Fifteen days in January: The nation faces insurrection, impeachment, and inauguration.
By Paul Rozycki In the early 1960s, at the height of the cold war, there was a best-selling novel, and a movie, that told a story of a potential military coup in the U.S. and possible nuclear conflict with Soviet Union. The book was “Seven Days in May” by Charles Bailey and Fletcher Knebel, and it described a week of Cold War tensions, governmental distrust, and political conspiracies of the time. “Seven Days in May” was a fictional...
Education Beat Flint Community Schools board approves plan for return to buildings in unsteady start of new era
By Harold C. Ford “I’m sure looking forward to great things from the board.” –David Guinn, Judge, 67th District Court, Genesee County, comment at start of Jan. 20 meeting “This meeting has been very, very confusing…If you’re confused, then you know the general public is confused.” –A.C. Dumas, vice president, NAACP Flint Branch, comment at end of Jan. 20 meeting Parliamentary unsteadiness marked the beginning for a new...
Michigan food assistance payments increase 15 percent by end of January – Gov. Whitmer/MDHHS
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced 15 percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits beginning by the end of January and lasting until June, 2021, as detailed in a Thursday press release from MDHHS and Gov. Whitmer. The increase is part of a Congressional relief bill recently passed and is intended to help families affected by the COVID-19...
COVID, water crisis exacerbating mental illness in Genesee County, health systems rep warns
By Coner Segren COVID-19 is exacerbating a mental health crisis in Genesee County, according Lisa Bruder of the Genesee Health System (GHS) in a presentation to the January meeting of Flint Neighborhoods United (FNU). “It would be impossible to live through COVID and not be impacted by in some way by stress or grief,” said Bruder, manager of education at the GHS. “We need to tend to our community that has an existing mental health...
“There are no velvet ropes in our criminal justice system.” – Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud on Flint water crisis prosecutions
By Tom Travis Today Flint residents who logged onto a virtual court procedure saw something many had called for, but never thought they would see: former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, an attorney at his side, pleading not guilty to charges leveled by Attorney General Dana Nessel for Snyder’s role in the Flint water crisis. Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and eight other former state and local officials, including Nick Lyon,...