42 percent vacant: Forum explores Flint’s “everyday remaking of place” after abandonments
By Jan Worth-Nelson Forty-two percent of Flint’s properties are vacant — 24,000 of them –and their presence, appearing to some like tombstones, to others like hopeful patches of gardens or clover, to others annoyances swamped by unmowed grass or decaying trash–has become one of the uneasy visual realities of a city in transition. A panel of experts grappling literally at the grassroots level talked about those...
Transparency, transition to AECOM highlight first mayor’s FAST Start forum
By Meghan Christian With a stated effort toward transparency, Mayor Karen Weaver held the first of several community forums planned for 2018 on Thursday, Feb. 1 to update residents on the progress of the FAST Start pipe replacement program and to introduce AECOM, the company that has come on as project manager for the work. “We want you to share this information with others. Share this with your neighbors and your friends and let...
Former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling announces 49th District state house run
By Jan Worth-Nelson Stating that he has a “unique perspective” about state and local issues honed by what he learned from the Flint water crisis, former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling has announced he is running as a Democrat for state representative in the 49th District and expected to file paperwork with the Secretary of State for his campaign committee this week. The election is set for Nov. 6. Walling, a Rhodes Scholar who became...
Gerrymandering Part Three: going to court
By Paul Rozycki Just when you thought you’ve heard enough about gerrymandering, and the ballot proposals to end it—there is one more line of attack. Now the courts are getting involved. Two previous columns in past issues of East Village Magazine (Part One here, Part Two here) have outlined the problems and history of gerrymandering, drawing oddly shaped election districts to favor one party over another. A second column also...
Daughter of immigrants, Mona Hanna-Attisha details Flint’s disaster and hope: an analysis
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Frederick Douglass (Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha’s favorite quote) By Harold C. Ford Several dozen area residents gathered at the Flint Public Library Jan. 9 to hear Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha reflect on Flint’s proud and challenging history, including the evolution of and response to the city’s water crisis. She also provided details from her own personal history. The event,...
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