Land Bank reprioritizing demolitions as federal funds dry up, FNU members told
Nov27

Land Bank reprioritizing demolitions as federal funds dry up, FNU members told

By Coner Segren Federal “Hardest Hit Fund” dollars appropriated to Flint expired this year, leaving the Genesee County Land Bank without a large source of funds. These funds were key to demolitions in Flint, the Land Bank’s Christina Kelly told participants in a November Zoom meeting of Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU).   Kelly, the Land Bank’s director of planning and neighborhood revitalization, reported that...

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After $36.5 million renovation of century-old downtown landmark, Hilton Garden Inn opens with two new restaurants, COVID-19 protocols
Nov09

After $36.5 million renovation of century-old downtown landmark, Hilton Garden Inn opens with two new restaurants, COVID-19 protocols

By Tom Travis The first guests have checked into their rooms and reservations have been made for the weeks and months to come, according to the new Hilton Garden Inn staff. A historic century-old building that sat vacant for two decades has been renovated into a new 101-guest room hotel in the heart of Flint’s downtown and is launching with several levels of COVID-19 protections. Towering over downtown Flint, the 11-story...

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Commentary:  Biden wins — What does it all mean? Ten takeaways from the 2020 election
Nov09

Commentary: Biden wins — What does it all mean? Ten takeaways from the 2020 election

By Paul Rozycki In a year of pandemics, racial division, economic crisis, and the most divisive election in the last century, it’s a challenge to uncover the things that really matter in this year’s presidential election. In the last weeks, we’ve all had wall-to-wall coverage and analysis of this year’s presidential contest. It may be months, or years, before we fully unravel the full impact and the meaning of the Trump presidency and...

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$1 million-plus restoration project announced for Flint River-Swartz Creek confluence
Nov06

$1 million-plus restoration project announced for Flint River-Swartz Creek confluence

By Harold C. Ford “Sometimes it’s the use of land, not for commercial purposes, that has the greatest value.”  –U.S. Rep.Dan Kildee, (MI-5th District), in a statement to East Village Magazine, Oct. 14, 2020 A restoration project on the peninsula where the Flint River meets Swartz Creek — the “Flint River-Swartz Creek Confluence” — was announced Oct. 14 by representatives of organizations sponsoring the project at an event hosted...

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Three newcomers elected make an all-female Flint school board; host of challenges await
Nov05

Three newcomers elected make an all-female Flint school board; host of challenges await

By Harold C. Ford The Flint Community Schools (FCS) Board of Education will have a new look in 2021. Joyce Ellis-McNeal, (9.13 percent/9,409 votes), Anita M. Moore (8.78 percent/9,053 votes), and Laura Gillespie MacIntyre (6.09 percent/6,277 votes) were elected to six-year terms that begin Jan.1, 2021 and end in 2026. (Note: Percentages and votes are from the “Unofficial Results” posted at the website of the Genesee County Clerk’s...

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