The crisis in Flint, Mich., goes far beyond the lead in its water, and a new Netflix docu-series sheds light on the city’s much deeper economic and social problems.
“Outside investment is needed to really rebuild this community,” Zackary Canepari, one of the directors of “Flint Town,” told Cheddar.
Flint, home to about 100,000 people, reportedly has fewer than 100 police officers, and violence has run rampant.
Part of the reason is the city’s high unemployment, according to co-director Drea Cooper. He points out that issue stems from General Motors’ leaving town in the 1980s.
“It’s a town that’s missing a core industry,” Cooper said. “It was a town that was built on a singular industry, and now it’s trying to make its way.
“There’s been influx of universities coming in through the University of Michigan, hospitals are coming in, so they’re starting to find a new sort of niche and a new industry. But I think so many of these things start with education and job opportunities.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/welcome-to-flint-town).
Oliver James is a 34-year-old man who has struggled with reading his whole life. He has taken to “book-tok” to document his goal of reading 100 books this year.
Cheddar recs, "Poker Face," "National Geographic Investigates: LSD and Psychedelics," "The Legend of Vox Machina," "The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker,""M3GAN," and "Last Night in Soho."
A Newport News, Virginia teacher is set to file a lawsuit against the local school district after she was shot and critically wounded by a six-year-old student.
Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalized homosexuality as "unjust" and said it's not a crime but considered it "a sin," according to the Associated Press.
