Flint Photos: Farmer's Market

Flint Photos: The Copa with Roof Trees

Flint Photos: Breakfast at Flint Crepe Company

From San Francisco to Flint from the Air...In No Particular Order

Flint for the Weekend

Headed to Flint today for some reporting related to my book project with the University of California Press. I'll be posting with my phone, so please excuse any misspellings, design disasters and various other miscues that will probably ensue.


Anything exciting happening this weekend I should know about?

Flint Artifacts: 1986 Michigan License Plate

The Gardens of Illinois Avenue

Here's a great idea to help the East Side, but it needs your vote to secure funding. And today's the last day to vote.

So vote here.

Now that we've got that taken care of, here's a description of the project from the Peace Mob Gardens Facebook page.

We have adopted a city block where every home has been burnt down, and would like to develop it into an orchard. The perimeter of the 4 acre parcel will be surrounded with a living fence of Grape Vines. Inside will be planted with various fruit trees that will be trained into giant Peace signs. 

Funds will be used to level the land, purchase supplies for forms for the "Peace Trees", living fence, and pathways. Remaining funds will purchase as many fruit trees, and supplies to grow vines as possible. If there is extra we will build raspberry, strawberry, and other fruit beds.

This project would be as a continuation of a project that already consists of a Community Garden currently feeding people and helping to build community in a long neglected portion of Flint Michigan's east side. In addition to providing food and a sense of community our community garden and related projects are also used to help demonstrate sustainable methods of urban living and teach science and environmental awareness to inner city youth.

Flint's problems can seem overwhelming, but small projects like this one can make a difference. No, this won't transform Flint's economy, but it's a start toward something better.

General Motors Parking Lot

During a five block walk to a friend's house in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood I spotted a surprisingly wide variety of vintage G.M. cars  

Dream Cars: Chevy Impala

Another General Motors gem on the streets of San Francisco.

Dream Cars: Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Spotted on the streets of San Francisco.

Flint Expatriates Battle Tropical Storm

My mom is riding out out Tropical Storm Beryl in Florida with her dog, Robby, and her cat, Prince III. Having grown up in Flint, she is unfazed by a little bad weather. Hang in there, Ma.

Mapping the Landscape of Underwater Mortgages

Think the United States is turning the corner on the housing crisis? This negative equity map from Zillow might change your mind. Just plug in a zip code to see the percentage of homeowners underwater on their mortgage in that area. In my old Civic Park neighborhood — the 48504 zip code —it's 65 percent, placing it in the worst 5 percent nationwide.

Mobile Homeless

Car culture has many forms in San Francisco. The so-called "mobile homeless" have had a prominent spot on city streets for years. I spotted all these vehicle/domiciles during a short walk in the Outer Mission area. The duct-taped Mercury (above and below) is usually parked in the same spot, which is good because there's only a small section of the front windshield that isn't taped over for privacy. Not exactly street legal, but local law enforcement is highly selective in how they enforce the rules and regulations of the road. The campers and vans roam around the neighborhood, avoiding parking violations and noisy neighbors.