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Mott grants $10 million toward $26.4 million Berston Field House upgrades
By Harold C. Ford Editor’s note – East Village Magazine (EVM) and the entire Flint community are deeply saddened at the untimely and sudden death of “BeBe” Bryant Nolden on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2022. EVM wishes to express care and condolences to Nolden’s family and close friends. Plans to upgrade and expand Flint’s venerable Berston Field House just got a huge boost from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (CSMF). In November the foundation announced it would grant $10 million to the city of Flint “to support new...
read moreCity Clerk candidates – Guillen and Donohue – to be interviewed Dec. 5
By Tom Travis Out of 24 applicants, two will be interviewed next Monday, Dec. 5, in an open public meeting, for the position of Flint City Clerk – Angela Guillen and Davina Donahue (currently serving as the Interim City Clerk). East Village Magazine (EVM) has reached out to both candidates but neither has responded. City of Flint Human Resources (HR) Director Eddie Smith explained to the council in a Nov. 9 meeting that the City’s HR department had received 24 applications and resumes for the position of City Clerk. Smith and his...
read moreEducation Beat: New leadership team likely to take shape on Flint Ed Board following sweep of four incumbents
By Harold C. Ford “You don’t get to be disciplined; you get to be voted out.” –Karen Christian, president, United Teachers of Flint, admonishing the errant behaviors of Flint school board members, Sept. 21, 2022 And so, it came to be in the Nov. 8 general election that four incumbents running for re-election to the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) were swept from their positions — “voted out,” by Flint voters. It was a clean sweep of four board incumbents that may be unprecedented in local electoral politics. Longtime political...
read moreThe Who’s Tommy in Concert at The Capitol Theatre
By Patsy Isenberg “Explosive!” That’s how the Flint Repertory Theatre’s producing artistic director Michael Lluberes described the musical “The Who’s Tommy,” which played to an almost sold-out audience and nearly brought the house down at the Capital Theatre Nov. 18 and 19. He added in his notes from the program that the show is “an exhilarating story of hope, healing, and the human spirit. Tommy’s journey from outcast to celebrated pinball wizard is a sensory-defying, once in a lifetime theatrical...
read moreAnalysis: UM – Flint wrestling with implications of Strategic Transformation effort: will liberal arts — or the campus itself — survive?
By Jan Worth-Nelson Pressed by a complex mix of serious financial issues, declining enrollment, momentum to supply expected workforce needs, effects of the pandemic, and even socio-cultural shifts, the University of Michigan – Flint is grappling with the likelihood of major changes in its character and institutional design. It appears the new era is already underway, with the launch in 2021 of the new College of innovation and Technology (CIT) which offers eight degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-based...
read moreHerkenroder and Lewis voted president and vice-president of Flint city council, city clerk interviews to be Dec. 5
By Tom Travis Councilperson Allie Herkenroder (Ward 7) was selected Monday on a 6-3 vote to be Flint city council president, with Councilperson Ladel Lewis (Ward 2) as vice-president. Councilpersons Eric Mays (Ward 1), Jerri Winfrey-Carter (Ward 5) and Tonya Burns (Ward 6) voted against Herkenroder and Lewis. In addition, the council accepted a $10 million grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation and an additional $1.5 million from the city’s ARPA funds for a total of $11.5 million towards the Berston Field House improvements. (See related...
read moreUM responds to emeritus faculty: allegations “taken seriously,” Flint campus offers “much promise”
By Jan Worth-Nelson Allegations of an injudicious decision-making process and concerns about top-level bullying at the University of Michigan – Flint have been “taken seriously” and have been responded to “appropriately,” University of Michigan spokespersons said Friday. Associate Emerita Professor Theodosia Robertson and the other 20 former UM – Flint faculty who signed a letter of concern sent to UM President Santa J. Ono Nov. 2 received the response via email from Rick Fitzgerald from UM’s Office...
read moreElection roundup: Whitmer, Benson, Nessel, Kildee, Neeley win; State Legislature goes Democratic; All three proposals approved
By Paul Rozycki Mid-term elections are typically bad news for the party in the White House. Yet, while some final votes are still being counted, the results of Tuesday’s mid-term election were better than expected for most Democrats. In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Attorney General Dana Nessel all were reelected after facing challenges from Trump-backed election denying candidates. For the first time in decades both the state House and the state Senate will have Democratic majorities...
