Fearless Flint trailblazer and broadcast pioneer: the colorful life of Roberta “Bobbi” Wray
By Teddy Robertson Wingwalker, actor, musician, music lover, pilot, lawyer, magistrate, neighborhood activist, and pioneering broadcaster in Flint’s glory days: those are some of the words that describe the colorful life of Roberta “Bobbi” Wray, 77. At her Mott Park dining room table strewn with current projects, Wray, the first woman TV broadcaster hired in the State of Michigan, describes how her life evolved through a series of...
Lear Corporation to bring assembly plant, up to 500 jobs to former Buick City site
By Dylan Doherty Prospects for a Lear Corporation automative seat assembly plant expected to bring 450 to 500 jobs to Flint moved one step closer to implementation Aug. 22 when the Flint Planning Commission approved the site plan for the facility. The plant will be built where the Buick administrative building in Buick City once stood. It will be approximately 156,000 square feet, according to Doug Daugherty, vice president of global...
Commentary: Is privatizing public services a trustworthy choice for Flint?
By Paul Rozycki During a recent East Village Crime Watch meeting, a major issue was the possibility of hiring D.M. Burr to provide private security for our neighborhood, in addition to the Flint Police Department, Mott Community College, and the East Village Neighborhood Watch. As Kim Owens reported in her recent EVM article, the company gave a presentation on the nature of their services at the meeting. Signing up with D.M. Burr may...
Blues Festival draws jubilant crowd, features “Who’s Who” of local blues
By Sherrema Bower For the performers of the eighth annual Flint Blues Festival on the lawn of the Flint Public Library Aug. 26, having a sense of connectedness to others and home was a common theme. The performance line-up, organized and headlined by Flint blues guitarist and singer Maurice Davis, brought out a “Who’s Who” of local Flint blues artists. Featured at the festival were the Greg Ellis Blues Band, Grace Thomas,...
Crim moments: 88-year-old finishes, Hurley team’s work “down to a science”
By Darlene C. Carey When more than 15,000 runners, walkers, and spectators flooded the Flint streets for the 41st Crim Festival of Races Aug. 27, one face among the many at the finish line stood out. That was Margaret Rough, 88, walking her 25th year in the Crim. Sporting a bright yellow hard hat and red shirt, her face covered by a frowning paper mask, she danced among the finishers in celebration. “I’m as rough as they come…that’s...
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