JFK documentary with Flint/East Village Magazine connection airing on PBS June 2
By Jan Worth-Nelson A documentary about John F. Kennedy’s last major speech, which spotlights, among others, a Flint man present at the speech and the effect it had on his life, will be aired on two local PBS stations at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 2. In the interest of full disclosure, that man, Ted Nelson, is my husband. Last July a three-person film crew from Northern Light Productions in Boston came to Flint for three days to...
Local Grocer part of network striving to end “food apartheid” and address lead toxicity
By Darlene C. Carey Erin Caudell, co-owner of The Local Grocer on Martin Luther King Boulevard and a longtime farmer and food activist, chafes when she hears the term “food desert” to describe Flint’s food availability challenges. “A desert is a diverse, thriving ecosystem,” Caudell says. “Lack of food in a community is not.” “Food apartheid” is a more descriptive term for what has happened in the city, she says. She defines it as...
Flint residents getting first looks at $55.8 million proposed 2018-19 city budget
By Meghan Christian A proposed City of Flint 2018-2019 budget of $55.8 million, of which $23.2 milion, or roughly 59 percent, is earmarked for public safety, and a proposed 2019-2020 budget of $56.6 million, was presented by Chief Financial Officer Hughey Newsome for comment at a public hearing Tuesday in City Hall. Of the dozen people in attendance, only a handful were not employed by the city, and from that number, only one resident...
As Woodside takes on new life in its MCC era, neighbors praise, question and complain
By Jan Worth-Nelson A small patch of trees known for decades as the Woodside Woods has become a point of contention since Mott Community College bought the historic Woodside Church on the southeast side of the campus eight months ago, with neighbors in the College Cultural neighborhood surrounding the college both praising MCC’s plans for the $8.5 million expansion and renovation of the former church and questioning the...
Flint Roller Derby team pairs competitive sport with high-energy fun
By Dylan Doherty and Meghan Christian Grace Seymore had been a roller derby skater for a year before her team dissolved as she was considering moving from Clarkston to Flint. Looking to join a team again, she dropped in on a practice session of the Flint Roller Derby crew. What she saw there immediately got her attention, and she tried out. “These people are fucking amazing,” she remembers thinking, “This is terrifying. I need to...
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