read moreAs UM – Flint launches changes, emeritus faculty register concern, call for “reasoned decisions”
By Jan Worth-Nelson In a letter to University of Michigan president Santa J. Ono, 21 University of Michigan – Flint emeritus faculty have registered concerns about both the process and substance of changes proposed in a “Strategic Transformation” initiative underway at the Flint campus. The one–page letter specifically targets UM – Flint Chancellor Debasish Dutta, whom the retired faculty declare has presided over “the emergence of a campus culture…where pressure replaces reasoned decisions of...
read moreCommentary: Are YOU being represented? Flint council members are elected to take a stand. Abstaining shirks their duty
By Christopher Frye Editor of Flint: Our Community, Our Voice Election Day 2022 is upon us. It is the day that We The People make our choices known on various ballot issues and elect Representatives to diverse legislative bodies from local school boards to our representatives in Congress. Allow me to repeat…we are voting for people to represent us at diverse levels of government. Therefore, if elected, it is incumbent upon the victor to be our representative. You are elected to take a stand on issues. You are elected to vote on...
read moreA Review: Starry Messenger – Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization (2022)
By Bob Thomas To gain a fresher perspective on the state of our current human beingness, I stepped into space with astrophysicist/educator Neil DeGrasse Tyson as my starry messenger. His book opens with an astronaut’s perspective: You develop instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, International politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a...
read moreOpinion: Let’s prosecute real criminals, not women and doctors
Letter to the Editor By David Leyton, Genesee County Prosecutor As county prosecutor, it is my top duty to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Genesee County. This is one of the many reasons I am supporting Proposal 3, which restores the right to reproductive freedom in Michigan’s constitution — a right that has existed for nearly 50 years. Without Proposal 3, an archaic 1931 law in Michigan that bans abortions and other forms of pregnancy-related care will go into effect. This law had been unenforceable until Roe v. Wade was...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – November 2022
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...
read moreProp. 3 would “restore Roe — nothing more, nothing less,” for Michigan women, proponents assert
By Jan Worth-Nelson The entire goal of Proposal 3, the “Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative” on Michigan’s Nov. 8 ballot, is “to restore Roe — nothing more, nothing less,” representatives from Reproductive Freedom for All (RFFA) declared in a panel discussion Saturday at Totem Books in Flint. “Proposal 3 restores the protections we had under Roe v. Wade for the past 50 years,” Shanay Watson-Whittaker, RFFA deputy campaign manager said, speaking to a group of about 15 preparing to go door...
read moreBook review: Persona, place, and poetics in Sarah Carson’s “How to Baptize a Child in Flint, Michigan”
By William Barillas Born and bred, as the expression goes, in Flint, Michigan, poet Sarah Carson has previously published three chapbooks and two full-length books. The provocatively titled book Poems in Which You Die (2014) consists of surrealistic prose poems, narratives for the most part, that provoke speculation on what mundane yet consequential situations they might symbolize. Perhaps they represent the psychic backdrop to the realism and naturalism of Buick City (2015), with its vignettes and character portraits of postindustrial...
read moreGov. Whitmer visits Flint with entourage of powerhouse Democrats
Photos by Tom Travis This story has been updated to include a photo of Flint Attorney Mike Behm running for re-election to the University of Michigan Board of Regents. – Editor This slideshow requires JavaScript. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was again in Flint today — this time at the Farmers’ Market. Whitmer returned to Flint with some of the same high-profile Democrats she had with her on last Friday’s visit. Today she added the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, former governor for six years and first female...
read moreVillage Life: Even Sadie’s puppy love didn’t convince me — I’m fine without a dog
By Tom Travis I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to take care of a dog and three cats. Not one of those little cute lap dogs but a really large, hyper black Lab named Sadie. Albeit Sadie is my brother and sister-in-law’s dog, so kind of like a niece-dog. I have to confess that the first two thoughts in my head were: my brother’s house is way out in the country about 30 miles north of Flint and west of Birch Run. I was envisioning morning coffee on his patio in the bucolic peacefulness of country life watching the deer graze at the...
