Analysis: Citizens speak up and votes are swayed, as City Council turns down tax abatement in Carriage Town
By Tom Travis On Monday, Feb. 24, Flint City Council voted 5 to 4 against a proposed tax abatement for a property development in the neighborhood that birthed General Motors. The decision may mean the end of the project, which has been vigorously protested by a group...
“Hair on fire!” FPL Director Kay Schwartz, staff synchronizing complex library moves, “working our hearts out”
By Zach Neithercut "Is my hair on fire?" That's what Flint Public Library Director Kay Schwartz says she blurts out these days to anybody asking how things are going. Schwartz is at the helm of a complicated--and extremely rewarding--set of maneuvers as the...
Bucks’ success continues into off season
By Harold C. Ford The 2019 on-field success of the Flint City Bucks during their first season in The Vehicle City—including a national championship in the United Soccer League Two (USL2)—has continued into the off-season. Top honors for the club’s executives and the...
Education Beat: Flint Community Schools move toward March 10 millage renewal, no closures in sight
By Harold C. Ford Editor's note: This story was updated March 1 to include a statement from Supt. Derick Lopez (see below) regarding school closures. At the Feb. 19 meeting of the Flint Community Schools’ (FCS) Board of Education, Superintendent Derrick Lopez...
New report highlights progress and perils facing Flint kids: nutrition, literacy enhanced; poverty still high
By Coner Segren The story of Flint in the past decade has largely been a tale of two cities. While the unemployment rate has fallen by more than half since 2010, 69 percent of Flint children under the age of 5 are living in poverty. And that is just one of the many...
Charles Winfrey’s “Saints of St. John Street” runs at McCree through Feb. 29
By Patsy Isenberg “The now demolished St. John Street neighborhood is historic in the sense it was one of only two areas African Americans could reside in as they migrated to Flint from the south.” That’s the first sentence about the authentic and nostalgically...
“When we have a healthier population we have a healthier economy,” Gov. Whitmer said in Flint today
By Tom Travis Visiting the Hamilton Community Health Clinic on Flint’s north side today, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, “When we have a healthier population we have a healthier economy.” To that end, Whitmer was at the Hamilton Clinic to announce her...
When legends come to life: from zombies to vampires with the Goblin King Players
By Jerry Bradshaw A taste for zombies and a love of amusingly scaring people nurtured in a Flint coffee shop have hatched into a performing troupe that after just four years is selling out multiple shows in historic theaters around Michigan and even touring out of...
Concerns about Michigan’s new auto insurance law to be aired at March 3 town hall
A public town hall on Michigan's new auto insurance law has been scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Flint, 2474 S. Ballenger Hwy. Hosted by Lansing-based non-profit CPAN, until recently known as The Coalition Protecting...
Review: Buckham show shines light on primal obsessions of love and death
By Jeffery L Carey, Jr. “Besides Eros, then, there was a death drive.” ––Sigmund Freud Within humanity there seems to be an obsession with the concepts of love and death. This obsession worms its way into our stories, poems, and art, and has been doing so for over...
City Council Beat: Council acts on 11 resolutions, Mays ejected again
By Tom Travis Mayor Sheldon Neeley was not present Monday night at a special city council meeting that he had called. All nine councilpersons were present for the meeting, along with nearly 70 audience members, several media outlets, members of the city administration...
Options exist as deadlines approach for saving homes from tax foreclosures, county treasurer explains
By Tammy Beckett Relief is available for residents of the city in danger of losing their homes because of tax nonpayments, Deb Cherry, Genesee County Treasurer, explained in a presentation at the February meeting of Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU). Cherry described...
League of Women Voters gala celebrates 100 years with history, speeches, unveilings
By Jan Worth-Nelson The League of Women Voters of the Flint Area celebrated its 100th birthday at Factory One Friday night, Valentine's Day, with a gala that offered a lot of love to democracy, to the vote, and to multiple accomplishments of women, including progress...
Mayor Neeley makes a move, calling Flint City Council into session for unfinished business
By Tom Travis In an unusual move, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley is hauling the Flint City Council into session at a special council meeting set for 5 p.m. Monday, Feb 17. In a press release issued by city administration, Neeley said, “It is critically important that city...
Female pianist, women composers featured Sunday, Feb 23, at Court Street United Methodist Church
An afternoon of music by all women composers performed by pianist Sandra Mogensen will be presented at Court Street United Methodist Church at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb 23. This event, titled en pleine lumiere, is sponsored by an endowment of the Elton and Elsie West fund....
PFAS actions, concerns aired in Kildee-sponsored phone town hall
By Jeffery L. Carey, Jr. Recently, Congress has taken action designed to protect Flint and the rest of Michigan’s drinking water from PFAS chemicals. House Democrat Dan Kildee of Michigan's 5th Congressional district is leading that effort and cosponsored legislation...
City Council Beat: Police Chief Hart hired through August; residents air pot ordinance concerns, complain about parking meters, Mays tells his side
By Tom Travis Flint’s legislative body, the Flint City Council, struggled to maintain democracy and a quorum Monday, even with new leadership in place, at a council meeting that lasted seven and a half hours. Two of the nine council members, Eva Worthing (9th Ward)...
Village Life: New life as community journalist opens up hard realities about Flint
By Tom Travis I have attempted to dissect the reasons why I chose to leave my job at 50 years old after more than 10 years. I think I’ve figured out the reasoning but it is deeply personal. And I’m more likely to tell you over a cup of coffee at...
New Meter – New Start program to give residents fresh start on water bills with new meters
By Tom Travis Flint residents are being given a fresh start on their water bill amounts as a $9.2 million program to replace and install new water meters continues city-wide, Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced at a press conference Friday. Joined by Flint City Council...
East Village Magazine – February 2020
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
City Council Beat: Mays again makes dramatic exit from Council meeting, as the rest settle on leadership roles
By Tom Travis Eric Mays made a dramatic exit from the City Council again Wednesday night. This time he left on his own accord in a storm of yelling at the entire council. Business did return to normal with the departure of the First Ward councilperson, as the council...
Flint native Ninah Sasy to advise City of Flint as clean water public advocate
By Darlene C. Carey “Let’s get to work. Let’s move some dirt,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer encouraged at the 2020 State of the State address, urging transitional change throughout the State of Michigan. Whitmer discussed the need for outreach for new moms and families,...
This Month in the Village: February Features
“Resilience” a pivotal story of Flint, Lt. Gov. Gilchrist says in City Hall visit
By Jan Worth-Nelson State of Michigan Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist said today under the dome in City Hall he has learned that "resilience is a matter of pride" in the city of Flint, and that is one of its messages to the rest of the country. Hosted by Mayor Sheldon...
Review: Semaj Brown at the FIA a poet, a priestess, a force of nature borne of anger and love
By Jan Worth-Nelson In the opening of Semaj Brown's Jan. 26 performance at the Flint Institute of Arts, FIA director John Henry described Brown, Flint's first poet laureate, as a "science-driven author, dramatist, playwright, and educator who builds...
