MTA gearing back up, with precautions, helped by $19 million CARES Act grant
By Madeleine Graham As COVID-19 took hold in Genesee County with three Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) drivers testing positive, MTA suspended operations April 2. The suspended vehicles were for Ride to Wellness and the bus system, which included fixed routes and regional routes. This left many of the vulnerable in limbo to obtain rides elsewhere. Fortunately, many volunteers were able to service senior apartments in a...
Free COVID-19 tests for all Flint residents available Sunday, Monday
This just in from the City of Flint: For Immediate Release To help get more City of Flint residents tested, the Michigan National Guard will operate a two-day, drive-through COVID-19 testing site at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Flint. Testing will be available from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 24 and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day) at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. The testing is available to any...
Flint City Bike Tours inviting public to venture out today to see the city
With the coronavirus pandemic still keeping most people indoors, Flint City Bike Tours organizer Emily Doerr is inviting the public to get on their bikes, put on their helmets — and masks — and see the city on a free group tour starting at 6:05 p.m. today (Tuesday). The group will meet in front of Kettering University on Chevrolet Avenue, just south of University Avenue. Doerr emphasized she will be wearing a helmet and...
Buses are back: MTA service resumes after almost 50 days, with extra sanitizing and social distancing measures in place
By Tom Travis Since April 1, Flint’s Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) buses have sat silent and unused in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As of 6:30 a.m. Monday morning. the buses are back at it, running all primary routes on fixed half-hour schedules. A map and schedule of all Flint MTA primary routes can be viewed here. The MTA Transit Center downtown station was busy Monday morning, buses going in and...
Second City Hall employee death from COVID-19 confirmed; 11 testing positive as response protocols proceed
By Jan Worth-Nelson This story has been updated as of 5:30 p.m. Monday City of Flint officials confirmed today that two city hall employees have now died of COVID-19, and 11 other city employees “are known to have tested positive,” according to a statement released late this afternoon. The first death, that of neighborhood safety officer Paul Forster, was announced April 17. The second, not yet identified by city sources,...
Commentary: We are NOT equally at risk for COVID-19. Racism makes all the difference
Editor’s Note: This essay is a response to a recent commentary by Dick Ramsdell posted here.We welcome the expression of divergent views and hope they will foster respectful discussion. It is reprinted from Woodside World, the newsletter of Woodside Church of Flint, where Pastor Conrad is senior minister. By Deborah Conrad This week, a white man regarded as a community leader here in Flint wrote about how important it is for...
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