Author: Tom Travis
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Flint Council President Herkenroder resigns as of July 1, citing anxiety, depression, and thoughts of self-harm following “abuse,” “vindictiveness and hatred”
By Tom Travis In the last moments of a contentious council meeting where the council passed a city budget one week after the deadline, Council President Allie Herkenroder (Ward 7) announced she was resigning as the Seventh Ward council person as of July 1. In a phone interview Friday with East Village Magazine (EVM), Herkenroder…
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Parking meters are obvious but revenue is not
By Elizabeth Ireland-Curtis Parking in downtown Flint is contentious and confusing. City council regularly hears complaints about the meters, how to use them and the many unwarranted tickets residents receive. East Village Magazine (EVM) reached out multiple times to the City of Flint Communications Department, Municipal Parking System (MPS) and Flint Downtown Development Authority (DDA).…
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What is a story worth? Gift from an only son brings back rich family history
By Teddy Robertson The elders in my young life were storytellers. The dinner table, an oval oak dropleaf large enough for candlesticks and a centerpiece, was the usual setting for their mealtime yarns. But I was never shunted away during parties when adult conversation was going on. I was an only child and most of…
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“Social class, freedom, prejudice, hope and despair” come to life in the Flint Rep’s production of Ragtime opening June 9
By Tom Travis Ragtime, the musical, produced by FIM Flint Rep and appearing at Elgood Theatre from June 9 through 25, is set at the dawn of a new century. Everything is changing and anything is possible. Ragtime is an intimate, chamber-style telling of a 1998 Tony Award-winning musical for best book and best original score.…
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My bug splattered windshield was a metaphor for life that can be tough
By Tom Travis It was one of the first warm summer weekends. The bugs were all abuzz as I zoomed down I-69 on my 500-mile trip to southern Indiana for my youngest son’s high school graduation. Along the way, my car window got splattered with bugs. I’m usually kind of nuts about having a clean…
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Guest Commentary: Flint’s unique opportunity for better, safer streets should design for more than cars
Guest commentary by Joel Arnold, Planning and Advocacy Manager at Communities First, Inc. If there’s one thing we hear regularly in our city and region, it’s that people drive far too fast and far too dangerously. In the Flint area, we’ve seen business after business — whether a fast-food restaurant on Dort Highway, Mega Coney…
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Education Beat: Flint Community Schools challenged by its aging lineup of buildings; Washington demo approved
By Harold C. Ford In May, the Flint Board of Education (FBOE): approved the spending of tens of millions of ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) dollars for infrastructure upgrades; turned down a substantial offer to sell the Zimmerman property on Corunna Road; approved the demolition of Washington Elementary on Flint’s east side which…
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Is it time to park the meters?
By Paul Rozycki As the bricks on Saginaw Street are being redone to give us a smoother ride downtown, perhaps it is time to reconsider what happens when that ride is done. Where to park the car? For almost the last four years, Municipal Parking Services has been running the Flint parking system. It is…
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Sports Beat: Home openers Saturday at Atwood for Flint City Bucks (men) Friday for Flint City AFC (women)
By Harold C. Ford The Flint City Bucks men’s soccer club hosts its first match of the 2023 season at Atwood Stadium in downtown Flint on Saturday, May 27 starting at 7:30 p.m. Flint will take on Grand Rapids-based Midwest United FC (football club). A fireworks display will follow the match. The Bucks opened the…
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Council considers an update to the city’s employee compensation schedule; and a $474,000 invoice from MDOT
By Tom Travis Council considered 12 resolutions in the finance committee at last night’s meeting. Including a resolution for the payment of a $474,000 invoice from MDOT for damage caused by a former city of Flint employee to an overpass in Flint Township and another resolution that seeks an updated city employee compensation schedule that…
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