read moreMichigan’s largest brownfield – former Buick City – to be redeveloped for $17 million, $3.25 million coming from Flint’s ARPA funds
By Tom Travis A resolution that will allocate $3.25 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding towards Ashley Capital’s redevelopment of the Buick City brownfield was approved Oct. 24 by the Flint City Council. The City of Flint administration had submitted a resolution to allocate the funds. At the same meeting, the council voted to accept a $2 million grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation for the Ashley Capital project. Ashley Capital is under contract to purchase the 350-acre former Buick City site from Revitalizing Auto Communities...
read moreA tale of two ARPA budgets – Council approves their ARPA budget and rejects the Mayor’s
By Tom Travis In Monday’s meeting City Council approved their version of a budget to spend the remaining $60 million of the $94 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Back in June the Mayor and his administration had presented their version of an ARPA allocation budget. The council has not approved Mayor Neeley’s ARPA allocation budget. The council’s ARPA Allocation Plan includes $18.1 million in Community Grant categories, including $5 million for Home Repair and Improvement, $2.5 million for Youth Job Training,...
read moreEducation Beat Analysis: Two board meetings — UM Regents, Flint Board of Education — reveal stark contrasts of function, dysfunction
By Harold C. Ford [Editor’s note: Harold C. Ford, Education Beat writer for East Village Magazine (EVM) for nearly six years, attended two education board meetings within 24 hours. He was present at the University of Michigan (UM) Board of Regents meeting, held in Flint Oct. 20. He started to watch the You Tube recording of the Oct. 12 Flint Board of Education (FBOE) meeting Oct. 21 as he was out of the country and unable to attend the meeting in-person. He stopped watching the 5.5-hour FBOE meeting at the 3:45 mark when the Flint Board...
read moreWhitmer touts infrastructure, public safety, reproductive rights protection in Flint campaign rally with powerhouse Democratic lineup
By Tom Travis “Are we gonna go backward or are we gonna put our foot on the gas?” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked a crowd of about 75 gathered for a campaign rally Friday at Union City Ball Park on Torrey Road near Flint’s Bishop Airport. Along with Whitmer was a powerhouse lineup of leading Michigan Democrats, many running for office, and Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a member of the U.S. House’s Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Appearing with Whitmer were Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Michigan...
read moreCommentary: Facing enrollment and financial challenges, UM-Flint asks, what’s next?
By Paul Rozycki “Academic politics makes me yearn for the simplicity of the Middle East.” -Henry Kissinger Could the University of Michigan-Flint go the way of Auto World? Probably not. But there are more than a few who are worried that the Flint branch of the Ann Arbor campus could face the same fate as the downtown auto-based amusement center that was closed and demolished in the 1980s, after failing to live up to expectations. Ironically, one of the UM-Flint’s newer structures, the William S. White Building, which houses the School of...
read moreUM-Flint administration lambasted for “bullying,” “chaos,” at UM Regents meeting as heated public comments critique “Strategic Transformation” and call for firing consultant
By Jan Worth-Nelson The University of Michigan Regents got an earful in public comments Oct. 20 from faculty and students concerned about the actions of UM-Flint Chancellor Debasish Dutta, controversial steps underway to respond to challenges on the Flint campus, and the use of a consulting firm the group said advocates austerity and is wreaking havoc on higher education nationally in exchange for the bottom line. The Regents, the UM’s eight-member elected governing body, hold their regular meeting annually in October on the UM...
read more“One University” faculty, staff and students rally for equity and saving liberal arts at UM – Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson In an outdoor rally timed to correspond to the meeting of the University of Michigan Regents on the Flint campus Thursday, about 65 UM – Flint faculty, staff, alums and students gathered in chilly McKinnon Plaza to call for equity and fuller resources for the humanities at the downtown institution. In almost every case, the participants and speakers shared deep and abiding Flint roots, and say they want the university in their own hometown to be fairly and adequately supported — and devoted to being a...
read moreEducation Beat: 15 Flint Board of Education candidates vying for Nov. 8 election; 8 responded to EVM request for info
By Harold C. Ford Fifteen candidates are running for five available seats on the Flint board of Education (FBOE) in the upcoming Nov. 8 election. Candidates are listed at the website of the Genesee County Clerk’s office. Nine candidates are running for three spots, all full six-year terms: Linda Boose; Chris Del Morone; Emily Doerr; Dylan Luna; Carol McIntosh; Claudia Perkins; Melody Relerford; Lakeisha Tureaud; and Audrey Young. Four candidates are running for one spot, a partial term ending Dec. 2024: Kasey Calvert; Michael Clack; Allen...
