Blog
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Village Life: Even Sadie’s puppy love didn’t convince me — I’m fine without a dog
By Tom Travis I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to take care of a dog and three cats. Not one of those little cute lap dogs but a really large, hyper black Lab named Sadie. Albeit Sadie is my brother and sister-in-law’s dog, so kind of like a niece-dog. I have…
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Michigan’s largest brownfield – former Buick City – to be redeveloped for $17 million, $3.25 million coming from Flint’s ARPA funds
By Tom Travis A resolution that will allocate $3.25 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding towards Ashley Capital’s redevelopment of the Buick City brownfield was approved Oct. 24 by the Flint City Council. The City of Flint administration had submitted a resolution to allocate the funds. At the same meeting, the council voted to…
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A tale of two ARPA budgets – Council approves their ARPA budget and rejects the Mayor’s
By Tom Travis In Monday’s meeting City Council approved their version of a budget to spend the remaining $60 million of the $94 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Back in June the Mayor and his administration had presented their version of an ARPA allocation budget. The council has not approved Mayor Neeley’s ARPA…
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Education Beat Analysis: Two board meetings — UM Regents, Flint Board of Education — reveal stark contrasts of function, dysfunction
By Harold C. Ford [Editor’s note: Harold C. Ford, Education Beat writer for East Village Magazine (EVM) for nearly six years, attended two education board meetings within 24 hours. He was present at the University of Michigan (UM) Board of Regents meeting, held in Flint Oct. 20. He started to watch the You Tube recording…
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Whitmer touts infrastructure, public safety, reproductive rights protection in Flint campaign rally with powerhouse Democratic lineup
By Tom Travis “Are we gonna go backward or are we gonna put our foot on the gas?” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked a crowd of about 75 gathered for a campaign rally Friday at Union City Ball Park on Torrey Road near Flint’s Bishop Airport. Along with Whitmer was a powerhouse lineup of leading Michigan…
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Commentary: Facing enrollment and financial challenges, UM-Flint asks, what’s next?
By Paul Rozycki “Academic politics makes me yearn for the simplicity of the Middle East.” -Henry Kissinger Could the University of Michigan-Flint go the way of Auto World? Probably not. But there are more than a few who are worried that the Flint branch of the Ann Arbor campus could face the same fate as…
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UM-Flint administration lambasted for “bullying,” “chaos,” at UM Regents meeting as heated public comments critique “Strategic Transformation” and call for firing consultant
By Jan Worth-Nelson The University of Michigan Regents got an earful in public comments Oct. 20 from faculty and students concerned about the actions of UM-Flint Chancellor Debasish Dutta, controversial steps underway to respond to challenges on the Flint campus, and the use of a consulting firm the group said advocates austerity and is wreaking…
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“One University” faculty, staff and students rally for equity and saving liberal arts at UM – Flint
By Jan Worth-Nelson In an outdoor rally timed to correspond to the meeting of the University of Michigan Regents on the Flint campus Thursday, about 65 UM – Flint faculty, staff, alums and students gathered in chilly McKinnon Plaza to call for equity and fuller resources for the humanities at the downtown institution. In almost…
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Education Beat: 15 Flint Board of Education candidates vying for Nov. 8 election; 8 responded to EVM request for info
By Harold C. Ford Fifteen candidates are running for five available seats on the Flint board of Education (FBOE) in the upcoming Nov. 8 election. Candidates are listed at the website of the Genesee County Clerk’s office. Nine candidates are running for three spots, all full six-year terms: Linda Boose; Chris Del Morone; Emily Doerr;…
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An interview with Sheldon Neeley: “We’re going to continue down a path that I created and we have a blueprint for it”
Editors’ Note: East Village Magazine conducted in-person interviews with both Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Karen Weaver, who are facing off in the Nov. 8 election — Neeley for a second consecutive term, Weaver for a return to the office Neeley won from her by 205 votes in 2019. The candidates were provided an identical…
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