“Flint Fit” project to combine water bottles, art, fashion and jobs
By Patsy Isenberg Flint Fit, a creative project to recycle Flint water bottles and turn them into fabric for rainwear and swimwear, kicked off last week at Flint’s St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center. The project brings together Flint seamstresses, a fashion designer, a New York museum director, and a conceptual artist. The artist, Mel Chin of New York City, explained the initial concept of “taking something empty and creating something that...
Former Mott Park golf course tees off to new life with neighborhood energy, disc golf
By Teddy Robertson On this wet, gray evening in mid-October, the 55-degree air feels colder after several days of balmy October sunshine. Beneath the dripping trees at the former Mott Park Municipal Golf Course, closed since 2009, the parking lot—surprisingly—is two-thirds full. Inside the old golf clubhouse, its windows protected by blue-painted plywood, board members of the Mott Park Recreation Area Association (MPRAA)...
“Where are the journalists?” Part Two: Capturing the heart of the community
By Harold C. Ford This three-part series aims to explore, analyze and lament how many forces challenging the Fourth Estate are playing out in our own community – specifically in a close look at changes in The Flint Journal, now dwindled to a local staff of fewer than 10 people, and subsumed by M-Live Media Group and Advance Publications, its corporate owner. We contend that as the whole of journalism struggles, its troubles triggered...
Flint City Council votes for 30-day GLWA contract extension, water source issue eludes resolution
By Meghan Christian At an emergency meeting Friday, Oct. 27, the Flint City Council voted for a 30-day extension of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) contract from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30. The council, defying an order imposed by United States District Court Judge David Lawson that they come up with a long-term water source decision by Oct. 23, contended they need more time and information. According to a sternly-worded statement by...
Planning Commission begins consideration of revised pot dispensary ordinance
By Sherrema Bower A proposed new city ordinance designed to govern area marijuana dispensaries took a step forward Oct. 24 as the Flint Planning Commission held a required public hearing on a draft of the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act Ordinance. The draft was presented by Kevin Schronce, lead planner at the City of Flint. Following the hearing, the Planning Commission went into executive session, but did not indicate a...
Water, water, water, we the people, and weed star in second mayoral forum
By Jan Worth-Nelson Eight candidates for mayor in Flint assured an audience of about 75 Thursday night at the Flint Public Library that they are about The People, that city government needs a change, and that each of them is the best one to deliver that change. Not one of the eight endorsed the proposal by Flint Mayor Karen Weaver for a 30-year contract to supply water to the city through the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), the...
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