“The new Jim Crow is the old Jim Crow,” FPL speaker asserts
Aug25

“The new Jim Crow is the old Jim Crow,” FPL speaker asserts

By Robert R. Thomas      With an engaged group of 25 in the basement of Flint Public Library recently, Hubert Roberts led a conversation about “The New Jim Crow,” both Michelle Alexander’s eponymous book and the reality.       The conversation was part of the Tendaji Talks series, sponsored by Neighborhoods Without Borders, whose focus is systemic racism.        Roberts, a Flint educator, mentor and minister, opened the...

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New MCC statue offers tribute to legacy of C.S. Mott
Aug07

New MCC statue offers tribute to legacy of C.S. Mott

By Lori Nelson Savage Almost 60 years after C.S. Mott gave additional property and money for the construction of the three-story library shared by Flint Junior College and the University of Michigan, a bronze, life-size statue in his likeness has been mounted at its entrance. A bronze statue of C.S. Mott was unveiled during a public ceremony on the grounds of Mott Community College on Saturday, Aug. 6. “The choice of the statue’s...

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Village Life:  It’s been a little hard to write about nuthatches
Aug06

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...

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Flint’s woes “not just about water,” Rep. Kildee tells water recovery group
Aug05

Flint’s woes “not just about water,” Rep. Kildee tells water recovery group

By Jan Worth-Nelson Even before the water crisis hit, U.S Representative Dan Kildee reminded about 100 members of the Flint Recovery Group Aug. 4 under the dome at City Hall, Flint was already “one mistake from a crisis.” And in the devastating wake of a whole series of mistakes and misdeeds, Flint is just one example – a portentous one — of what happens to what he said some view as “throwaway cities” around the country that...

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Flint can be lead-free and a national model of renewal, Flint Mayor Weaver says
Aug05

Flint can be lead-free and a national model of renewal, Flint Mayor Weaver says

By Jan Worth-Nelson While acknowledging that Flint has many hurdles to overcome in recovering from its water crisis, Mayor Karen Weaver said in her first State of the City address Aug. 4 that progress is real and that Flint can become a national model of renewal. And she vowed to replace “every last lead-tainted pipe in Flint” for every Flint resident “until the job is done.” Weaver said the next round of the city’s Fast Start pipe...

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