Category: Local News
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Flint water crisis led to “anxiety, fear, distrust and anger over the events of the last seven years,” Judge Levy states as she hands down ruling to proceed with settlement
By Tom Travis Preliminary approval to allow the $641 million Flint water crisis settlement to move forward was granted Thursday by U.S. Federal Judge Judith Levy. The ruling comes one week after nine state and local officials were indicted, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, on charges stemming from their involvement in the crisis.. In the…
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Education Beat Flint Community Schools board approves plan for return to buildings in unsteady start of new era
By Harold C. Ford “I’m sure looking forward to great things from the board.” –David Guinn, Judge, 67th District Court, Genesee County, comment at start of Jan. 20 meeting “This meeting has been very, very confusing…If you’re confused, then you know the general public is confused.” –A.C. Dumas, vice president, NAACP Flint Branch, comment at…
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“Defiantly Hopeful” concert celebrates Flint, benefits East Village Magazine Saturday at 7 p.m
A concert by the well-known folk duo Mustard’s Retreat, long beloved performers in the Flint music scene, will live stream on Zoom, YouTube and Facebook at 7 p.m. Saturday night. The concert will equally benefit East Village Magazine (EVM) and Mustard’s Retreat themselves, who like other live musicians have faced many challenges during the coronavirus…
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Small, spirit-filled MLK celebration led by local Baha’i group shines light on Peace Garden and new mural
By Harold C. Ford “The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.” reads a quote on the banner hung at the entrance to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Garden, MLK Day event, Jan. 18, 2021 On Jan. 18, a small but spirited group, led by local members of the Davison-based…
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Village Life: “Among Us,” but Not Us — video game brings up painful American truths
By Vivian Kao My older son is eight years old, and like most eight-year-olds, he goes through phases in which he gets obsessed with certain things. About a year ago, it was professional wrestling. He had a group of friends at school who watched WWE, and through them, he learned the names of all the wrestlers,…
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Michigan food assistance payments increase 15 percent by end of January – Gov. Whitmer/MDHHS
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced 15 percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits beginning by the end of January and lasting until June, 2021, as detailed in a Thursday press release from MDHHS and Gov. Whitmer. The increase is part of a Congressional relief…
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Education Beat: Adrian Walker picked to fill vacancy on Flint Community Schools Board
By Harold C. Ford “We (millennials) want to be a part of meaningful change.”—Adrian Walker, YouTube statement, June 28, 2017 Adrian Walker, director of community and government affairs for the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, emerged from two rounds of interviews as the Flint school board’s choice to fill a vacant seat on the…
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COVID, water crisis exacerbating mental illness in Genesee County, health systems rep warns
By Coner Segren COVID-19 is exacerbating a mental health crisis in Genesee County, according Lisa Bruder of the Genesee Health System (GHS) in a presentation to the January meeting of Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU). “It would be impossible to live through COVID and not be impacted by in some way by stress or grief,” said…
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“There are no velvet ropes in our criminal justice system.” – Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud on Flint water crisis prosecutions
By Tom Travis Today Flint residents who logged onto a virtual court procedure saw something many had called for, but never thought they would see: former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, an attorney at his side, pleading not guilty to charges leveled by Attorney General Dana Nessel for Snyder’s role in the Flint water crisis. Former…
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Education Beat: Flint Community Schools reopening plans starting Jan. 18 announced; board elects new officers
By Harold C. Ford Flint Community Schools (FCS) Superintendent Anita Steward announced she will present a plan for reopening schools to staff and students for face-to-face/brick-and-mortar instruction at the FCS school board’s next regular meeting Jan. 20. She said FCS staff members would be called back to the buildings the week of Jan. 18 while…
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