Author: Tom Travis
-
Education Beat: Flint Schools pause face-to-face instruction and all athletics on April 12 as pandemic numbers spike
By Harold C. Ford It’s been a school year unlike any other in several generations. Flint Community Schools’ (FCS) off-again/on-again face-to-face instruction inside its school buildings is off-again. FCS Assistant Superintendent Kevelin Jones announced on April 6 that all FCS students would return to remote/online instruction starting Monday, April 12. Additionally, FCS will pause all…
Written by
-
Public Hearings to be held throughout April on Flint’s $71 million budget
By Tom Travis The City of Flint’s $71 million budget will be discussed in public hearings held by the city council on four days in April. The city council will hold departmental budget hearings for both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 city budgets. According to a press release from the city council and finance committee chair…
Written by
-
Flint’s new Chief Financial Officer Shelbi Frayer hits the ground running as city council considers $71 million budget
By Tom Travis Shelbi Frayer has joined the City of Flint Finance department as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). “Frayer comes to Flint with a wealth of experience in municipal finance, previously serving in key leadership roles with the City of Lansing, State of Michigan, and multiple school districts,” Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley explained…
Written by
-
Is it time to get back to “normal”? Maybe, but not yet.
By Paul Rozycki “It ain’t over till it’s over” -Yogi Berra There is a feeling of spring in the air. The days are getting warmer. The snow is melting. More and more people are getting the COVID vaccine. The Flint water crisis seems to reaching some sort of conclusion. And the divisive, tumultuous election of…
Written by
-
City of Flint yard waste collection begins April 5, 2021
Yard waste collection in Flint begins the week of April 5, 2021. Yard waste is picked up weekly on residents’ regularly scheduled trash collection day through Thanksgiving week. According to a City of Flint press release, compost is limited to 50 pounds in each brown paper lawn and leaf bag. Bags should be placed at…
Written by
-
Rise in child abuse, violent crimes, home repairs, and dead trees highlighted at March FNU
By Coner Segren A rise in child abuse in Genesee County, a $200,000 grant to remove dead trees, available funds for home owners’ home repairs, and a presentation addressing violent crime were items discussed at the monthly Zoom meeting of the Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU). The zoom meeting was moderated by Theresa Roach, program director…
Written by
-
City of Flint to receive $99.33 million in federal stimulus from American Rescue Plan
By Tom Travis As part of federal coronavirus stimulus bill, The American Rescue Plan, the City of Flint will receive an estimated $99.33 million. Flint households projected to get more than $125 million in direct benefits, according to Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley. In a March 1 press release, Neeley “thanked the City of Flint’s friends in…
Written by
-
Education Beat: Flint students returning to school buildings as COVID rates rise, water fountains still Inoperable, water filters not yet installed
By Harold C. Ford Flint Community Schools’ (FCS) K-3 students began returning to school buildings March 15. Students in grades 4-12 began returning March 22. At its meeting on March 17, the Flint Board of Education learned that 81 hydration stations (drinking fountains) funded by billionaire Elon Musk and the C. S. Mott Foundation are…
Written by
-
Education Beat: Flint students to return to school buildings March 15 and March 22; decision prompts tension among board members
By Harold C. Ford “Parents are upset because we keep changing the date for school.” –Diana Wright, trustee, Flint Board of Education, March 10, 2021 The board of education of Flint Community Schools (FCS) approved an administrative plan for returning students to school buildings on a hybrid basis beginning March 15 with K-3 students. All…
Written by
-
Flint City Council’s “failure to act” jeopardizes completion of service line replacement project, Mayor Neeley says
By Tom Travis On Wednesday Mayor Sheldon Neeley released a statement scolding the council for a “failure to act” on a resolution that would allow for additional $500,000 in funding towards the “Fast Start” water line replacement. Neeley added that the council’s “failure to act” on that resolution “jeopardizes completion of Flint service line replacement…
Written by