Education Beat Analysis: March 15 Flint School Board meeting collapses into chaos
Mar24

Education Beat Analysis: March 15 Flint School Board meeting collapses into chaos

By Harold C. Ford “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” –The Who’s Peter Townshend, “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” 1971 After a few months of fragile collegiality sprinkled with polite platitudes, the newest iteration of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) has descended into a chaotic reminder of what board-watchers have regrettably witnessed again and again in recent years. The March 15, 2023 affair signaled, perhaps, a local,...

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Mindful Civic Leadership Program brings community and police together – a model for the nation
Mar15

Mindful Civic Leadership Program brings community and police together – a model for the nation

By Canisha Bell The Mindful Civic Leadership Program, designed to bring Black community members and police officers together to build mindfulness skills, launched a second run March 27. The next session will begin April 10. The program is part of the Mindful Flint Initiative, led by the Crim Fitness Foundation.  Theresa Roach, associate director of the Initiative, said the program aims to “build the skills of mindful leadership,...

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Council approves new rules, adds support for repealing Emergency Manager law; Mays is ousted, again
Mar02

Council approves new rules, adds support for repealing Emergency Manager law; Mays is ousted, again

By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include a link to view and/or download the Rules Governing City Council meetings. – Editor Flint City Councilperson Eric Mays (Ward 1) was removed again for “disorderly conduct” from Monday’s council meeting.  Council President Allie Herkenroder (Ward 7) called out Mays for continuous incorrect use of the the parliamentary procedure (point of order and point of...

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UM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay,  $10K bonus
Feb28

UM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay, $10K bonus

By Jan Worth-Nelson In one of the first publicly visible moves to address its fiscal woes since the campus-wide “Strategic Transformation” process began last fall,  the University of Michigan – Flint has rolled out a faculty buyout incentives plan paying up to a year’s salary with a $10,000 bonus. The “2023 Faculty Voluntary Retirement Incentive Plan” was announced last week. The plan applies to any...

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Village Life: “Where am I from?”   or   “Who are my people?” are questions worth exploring
Feb24

Village Life: “Where am I from?” or “Who are my people?” are questions worth exploring

By Tom Travis I’m writing this on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Soon after Putin’s unprovoked invasion last year I reached out to some local Ukrainians for their reactions. I soon found out they all wanted to talk. They all wanted to share their unique stories and emotions about the impending doom of their beloved Ukraine. There was a deep emotional tie that emerged as I interviewed local...

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