Commentary: Is privatizing public services a trustworthy choice for Flint?
By Paul Rozycki During a recent East Village Crime Watch meeting, a major issue was the possibility of hiring D.M. Burr to provide private security for our neighborhood, in addition to the Flint Police Department, Mott Community College, and the East Village...
Blues Festival draws jubilant crowd, features “Who’s Who” of local blues
By Sherrema Bower For the performers of the eighth annual Flint Blues Festival on the lawn of the Flint Public Library Aug. 26, having a sense of connectedness to others and home was a common theme. The performance line-up, organized and headlined by Flint blues...
Crim moments: 88-year-old finishes, Hurley team’s work “down to a science”
By Darlene C. Carey When more than 15,000 runners, walkers, and spectators flooded the Flint streets for the 41st Crim Festival of Races Aug. 27, one face among the many at the finish line stood out. That was Margaret Rough, 88, walking her 25th year in the Crim....
Who owns that house down the street? “Flint Property Portal” goes live with answers
By Dylan Doherty Flint residents have a new way to find and report information about properties in the city--from who owns them, to demolition status, to building conditions--thanks to a new website that went live Aug. 21. Training sessions on how to use the Flint...
Detroit 1967: a movie, a book, and a searing memory of when the riots hit Flint
by Harold C. Ford “A riot is the language of the unheard.” --Martin Luther King “The officer hit him and said, ‘We’re going to kill all of you black-ass nigger pimps and throw you in the river. We’re going to fill up the Detroit River with all you pimps and whores’”...
CCNA residents, on edge after crimes, meet to consider options, deterrence
By Kim Owens Faced with a roomful of more than 50 College Cultural Neighborhood residents on edge after a spate of recent crimes, Flint Police Chief Tim Johnson attempted to offer reassurance at an Aug. 17 meeting of the College Cultural Neighborhood Association...
Print show honoring DAS Print great William Stolpin opening at FIA Sept. 16
By Jan Worth-Nelson Note: Sadly, we have been notified that Bill died this morning, Aug. 21. Considering how much he loved space, it seems right that the sun will go dark as he passes to the other side. RIP, William Stolpin. William Stolpin, one of two remaining...
Review: Quoting Comey,”The Chickenshit Club” eyes why the DOJ goes easy on bankers
By Robert R. Thomas My wife, a retired librarian, came across a blurb for this book, of which she said, “This looks to be right up your alley.” She was correct, as usual, on many levels. I am hardly the only American who has never been satisfied by any answers as to...
Review: small turnout, big enthusiasms fill Meadow at Flint Jazz Festival
By Sherrema A. Bower “I’ll go where the jazz goes,” retiree Lamont Jones, 61, said during last weekend’s 36th Annual Flint Jazz Festival, Aug. 11-13. Jones was one of a small but enthusiastic crowd enjoying a fusion of jazz music, jazz lovers, and good food at The...
Democratic candidates for governor address Flint issues at UM-Flint forum
By Paul Rozycki Flint may have just completed one election and is facing another this November, but that didn’t discourage the Progressive Caucus of Mid-Michigan, the Progressive Caucus of Flint, Michigan People’s Campaign and the UM-Flint College Democrats, from...
Dispensary expansion, cell phone tower permits OK’d by Flint Planning Commission
By Dylan Doherty Permits for an expansion of a medical marijuana facility and for construction of a 150-foot downtown wireless telephone tower were unanimously granted by the Flint Planning Commission at its Aug. 8 meeting. As a required part of the process, the...
East Village Magazine – August 2017
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
Two-to-one “yes” votes usher in new charter; City Council incumbents face challengers
By Jan Worth-Nelson The Flint Charter revision, developed after two years' work by a nine-member elected commission and a multitude of community hearings and forums, passed with a whopping 64% of the vote in the Tuesday election. The new charter, set to take effect...
Review: Love’im or hate’im, Michael Moore remembers Flint in rambunctious Broadway debut
By Donald Harbin Michael Moore is either loved or hated by people familiar with him. As a filmmaker (12 films) and author (8 books), television producer (3 shows) and outspoken political activist, he has produced enough material to offend many people, endear him to...
18 Flint people on the water crisis: A Village Life gathering at Woodside Church
By Jan Worth-Nelson A visit to Flint by a Boston film crew in July led to a gathering of 18 Flint residents invited by East Village Magazine to talk about their lives in the city and their reflections on the water crisis and its effects. Their comments that night, all...
Commentary: Vote “yes” on the new city charter
As Flint residents get ready to vote on a new city charter, prepared after two years' work by an elected nine-member charter review commission, EVM received two last perspectives, the one below advocating a "yes" vote, the other a "no" vote--that view, by Sally...
Commentary: Vote “no” on the new city charter
As Flint residents prepare to vote on a new city charter, prepared after two years' work by an elected nine-member charter review commission, EVM received two last perspectives, the one below advocating a "no" vote, the other a "yes" vote by Richard and Betty Ramsdell...
Planetarium manager: Why Christians should believe in science
By Jan Worth-Nelson Longway Planetarium manager Buddy Stark is a scientist with a degree in science education who routinely describes to students how evidence from dendritic tree rings to stalactites suggest the world is millions of years old. He also is a Nazarene...
Solar eclipse big day is coming: Here’s how to see it in Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson The sun’s greatest show on earth in years will be Monday, Aug. 21, and Flint’s Longway Planetarium, the largest planetarium in Michigan, is ready. Even though the first total solar eclipse in 40 years will reach only 82 percent totality in Flint,...
Village Life: Only slightly in mourning, my husband becomes a full-time Flintoid
By Jan Worth-Nelson If you see my husband Ted around town anytime soon, be especially kind. He is going through a trauma. He’s moving on, after four decades as a Californian, to become a fulltime Flintoid. He’s giving up his cherished “AWRDMKR” California license...
Commentary: Murder a harsh dose of reality in East Village
By Paul Rozycki Some years ago, one of our favorite programs was “Murder, She Wrote,” where mystery writer Jessica Fletcher solved the latest murder in the small New England fishing village of Cabot Cove. At the time, my reaction was that for all of Flint’s crime...
Pipe replacement crews dig in: “This is personal”
by Harold C. Ford Almost any day recently on a beat-up block of Copeman Boulevard in northwest Flint, beyond the cacophony of politics, lawsuits, economics, and science that is the Flint Water Crisis, you’ll find a gritty band of workers laboring to resolve a tragedy....
Flint “booming in the literary world” as writers convene, commiserate, celebrate
By Megan Ockert “There is such a literary presence in Flint,” Carmen-Ainsworth high school teacher and writer Jes Mathews told her audience at the Flint Literary Festival during its inaugural run July 21-22. “People don’t realize that Flint is booming in the literary...
As five water PODs close, officials declare city water “improving” despite trust deficits
By Jan Worth-Nelson Flanked by a handful of state officials, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver announced this week that five of the city's water distribution sites, called "PODS," will be closed by the end of the summer -- two Aug. 11 and three more Sept. 5. The closures...
Commentary: Why to vote “Yes” on the Charter: Placing the collective interests of residents first
Placing the collective interests of residents first: an interloper’s support for proposed Charter By Ashley Nickels, Ph.D. On Tuesday, Aug. 8, Flint residents will vote on whether or not to adopt revisions to their city charter for the first time since 1974. As an...
