Tag: Allie Herkenroder
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Commentary: Good governing betrayed by “knuckleheads”– the public urgently needs better
By Tom Travis This is not the usual city council article. No “news” here, just observations and commentary from a local city government beat community journalist. As editor, and supported by the board of East Village Magazine, this entire issue is dedicated to governance. Specifically, this entire issue of East Village Magazine (EVM) is dedicated…
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“Blight elimination” top priority in Mayor’s plan to allocate $94 million ARPA funds
By Tom Travis Mayor Sheldon Neeley and his administration outlined a proposal to allocate the $94 million American Rescue Plan funds awarded to Flint in April 2021 at a special city council meeting Monday. The proposal calls for $69.5 million of the funds to be used for housing and blight elimination ($33.6 million); economic development…
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City Council tosses out months’ long investigative hearing on botched waste collection bid
By Tom Travis A botched bid for the city’s waste collection contract in 2021, revealed in a June 2021 city council meeting, launched an investigative hearing that lasted nearly a year and over two different city councils. One year later, in Wednesday’s Finance Committee meeting, city council voted 5-2 “to end all legal services and…
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Flint City Council passes $64 million “balanced” budget after Winfrey-Carter’s dramatic pause during rollcall vote
By Tom Travis In a dramatic and unprecedented vote, the city council passed a $64 million budget in its Monday meeting. According to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Robert Widigan, the budget allocates $64 million for the city’s expenditures and is based on $50.7 million in revenue. Widigan explains the budget will be balanced with a…
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“Heinous,” “scary,” “devastating”– Area women react to possible end of Roe v. Wade
By Jan Worth-Nelson I set out to try to find out how some area women view the possibility that Roe v. Wade might be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1973 decision gave women the right to decide whether they wanted to continue a pregnancy; at long last, first trimester abortions were made legal.…
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“Defend Roe Rally” draws 250 to downtown protest: “It’s not just about protests — VOTE!” speakers say
By Jan Worth-Nelson, Tom Travis and Paul Rozycki Chanting “We are not your incubator,” “No uterus, no opinion,” “Keep your laws off my body,” “My body, my choice,” “Abortion is health care,” “We want Roe,” and “We’re not going back” among others, about 250 Flint-area citizens marched from the Flat Lot in downtown Flint Saturday…
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Flint honors “Heroines and Humanitarians” in sculptures at City Hall
By Paul Rozycki It’s been a long and winding road, but the sculptured busts of the six women honored as “Heroines and Humanitarians” have now found their way to a permanent home in the Flint City Hall. In a well-attended ceremony at Flint City Hall April 28, the statues of Claressa Shields, Edith Prunty Spencer,…
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Fire Chief Ray Barton and Flint Fire Department grieve the loss of fellow firefighter John Stenger
By Tom Travis This story has been updated to include John Stenger’s obituary. – Editor In a somber and poignant moment during last week’s city council meeting, Flint Fire Chief Ray Barton shared, at the request of council, news of a recent untimely death of one of Flint’s long-time firefighters, John Stenger. In a hushed…
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EAB sends a letter accusing city council of “violating responsibilities”, demands response by April 11
By Tom Travis [This article has been updated to reflect that the council did take action on 15 out of the 19 resolutions. EVM Editorial Staff.] The Flint City council met for an eight-hour meeting Monday night, with two hours spent discussing the council’s behavior and two resolutions. The sum of the 19 resolutions and…
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11-hour city council session disintegrates into a lecture from the public and EAB president
By Tom Travis Beleaguered for 11 hours, the city council verbally wrestled with each other in Monday night’s meeting discussing the topics: “respect, decorum, and censure.” Members of the public, council members and the chair of the Ethics and Accountability Board (EAB) lectured the officials on their behavior and lack of completing “city business.” “Repeated…
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