A tai chi chronicle:  From marathon to moving meditation and 13 classes
Dec22

A tai chi chronicle: From marathon to moving meditation and 13 classes

By Teddy Robertson It all began with a New York City police officer. Michigan-native Gloria Kramer was an accomplished 5K, 10K, and half-marathon runner when she realized she wanted something more than what she got from a good run. Living in Florida where she worked as a registered dietitian, running had been her avocation. “I was in my thirties,” Kramer says. “Meditation was becoming popular and I was interested, but I had a heck of...

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City Council Beat:  Last council meeting of 2019 a panoply of democracy
Dec21

City Council Beat: Last council meeting of 2019 a panoply of democracy

By Tom Travis It was a jam-packed evening of activity at city hall on a chilly and snowy December Monday night, the last city council meeting of a tumultuous year for the city’s legislative body. The council meetings this year have been five, six, seven, eight and even nine hours long, some stretching past midnight. This year there have been arms raised, voices yelling, threats made, name calling and numerous points of order and...

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Fifteen small businesses receive grants from MovingFlintForward program
Dec19

Fifteen small businesses receive grants from MovingFlintForward program

    By Jan Worth-Nelson From an espresso machine to snow plows, from drywall to parking lots, from a kayak launch to a flat top grill, from beauty supplies to fabrics, from TV marketing to landscaping, from outdoor lighting to pizza stones. All these are among a diverse batch of practical projects awarded $10,000 each to 15 small businesses through a new General Motors-funded small business program of the Flint & Genesee...

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LGBTQ Choir honors John Bradford Bohl with Carriage Town caroling
Dec18

LGBTQ Choir honors John Bradford Bohl with Carriage Town caroling

By Tom Travis Celebrating one year of performances, rehearsals and making music in Flint, the John Bradford Bohl LGBTQ Choir met at Good Beans Cafe on a chilly gray December Saturday.   They proceeded to observe the anniversary by doing what they do best:  singing, caroling in Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood–in memory of the man whose life they honor.  A year ago in December 2018 a number of friends and singers and John...

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Downtown Flint “Impeach Trump” rally draws spirited protesters on cold night before the vote
Dec17

Downtown Flint “Impeach Trump” rally draws spirited protesters on cold night before the vote

By Jan Worth-Nelson Though Flint is 600 miles and a ten-hour drive from Washington, D.C., about a hundred supporters of impeaching President Donald J. Trump congregated in front of City Hall on a the cold Tuesday night to shout out their arguments on the eve of the historic vote. Doug Kaylor came in from Gaines, where many of his acquaintances are Trump supporters, to join the rally. “If the people in the streets don’t...

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Russ Dotson turns abandoned wood into Flint’s “found beauty”
Dec17

Russ Dotson turns abandoned wood into Flint’s “found beauty”

By Jan Worth-Nelson After 22 years in the Navy, including tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and finally, Ethiopia, in 2015 Flint native Russ Dotson came home. Casting about for things to do, he found himself watching a YouTube series called “Strangely Satisfying Videos” — described as “mesmerizing and hypnotizing” clips of the actions of (for example)  weaving, frosting a cake, painting a perfect stop...

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