among a group of 15 nominees. Virginia Landaal, a College Cultural neighborhood philanthropist and community volunteer, was given a “special recognition” award. The annual award aims to highlight the work of volunteers whose contributions make...
read moreEast Village Magazine – December 2016
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
read moreFlint aid package headed to Senate after House passage
By Jan Worth-Nelson A $170 million aid package bill for Flint passed the U.S. House Thursday and headed for the Senate where local authorities hope it will be given the same approval. In a prepared statement, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver stated, “Today the U.S. House did something we’ve long been waiting for, by voting for a $170 million package that would help the City of Flint recover from the water crisis that has affected our city for two and a half years. She thanked U.S. Congressman Dan Kildee for his “tireless work to obtain this...
read morePierce Park, millage details, Crim school plans topics at CCNA
By Nic Custer A proposal has emerged for reuse of the long-vacant Pierce Golf Course, City Administrator Sylvester Jones told the College Cultural Neighborhood Association at its November meeting. Jones also addressed Kearsley Manor residents’ concerns about a rental inspection fee issue with their landlord. Other business at the meeting included details on the safety millage results, a report on a Crim Fitness Foundation community education initiative and an overview of neighborhood real estate prices. Regarding the golf course, Jones told...
read moreFlint residents report increased behavioral, physical woes since water crisis, CASPER survey confirms
By Megan Ockert People in many Flint households have been experiencing worsening of their behavioral health, including trouble concentrating, signs of depression and increased anxiety or stress since the Flint water crisis began, according to a recent survey of 182 randomly selected households conducted by a consortium of local, state and federal health officials. The survey was carried out as a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, commonly referred to as CASPER. It was requested by the Michigan Department of Health and...
read moreMontessori classroom offers new learning options for Flint public schools
By Jan Worth-Nelson Can a classroom that allows students to learn at their own pace, help one another, and follow their natural curiosities actually work in a public school system? And could such a teaching approach enrich options for Flint students and help convince reluctant parents to bring their children back to the public schools? A group of Flint-area parents fervently believe the answer to both questions is “yes.” Due to their efforts and a receptive superintendent of schools, a kindergarten/first grade Montessori classroom was...
read moreMADD “Vigil of Remembrance and Hope” set for Dec. 10
By Megan Ockert MADD Genesee County will host its annual “Candlelight Vigil of Remembrance and Hope” at 7 p.m. Saturday Dec. 10. The event will be held at the First Baptist Church of Grand Blanc on Saginaw Road in Grand Blanc Township. Family members and others affected by alcohol-related accidents are invited to light a candle in honor of loved ones killed or injured in alcohol-related vehicular crashes. During the event, a brief video honoring victims will be shown. Anyone wishing to participate in the vigil or to include a loved one in the...
read moreVillage Life: Buckle up for the pursuit of truth
Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. By Jan Worth-Nelson There’s a room in our house I can’t go into right now. It’s the den, a formerly beloved room we’ve always nestled into, a small paneled hideaway with almost all the books I own piled onto floor to ceiling shelves. It’s the room where my...
read moreOpposing “the language of hate,” requires listening, attention to history, Tendaji Talk speakers suggest
By Robert R. Thomas Language is very intentional and entails active listening, according to Dr. Traci Currie, a UM-Flint lecturer in communications, who also labels herself “an artist/activist.” And those elements are relevant to understanding and replacing “the language of hate,” she said in a recent round-table at the Flint Public Library. Currie said her work comes out of the spoken word tradition. In introducing the subject of “hate language” to a group of 25 participants representing diverse racial, religious...
read moreWith PepsiCo Foundation grant, community groups launch two water crisis “help centers”
By Jan Worth-Nelson A $570,000 grant from the PepsiCo Foundation was put to work this week with the launch of two Food Bank-managed community “help centers” aimed at continuing recovery efforts from the Flint water crisis. In a chilly parking lot under sunny skies at Bethel United Methodist Church, officials from PepsiCo, along with city officials and community leaders, celebrated the collaboration which brings two trucks, supplies of bottled water, food and fresh produce, personal care items, nutritional service, and physical...
read moreShigella update: bacteria not spread through Flint-area drinking water, CDC officials suggest
By Jan Worth-Nelson An outbreak of shigella bacteria in Genesee and Saginaw counties over the past eight months does not appear to have been caused by Flint’s drinking water system, a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Flint Recovery Group by phone in a presentation at City Hall Thursday. A total of 180 cases of the highly-contagious disease, called shigellosis, which can cause severe abdominal discomfort and bloody diarrhea, have been confirmed since March — 129 in Genesee County and...
read moreLongtime architectural and community landmark, Woodside Church up for sale
By Jan Worth-Nelson Woodside Church, designed by internationally-known Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and built by his brother-in-law Robert F. Swanson in 1952, has been put up for sale by the congregation, who voted on it at an Oct. 30 congregational meeting. A press release issued Tuesday said the congregation is beginning its search for a new home and “expects to invest itself more deeply in what the church stands for.” Rev. Dr. Deborah Conrad, senior minister of the College Cultural neighborhood landmark since February, 2014,...
