Trees are good, everybody agrees, but money is scarce
By Jan Worth-Nelson One thing everybody agreed on last night at the Flint Area Public Affairs Forum at the Flint Public Library: trees are good. That was easy. But in matters of how to maintain them, how to assess them when they’re in aging decline, how to communicate with residents about removals, and especially how to replace them, the discussion hit some walls. The event, “City Trees: Pleasure or Peril?”...
Michigan Radio comes to Flint: good, bad, hopeful and angry narratives emerge
By Jan Worth-Nelson Is Flint a city rich with art, a beautiful recuperating river and a school district offering first-rate primary school education, or is it a traumatized community rife with fear, anger and damage, where nobody drinks the water? It turns out it’s both, according to presenters at a taping in front of a live audience for Michigan Radio at the Flint Institute of Arts Saturday night. The schizophrenia of that...
Calling town hall arrests “unfortunate,” Mayor disputes “separation of church and state” criticism
By Jan Worth-Nelson Responding to the discord and six arrests at a town hall last night at the House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church, Mayor Karen Weaver said she found the events of the evening “unfortunate” but that assuring orderly process was necessary. Speaking today through her public information officer Kristin Moore, she said she did not know about the arrests until after the meeting was over. In a statement...
Commentary: Woodside pastor weighs in on town hall, separation of church and state
By Jan Worth-Nelson Following last night’s town hall in a North End sanctuary, one who responded was Deb Conrad, pastor of Woodside Church. In a personal blog post shared with East Village Magazine today, Conrad said, “the building isn’t the problem — city leadership is the problem.” At the end of the tumultuous meeting, six were ejected from the church and arrested for disruptive behavior, assaulting...
Volatile town hall erupts with old wounds as officials try to explain water source decision
By Jan Worth-Nelson Near the end of the two-hour-long town hall Thursday night at the House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church, a teenage girl, Tiara Lee Darisaw, stepped up to the mic. “I realized that the more and more we speak about Flint, the less and less you guys speak,” she said. “I want to know what’s gonna happen in September when you all stop the water pods, and in 2019 when you’re all...
Bees, water, herbs, healthy food star at Farmers’ Market Earth Day event
By Jan Worth-Nelson The stars of the show today in the Ramsdell Room at the Flint Farmers’ Market were healthy water, organic food, endangered bees, essential oils, recycling and more — with the biggest honoree being Mother Earth herself. Kettering University, Mott Community College, and the University of Michigan – Flint collaborated to stage the celebration of Earth Day today. The event featured information tables...
The Latest Edition of East Village Magazine Is Available For Download Here (pdf)
