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...
“Now is the time to stand for the earth,” award winner tells FRWC audience at “Voice of the River” celebration
By Jan Worth-Nelson On a gloomy late January evening when the national airwaves were flooded with endless reasons to despair, one of the award winners at the annual celebration of the Flint River Watershed Coalition (FRWC) stood up and offered a startlingly different...
Dangers of children using social media focus of Public Affairs Forum panel
By Jeffery L Carey Jr. The panelists were unanimous in their views Tuesday night as Flint educators discussed social media related to children and their education: even though it creates complications, can be dangerous and needs careful monitoring, it's going to be...
Registry extends $50 bonus through February for filling out surveys
By Jan Worth-Nelson The Flint Registry is extending a "thank you" offer to pay Flint residents $50 each to fill out a survey detailing their experiences during the Flint water crisis. The deadline for receiving the bonus is now Feb. 29, extended from the end of...
It’s beginning — Flint Public Library schedules renovation kickoff party Feb. 29
By Jan Worth-Nelson The Flint Public Library has scheduled a celebration of its last day before a major renovation, a kickoff party from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29. After 60 years at its Kearsley Street location, the library will be undergoing a $27.6 million...
Education Beat: Flint’s public schools face existential challenges
By Harold C. Ford “Education is the great equalizer…You can never bring families to Flint unless we improve the schools.” …Dana Dyson, Flint resident, Flint Board of Education meeting, Jan. 23, 2020 After seven meetings of its board of education in the first three...
Analysis: Bipartisanship the driving force in Michigan’s newly reformed no-fault auto insurance
By Jeffery L Carey, Jr. If you own and drive a vehicle in the Flint community, then you have likely grown accustomed to hefty insurance rates. This is because Michigan is the most expensive state for car insurance in all of the United States for the sixth consecutive...
Mays ejected from Flint City Council meeting, stripped of leadership roles
By Tom Travis Eric Mays, the subject of ongoing controversy on the Flint City Council including a recent brouhaha when he made a Nazi salute and compared Council President Monica Galloway to Hitler, was ejected from the council meeting Monday night and then stripped...
CCNA hears about leaf pickup options, city audit, Mott CC millage
By Tammy Beckett Neither bagging or raking leaves into the street are ideal solutions for one of autumn's onerous chores, two representatives from the Flint River Watershed Coalition (FRWC) told residents of the College Cultural Neighborhood Association (CCNA) at...
Review: MCC’s Fine Arts Gallery presents “Japan Rediscovered: Photographs by Hideki Kihata.
By Paul Rozycki This past month the Mott Community College Fine Arts Gallery presented an exhibition of photographs, titled “Japan Rediscovered: Photographs by Hideki Kihata.” Japanese-born photographer Hideki Kihata wrapped up the event Jan. 27 with a gallery talk...
Commentary: Mott Park dog rescue puts focus on animal welfare needs
By Jessie Wilkie As a Flint resident, full-time employee, homeowner, taxpayer and animal lover, I am compelled to write about a recent event in the Mott Park neighborhood which relates back to the greater state of animal welfare in the city. On Sunday, Jan. 5, at...
Analysis: Anti-Defamation League spokeswoman responds to “Nazi salute” flap
By Tom Travis Two weeks after Flint City Councilperson Eric Mays (1st Ward) gave a Nazi salute, clicked his heels in Nazi soldier style and called Council President Monica Galloway (7th Ward) Hitler, the community continues to try to make sense of what happened in...
Census “Mayoral Complete Count” effort kicks off — with $1,800 per person per year at stake
By Jan Worth-Nelson $1,800 per person per year. That is the key number in why the upcoming national census matters. As Flint city officials explained in a kickoff press conference Friday at City Hall, the census determines how $675 billion in federal dollars is...
Hearing difficulties give young Flint artist a vision of inclusion
By Paul Rozycki Art historians say that Pablo Picasso began drawing at age seven, and produced his first painting at age nine. But Picasso may have nothing on Flint’s Karina Brown. The energetic, self-taught, fifteen- year-old artist who displayed her work at the...
City Council beat: Mays offers “Nazi salute” statement after Davis calls him out; pot ordinance moving into hearings
By Tom Travis Five hours into a six-and-a-half-hour Flint City Council Committee meeting Jan. 22, Councilperson Eric Mays (1st Ward) made a statement to the community. It came following a week of upheaval over a Nazi salute he made in a public council meeting directed...
“Voice of the River” celebration Jan. 30 to honor Ridgway White, volunteers
The annual "Voice of the River" celebration of the Flint River Watershed Coalition (FRWC) will this year honor Ridgway White, president and CEO of the C. S. Mott Foundation, "for his personal and professional dedication to ensuring safe, easy, and ample access to the...
“Social media and children” topic of Flint Area Public Affairs Forum Tuesday Jan. 28
A panel of local experts on news, social media, psychology and children convene at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday Jan. 28 at the Flint Public Library for a discussion titled "I Saw It On Snapchat: Social Media and Children." The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored...
Review: Third “New Works Festival” offers variety, magic, music and stripped-down drama at The Rep
By Patsy Isenberg Bowhunting, autism, the Flint water crisis, and a love story triggered by a celestial event all made dramatic appearances in four plays-in-process offered to Flint theatre goers Jan. 17-19 when for the third year in a row. the Flint Repertory Theatre...
Commentary: An open letter to my Republican friends
By Paul Rozycki To my Republican friends: While we may disagree on many things, there is no doubt that the Republican Party has a long and honorable history. It led the nation through a brutal civil war, ending slavery. It was an early advocate for civil rights and...
Galloway issues statement on Eric Mays’ behavior: “unacceptable”
By Jan Worth-Nelson In the wake of an uproar created by Flint City Councilman Eric Mays repeatedly displaying the Nazi salute at two council meetings this week and allusions to Council President Monica Galloway as Hitler, Galloway (Ward 7) released the...
Review: “Power, Participation, and Protest in Flint, Michigan” probed in Ashley Nickels’ enlightening new book
By Robert Thomas An abiding iconic Flint visual for me is the news photo of a child holding a protest sign stating the case for what happened in Flint: “I’ve been POISONED by Policy.” The photo quickly leads to the question: “How does that happen?” Ashley E....
