A comet, a COVID pandemic, and a summer of crisis. Is there any good news?
By Paul Rozycki This summer, astronomers have discovered a new presence among the stars, the Neowise comet, in the northern sky. It’s not a large comet, just visible under the Big Dipper. It has come closest to the earth in the middle of July, and has been observable for the last few weeks. Many ancient peoples often felt that comets were portents of doom and ruin. The Romans and the Greeks felt they were a sign of major events,...
Education Beat: Flint schools start new school year amid great uncertainty
By Harold C. Ford Amid great uncertainty, Flint Community Schools (FCS) begin a new year in August amidst great uncertainty. Sources of uncertainty emanate from international, national, state, and local levels of our pandemic-plagued world. Already weighted down by numerous challenges, FCS is moving into the 2020-2021 school year beset by an erratic pandemic, an unpredictable federal government, indeterminate revenue sources, the...
Judge rules in favor of voters’ rights and calls for accountability in City Clerk’s office
By Tom Travis Voters’ rights and prospects for proper processing of absentee ballot applications and ballots received a shot in the arm Thursday from Judge Celeste Bell of the 7th Circuit Court. Bell ruled in favor of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ordering the Flint City Clerk to comply with several terms including the Clerk’s office increasing open hours and days. In addition the judge ordered the...
City Clerk and City of Flint respond to ACLU complaint about absentee ballot/voters rights concerns
By Tom Travis In response to a complaint filed in the Genesee County Circuit Court Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan and five Flint residents, City Clerk Inez Brown has announced 24-hour access to a secured absentee ballot drop box now installed in front of City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw Street, “for the convenience of Flint voters.” she said. The full response is attached below. The...
Free COVID testing for Flint residents returns to Shiloh MBC Thursday and Friday
The City of Flint has issued the following announcement: “FLINT, Michigan—Free COVID-19 testing will return on Thursday and Friday to Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church through the continued partnership of state, county and local entities. Testing at Shiloh has been extremely popular with residents with more than 1,200 tests conducted during two previous testing cycles [starting Memorial Day weekend]. The testing site tends to...
Village Life: Flint’s newest journalists are eight years old and raring to write
By Jan Worth-Nelson Paxon Laube-Clary’s head hurt. Stuck at home in pandemic shutdown, he was spending three to four hours a day of screen time keeping up with his classes at the Perry Innovation Center in Grand Blanc. His friend since preschool, Julian Pauli, home from the Flint Cultural Center Academy, was in the same condition. They thought it might be fun to do something different — something off the screen. So they...
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