Author: Tom Travis
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EAB sends a letter accusing city council of “violating responsibilities”, demands response by April 11
By Tom Travis [This article has been updated to reflect that the council did take action on 15 out of the 19 resolutions. EVM Editorial Staff.] The Flint City council met for an eight-hour meeting Monday night, with two hours spent discussing the council’s behavior and two resolutions. The sum of the 19 resolutions and…
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Legislation aims to redevelop Buick City in Flint for investment and environmental renewal
By Tom Travis New legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week aims to help bring new economic development opportunities to Flint’s Buick City and generate economic revitalization in Flint, according to a Monday press release from U.S. Representative Dan Kildee’s office. The legislation would make Buick City an Opportunity Zone to generate…
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Education Beat: Flint School Board President Green removed after alleged assault on Board Treasurer MacIntyre
By Harold C. Ford “This is a painful day today … In order for us to move forward we’ve got to learn how to forgive.” Joyce Ellis-McNeal, installed as Flint Community Schools board president after an alleged assault by Danielle Green. “Today’s incident was a slap in our face … We were set back ……
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Commentary: Flint’s I-475 freeway and race: A concrete barrier, or a road to reconciliation?
By Paul Rozycki A therapist trying to analyze Flint’s attitude towards race might use the term bipolar. On one hand, Flint was the first major city to choose an African-American mayor, Floyd McCree. It passed one of the first open housing ordinances in the late 1960s, after a community sleep-in at City Hall. A Republican…
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Sports Beat: Beecher and Grand Blanc on path to repeat as state champions
By Harold C. Ford Genesee County comprises about four percent of the state’s population (roughly 400,000 of 10 million people), but two local school districts – Beecher on the north side of Flint, Grand Blanc on the south side – currently claim half/50 percent of the boys state championship basketball teams. Both schools won state…
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Education Beat: Linda Boose to fill vacant Flint Community Schools Board seat
By Harold C. Ford Linda Boose was selected Tuesday by the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) to fill a seat vacated a month ago by Adrian Walker. The decision came after two rounds of interviews lasting nearly 2.5 hours, with five members of the board – Danielle Green, president; Joyce Ellis-McNeal, vice-president; Laura MacIntyre,…
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11-hour city council session disintegrates into a lecture from the public and EAB president
By Tom Travis Beleaguered for 11 hours, the city council verbally wrestled with each other in Monday night’s meeting discussing the topics: “respect, decorum, and censure.” Members of the public, council members and the chair of the Ethics and Accountability Board (EAB) lectured the officials on their behavior and lack of completing “city business.” “Repeated…
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“It only takes one person”: historic Mott Park Neighborhood residents come together to rejuvenate abandoned club house and grounds
By Tom Travis “It just takes one person to have that vision or to have that love for their community. And that one person must be brave to step out and take the bull by the horns. It just takes one person and then they’ll gravitate and get other people involved. Even in a bad…
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$9.6 million in federal spending coming to Flint-area organizations, Kildee announces
By Tom Travis Support for a North Flint food cooperative, assistance for affordable housing and blighted property demolition, training for school nurses, criminal justice reform, funding for more critical care hospital beds, and creation of a science and technology student mentoring program are among Flint-area initiatives set to benefit from $9.6 million of federal funds…
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Laborious eight-hour city council committee meeting tackles council rules, North Flint food market
By Tom Travis It took the city council finance committee eight hours Wednesday evening to tussle their way through a contentious meeting. The agenda contained 10 resolutions to be discussed, but the council spent most of the eight hours discussing, arguing and battling through two resolutions in particular. One resolution concerned setting a date for…
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