Thread Lake, Kearsley dam projects progress; downtown “rapids” plan on Flint River hits snag
By Jeffery L Carey Jr. As the year winds down, the City of Flint has begun its fourth dam project, this one at the Kearsley Dam at the corner of Layton Boulevard and Western Road. Work on the Kearsley Dam follows the recent repair of Thread Lake Dam and the removal of both the Fabri and Hamilton Dams. The announcement of work beginning on the Kearsley Dam came Aug.31 from Mayor Karen Weaver and the city’s Director of Public Works Rob...
Commentary: Environmental Justice Summit convened empowering visions of clean water, air, land
By Michael Mascarenhas On Sept. 8, the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition hosted the 3rd Environmental Justice Statewide Summit at Flint’s New McCree Theatre. The event brought together close to 200 activists, environmental practitioners, citizens, and scholars to talk about what it means for all living beings to have clean and affordable access to water, air, and land. This was an important opportunity not only to...
Riders help Doyle/Ryder students roar into the school year
By Harold C. Ford Some two dozen area motorcyclists obliterated the image of motorcycle riders as narcissists living on the edge of law as they welcomed Doyle/Ryder Elementary students back to school on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Dubbed “Rolling Into Success,” the event was organized by Kevelin Jones, Doyle/Ryder principal, and Urundi Knox, bishop of Burton-based Ebenezer Ministries. Adults lined the entranceway to the school and lavished the...
Flint Youth Theatre becomes “Flint Repertory Theatre” amidst celebration, protests
By Patsy Isenberg The Flint Youth Theatre (FYT), for more than 60 years a haven in the Flint Cultural Center for young local actors, playwrights and theater production buffs, is changing. Theater executives unveiled a new name, a new look and a new emphasis at an announcement event Aug. 22. Defenders of the transformation, which has elicited some protests, say the changes will add to, not subtract from, the theatre’s...
Flint Community School district facing make-or-break challenge under state partnership agreement
By Jan Worth-Nelson and Harold C. Ford Behind the scenes as Flint students and teachers go back to school this fall, a make-or-break drama is underway that significantly affects the future of the Flint Community Schools, its 12 schools and 4,600 students. The district, which landed last year in the bottom five percent of districts statewide, has been placed in a category of “chronically failing schools,” and given 36 months by the...
The Latest Edition of East Village Magazine Is Available For Download Here (pdf)