read moreEast Village Magazine – November 2016
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
read moreRacism’s roots in capitalism, education as cultural imperialism topics of latest Tendaji Talk
By Robert R. Thomas The effects of capitalism and how racism is perpetuated in schools were topics explored in a recent Tendaji Talk at the Flint Public Library by Dorinda Carter Andrews, an associate professor from the Michigan State University Department of Teacher Education. Drawing on the work of critical race theorist Derrick Bell, Andrews suggested to a group of about 15 that because it is based on a system requiring winners and losers, capitalism is an inherently racist system and that education has been a “project of cultural...
read moreVillage Life: Getting on the bus might help alleviate community’s “toxic stress”
By Jan Worth-Nelson The water crisis has taken its toll on more than our pipes. As Elizabeth Burtch, a supervisor at Genesee Health System puts it, “There is a lot of anxiety out there, a lot.” And there’s what she calls “toxic stress,” leading to understandable but troubling reactions such as obsessive water hoarding, exacerbated physical symptoms, confusion, guilt and anger. And for the most part, the precipitating triggers have been outside ourselves. “Even if you weren’t personally impacted by the water, I think just the feeling...
read moreAging parkway maples challenge city services, neighborhood character
By Kayla Chappell Editor’s note: This story has been revised on 11/16/16 to clarify that residents needing help with a downed or dangerous tree should call City of Flint Street Maintenance at (810)-766-7343. That number is available 24/7, according to Angela Warren, Genesee County Conservation District administrator. City of Flint officials can do some immediate tree removal, while assessment for follow-up needs goes through the city to the GCD. When a large branch broke off from a silver maple tree in the parkway between John...
read moreVideo extraction program helping neighborhoods catch bad guys
By Nic Custer Michigan State Police are making it easier for Flint business owners and residents to use their security footage to help prosecute criminals. The program, part of an interagency Secure Cities Partnership, allows trained officers to extract video evidence that can be used in court and to testify about the evidence during the trial. The coordinator of the program, Detective Trooper Troy Bonadurer, has been working in Flint since 2000 after 19 years patrolling roadways. Originally brought in to examine cell phone video evidence, in...
read morePark millage renewal will help sustain Flint’s acres of green spaces, playlots, trails
By Megan Ockert Support for a park system of 70 facilities, one of Flint’s design achievements going back to the 1920s, is the object of a Nov. 8 city-wide vote. Next Tuesday Flint’s Park and Recreation millage is up for renewal after 10 years. As a .50 millage renewal, for a home valued at $50,000, the tax would be $25 per year. There is no increase or decrease. City of Flint planning staff state that, if passed, the renewal will continue to cost the average Flint homeowner about $4.61 a year, with the amount varying depending on the...
read moreBook review: Flint represents “domestic terrorism,” “state-sponsored violence” in America at War with Itself
By Robert R. Thomas In his penetrating new book, America at War with Itself (City Lights Books, 2017), Henry A. Giroux devotes an early chapter to the Flint water crisis, asserting that it epitomizes a menacing “new authoritarianism” and contends that what happened here was “an act of state sponsored violence.” His Chapter Four, “Poisoned City: Flint and the Specter of Domestic Terrorism,” opens with a reminder that under what he calls the rule of neoliberalism, the dissolution of historical and public memory is...
read more“”Time to move on — no more vetoes,” Weaver declares in trash contract resolution
By Jan Worth-Nelson The state-appointed Receivership Transition Advisory Board today gave their blessing to an agreement between Mayor Karen Weaver and the Flint City Council that promises to end, after months of wrangling and dueling trash trucks, the dispute over who will pick up the city’s garbage. Republic Services, Flint’s trash contractor for the past three years, has been officially approved to continue. The resolution, approved by the council Monday night after months of contentious back and forths and signed by the...
read moreMichigan political system topic of Wednesday, Thursday Flint Area Public Affairs forums
By Megan Ockert Michigan’s emergency manager law, education, management of the public purse, and oversight of Michigan’s political system are featured topics of two free public forums this week. They are scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26. at the Happenings Room in the UM – Flint University Center; and 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 at the McFarlen Branch of the Genesee District Library. Pizza and beverages will be provided at the Wednesday event. Parking is available at the Mill Street parking structure. Called “Community...
read moreFree squash, carrots available for the taking at Woodside Church
Just in time for the stews of cool autumn days, free carrots and butternut and spaghetti squash are available for the taking in the parking lot of Woodside Church, 1509 E. Court St., today. Rev. Deb Conrad said the produce came from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan for an event thrown by the Genesee County Hispanic Latino Collaborative last Saturday. The Collaborative has Woodside Church as its home base. Saturday’s event was a Community Resource Fair including 15 vendors and a food giveaway. Juani Olivares of the Collaborative said...
