Free Republic

Flint, Michigan, received $390 million in state funding for its water crisis, but as much has gone to economic and social development as has gone to safe drinking water, state spending data show. The funds have paid for free daycare for kids too young to have been impacted by the main crisis, according to state records, and for basketball, according to a book; residents are even being paid $50 to sign up for other government benefits. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a Flint activist, said the money has enabled “the stuff progressives dream about,” and a state budget spokesman said local officials...

‘Violation’: Michigan Says The City Of Flint’s Mayor Hasn’t Bothered To Do Basic Tests Of Its Water For Lead.. ( Full title). ... Michigan’s environmental agency said Flint has failed to do basic testing of its water and ignored a previous warning. It slammed the city for blocking contractors from using “hydrovac,” the cheapest and least-disruptive technology for testing lines. The prohibition was widely viewed as intended to steer contracts to a politically connected firm that lacked the proper equipment, at the expense of residents. National Democratic candidates have used Flint to criticize Republicans and environmental policies. Mayor Karen Weaver’s...

(CNN)The mayor of Flint, Michigan, reacted to a federal lawsuit which claims donors were directed away from a charity for victims of the city's water crisis and toward a fund sharing a name with her campaign fund Wednesday, calling the allegations "outrageously false." In the suit filed Monday, fired administrator Natasha Henderson claims that in February 2016, Flint's current mayor, Karen Weaver, directed a former city employee and a city volunteer to stop directing potential donors to a charity called Safe Water/Safe Homes. That charity was run by the Community Foundation of Greater Flint and had been approved by the...

(Reuters) - A former administrator in Flint, Michigan, charged in a federal lawsuit on Monday that she was fired for seeking a probe into allegations the mayor tried to redirect donations to her personal campaign fund from a charity meant to help families hurt by the city's water crisis. The wrongful termination lawsuit filed in federal court in Detroit said former City Administrator Natasha Henderson was fired in violation of whistle-blower and free-speech protections under Michigan law and the U.S. Constitution. An attorney retained by the city of Flint on the matter did not immediately respond to a request for...

FLINT, MI -- What started as a local attorney's way to draw attention to an unusual mayor's election has turned into an international phenomenon as Giggles the Pig makes headlines around the globe. News organizations from Russia and the Netherlands have picked up the story of the small porcine from Flint whose owner is attempting to enter into the mayor's race. Even CNN ran a story Friday, May 8, about Giggles' attempt to take on the Vehicle City's political establishment. Attorney Michael Ewing announced Giggles' campaign on Facebook on May 4 following news this week that no names would appear...