“A community jewel,”  “Magnificent legacy, ” — Community leaders celebrate Flint Public Library reopening after $30 million renovation
May21

“A community jewel,” “Magnificent legacy, ” — Community leaders celebrate Flint Public Library reopening after $30 million renovation

By Jan Worth-Nelson   “Wow!”  “Awesome!”  “Spectacular!” “A polished community jewel”  “Wonderful” “A magnificent legacy” Speakers at the re-opening ceremony and ribbon cutting Thursday of the  renovated Flint Public Library outdid each other with superlatives in the bright sun of a day characterized by cheers, gratitude, and hope. The $30 million project,...

Read More
Flint Schools Superintendent considers library opening:   “We got next”
May19

Flint Schools Superintendent considers library opening: “We got next”

By Jan Worth-Nelson After the joyful ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Flint Public Library Thursday, Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones slipped away alone across the parking lot from the glossy new building to the empty wreck that is the former Flint Central High School, closed in 2009 and now crumbling, tagged, vandalized and boarded up just a few dozen yards away. The contrast could not have been more pointed....

Read More
Library reopens after $30 million renovation with three-day celebration
May19

Library reopens after $30 million renovation with three-day celebration

By Jan Worth-Nelson A two-year-long, $30 million renovation of the Flint Public Library culminates with a three-day celebration beginning Thursday,  reopening the 90,000-square-foot facility to the public after a long wait made even longer by the COVID pandemic. A ribbon cutting begins the festivities at 10 a.m. Thursday on the lawn,  followed by self-guided tours until 4 p.m.  Library services will not yet be available. The first day...

Read More
Education Beat: Schools board postpones closures after 30 speakers plead to keep Pierce, ALA open;  district released from State-imposed Emergency Finance Plan
May16

Education Beat: Schools board postpones closures after 30 speakers plead to keep Pierce, ALA open; district released from State-imposed Emergency Finance Plan

By Harold C. Ford A six-hour meeting of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) on May 11 began with purported good news that Flint Community Schools (FCS) had been released from the imposition of an enhanced deficit elimination plan (EDEP) by the Michigan Department of Treasury.  But any euphoria elicited by the EDEP-dismissal announcement quickly evolved into a parade of FCS constituents anxiously and unanimously urging the district not...

Read More
“Phenomenal” threat to abortion rights a “major wakeup call,”  longtime pro-choice advocate asserts
May16

“Phenomenal” threat to abortion rights a “major wakeup call,” longtime pro-choice advocate asserts

By Jan Worth-Nelson In the wake of the leak of a draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court is about to overturn Roe v. Wade, some have suggested men should, as the memes go, “STFU,” or “Shut the F–k up.” But if any area man has a voice worth hearing on the matter, it is Jim Richardson. Richardson is a life-long community activist who was director of Planned Parenthood of East Central Michigan for 22...

Read More