read moreShigella outbreak subsiding, but answering the “why” continues
By Jan Worth-Nelson Incidence of the latest health threat to hit Flint and Genesee County, the diarrhea-causing bacterium shigella, appears to have subsided, at least for now, representatives from the Centers for Disease Control told the Flint Water Recovery Group under the dome at City Hall last week. Jevon D. McFadden, a CDC physician headquartered in Lansing, told the group that as of Oct. 19 no new cases of shigellosis, the disease caused by the bacterium, had been reported in Genesee County for several weeks. And he said no new cases...
read moreCommunity Read aims to foster dialogue on lives of African-American youth, community response
By Jan Worth-Nelson A “Community Read” series focused on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ bestselling book Between the World and Me is underway in Flint, with the second of nine discussions scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 at Flint Central Church of the Nazarene, 1261 W Bristol Rd. Coates’ book, written as a letter to his 15-year-old son, confronts from its first page the sorrow and dangers faced by young black men in an America Coates says has been built on “looting and violence,” often at the cost of the bodies of black men. Writing in the year...
read moreGet rid of hazardous waste this Saturday, Oct. 22
By Jan Worth-Nelson More than 80 dangerous household chemical and electronic items from acids to batteries to bleach to fluorescent lightbulbs to insecticides to paint thinners to tires to weed killers can be disposed of from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 22 at two area locations. They are: — Flint East Water Service Center at 3310 E. Court St., Flint and — Trinity Assembly of God at 4363 W. Mt. Morris Rd., Mt. Morris. Also included in the list of accepted items are air conditioners, computers, cell phones, copiers,...
read moreEast Village Magazine – October 2016
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
read moreFlint Local 432’s “Mixdown” bringing culinary talent for Friday celebration
By Jan Worth-Nelson “Mixdown,” a culinary event celebrating the nonprofit Flint Local 432, a longtime downtown music and arts venue, is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Friday Oct. 7 at the Flint Farmers’ Market, 300 E. First St. The event will feature walk-around tasting, chef demonstrations, a 432 history display, and beer, wine, and cocktail bars. According to publicist Erin Archuleta, the food fest started last year as a 30th anniversary celebration for Flint Local, but was so popular that planners decided to make it an annual event....
read moreConcerned Pastors deliver blistering salvo at Councilman Scott Kincaid, City Council
By Jan Worth-Nelson A powerful consortium of Flint clergy, the Concerned Pastors for Social Action, a group which has consistently weighed in in support of Mayor Karen Weaver, today stood in the lobby of Flint City Hall and delivered a blistering salvo at the Flint City Council. In particular, they directed their ire at Councilman Scott Kincaid, who Pastor Reginald Flynn of Foss Avenue Baptist Church said was engaging in “plantation politics” and should apologize. At least one speaker, later identified as not a pastor and who...
read moreTwo bottles instead of one: home water testing enters new phase, MDEQ rep explains
By Jan Worth-Nelson This article was updated at 1 p.m. Monday Oct. 3. A year after Flint residents first started testing their water, making Flint into what experts now describe as “the most monitored city in America,” residents are being asked not just to continue but to change their home testing process from one bottle to two. George Krisztian, Flint action plan coordinator and laboratory director for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, explained to a recent Flint Recovery Group meeting at City Hall that the...
read moreHouse painting, bike share system proceeding in Central Park
By Nic Custer The Central Park Neighborhood Association discussed the success of a home painting pilot project in the neighborhood at its September meeting. The group also heard about blight and beautification efforts and installation of a bike share program, and sent a letter of support to Mott Community College police. President Karen Tipper reported a $60,000 N.I.C.E. Initiative program had paid 75% of the cost of exterior house painting in the neighborhood. Six homes have been painted so far, with one more planned for the year. Tipper...
read moreBook Review: NOBODY: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond
By Robert R. Thomas In the January 2016 issue of EVM, I wrote a book review of Demolition Means Progress (2015) by Andrew Highsmith, a definitive account of the reality of Flint’s last 80 years. The book arrived in my life at a time when I desperately needed to understand the Flint I had returned to in 2005. Eleven years later life in Flint has come to a new bend in the river where I needed to reflect and review. Where had we come since Highsmith’s scholarly enlightenments? Where might we be headed? Along comes Marc Lamont Hill’s NOBODY:...
read moreVillage Life: City Council meeting a mess of bedlam: is this how Flint reclaims self-rule?
By Jan Worth-Nelson This week I lost my city council virginity. It wasn’t pretty. Like most losses of virginity, it wasn’t particularly enjoyable and I’m not sure I want a repeat experience. Some things get better with practice – and are especially improved by having good partners. I don’t know if I can count on any of that in the city council chambers. In my 35 years in Flint, including 26 years at the UM – Flint, going to a city council meeting just seemed like something other people did. I own two homes here. I have been writing columns...
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