read moreAn interview with Sheldon Neeley: “We’re going to continue down a path that I created and we have a blueprint for it”
Editors’ Note: East Village Magazine conducted in-person interviews with both Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Karen Weaver, who are facing off in the Nov. 8 election — Neeley for a second consecutive term, Weaver for a return to the office Neeley won from her by 205 votes in 2019. The candidates were provided an identical set of questions in advance; answers here combine direct quotes and in some cases paraphrases and light editing of their answers to assure clarity and coherence. In each case EVM asked one question specific to the...
read moreAn interview with Karen Weaver: “I am better qualified and I want to have an impact”
Editors’ Note: East Village Magazine conducted in-person interviews with both Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Karen Weaver, who are facing off in the Nov. 8 election — Neeley for a second consecutive term, Weaver for a return to the office Neeley won from her by 205 votes in 2019. The candidates were provided an identical set of questions in advance; answers here combine direct quotes and in some cases paraphrases and light editing of their answers for clarity and coherence. In each case EVM asked one question specific to the...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – October 2022
The October 2022 edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...
read moreAddiction, life of boxer Taylor Duerr at heart of documentary with Flint roots screening Oct. 19
By Jan Worth-Nelson When Flint native filmmaker Michael Ramsdell got to know boxer Taylor “Machine Gun” Duerr at the Brighton gym where they both worked out, Ramsdell was coming off his last film project, a documentary about baseball star (also a Flint native) Jim Abbott. Ramsdell had loved doing a sports-based story, and he wanted to do another one. What he didn’t know at first, though, was that Duerr’s story presented a radically different, darker challenge: the boxer was a heroin addict. That story — what...
read moreNew state park will bring “stability” and “open up the river to the community,” Michigan DNR Director says
By Tom Travis The Flint City Council approved a resolution Monday night to allow the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to invest $30.2 million in establishing a state park along much of the Flint River. The park is envisioned to encompass 230 acres stretching approximately 3 miles east to west and more than 1.5 miles north to south. In a presentation to the council, Ron Olson, Chief of Parks and Recreation with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) explained, “I think it creates stability and it opens...
read moreFlint Council approves $8.6 million from ARPA funds to provide a $300 credit to every Flint water customer
By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include new developments in a press release from the Mayor’s office on Friday afternoon, 9/30/22 – EVM Editors City council has passed an $8.6 million resolution, funded out of the $94 million ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds that aims to bring relief to Flint water customers in the form of a one-time $300 credit. The resolution aims “to respond to the public health and negative economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by addressing water bill costs,”...
read moreVillage Life: Romance of city life sometimes falls short, but neighborly life can be full of grace
By Jan Worth-Nelson When I’m dying, will I be able to mutter to my grieving loved ones, hey! I’m glad I lived in Flint? I know, I know, macabre thought…but as fall crisps in with its inevitable melancholy reminders of the cycle of life and death, I find myself ruminating on mortal matters. And this column seems to want to be about two answers to my big end-of-life question: first, the evolution of romantic illusions about city life; and second, my most cherished discoveries about what I love here now, in a very rich and satisfying present. ...
read moreFlint Repertory Theatre kicks off 2022-23 season with Death of a Salesman
By Patsy Isenberg Arthur Miller’s 1949 Death of a Salesman opened Sept. 23 to a full house of enraptured theatergoers at Flint’s Repertory Theatre (The Rep). For this opening night of the new season, food and drinks were served before the play began and a champagne toast was offered afterward — perhaps to help salve the gloomy effect of the plot. The play runs through Oct. 9 and tickets can be purchased at tickets.thewhiting.com. At the least, the play was powerfully delivered with expert directing by the Rep’s Artistic...
read moreEducation Beat: Chaotic Ed Board meetings in September draw ire from Flint Schools staff
By Harold C. Ford “The whole is less than the sum of its parts.” –from Edgar Morin’s La Methode La Nature de la Nature, 2017 Only 55 seconds into the Flint Board of Education’s (FBOE) first of three September meetings – a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Sept. 14 – the first parliamentary interjection, a point of information, was made by Trustee Laura MacIntyre. MacIntyre contended that Carol McIntosh, FBOE President, had not read Trustee Joyce McNeal’s name during a roll call to open the meeting. Initially, McIntosh ignored...
