“It only takes one person”:  historic Mott Park Neighborhood residents come together to rejuvenate abandoned club house and grounds
Mar12

“It only takes one person”: historic Mott Park Neighborhood residents come together to rejuvenate abandoned club house and grounds

By Tom Travis “It just takes one person to have that vision or to have that love for their community. And that one person must be brave to step out and take the bull by the horns. It just takes one person and then they’ll gravitate and get other people involved. Even in a bad neighborhood, it takes just one person,” said Mott Park Neighborhood resident, Gennois Wiggins. “And I would add that it starts with one...

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$9.6 million in federal spending coming to Flint-area organizations, Kildee announces
Mar11

$9.6 million in federal spending coming to Flint-area organizations, Kildee announces

By Tom Travis Support for a North Flint food cooperative, assistance for affordable housing and blighted property demolition, training for school nurses, criminal justice reform, funding for more critical care hospital beds, and creation of a science and technology student mentoring program are among Flint-area initiatives set to benefit from $9.6 million of federal funds approved this week. The appropriations are part of a $1.5...

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I-475 corridor community input meeting set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 at FIM
Mar08

I-475 corridor community input meeting set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 at FIM

By Tom Travis (This article has been updated to reflect a change of venue for the March 22 meeting.) The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has announced another in a series of public meetings for public input on the I-475 corridor for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 followed by another presentation at 6:15 p.m.  The meeting will be held at The Whiting, 1241 East Kearsley Street in Flint. COVID safety precautions will be...

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“Hopeless, helpless, sad, and angry,” local Ukrainians react as Putin wages war
Feb28

“Hopeless, helpless, sad, and angry,” local Ukrainians react as Putin wages war

By Tom Travis Flint area Ukrainians are urgently contacting friends and relatives still in the embattled country and say they feel hopeless, helpless, sad, and angry. Flint resident Linda Pylypiw, of Ukrainian and Latvian heritage, said she believes the Russians are “once again trying to crush the spirit of the Ukrainians and not treat them like a separate people but as the unwanted step-children of the Russians.” A local...

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“Art is an outlet” – Jerin Sage, Flint’s interim-placemaker
Feb24

“Art is an outlet” – Jerin Sage, Flint’s interim-placemaker

“By Tom Travis  Jerin Sage, the Greater Flint Art Council’s interim placemaker, leans forward with a bounce in his voice, his hands flying as he speaks, and exclaims, “Art is not about being the best.  It’s about giving it your all and putting it out there.” In an interview at Dorothy’s House of Coffee, Sage, 36, explains the concept of “placemaking” and how he came to believe in it as...

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