Pulling weeds by moonlight
By Teddy Robertson I got home late, a bit after 9 pm, coming back in June to my house in Flint after a several months’ sojourn in the south babeach cities west of Los Angeles. My partner Dennis—an LA native—won’t arrive until July. I’ll be on my own in Michigan for a while. Dennis lives in Torrance, just over the hill from the Pacific coast. It’s usually warmer than at the beach, but when I hike up the steep...
The power of words and a presidential visit
By Nic Custer Author’s Note: This essay is the result of my role as a Flint citizen and not while acting as a journalist. It is in that spirit and in that voice that I am offering this piece to share my experience with the community. In the age of constant communication, a letter is a powerful tool. A letter written by an eight-year-old Flint resident imploring the president to see Flint for himself led to the...
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...
Turn on the taps first two weeks of May, water officials implore Flint residents
By Nic Custer Flint residents are being asked to run cold water through their systems daily for two weeks starting Sunday, May 1. The goal is to push out lead trapped in the system by getting a higher velocity of water running through the water pipes, especially in interior plumbing, according to Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 Acting Administrator Robert Kaplan. Kaplan explained the situation and the flushing protocol at...
Marijuana dispensaries focus of planning commission discussion
By Nic Custer Proposals for medical marijuana dispensaries at three Flint locations were the main topic discussed at the March 8 Flint Planning Commission meeting, which drew more than 60 people to the city hall’s Dome Auditorium. Many audience members were College Cultural neighborhood residents who came for a public hearing about Bio-Med LLC’s application to establish a medical marijuana dispensary in the former Family Video,...
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