Council fails to pass recreational pot ordinance; has till Nov. 1 to act
By Luther Houle An uncharacteristic turnout of about 60 Flint residents appeared at the Oct. 14 City Council meeting to voice their opinions and observe the city’s legislative process. Their reason for coming: a proposed “opt-out” ordinance that would limit which...
Review: Spirited “Memphis the Musical” dancing up a storm through Oct. 19 at McCree
By Patsy Isenberg The Tony Award winning musical, “Memphis,” at The New McCree Theatre, running through Saturday, Oct. 19, has a huge cast of talented local singers, dancers, and actors and is directed by Cathye Johnson. The musical tries to take the audience back to...
“A common sort of hunger,” competitive spirit motivate street art, muralists assert at FPAP panel
By Patsy Isenberg Assessing public art such as the dozens of murals that have sprung up in Flint over the past year, one of the artists involved in the Flint Public Art Project (FPAP) said Friday street art is “a vehicle for social change." "This whole program proves...
Humanity in Harmony festival returns Saturday Oct. 19
By Jan Worth-Nelson The seventh annual Humanity in Harmony Music Festival featuring a quartet of four varied acts is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Flint Institute of Music's MacArthur Recital Hall. The event is sponsored by the Flint Jewish Federation....
“Forget what you thought about Flint before,” mural artists declare at festival panel
By Jan Worth-Nelson A conversation about the Flint Public Art Project (FPAP) murals in Flint Wednesday night at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint (CFGF) was a celebration of the city as experienced by outside artists. It also was a conversation among the...
William S. White, scion of C.S. Mott Foundation, dies at 82
By Jan Worth-Nelson Much has already has been written, and will be written in the coming days about the life and death today of William S. White, longtime executive at the top of the C.S. Mott Foundation, at 82. He was the grandson-in-law who ran the multi-billion...
East Village Magazine – October 2019
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
Zoning code update progress, small business grants featured at FNU
By Luther Houle “You guys are definitely the heroes. You don’t get paid for this,” said Glenn Wilson Saturday morning Oct. 5 at the Flint Public Library. “A breakfast is just something to say thank you to you guys, and keep up the hard work!” Wilson, president of...
“Free City” mural festival kicks off Tuesday for week-long street art extravaganza
By Jan Worth-Nelson More than 20 artists from around the world are arriving in Flint this week, joining with a busy cadre of local muralists and Flint Public Art Project officials for a weeklong celebration of public art--the Free City Mural Festival at various...
Drive-through flu shots, water giveaway available Friday at Genesee Health Plan office
By Jan Worth-Nelson Area residents can get flu shots without even leaving their cars from 3-6 p.m. Friday at the Genesee Health Plan (GHP) office, 2171 S. Linden Rd., Flint. "Attendees can drive through one of our garage service bays, roll down their window and roll...
Commentary: Join us–become a First Amendment warrior
By Ted Nelson "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...
Review: “Daring Trader” captures profound role of Jacob Smith on how Flint became Flint
By Harold C. Ford “In the signing of the 1819 treaty by the Chippewa and Ottawa, (Jacob Smith) had earned himself several hundreds of dollars in payment from the government for his secret work, while also quietly sowing the seeds for his white children to each receive...
Access to health care gets assist from federal grant to Genesee Health Plan
By Jan Worth-Nelson The Genesee Health Plan (GHP), a nonprofit health care organization that provides basic health services to uninsured Genesee County residents, has received a $92,988 federal grant to help people enroll in health care coverage. The one year grant,...
Mayor Karen Weaver: “We are better off now”
EVM interviewed both candidates in the Nov. 5 mayoral election: incumbent Mayor Karen Weaver and Rep. Sheldon Neeley. We offer these stories for voters' information and consideration. The Neeley interview can be found here. The city's mayor will be chosen for a...
Rep. Sheldon Neeley: “We should be further along”
EVM interviewed both candidates in the Nov. 5 mayoral election: incumbent Mayor Karen Weaver and Rep. Sheldon Neeley. We offer these stories for voters' information and consideration. The Weaver interview can be found here. The city's mayor will be chosen for a...
Village Life: No boundaries for fear–A tale of two Flints
By Melodee Mabbitt On Halloween, I’ll have lived for 10 years in my house in the East Village, or what my mom referred to as “management’s neighborhood.” I recently tried to explain to someone in the neighborhood how different my life was before I came here, when I...
Commentary: Election 2019, Weaver, Neeley and the public library–How it’s different. Why it matters.
By Paul Rozycki The campaign signs are popping up. The campaign flyers are in the mail. TV and social media ads are sure to be seen soon. The Flint mayoral campaign is underway. In less than a month Flint voters will elect their next mayor—the first general election...
Poet, artist, teacher Semaj Brown named Flint’s first poet laureate
By Jan Worth-Nelson Semaj Brown, a poet, author, scientist, educator and artist, was named Flint's first poet laureate Friday night by proclamation of Mayor Karen Weaver. Brown, originally from Detroit, arrived in Flint in 2003 after marrying family physician James...
City Council beat: Carriage town protest, pipeline funds, Flint Registry grant, pot proposal
By Luther Houle Well past sunset, the second monthly City Council meeting for September came to order at 8:15 p.m. Monday Sept. 23 after a three-hour Special Affairs Committee meeting. The Special Affairs Committee meeting is where the City Council decides which...
Education Beat: Flint schools lose 60 educators, 833 years of experience in 2019
By Harold C. Ford What had been a steady stream of educators departing Flint Community Schools (FCS) in the first seven months of 2019, became a torrent in August and September. According to FCS records posted at its website, the district lost 60 educators with 833...
UAW members keep up vigils on the picket line as strike grinds on
By Jan Worth-Nelson Amidst continual honks from passersby in bright sun, United Auto Workers strikers on the picket line at the General Motors Flint Assembly Plant on Van Slyke Road said Friday they have "no clue" how long they'll be there and are worried, but also...
In the midst of celebration, one mural protest raises questions about public art
By Jan Worth-Nelson While Flint residents for the most part seem to be enjoying the appearance over the last year of dozens of murals produced through the Flint Public Art Project (FPAP), work has stopped on one wall in Carriage Town because of a protest from its...
Review: Flint Writers Fest displays depth, diversity of Flint talent
By Harold C. Ford ‘Writing is the painting of the voice.” …Voltaire The latest iteration of a local festival that elevates the literary arts displayed the depth and diversity of Flint-based writers Sept. 13-14. This year, its third, the event premiered a new name,...
Kids, Mayor Weaver release 125 baby sturgeon, cousins of T-Rex, into Flint River
By Jan Worth-Nelson After a half hour of speeches in scalding sun, about 50 kids and their parents lined up for the main event at the Mott Park Recreation Area Saturday: one by one, reaching into a bucket of muddy water, gently cupping a six-inch long, slimy baby...
Review: Connor Coyne’s serial Flint allegory “Urbantasm” continues with”ambitious, authentic” Book Two
By Robert R. Thomas Flint author Connor Coyne’s Urbantasm is a serial novel composed of four books. Last year I read and reviewed Book One: The Dying City (EVM July 2, 2018). So surprised had I been by Coyne’s ambitious allegorical teen noir serial novel that I...
