Commentary: Trees, transparency and trust in Flint
By Paul Rozycki "Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does." - George Bernard Shaw “A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a...
Commentary: When it comes to Trump, it may be time for Plan B
By Paul Rozycki We’ve been doing it all wrong. For those of us who have greeted Donald Trump’s election with fear and loathing, we have spent the last year and half pointing out his egomania, his "alternate facts," his boorish attacks on almost every group under the...
View from the Coast: “Indivisible” group well underway to resist, combat Trump
By Teddy Robertson It’s Feb. 16 and a big rainstorm is predicted for California tonight. It is also Day 27 of the new administration of the 45th President of the United States. I’ve come out for the first meeting of San Pedro, California, residents interested in a...
CCNA neighbors act to save parkway trees; city council president pledges help
By Jan Worth-Nelson This story has been modified from its original version to include further comment from Angela Warren, administrator of the Genesee Conservation District, and followup comments from CCNA president Mike Keeler -- Ed. When Mike Keeler, president of...
Tendaji Talks finish season with “Alchemy of the Soul” by “Dr. P,” Joyce Piert
By Robert R. Thomas “Alchemy of the Soul: An African-Centered Education,” the title of the final Tendaji Talk of the current series, is also the title of a 2015 book by Joyce Piert. Dr. P, as she is affectionately called, was the evening’s principal speaker. Donna...
Mayor welcomes 33 new firefighters-in-training; Station #8 expected to reopen
By Jan Worth-Nelson Thirty-three firefighters-in-training made a surprise stop at City Hall today as Mayor Karen Weaver conducted a press conference in the lobby about water credits. The prospective addition of the firefighters-- thirty-one male, two female -- whose...
Flint Charter Revision proposes ethics, finance changes: Feb. 25 public meeting set
by Harold C. Ford A draft of the first Flint city charter revision in 43 years is ready for public scrutiny after two years of work, according to Charter Commission member Jim Richardson. The revised charter, produced by a nine-member Charter Review Commission, would...
Longstanding “systemic racism” implicated in Flint water crisis, Civil Rights Commission asserts
By Jan Worth-Nelson While asserting that there were no "overt racist actions" that created the Flint water crisis, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission stated Friday that if the question is "Was race a factor in the Flint Water Crisis," the answer would be "an...
Governor’s spokesman Baird defends end of water credits, highlights ongoing state assistance
By Jan Worth-Nelson Water credits for Flint residents may be ending Feb. 28, but several other key elements of the state's response will continue, according to Richard Baird, senior advisor to Governor Rick Snyder. Services which will not end, he affirmed, include...
State won’t bend on end to water credits, Weaver says, adding tap water still not safe
By Jan Worth-Nelson Note: This story has been corrected to clarify that the proposal to hire Aonie Gilcreast has not yet come before the Flint City Council--Ed. A disagreement on what constitutes acceptable water quality between city officials and Governor Rick...
Michigan Civil Rights Commission to deliver water crisis report Friday
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission will adopt and release their final report on the Flint water crisis at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at the Northbank Center in Flint, according to Lee Gonzales, legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. The...
Weaver objects to state’s sudden water credit cutoff, asks “why now?”
By Robert. R. Thomas Mayor Karen Weaver held a press conference this morning in City Hall to address issues surrounding the suspension of state water credits for Flint residents. Referencing a letter she received from Governor Rick Snyder's office last week, the mayor...
East Village Magazine – February 2017
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
Essay: Protests carry forward spirits of two mothers and an old friend, still on the march
By Teddy Robertson I haven’t seen Judy for fifty years, but here she is on Facebook, standing next to a sign that reads: “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this shit.” Her face is not really familiar to me but it triggers the memory of another face---her mother. Of...
Residents air concerns about Central High School demolition, replacement
By Nic Custer and Jan Worth-Nelson Although an expected discussion on demolishing Flint Central High School and Whittier Middle School did not appear on the Flint Board of Education agenda Feb. 1, residents shared their concerns about the plan during public comment....
Flint rally, march call out “You are welcome here” and “This is what democracy looks like”
By Jan Worth-Nelson About 400 marchers assembled at Flint's City Hall Saturday, brandishing homemade signs declaring "You Are Welcome Here!" "Love Trumps Hate," "No Ban, No Wall," "This is what democracy looks like" and many other calls for equality, justice and...
Review: Flint’s “Women of a New Tribe” show shines at FIA
By Harold C. Ford I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. …from “Phenomenal Woman” and “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou, 1978...
Masonic Temple future uncertain as membership, income decline
By Jan Worth-Nelson Downtown Flint’s Masonic Temple is not for sale, according to Judy Jones, the Temple manager. “We’d like to squelch those rumors,” she said in late January. But John Porritt, president of the Flint Masonic Temple Association board, said while the...
Village Life: We all need a “madness-free” zone
By The Rev. Dan Scheid Closing St. Paul’s every-Tuesday lunch ministry for the end of November and all of December last year was one of the more frustrating calls I’ve had to make as parish priest. I had been noticing, along with volunteers and lunch guests, that...
Commentary: Goodbye, Barnum and Bailey, welcome circus politics
By Paul Rozycki It’s probably just a coincidence that in the same week that the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus announced they were folding up their tent after 146 years, Donald Trump was sworn in as our next president. But in light of last year’s...
Lead-abating nutritious food for Flint families available free at mobile pantry: February schedule set
Nutritious food that can limit the effects of lead exposure will be available free for Flint families on 13 dates in February via mobile food pantry stops at locations throughout the city, according to an announcement from the Michigan Department of Health and Human...
MTA plan envisions expanded routes, accessibility, cleaner rides
By Nic Custer The Flint Mass Transportation Authority is working to increase routes, make bus stops more accessible, integrate scheduling apps and electronic payment and replace 160 of its 280 vehicles over the next decade. These are essential priorities offered in...
Library Black History Month brunch to feature R&B, honor four
By Megan Ockert Detroit Motown cover band Serieux will headline the Genesee District Library’s 16th Annual Black History Month Brunch scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Genesys Conference and Banquet Center in Grand Blanc. The event also will honor four...
Analysis: Packed Water Town Hall evokes spirit of ’76, ’36 as data pours in
by Harold C. Ford “…When you have a great violation of the people and there’s a great sense of injury…you have to give people an honorable means and context in which to express and eliminate that grief and speak decisively and succinctly back to the issue. Otherwise...
Essay: Remembering the Selma March, the “grandest hour of the civil rights movement”
Editor's Note: The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March some 51 years ago was seen by many historians as the "grandest hour of the civil rights movement". It's also seen as the last major victory of the civil rights movement. Nearly 30,000 people marched to the...
