Category: Analysis
-
“Transformational” federal funds to city, funeral home demo, funds for home repair, highway project topics at FNU
By Coner Segren Federal relief dollars coming to Flint will be “transformational,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley predicted at the recent monthly meeting of Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU). Participants in the Zoom meeting also heard updates about expected funds for several highway projects, prospective demolition of Brown Funeral Home, and access to funds for home repair. Neeley…
Written by
-
Commentary: A visionary plan to revive Flint Community Schools — “Let’s make this work.”
By Paul Rozycki Are you ready for some good news for Flint and its students? We all know this has been a year of bad news that included a national pandemic, statewide infection spikes, racial division, daily mass shootings, a rash of fires in Flint, bears in our backyards, and chaos at city council meetings.…
Written by
-
Book Review: “Standpipe–Delivering Water to Flint” an ode to one man’s witness of troubled times
By Jan Worth-Nelson I was prepared to dislike and resent David Hardin’s new book, Standpipe: Delivering Water in Flint. I expected to rail against it and pronounce my irritation with the tedious audacity of yet another out-of-towner carpetbagging into town and making something of the Flint Water Crisis for their own aggrandizement. Hardin, David Standpipe: Delivering…
Written by
-
Flint residents can weigh in on how to spend $99 million in federal Rescue Plan funds coming to the city
By Tom Travis As part of the federal coronavirus stimulus bill, The American Rescue Plan (ARP), the City of Flint will receive an estimated $99.33 million. The sweeping ARP $1.9-trillion measure also includes support for small businesses, schools, counties and states. Flint households are projected to get more than $125 million in direct benefits, according to Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley. In a…
Written by
-
Local forums tackle tough topics — Flint Area Public Affairs Forum: “Racial Justice and Public Safety” Tendaji Talk: “Racism and Public Health, Part 2”
By Harold C. Ford “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem…but…every day I come to work, a citizen of this community is on my phone complaining about crime in their area where they live …What’s the answer for that citizen?” …Terence Green, chief of police, Flint Police Department “We will continue to see…
Written by
-
Seven years into water crisis, Flint’s “reputation for social justice” continues, as activists convene, declaring, “We don’t tolerate injustice and inhumanity.”
By Tom Travis “We have a reputation in Flint for social justice. The home of the Sit Down Strike, the first major city to institute open housing: We don’t tolerate injustice and inhumanity.” So declared water warrior and local activist Claire McClinton to a fully masked crowd of about 50 on Sunday — some standing,…
Written by
-
Education Beat Op-Ed: Put Flint kids first — say YES now to Flint Education Continuum
By Harold C. Ford ‘”Noli equi dentes inspicere donate.” (“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”) …Latin text of St. Jerome, The Letter to the Ephesians, circa AD 400 “Shame on you, Mr. Ford.” …Laura MacIntyre, treasurer, Flint Board of Education (FBOE), Apr. 21, 2021 I am a progressive. My 56-year resume of social…
Written by
-
Book Review: In “Running for Home” descendants of the Sit Down Strike find their race tough to win, no matter how fast they run
By Jan Worth-Nelson Hard on the heels of his well-received nonfiction book Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike that Created the Middle Class, Edward “Ted” McClelland has now released his first novel, Running for Home. [McClelland, Edward. Running for Home. Huron, OH: Bottom Dog Press: 2021] [McClelland, Edward. Midnight in Vehicle…
Written by
-
Shelter of Flint hosts “Drive-Up Breakfast” fundraiser to help provide homes for homeless
Shelter of Flint is hosting “A Home of Their Own Drive-Up Breakfast” from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. May 4 to raise funds to support moving homeless families into a home of their own. Individual tickets start at $50. Participants must reserve their breakfast and pick-up time in advance. Ticket holders may then drive up to…
Written by
-
Education Beat: Massive plan to rescue Flint Community Schools unveiled–calls for new high school, many partnerships
By Harold C. Ford The details of a massive, several hundred-million-dollar plan to rescue Flint Community Schools (FCS) from its decades-long descent are contained within a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) just made available to East Village Magazine from an unidentified source. The plan, titled Flint Education Continuum, (FEC) includes three levels of government, several Flint-area…
Written by