Council approves new rules, adds support for repealing Emergency Manager law; Mays is ousted, again
Mar02

Council approves new rules, adds support for repealing Emergency Manager law; Mays is ousted, again

By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include a link to view and/or download the Rules Governing City Council meetings. – Editor Flint City Councilperson Eric Mays (Ward 1) was removed again for “disorderly conduct” from Monday’s council meeting.  Council President Allie Herkenroder (Ward 7) called out Mays for continuous incorrect use of the the parliamentary procedure (point of order and point of...

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UM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay,  $10K bonus
Feb28

UM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay, $10K bonus

By Jan Worth-Nelson In one of the first publicly visible moves to address its fiscal woes since the campus-wide “Strategic Transformation” process began last fall,  the University of Michigan – Flint has rolled out a faculty buyout incentives plan paying up to a year’s salary with a $10,000 bonus. The “2023 Faculty Voluntary Retirement Incentive Plan” was announced last week. The plan applies to any...

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Village Life: “Where am I from?”   or   “Who are my people?” are questions worth exploring
Feb24

Village Life: “Where am I from?” or “Who are my people?” are questions worth exploring

By Tom Travis I’m writing this on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Soon after Putin’s unprovoked invasion last year I reached out to some local Ukrainians for their reactions. I soon found out they all wanted to talk. They all wanted to share their unique stories and emotions about the impending doom of their beloved Ukraine. There was a deep emotional tie that emerged as I interviewed local...

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Education Beat: Flint Ed Board badly divided on two “safety” issues — clear backpacks, legal reimbursement
Feb23

Education Beat: Flint Ed Board badly divided on two “safety” issues — clear backpacks, legal reimbursement

By Harold C. Ford “Enhancing safety measures, such as a clear backpack policy, should not need debate, nor should it take months to implement.” – Bruce Jordan, Michigan Education Association UniServ Director, reacting to a Flint Board of Education  vote rejecting a clear backpack policy “I think we’re basing this on emotions and not evidence-based research.” –Laura MacIntyre, Flint Board of Education trustee, during discussion of a...

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Promise of a “bold, strategic, transformative” future laid out by deans at UM – Flint town hall
Feb23

Promise of a “bold, strategic, transformative” future laid out by deans at UM – Flint town hall

By Jan Worth-Nelson “Here at the University of Michigan – Flint, we dare to dream big.  With  market analyses, stakeholder engagement, and program economics,  we have envisioned a bold, strategic and transformative future that is like nothing this university has ever experienced before here at the University of Michigan – Flint.  We will.” With that determined affirmation,  at a town hall Feb. 17 at Riverfront...

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Sen. John Cherry hopeful about legislative agenda:  “We can get that done”
Feb21

Sen. John Cherry hopeful about legislative agenda: “We can get that done”

By Jan Worth-Nelson and Tom Travis When  somebody texted John Cherry at home early in the morning after election night Nov. 8 to tell him the Democrats had taken the majority in the Michigan Legislature,  he says he “literally started crying.” The next morning, he hurried from Flint into his Lansing office as a state representative,  a position he had held since 2018. On the wall, there was a white board listing all the...

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