read more“Game changers” for City of Flint: Mayor touts blight, ARPA funds, proposed water credit, infrastructure
By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include the correct amount of the C.S. Mott Foundation grant towards the Hasselbring and the Brennan Community Centers from $300,000 to $750,000. The Hasselbring Center will receive $450,000 and the Brennan Center will receive $300,000. Hot topics for Flint residents are city employees’ pension fund, blight elimination, and the spending of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Funds) funds on Flint’s crumbling infrastructure. One plan for ARPA money distribution includes a $300 water credit for...
read moreCommentary: What’s at stake on the Nov. 8 ballot? Here’s a preview
By Paul Rozycki It’s common to refer to every upcoming election as “the most important election” of our times. Most of the time that’s just political rhetoric to get people out to vote. Yet, this Nov. 8 mid-term election may be the exception to that old rubric. Yes, it’s just one more mid-term election, but there is a lot at stake this year. To make things even more complex, this is the first election after the redistricting process at the start of the decade. Thus, many voters and candidates will be in different districts than those in the...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – September 2022
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...
read more“Their swift action and smooth response ensured the safety and availability of Flint’s drinking water was undisturbed” – EPA Region 5 Director Debra Shore
By Tom Travis On the heels of a major GLWA water line break in mid-August, a federal representative, EPA Region-5 Administrator, Debra Shore, toured the Flint Water Plant and praised the Flint Water Department staff. The EPA’s Region 5 is the largest of its 10 regions. Region 5 comprises six of the eight Great Lakes states, including 35 tribal nations. “Their [The Flint Water Department] swift action and smooth response ensured the safety and availability of Flint’s drinking water was undisturbed. Let me say, this is...
read more“I was tired of seeing the same thing – This is why I buy cars like this” 18th Back to the Bricks is in the books
By Tom Travis [This article has been updated to include new statistics about the 2022 Back to the Bricks event from Executive Director, Amber Taylor. Also, more photos have been added.] Five years ago James and Pam Bogart of Flushing were riding their Harleys near Kalamazoo when they saw a sky-blue 1960 Pontiac Bonneville sitting in a parking lot. The next day the Bogarts went back to look at the car. Remembering the same car his dad had when he was a kid, James Bogart was gazing at the Bonneville when his wife, Pam, yelled out of their car...
read moreCommentary: The Tom Sumner Program leaves a history of civil conversation in an uncivil time
By Paul Rozycki After a decade and a half of giving Flint area listeners hours of civil and wide-ranging conversations in politics, music, science, writing, and the arts, Tom Sumner has decided to end his radio program. It has run on WFOV 92.1 FM in Flint. In his recent post, Sumner said “I’m suspending production of The Tom Sumner Program indefinitely effective Friday September 2, 2022. There are several reasons, but if I were to pick three, they would be dwindling audience, increasing difficulty raising money, and for 15 years I...
read moreEducation Beat : Tumult continues on Flint ed board as president, treasurer tossed
By Harold C. Ford “Here we go again.” – Joyce Ellis-McNeal after being removed as Flint Board of Education president, Aug. 17 The tumultuous nature of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) was, once again, on full display at the panel’s 3.5-hour Aug. 17 meeting as Joyce Ellis-McNeal, president, and Laura MacIntyre, treasurer, were suddenly tossed from their positions. Voting to unseat both McNeal and MacIntyre were: Carol McIntosh, vice president; Chris Del Morone, assistant secretary/treasurer; Allen Gilbert, trustee; and Danielle Green,...
read more“What’s next? What do we do with all this?” Tracee Glab, new FIA executive director, welcomes new era
By Tom Travis “The arts have meant a lot in terms of transforming my life. I grew up in the southwest Detroit, immigrant neighborhood — mostly Italians, in the shadow of the Ford Rouge Plant. A lot of people that lived in my neighborhood worked at Ford or for Marathon Oil or one of the other industries in the area. So it was a very hard working, working-class, blue collar neighborhood. That significant background is part of what motivates and has prepared Tracee Glab for her job as the newly-selected executive director of the...
