Commentary: You can’t “right size” a district by only closing buildings
Dec05

Commentary: You can’t “right size” a district by only closing buildings

Guest commentary by Paul Jordan To survive in the long term, the Flint district must provide every neighborhood with a local elementary school.  Children can be well-educated in buildings that consist of only a few classrooms.  (My parents, and perhaps yours, were educated in them.). Given the low density of potential students in the district, elementary schools should be both numerous and small in capacity. [State of Michigan School...

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Downtown parking update: 4,200 tickets issued per month, 22 per cent disputed; cost/benefits to the city unclear
Dec02

Downtown parking update: 4,200 tickets issued per month, 22 per cent disputed; cost/benefits to the city unclear

By Liz Ireland-Curtis Continuing downtown metered parking, despite being extremely unpopular with the public, appears to be supported by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).  But the cost-benefit to the city is unclear, an ongoing investigation by East Village Magazine suggests. Details about revenue from downtown parking meters specifically have been elusive, as actual figures have not been forthcoming. Some answers emerged at...

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$324,000 grant allows for open enrollment for health care through Genesee Health Plan
Dec02

$324,000 grant allows for open enrollment for health care through Genesee Health Plan

By Miriam Zayadi GHP offers aid to community with CMS grant Genesee Health Plan (GHP) is set to aid residents of Genesee, Saginaw, and Bay County with their 2024 open enrollment from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, 2024. Funded by a $324,365 grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), GHP offers residents education on healthcare coverage and assists in selecting affordable plans. “In Congress, I will continue to deliver...

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Education Beat Analysis:  Flint School panel counters “we are the best board” after state superintendent warns there are too many buildings, financial crisis on horizon   
Dec01

Education Beat Analysis: Flint School panel counters “we are the best board” after state superintendent warns there are too many buildings, financial crisis on horizon  

By Harold C. Ford A takeaway that emerged from the Nov. 8 (Committee of the Whole or COW) and Nov. 15 (regular board meeting) meetings of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE): Link to Nov. 8 meeting Link to Nov. 15 meeting Michigan Superintendent of Instruction Michael Rice told the board that the Flint Community Schools (FCS)  has too many buildings for too few students, that the flush of COVID-era cash will soon disappear, and,...

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Review:  “That’s My Moon Over Court Street — Dispatches from a Life in Flint” resonates with “improbable happiness” and moving beyond ghosts
Nov21

Review: “That’s My Moon Over Court Street — Dispatches from a Life in Flint” resonates with “improbable happiness” and moving beyond ghosts

By Robert Thomas That’s My Moon Over Court Street: Dispatches from a life in Flint  is an intimate time capsule of a life in Flint composed of Jan Worth-Nelson’s collected columns from East Village Magazine, 2007- 2022. “My adult life in Flint,” she writes in her Introduction, “has had some dark times, and I haven’t been spared from hard and stupid things. These essays describe the improbable happiness I have found so often here. How...

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