Education Beat: Flint schools board adopts deficit elimination plan, dismisses three administrators
By Harold C. Ford At its April 21 meeting, conducted via Zoom, the Flint Community Schools (FCS) Board of Education adopted an amended Enhanced Deficit Elimination Plan (EDEP) to send to the State of Michigan for review. The board also dismissed three building administrators for “performance issues” without detail provided to the public. Further, not a word was spoken about the sudden suspension of Derrick Lopez from his...
Ten-hour Flint City Council committee meeting covers secondary water source pipeline, revised ’20-’21 city budget
By Tom Travis Flint City Council met electronically in a succession of four committee meetings Wednesday night for 10 and half hours from 5 p.m. until the final adjournment at 3:30 a.m. In addition to the committee meetings, a 30-minute-long executive session began at 1 a.m. All nine City Council members were initially present. The pictures of city council members and city administration officials appeared on the screen as they spoke...
Flint eying significance of AG actions, “bombshell” VICE story as water crisis repercussions bubble up again
By Jan Worth-Nelson As the coronavirus pandemic occupies and overwhelms much of the public’s attention in Flint, another controversy — still painful and unresolved in many ways, affecting almost every aspect of Flint life — appears about to create news again on top of everything else in Vehicle City. The sixth anniversary of what is considered to be the date that began the Flint water crisis – April 25, 2014, when a switch...
Get ready: Court Street construction beginning Wednesday, April 22; trees will be saved
By Jan Worth-Nelson What the project engineer is calling “full reconstruction” of Court Street from Dort Highway to Crapo Street in Flint is scheduled to begin Wednesday, April 22. Work on the estimated $7 million project is expected to last through August, and will entail adjustments for motorists on one of the city’s busiest east-west routes. Workers will be installing an updated water main and resurfacing Court...
Michigan families to receive additional food benefits in pandemic EBT program
Emergency food assistance for Michigan families with children age 5 to 18 is on its way through a federal program adding benefits in response to the coronavirus crisis. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (P-EBT) will provide $193.80 per eligible student for March and April and $182.40 for May and June in additional “Bridge Card” funds for an estimated 895,000 students statewide. According to a press release...