March Flint City Council update: raises go through, pipeline management changes, CFO quits, cliques collide
By Meghan Christian The month of March continued Flint City Council chaos—all delaying or complicating major matters of city business and exasperating some of the public in attendance, one of whom commented the city needed an ombudsman to oversee matters more than the...
W-O-O-D-S-I-D-E Church taking shape letter by letter at new locale
By Jan Worth-Nelson The beige brick building at the corner of Second Avenue and Garland Street in Flint came closer Thursday to its transformation from an antiques store and deli to Woodside Church. Woodside Pastor Deborah Conrad, along with Woodside treasurer Joe...
News Brief: Congressional Art Competition for Flint high schoolers open now
Flint area high school students are invited to enter the 2019 Congressional Art Competition, sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Art Caucus. Artists may win an opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. and have art displayed in the U.S. Capitol...
Court Street Methodists take stand after LGBTQ vote: “God loves all people–all means all”
By Jan Worth-Nelson On Sunday, March 3, the week after the international governing body of the United Methodist Church voted to retain language excluding LGBTQ people, Rev. Jeremy Peters took to the pulpit at Court Street United Methodist Church and preached a sermon...
“Road diet” on MLK Boulevard, master plan “green” concerns top “Neighbors” series discussion
By Darlene C. Carey “It’s our hope that residents that don’t see the dots will be able to connect the dots to their area resources,” said Ashley Everhart, agency director at the Neighborhood Engagement Hub, during the fifth workshop in the "Neighbors Changing Flint"...
“Hate is heard when love is silent,” interfaith audience affirms at vigil for New Zealand victims
By Teddy Robertson Flint-area residents filled the Al-Rayyan Banquet Hall at Flint Islamic Center (FIC) Tuesday evening, March 18, to remember the victims of the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. Dr. Luay Alkotob of the FIC...
Paddlers Landing crowd-funding campaign succeeds, exceeds state match for thriving Mott Park Recreation Area
By Jan Worth-Nelson Flint River buffs are celebrating today as a partnership of the Flint River Watershed Coalition (FRWC) the Mott Park Neighborhood Association, the City of Flint and 600 other donors topped a $50,000 goal to match an equivalent contribution...
Understanding white privilege “like trying to explain water to a fish” at first 2019 Tendaji Talk
By Jan Worth-Nelson Trying to understand white privilege and power is "kind of like trying to explain water to a fish," one panelist, a white woman, admitted to a circle of 25 Flint neighbors grappling with the kickoff topic of the 2019 Tendaji Talks Tuesday evening...
Young playwrights festival keeps youth in The Rep with four statewide winners
By Patsy Isenberg Four young playwrights, either getting to see their very first play read by actors or just getting started in their playwriting careers, were featured in the inaugural Young Playwrights Festival at the Flint Repertory Theatre (The Rep) over St....
Memorial for New Zealand victims set for 6:30 Tuesday at Flint Islamic Center
News Brief: Challenges, transitions of local news focus of March 26 Flint forum
The next 2019 Flint Area Public Affairs Forum convenes at 5:30 p.m. Tues., March 26, at the Flint Public Library, 1026 E. Kearsley St. With the theme “Have You Heard the News? Local News Sharing in an Age of Media Transition,” the discussion, moderated by Dawn Jones...
Artwork, fundraising begin to add women “Heroines and Humanitarians” to Flint’s sculpture pantheon
By Paul Rozycki A heroine of the Flint water crisis, a matriarch of civil rights, an Olympic gold medal boxer, an ardent advocate for the poor, a benefactor of a major library, and a tireless champion in the NAACP: all these Flint women are deserving of sculptures in...
Central American turmoil and revolution highlight Flint author’s first novel
By Paul Rozycki It may have been St. Paddy’s Day March 17, but that didn’t stop a number of leading Hispanic leaders and their families and friends from gathering at Mott Community College Sunday afternoon to launch a newly published novel by Flint-based author Martin...
News brief: Montessori registering students now; open house Thursday
Montessori for Flint is now registering students in pre-K through grade 4 for the 2019-2020 school year, and invites parents to an open house 4:30 – 6 p.m., Thursday, March 21, at Durant Tuuri Mott Elementary School, 1518 University Ave. The open house offers a chance...
Residents convene, share and reflect at “Connect the Blocks” Flint Neighborhood Summit
By Jan Worth-Nelson Qualities of neighborliness--collaboration, cooperation, valuing each person's worth-- were on full display Saturday at the "Connect the Blocks" Flint Neighborhood Summit at the Flint Food Bank. "Value people," said Megan Heysa, president of the...
“Neighbors Changing Flint” addresses funding strategies to reach community goals
By Patsy Isenberg The complicated task of seeking out sources for grants to accomplish a goal and then applying for them was the theme of the fourth workshop of the "Neighbors Changing Flint" series Wednesday evening at the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village....
News Brief: GISD preschool enrollment kickoff Sunday
Genesee Intermediate School District invites parents and small children to a Preschool Enrollment Kick-Off event noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 17, at the Flint Children’s Museum, 1602 University Ave. Kids will explore and play in the museum, while parents learn about...
Kids swarm City Hall to read books with Weaver and Howard University spring break students
By Patsy Isenberg Twenty third grade through fifth grade students from Freeman Elementary School in Flint swarmed City Hall Wednesday to read with college students from Howard University, solve a problem about shoe laces, and consider what makes people feel happy and...
“Neighbors Changing Flint” third session explores reuses of vacant lots
By Luther Houle Ashley Everhart, agency director of the Neighborhood Engagement Hub, began the third meeting of the series "Neighbors Changing Flint" with an eye-opening statistic. “Within the city's boundaries, we have almost 60,000 vacant lots,” she said, citing...
“America: The Farewell Tour” by Chris Hedges: a review
Reviewed by Robert R. Thomas An unsettling childhood memory is that things were not as they seemed, and nobody was talking about it. My brother Alan succinctly described our childhood milieu as a “culture of silence.” While reading America: The Farewell Tour, by Chris...
News Brief: Tendaji Talks on white power and privilege kick off March 19
The Tendaji Talks, sponsored by Flint’s Neighborhoods Without Borders, kicks off its spring series 6 p.m. March 19 at the Flint Public Library, 1026 E. Kearsley St. Named for long-time community leader Tendaji W. Ganges, the series comprises discussions on systemic...
Science and distrust highlight PFAS town hall meeting
By Paul Rozycki A planned two-hour town hall that ran almost three hours revealed both the hard and complex science behind the PFAS problem, as well as the anger, frustration and distrust over water issues in the Flint area. The town hall meeting, held at the Mott...
Flint Cultural Center Academy details highlight Flint Neighborhoods United meeting
By Luther Houle Highlights of the March Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU) meeting included a presentation by Eric Lieske of the Flint Cultural Center Academy (FCCA) a $500 contest from the Traffic Taming Taskforce, and various upcoming events for the month of March....
East Village Magazine – March 2019
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
“Neighbors Changing Flint” tasks cover leadership, surveys, blight, as workshops proceed
By Meghan Christian and Patsy Isenberg To suggest how neighborhood leaders might figure out which problems to focus on, Carma Lewis of Flint Neighborhoods United offers a practical lead. "I start with what I can see outside my window, because that's my domain that I...
