950 residents receive food weekly at the Martus/Luna Food Pantry
By Tom Travis Over 40 cars lined up on the streets around the Martus/Luna Food Pantry on Wednesday. Art Luna, President of the Martus/Luna Memorial Association which organizes the weekly food give away, said on average 950 people receive food each week. The first week in April they had 305 cars come through the line, the second week it was 335 cars and last week it was 280 cars. Luna pointed to two pictures on the wall of the small...
Coronavirus Diaries #1: Viral time and the witching hour — when the dead wander in and out
By Teddy Robertson Ed. Note: Here is the first of an East Village Magazine’s new feature, the Coronavirus Diaries — personal accounts and commentary from our writers to attempt to capture some of what we’ve all been going through and reflecting on what it means. Sunday has become my day to write to friends. It’s a new routine for me in this viral time. The problem is that I’ve already talked to them—been with...
Flint eying significance of AG actions, “bombshell” VICE story as water crisis repercussions bubble up again
By Jan Worth-Nelson As the coronavirus pandemic occupies and overwhelms much of the public’s attention in Flint, another controversy — still painful and unresolved in many ways, affecting almost every aspect of Flint life — appears about to create news again on top of everything else in Vehicle City. The sixth anniversary of what is considered to be the date that began the Flint water crisis – April 25, 2014, when a switch...
Michigan families to receive additional food benefits in pandemic EBT program
Emergency food assistance for Michigan families with children age 5 to 18 is on its way through a federal program adding benefits in response to the coronavirus crisis. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (P-EBT) will provide $193.80 per eligible student for March and April and $182.40 for May and June in additional “Bridge Card” funds for an estimated 895,000 students statewide. According to a press release...
Covid-19 testing begins in Flint at Atwood Stadium parking lot, 50 appointments scheduled
By Tom Travis About a dozen medical professionals and two hospital administration staff were on hand at Atwood Stadium’s parking lot today for Flint’s first drive through Covid-19 testing. Though 50 people had made a required appointment, there were no lines in the early hours, with about three or four cars coming through. Appointments are necessary to enter the testing area. Each test takes between 5 to 10 minutes to...
“Grab and Go” meals for Flint Community Schools students continue at 12 sites
By Tom Travis At what is normally a busy place with children and teachers on this day Durant-Tuuri- Mott (DTM) Elementary School sits empty. But the lunch room was busy with workers in masks and gloves filling bags with supplies for parents to pick up. Some of the food items they loaded into the bags were apple sauce cups, pop tarts, pre-packaged peanut butter and celery containers, and carrot sticks. A line of about 10 cars sat in...