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 investigative hearing.” How the council got to an investigative hearing In a...
Review: Fantastic adaptation of “The Fantasticks” celebrates a new perspective
By Patsy Isenberg and Tom Travis A festive conclusion of The Rep’s final presentation of the season, The Fantasticks, opened to an appreciative full house Friday, June 3. The iconic musical is the longest-running production in the history of the American stage and one of the most frequently produced musicals in the world. The Rep’s production, while respectful of that history, also offers something different. A pre-show...
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 transfer of $14 million from the general fund balance which stands at $22 million. The resolution...
Review: Connor Coyne’s URBANTASM Book Four: THE SPRING STORM finishes the gripping allegory with a hammer blow
By Robert Thomas The publication of the fourth and final book of Flint author Connor Coyne’s serial novel, URBANTASM, marks the finale of his epic allegory set in the heart of the American Rust Belt in the fictional city of Akawe, Michigan, somewhere north of Detroit. As befits any gripping serial, The Spring Storm delivers a hammer blow with a rollicking readerly ride through a perfect storm of rusty decay and an abundance of evil. ...
“At the Intersection” 182-year-old Flint congregation considers their place in the community
By Tom Travis As the congregation of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church celebrates the 150th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone in 1872, they also are considering what it means to be “at the intersection” and what kinds of impact the church will and should have in the community. The Episcopal congregation began worshiping in Flint 182 years ago. The present building, at the corner of Third and Saginaw Streets, is...
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