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).
Jason Nichols, senior lecturer at the University of Maryland's African American Studies Department, joins Cheddar News to discuss the racial implications of Will Smith's slap at the Academy Awards.
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Kimberly Paige at TV network BET joined Cheddar News to talk about leadership, the projects she was pivotal in building, and her approach to leadership and "inviting" diverse audiences rather than "targeting" them. "if you think about when someone says, 'I'm targeting you,' you're generally in someone's kind of crosshairs, if you will," she said. "And so I use the notion of who are we inviting to participate in the brand in a meaningful way. I think it's a nuance, but it has huge implications."
Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter joined Cheddar News to talk about fatherhood and his solo work on a new crossover song called "Easy," featuring country singer Jimmie Allen. "What I love about country music is the lyrics, the melodies, the stories that are in them as well," he said. "And you know, you hear it's just pretty simple and pretty easy."
Oscar Stembridge, the youngest musician to have signed with Universal Music Sweden, has a passion for spreading awareness of climate activism as well as music. Cheddar News got an exclusive first look at the video for the new song, "Am I the Only One" and spoke with the 14-year-old singer about his young career and advocacy work. "Basically it all kind of started when, inspired from Greta Thunberg, I wrote my first kind of song called 'We March,' which is about my generation not wanting to pay the price of the older generations' inaction," he said.
The office real estate market might be in trouble, as vacancy rates in major cities remain across the country, even as COVID restrictions continue to fall away. Ryan Severino, the chief economist for real estate and investment management firm JLL, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the latest office trends and why some may be concerning for the broader economy. "There are knock-on ramifications for a lot of the ancillary industries that support office workers," he said. "If you think about coffee shops, places that someone might go out to get lunch or a drink or dinner after work, those are obviously still feeling the brunt of people not being physically back in office spaces the way that they were before the pandemic."
More Covid booster shots for more adults, Greenpeace and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen want more eco-friendly bitcoin, and the federal mask mandate for transportation is challenged. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Wednesday, March 30, 2022.
According to tracking services, Americans get inundated with more than 130 million robocalls every day. One man decided that he had enough and started suing telemarketers. Daniel Graham joins Cheddar News to share how he won more than $100,000 in settlements.
