Village Life: It’s been a little hard to write about nuthatches
By Jan Worth-Nelson I’d really like to go back to writing about nuthatches. A buddy of mine recently gently noted that my Village Life columns seem to have strayed from the easy-going neighborly flavor of my early years on the back page (or tucked into some weekend post online, like here and now). This observer was sitting in my sunroom, one of the best spots in our beloved house. So it made sense, when my friend stared out at...
View from a grass-roots table: people coming together to cope with Flint water
By Teddy Robertson We sit in a rectangle of tables, old manila file folders halved and then creased so we can write our names and prop them up in front of us. I’ve found my way to the basement of the Unitarian Universalist church for the meeting of a group called Communication/Publication. It’s something to do with water and print media. Jan [Worth-Nelson, EVM editor] has asked me to find out what’s going on. Is there a role for East...
Gray Panthers stalk Flint events: remembering That Weekend (Part I)
By Robert R. Thomas The plan was to take a list of ten events surrounding the Democratic debate at the Whiting and participate in as many as chilly weather and aging bones permitted. My wife Ingrid and I were more interested in the scenes surrounding the main event than the debate itself. We were also interested in participating, not just observing. The opening event was a 2 p.m. rally held by #JUSTICE4FLINT at Willson Park...
Bernie makes it better: remembering That Weekend (Part 2)
By Teddy Robertson The March 6, 2016 Democratic debate is over. That it was held in Flint seems more amazing now than it did the Sunday I stood in a line that snaked around the Whiting parking lot—students, Flint old timers (“I walked to Flint Central 50 years ago!”), guys with union hall physiques and no topcoat, proper ministerial types, politicos in snug-fitting silky suits. I got a ticket through Flint Neighborhoods...
Village Life: Flint’s water story triggers writers’ unease
By Jan Worth-Nelson Scene One: I’m sitting under a yellow umbrella with Andrew Highsmith and my husband Ted in a sunny plaza at a California university. The yellow makes our faces look like we’ve smeared ourselves with dandelions. It’s a chilly but sunny 63. Highsmith has just gone back for seconds on his drink. “This diet black cherry soda is unbelievably good,” he says. I’m finishing my avocado and quinoa salad and Ted is leaning...
Politics of water: blame game, grandstanding, incompetence — and a turning point?
By Paul Rozycki At the end of last year, after our mayoral election, our switch back to Detroit water, and the progress on the Karegnondi pipeline, it seemed that the Flint Water Crisis has peaked. This month I was expecting to say a few words about the primary elections….Trump, Hillary, Bernie Sanders, Iowa, New Hampshire and all that. This should have also been a week when the good news of Amir Hekmati’s release from an Iranian...
The Latest Edition of East Village Magazine Is Available For Download Here (pdf)
