Three seats opening on Flint Community Schools board; petitions to run for Nov. 3 election available now
The Flint City Clerk's office issued the following press release today: Petitions are now available in the Flint City Clerk’s Office, second floor of City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw St., for persons interested in seeking election to the Flint Board of Education. Three...
On the last day of the month, Mayor Neeley officially recognizes June as Pride Month for City of Flint
The following press release was issued today, June 30, by the City of Flint: "Mayor Sheldon Neeley today issued a proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month in the City of Flint. "It is believed to be the first time the City of Flint has recognized the month. The...
Education Beat: Flint school board nixes new administration’s plan to reopen schools
By Harold C. Ford On June 29, with barely five weeks remaining until the start of the 2020-2021 school year, the board of education of Flint Community Schools (FCS) rejected the plans for reopening schools put forward by Anita Steward, the district’s new...
Education Beat: Lopez fired, Steward hired as Flint Community Schools staff challenges continue
By Harold C. Ford “I’m just overwhelmed how we were left in March and she stepped up.” …Vera Perry, board trustee, Flint Community Schools, June 25, 2020 At a special meeting of the board of education of Flint Community Schools (FCS) June 25, Derrick Lopez was...
Village Life: Flint’s newest journalists are eight years old and raring to write
By Jan Worth-Nelson Paxon Laube-Clary's head hurt. Stuck at home in pandemic shutdown, he was spending three to four hours a day of screen time keeping up with his classes at the Perry Innovation Center in Grand Blanc. His friend since preschool, Julian Pauli, home...
Last piece of Flint River-Genesee Valley trail acquired; links Flint to statewide Iron Belle trail
A new three-mile-long paved trail in the City of Flint is one step closer to completion, thanks to an upcoming property acquisition by the City of Flint announced Thursday. Called the Grand Traverse Greenway, it will complete an 18-mile path connecting the Flint River...
City Council considers contracts, appointments, Juneteenth, property purchase, and $800K in water treatment chemicals
By Tom Travis At the June 22 City Council meeting, disputes between council members resulted in two councilpersons being ejected and three councilpersons voluntarily leaving the meeting in protest. With five of the nine council members gone from the meeting quorum was...
Undeterred by COVID, Flint Youth Film Festival goes on; will “make magic” online
By Patsy Isenberg Faced with an unexpected pandemic shutdown and COVID-19 restrictions, those in charge of planning the 2020 Flint Youth Film Festival found a logical solution to getting the films out to the public: they’ll be shown on the festival’s YouTube...
Education Beat: Northwestern needs $4 million in upgrades; where will junior high students go?
By Harold C. Ford “We should’ve never moved in that [Northwestern] building.” …Vera Perry, trustee, Flint Board of Education “We create the instability that we face.” …Diana Wright, vice-president, Flint Board of Education At its meeting June 9, the board of education...
Education Beat: FCS moves on $95 million budget; grapples with pandemic, closures, contracts
By Harold C. Ford As an eventful 2019-2020 educational year came to an official close June 18 for Flint Community School (FCS) students, the district’s board of education met a total of 10 times in the months of May and June. On June 17, Casey Lester, FCS board...
Police Oversight Commission a key step for those seeking change, Black Lives Matter leader, DeWaun Robinson says
By Tom Travis "We have an opportunity to change the course of history. This is for everyone that believes in the heart of humanity that wants to see change," Black Lives Matter Flint leader DeWaun Robinson told East Village Magazine (EVM) in a recent phone interview....
Progressive get-out-the-vote teams to visit Flint Democrats soon
By Tammy Beckett Field representatives from the Progressive Turnout Project, a national grassroots get-out-the-vote organization, are expected to appear on many Democratic voters' doorsteps in Flint in the next few weeks--and the organization is looking for local...