read moreTotem Books hosts Carrie Walling’s “Human Rights and Justice for All” book launch
By Paul Rozycki Carrie Booth Walling introduced her new book “Human Rights and Justice for All: Demanding Dignity in the United States and Around the World” at a well-attended kickoff event Thurs. Aug. 11, at Totem Books in Flint. Dawn Jones of ABC 12 TV conducted the interview and was moderator as Walling discussed the book and answered questions from the audience about the importance of human rights in today’s world. Both were introduced by former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling. Carrie Walling said she was inspired to work for the cause of...
read moreEducation Beat: Staff shortages at Flint schools at a “critical” stage
By Harold C. Ford “Teachers are walking away.” — Joyce Ellis McNeal, president, Flint Board of Education The central issue at a four-hour Flint Board of Education (FBOE) Committee of the Whole meeting Aug. 10 was the “critical” shortage of candidates to fill vacant staff positions in the district — primarily teachers. Flint officials said more than 40 positions are currently unfilled by qualified, full-time staff. Joyce Ellis-McNeal, FBOE president, stated 47 positions were vacant. Karen Christian, United Teachers of Flint...
read moreArt Review: “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” explored at latest Mott-Warsh exhibit
By Harold C. Ford “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” is the current exhibit at the Mott-Warsh (MW) Gallery, 815 S. Saginaw St. (corner of Court and Saginaw streets), Flint. The exhibit ends Aug. 20. According to Stephanie James, director and curator of the Mott-Warsh collection, the exhibit is in response to the angst-inducing issues of the current era that impact most of us: the COVID-19 pandemic; racial justice; the Jan. 6 insurrection; tussles over voting rights, reproductive rights, gender equity; and myriad other issues. The current...
read moreCity’s financial peril thwarted with $220 million boost from State coffers
By Tom Travis An infusion of $220 million into the city’s coffers from the State Treasury will give enduring relief to the city’s finances. On July 6, Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced the City of Flint will receive $220 million from State budget allocations to fund the city’s pension costs. That allocation is part of the State’s $76 billion budget Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed July 1. In recent budget hearings the City’s CFO Robert Widigan has detailed a desperate picture of the city’s underfunded pension...
read moreCity Council Beat: Lead line replacements and restorations to begin as council approves $17.8-million contract
By Tom Travis City of Flint residents can expect remaining lead line replacements and restorations to sidewalks, curbs and yards to begin in the coming weeks. At its Monday meeting, the city council approved a $17.8 million contract with LGC Global, based in Detroit, to take on the mammoth task of completing more than 400 lead pipe replacements and 8,500 restorations throughout the city. According to Mike Brown, Department of Public Works (DPW) director, the average cost for each restoration is about $1,300. The cost is an...
read moreSports Beat: Flint City Bucks booted from USL2 Semifinal after strong season
By Harold C. Ford The Flint City Bucks soccer club was booted from the United States League Two (USL2) semifinal in Des Moines by Ventura County Fusion FC (football club) July 31. The California club prevailed 2-1 and will host the championship match Aug. 6. Ventura County scored its goal on a magnificent bend-it-like-Beckham goal — the Bucks’ website dubbed it a “wonder goal” — from forward Nathaniel Opoku in the 40th minute. From the right side (facing Flint’s goal) Opoku, using his left foot, perfectly curled the ball in front...
read moreElection Beat: Primary voters choose nominees — Neeley, Weaver, Dixon win, advance to November
By Paul Rozycki The August primary election in Genesee County saw nearly 23 percent of voters cast ballots as they chose the nominees for the November election. That is slightly higher than the average turnout for most August primaries county-wide. However, the Flint turnout was below average at a little more than 14 percent, with 11,000 of the city’s 75,000 voters selecting two of the three mayoral candidates, Mayor Sheldon Neeley and former Mayor Karen Weaver, to proceed to November. With redistricting, voters and candidates...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint Board of Education — Some good news stories and some same old stories
By Harold C. Ford [Editors’ Note: Harold C. Ford, East Village Magazine’s (EVM) education reporter, had intended to write a July piece featuring some good news stories he’d collected about Flint Community Schools (FCS) in the past few months. But, alas, the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) meeting he witnessed on July 20 was likely the most chaotic witnessed by him in more than five years of covering Flint’s public schools. Nonetheless, this piece features “good news stories.” For purposes of readability and thematic tidiness, EVM has divided...
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