Flint City Council approves $133 million in water work, addresses council tension
By Meghan Christian A plan for eight water-related projects totalling $132.9 million for the city of Flint was approved following a public hearing July 23 by the Flint City Council (FCC). But the council, along with several members of the audience of about 30 residents, expressed displeasure that the presentation on the proposal came almost two months later than expected, that a promised public forum on the plan never happened, and...
Hamady Food Center opens with hope for a new generation
By Darlene C. Carey “Welcome to Hamady’s!” Hamady’s Complete Food Center owner Jim McColgan Jr. exclaimed to a crowd gathered at the official opening of the store July 25 after months of anticipation and delays. The renovated grocery store, representing the rebirth of an iconic Flint chain that had been dormant for years, is in the Hallwood Plaza at 2629 W. Pierson Rd. As the red ribbons were cut at the store entrance, a small crowd...
Second arts millage town hall yields more questions and calls for support
By Jan Worth-Nelson It seemed clear nobody in the audience for the second town hall on the proposed Arts Education and Cultural Enrichment millage up for a vote Aug. 7 was opposed to the arts. Nina Jones Lewis, who moderated both panels, echoed several speakers in her concluding summary, “Yes, we’re poor and yes, we have bad water, but we have something to be proud of, and it is represented here. History has shown that...
Review: Summer Osborne sings the way with call for “spiritual revolution,” peace and love
by Harold Ford “You’re going to make the difference between loving and resistance/So hear me when I say you’re able, you’re willing and strong/This is your call.” …lyrics from This Is Your Call by Summer Osborne These are indelicate times for Earthlings of any persuasion, no matter the spot they occupy along the socio-political spectrum. From Pussy Riot(ers) who crashed the World Cup in Russia to bring attention to that government’s...
First arts millage Town Hall elicits support for “transformative” art, airs concerns on FYT, accountability
By Jan Worth-Nelson A full complement of Flint Cultural Center directors and other arts CEOs appeared Thursday night to make their case and answer questions at the New McCree Theater at the first of two town halls on the Arts Education and Cultural Enrichment millage up for a county-wide vote Aug. 7. Most of the 50 residents present, several of them artists, teachers, or performers themselves and passionately describing the positive...
Congressional Democrats tour pipe replacement site, pledge ongoing support for Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson When Ricky Baty, 55, got out of prison two years ago after six years behind bars, he came back to his childhood home on Milbourne Avenue in north Flint, where he and his brother have tried to keep things going after his father’s death. He noticed people getting water from trucks, and the news about lead in the water. One of the first things he heard was people talking fearfully about “babies...
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