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FormerFlint
F L I N T O I D
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So I take a look at the FRONT PAGE of The St Petersburg Times and lo n behold, there is good ol Saginaw Street! The article talks about how the Mott Foundation may be making a lot of money for Flint by selling a sugar plant here in Florida. Here is the article if your interested.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article772456.ece
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Uhm.... I got nuthin profound to add |
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Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:17 pm |
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Mellow D
F L I N T O I D
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Nice picture, and a good, comprehensive article, too. Thanks for sharing it,
I remain skeptical about this money doing a whole lot to change Flint. If you ever wondered how much the Mott Foundation has done for Flint, look around the town.
Their biggest impact on job creation can be seen in the article where, under the leadership of Bill White, who married into the Mott Foundation, the foundation gave us Autoworld, the tacky glass pavilion that keeps downtown perpetually stuck in the 80's, and the schlocky architecture of the Windmill Place that was so poorly constructed out of cardboard that the building cannot be salvaged a decade after the stores moved out. Not that you would want to save that classic stripmall-esque junk motif.
And that work was supposed to turn us into Boston or Baltimore??? In retrospect, how could Michael Moore NOT have poked fun of them in Roger & Me???
The people at these foundations haven't changed. Quite literally, they are the exact same people. And they haven't stopped blaming Flint's citizens for our own poverty. ("Our future will be what we make of it,'' she said. "But first you've got to quit looking over your shoulder.")
While their current revival plan is to encourage people to be entrepreneurs, (a smart plan with the added perk of allowing them to look down their noses at the poor and say, "Your future will be what you make it.") Then, when it is time to support entrepreneurs for their newest vision of downtown, they'll look for entrepreneurs from far and wide, anywhere but here inside the city, to bring in, invest in, and then shrugg when these imported entrepreneurs leave with their business, headed for someplace like Boston or Baltimore, or some other city with a coastline. These people, they will not blame. After all, entrepreneurs have to look out for #1.
If they really want that money to have an impact on the city, to change people's behaviors so that they stop looking back and start looking forward with entrepreneurial zeal, they should put it all into the city coffers and let us make some DEMOCRATIC DECISIONS about how it gets invested. Get some buy-in from the citizens and they may not be at odds with your plans for us.
And I don't mean let the Don and what passes for a city council make the decisions. I mean set it up so that the people who live and work here get to decide how to invest in Flint's future. I doubt we'd get much retail, but we might get GM's acres of cement blocks taken out and cleaned up after (a job-creating endeavor). And we might get some manufacturing of wind turbines or solar panels happening up in this piece. That kind of money could get us a manufacturing base again, a more sustainable investment than retail. (Have these planners not noticed that we have two WalMarts near Flint and another in Grand Blanc? And two malls? What is with all of the retail in a city with no income? Are they planning for empty storefronts a month after "re-investing"???) This time, let's let the workers here decide what we produce and how profits get divvied up, rather than letting some CEO in Boston or Baltimore make all of the decisions for our city's factories. I bet the folks in Flint could make decisions about production with a foresight that envisions more than just next quarter. Let's put this college town and entrepreneurship business to the ultimate democratic test. Or aren't the foundations expected to be as entrepreneurial as the city's poor???
After all, who has a better appreciation for the future of the city (not to mention for what counts as attractive and sturdy architecture) than those of us who have lived and worked here for generations and had too much "entrepreneurial spirit" (or outright urban pioneers) to ditch the city and head to Chicago with all of our college classmates??? Bill White? Steve Wilson? Look out Flint. Here comes "College Town World!!" Come and get your Gucci glasses! |
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Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:33 pm |
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Opinionated
F L I N T O I D
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I agree with your comments, Mellow, but not about the picture. I thought the picture was bad, and much too dark. Realizing it was at sunset, it still could've been much better and shown Saginaw street in a better "light." It was the obvious intent of the photographer was to show the incredibly dull top of the Genesee Towers building. To make others go, "Wow. That's a tall building they got there in Flint. That Flint must be a city full of skyscrapers - like New York." Also, you can barely make out the CB weather ball, the true icon of Flint.
Yes, I agree it certainly was an interesting article, but the story was way too long. I'm very glad FormerFlint shared it with us, though. It's interesting, too, to read the prospective of other cities and their take on us. |
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If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it. |
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Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:25 pm |
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Kevin McKague
F L I N T O I D
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I heard about this story.
U.S. Sugar corp sold its property around the Everglades for a ton of money to the state of Florida so the state can restore the ecosystem there.
I had no idea that the Mott Foundation was the seller though. Its good news, they're restoring the environment, and help protect fresh water resources in the state, and bring money to Flint in one stroke. |
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Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:09 pm |
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andi03
F L I N T O I D
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A Beatles' song with a twist comes to mind....
"All 'ya need is a job, job....."
Kevin, you seem to be the eternal optimist!!  The same people will make the same decisions as MD said.
It's sad but true. There was one portion of the article that made me think of the movie Oliver Twist that was made in the 1930's. When Little Oliver looks up at the "head dude" (can't think of his name...older, nasty, plump gent) and asks, "May I have some more?" Then gets the crap beat out of him. Little Oliver is like Flint...how long are we going to sit here and state, "May I...".
All we need is jobs, not an overture of handouts, let the people of Genesee County, get their pride back.....work, job= loving this area again.
There was a time when Flint was spectacular, I remember hearing stories of it from my Great Grandmother and Grandma. I can't badmouth the foundation, completely, as they came through for my husband's family in the 50's, more than anyone could fathom.
<off of soapbox> |
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Build a bridge and get over it! |
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Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:22 pm |
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Kevin McKague
F L I N T O I D
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| I don't think anybody believes that the Mott foundation is capable of solving the area's problems alone, but having a billion dollars come to the area can't be a bad thing, right? Better than sharp stick in the eye! Plus, Florida takes a big step towards sustaining their ecosystem. |
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Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:32 am |
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Ryan Eashoo
F L I N T O I D
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Remember foundations usually only spend some of the interest they make, rather than dip into the cold hard cash. But I think this is good for Flint, more money here, more interest, more improvements.
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:31 am |
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Ryan Eashoo
F L I N T O I D
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Remember foundations usually only spend some of the interest they make, rather than dip into the cold hard cash. But I think this is good for Flint, more money here, more interest, more improvements.
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:31 am |
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Richard
F L I N T O I D
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I was visiting my in-laws last Sunday and read the article. Interesting.
Richard |
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Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:06 am |
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