Happy New Year from Flint Expatriates

Flint Postcards: Offices of Gillespie & Van Wagoner, 122 E. Kearsley Street

Flint Artifacts: Flint Committee Against War and Fascism Flyer

Thanks to Tom Pohrt for this artifact from the archives
of his grandfather, Charles Pohrt.

Ordos: If You Build It, Will They Come? Apparently Not

It took decades and complex global economic trends to create all the vacant property in Flint. China managed to pull it off all on their own and much more quickly in the Ordos district, a self-inflicted ghost town in Inner Mongolia complete with a bizarre museum and thousands of empty structures. Lucy Hornby and Langi Chiang of Reuters report:

Off the back of a thriving coal industry, the local government has been building a new city for one million people called Kangbashi. It sits virtually empty and property prices are falling.

Even in the old city of Dongsheng where people live and work, some 45 minutes drive away, a wave of investment has backfired. Cranes sit idle over unfinished skyscrapers and migrant workers are fleeing.

The swing in fortune -- residents and property agents say prices have dropped by up to a third -- is a severe example of what is happening in cities across China, including Shanghai and Beijing.

Ghosts of Flint in San Francisco

I saw this old Chevy with an industrial background today on Florida Street near 16th on my way to lunch. It reminded me of Flint.

Having grown up in Flint during the golden age of customized vans, I was duly impressed when I spotted this gem parked on the western slope of Bernal Heights this weekend.

MSU Medical Research Coming to Flint

Flint gets one step closer to being a college town. Beata Mostafavi of The Flint Journal reports:

Michigan State University’s medical school is joining downtown Flint, announcing plans to open a community campus in the heart of the city.

MSU’s College of Human Medicine will develop public health programs, recruit and house top public health researchers and provide office and classroom space for staff, faculty and students in a yet-to-be determined downtown location, according to plans MSU was set to publicly unveil today.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will fund an initial grant of $2.8 million for the project that college officials say will allow Flint to join East Lansing and Grand Rapids as pillars of the college’s statewide footprint and hopefully help grow more local doctors.

Flint Photos: Charles Pohrt and the Buick in the 1920s

Author, illustrator, and Flint Expatriate Tom Pohrt sent me these photos of his grandfather, Charles Pohrt, taken at the Buick, probably sometime in the 1920s. Charles was a tool and die maker.

The drop forge die sinking room at the Buick.

Charles, smoking a pipe, with two co-workers.

Flint Artifacts: Dort Motor Car Company

Michael Brown Named Emergency Financial Manager in Flint

The state of Michigan has appointed an emergency financial manager in Flint, choosing former interim Mayor Michael Brown. Dawson Bell of The Detroit Free Press reports:

As emergency manager, Brown will assume most of the duties of elected Mayor Dayne Walling and City Council and control city operations and finances. But he will have broader powers, too, including the authority to end employee contracts.

That means the long-running standoff between the city and the Flint police and firefighters unions will finally reach a resolution, although it might not be a happy one, depending on which side your on.

Kristen Longley of The Flint Journal has more details on the move:

Brown said he'll be talking to department heads and public safety officials.

He also plans to appoint an advisory committee consisting of a city official, a representative of the business community, one Flint resident and "up to two persons with relevant professional skills" to assist him, he said.

Brown said he expects to take actions similar to those of the current emergency managers appointed in Benton Harbor, Pontiac and Ecorse.

"It's pretty clear if you read the law, there's guidelines for managers," he said. "I'm going to be no different."

Flint Postcards: Chevy in the Hole

Behold the tranquil beauty of Chevy in the Hole.