Children’s Poetry Show goes ZOOM to feature Poet Laureate Semaj Brown June 29
By Jan Worth-Nelson "Dreaming, Imagining Good Happenings" is the theme of a children's poetry show featuring Flint's poet laureate Semaj Brown via Zoom/Facebook Live at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 29. "All children everywhere, inside and outside of Flint," are invited to...
City Council Beat: No action taken at four-hour electronic meeting following ejections, lost quorum, public complaints
By Tom Travis Monday night the city council took no action during a four-hour meeting on a 199-page agenda. The meeting ended with quorum being broken on the nine-member panel when two councilpersons were ejected and three others voluntarily left. Nonetheless,...
Black Lives leader to Juneteenth crowd: “You’re part of a movement today, you’re gonna be a part of the progress tomorrow”
By Tom Travis "We are celebrating our history. This is for our tradition. This is for our heritage," DeWaun Robinson, leader of Black Lives Matter Flint said to a crowd of about 200 today observing Juneteenth in Max Brandon Park at the corner of Pasadena and Dupont...
Police Chief Hart “outraged” at senior White House official’s comments about Flint Police Department
By Tom Travis Flint Chief of Police, Phil Hart said in an email released by The City of Flint Wednesday afternoon that, "On behalf of all the hardworking men and women in the Flint Police Department, I am outraged at this callous and unnecessary attack on our...
Devoted environmentalist Sara McDonnell remembered with tree plantings in Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson Many trees will grow in and around Flint because of Sara McDonnell's tragic and unexpected death. McDonnell. 38, a program manager in the office of University Outreach at the University of Michigan - Flint, died suddenly in her home April 17, a...
“Team work makes the dream work” – Community comes together to paint Black Lives Matter on downtown Flint street
By Tom Travis Sandra Branch said that healing from racial divide and inequality comes through "unity and communication." Gesturing towards the street, Branch added, "Just like you see right now. Everybody's talking, everybody's sharing, everybody's working. We're all...
Flint Neighborhoods United receives info on response to protests, Land Bank details, blight and beautification grants
By Tammy Beckett Amid the pandemic and the outcries of the Black Lives Matter protests, Flint Neighborhoods United met via Zoom for its monthly meeting June 6, discussing how to tackle a wide range of problems, including systemic racism, blight and excessive force....
Water shutoff, boil water advisory coming to East Court street neighborhoods Monday June 15
NOTE: According to a notice from the City, this work was postponed. No residents lost water today and no boil water advisory is being issued. In response to a request from EVM, a city official said the work was postponed due to "a conflict with a storm sewer" and that...
Two million face masks for Flint residents, nonprofits on the way from C.S. Mott donation
Flint residents and Flint nonprofit organizations helping their staff, volunteers and clients stay safe as they reopen will have access soon to a donation of two million disposable face masks from the C.S. Mott Foundation. The supply of masks, costing about $1.2...
Trash talk: City of Flint puts Republic on notice for “widespread service failures”
The following press release was issued Tuesday by the City of Flint: "The City of Flint today officially notified Republic Services that it is in breach of its contract for widespread service failures. The letter demands Republic restore all service throughout the...
City Council hears from Sheriff Swanson and unanimously passes two resolutions for support of Black Lives Matter and to thwart Police Brutality
By Tom Travis The City Council considered two resolutions in response to the recent national outcry over George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis: a resolution to declare Black Lives Matter and an ordinance for the duty of police officers to intervene in cases of police...
City Council adopts $73 million budget with a looming $32 million for city retirees
By Tom Travis The Flint City Council adopted a $73 million budget Tuesday after a five hour meeting with a 6-3 vote. Councilpersons Eric Mays (1st Ward), Jerri Winfrey-Carter (5th Ward) and Council President Monica Galloway (7th Ward) voted against adopting the...
Flint’s Black Lives Matter Advisory Council application process open
Anyone interested in following up on the week's protests following the George Floyd murder may find an available option here, in this press release issued by City Hall: FLINT, Michigan—Flint residents who are interested in being a part of the Black Lives Matter...
