Commentary: Why to vote “No” on the Flint Charter revision: existing one already is “masterful”
Flint voters will be asked to vote Aug. 8 on whether to approve a new charter for the city. As Paul Rozycki explained in his July column in EVM, the current city's charter was last revised in 1974, when Flint's population was nearly 200,000 and there were still...
Creative neighbors implement plan to water parkway trees
By Jan Worth-Nelson Mike Keeler and Andy Everman are two of the city trees' best friends. Keeler, president of the College Cultural Neighborhood Association, and Everman, a board member of the Genesee Conservation District and ardent advocate for city trees, are...
East Village Magazine – July 2017
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
This month in The Village: July features storytelling, folk music, Lit Fest, Rumplestiltskin
Compiled by Meghan Christian "This Month" highlights a selection of interesting events available to our readers -- beginning after our hard copy publication date of July 6. It is not an exhaustive list, rather a sampling of opportunities in the city. Minecraft July...
Village Life: Flint Pride community says, “You are safe here,” offers welcome and celebration
By Meghan Christian I have always considered myself to be an ordinary person. I did well in school, but wasn’t the smartest kid. I was in theatre and choir, but never got the lead or a solo. I have always had great friends, but I wasn’t one of the popular kids. I...
Commentary: In Gov. Snyder’s RTAB decision on a tax lien moratorium, more than just finances are at stake
The following essay was written by Dr. Ben Pauli, Ph.D., an assistant professor of social science in the Department of Liberal Studies at Kettering University in Flint. Thanks to Chris Savage at Electablog, where this essay first appeared, for allowing us to reprint...
Book Review: Sing for Your Life, a Story of Race, Music, and Family
by Harold C. Ford In 1994 at the age of 12, Ryan Speedo Green was taken forcibly to Virginia’s infamous DeJarnette Center after he threatened to kill his mother and his brother. The lowest point for Green at DeJarnette may have been when his downward spiraling...
Literary Festival to feature acclaimed writers, workshop, book fair and more
By Megan Ockert The first ever Flint Literary Festival takes flight July 21-22 with a lineup of four acclaimed writers with Flint roots, along with panel discussions, book-signing receptions and a fiction writing workshop. The festival’s featured authors, all...
Flint residents face water uncertainty amid council chaos, state lawsuits, indictments
By Jan Worth-Nelson The month of June delivered a series of blows to progress toward clean drinking water and restoring trust for the city’s weary residents. At a June 26 meeting, after four hours of raucous infighting, the City Council declined to sign on to Mayor...
Commentary: Flint’s Aug. 8 primary affects the city and your life
By Paul Rozycki In light of recent terrorist threats at Bishop Airport, criminal indictments of state water officials, continuing squabbles between the Flint City Council and the mayor over the source of Flint’s water, the hype over a $50 million election in Georgia,...
Flint native, photographer Dan White, comes home to capture larger-than-life “Flint Folks”
By Jan Worth-Nelson Pulitzer Prize winner Dan White, 60, has spent decades photographing Kansas City jazz musicians, cowboys, the Lost Boys of Sudan, Zapotec women of Oaxaca, and aboriginal peoples of Australia. And now he's come back to Flint, where he grew up in a...
The Whiting’s new season opens curtains to live performance, community support
By Megan Ockert The Whiting, Flint’s Cultural Center performing arts venue, has announced its 2017/2018 schedule. It features shows such as Kinky Boots, Rain: a Tribute To The Beatles, Peter Pan, and Black Violin. According to Whiting Executive Director Jarret Haynes,...
Review: Why are we killing the planet? “The Myth of Human Supremacy” nails troubling answers
By Robert R. Thomas Human supremacy, according to Derrick Jensen, is a contradiction in terms. In The Myth of Human Supremacy, Jensen’s impassioned and intelligent analysis of the myth that proclaims we humans are superior beings, posits his approach with essential...
Equality Caucus hosts weekend events, gears up for Flint Pride
By Meghan Christian The Equality Caucus of Genesee County hosted a weekend of events beginning June 9 with Rainbow in Retro, a historical exhibit gathered by Flint native Tim Retzloff, to demonstrate the rich history of LGBTQ people in Flint and ending June 11 with an...
Five indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in Flint water crisis; sixth charged with obstruction
By Jan Worth-Nelson Charges of involuntary manslaughter related to the Flint water crisis have been slapped on five past or present state officials for their alleged "failure to act," leading to deaths from the Legionnaires Disease outbreak of 2015. Highest ranking...
East Village Magazine – June 2017
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
Commentary: Will a cool spring give us a hot summer?
By Paul Rozycki After a fairly mild winter, spring has been rather cool, gray, and rainy. However, what’s been true for the weather may not be true for this summer’s political outlook. More than a few political issues offer the prospect of being very hot. On the...
Flint Pride Month celebrates history, struggles of LGBTQ community
By Meghan Christian Since 2000, June has been recognized as “Pride Month,” also National LGBTQ History Month. In Flint, activists annually join in the observance, both by offering a hometown event and by reflecting on the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and...
Three youth programs benefit from $271,000 grant package from a dozen donors
by Aubrey McClain Three programs designed to serve thousands of Flint youth have been granted $271,000 by a group of 12 donors/institutions, the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce recently announced. The funds will focus on after-school programming, teen...
Glory days in rearview mirror for Flint high school sports: resurrection might be in the works
By Harold C. Ford Flintstones (basketball): The name of the Flintstones rose to prominence during the successful run of Michigan State basketball including three consecutive Final Fours and a national championship. The four (Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson,...
CALENDAR: This month in The Village offers films, music, Flint Pride and more
Compiled and selected by EVM Managing Editor Meghan Christian “This Month:” is a new EVM feature highlighting a selection of interesting events available to our readers – It is not an exhaustive list, rather a sampling of opportunities in the city. Thursday, June 1...
KWA chief: water decisions mired in parochialism and politics
By Jan Worth-Nelson Attempting to explain the the City of Flint's probable move to stay on "Detroit water" for the next 30 years, Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright, who also is chief executive officer of the Karegnondi Pipeline Authority (KWA), said what...
Andrew Custer awarded a Fulbright for work in Colombia
By Jan Worth-Nelson Andrew Custer, 27, a Michigan State University graduate from Flint, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to Colombia from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Custer, an alumnus of The...
Review: “The Kremlin Playbook” depicts eroding democracies, prompting heebie-jeebies
By Robert R. Thomas While looking for a Canadian hockey channel between the interminable rash of mind-numbing commercials during the final two minutes of a basketball game, I stumbled upon the conclusion to a C-SPAN telecast of a federal intelligence hearing. I never...
Former Mayor Walling responds to NOVA film: “It was hard to watch”
By Jan Worth-Nelson Former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, an omnipresent and embattled figure in the Flint water crisis until his defeat for re-election in November, 2015, sat quietly with his wife near the back of the auditorium last week as producers from the PBS...
