Commentary: A beloved neighbor and nurse humanizes the COVID-19 crisis
By Paul Rozycki With the 24/7 news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are days when the story becomes nothing more than a blur of infection numbers, death rates, protests, presidential press conferences, and predictions about when the curve will flatten, or when a vaccine with be found. When the tsunami of news and numbers is so overwhelming, it’s easy to lose sight of the true impact of the crisis on individuals. Sometimes it...
Crossover food giveaways on Mondays in May among recipients of Urgent Relief Fund
A food giveaway funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Flint is being offered from 11 a.m. until the food runs out Mondays through the end of May at the former Gordon Anthony flower shop at the corner of Grand Traverse Boulevard and W. Court Street. The effort, sponsored by Crossover Downtown Ministries, is supported by a group of community organizations coming together to help. Craig Leavitt, executive director of Crossover,...
From porches and dining rooms, local musicians are playing the pandemic blues
By Tom Travis As the coronavirus pandemic ensues it seems to be unifying the human race. There isn’t a person on the face of the earth that can’t somehow relate to it. We drive by empty schools in the middle of the day, empty parking lots at movie theaters and shopping centers. Once busy city streets are now sans the sounds of buses braking and horns honking. However, if you take a walk down East Court Street, stroll past...
City Council postpones secondary water source pipeline decision and reviews amended 2021 budget
By Tom Travis The Flint City Council voted to postpone to May 11 an important resolution to enter into a contract for a secondary water source pipeline and also voted to receive an amended 2021 Flint city budget from city administration. Both items resulted in long discussion among council members and city officials. The council meeting, conducted via YouTube telephonically because of the coronavirus, lasted nearly eight and half...
Flint Community Schools implementing pandemic response plan with Mott Foundation aid
As the Flint Community Schools (FCS) district grapples with needs for remote learning with all schools closed in the pandemic crisis, a new grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation aims to expand internet access for FCS students and keep them safe through a filtering app. A Foundation grant of $163,000 to the FCS will be used to purchase 800 mobile WiFi hot spots and 1,500 “Mobile Guard” applications– needed technology to...
Ananich on the water crisis sixth anniversary: Hoping for justice, but “Man, could Flint just catch a break?”
By Jan Worth-Nelson Sitting in a small room in the State Capitol waiting for a floor vote Friday afternoon, State Sen. Jim Ananich, also Senate Minority Leader, made a call to Flint. He had agreed to offer updates to East Village Magazine, all of whose staff are sheltering in place, about the sixth anniversary of the Flint water crisis, the prospect of action from the State Attorney General’s office, and how the city he grew up...
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