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).
Biden wants the ultra-rich to close the deficit in his new budget proposal, a judge rules Trump's aide must turn over election emails, and Chrome users need to do an update. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
Marjorie Margolies, an Emmy-winning journalist and former Congressperson, was on assignment as a reporter in South Korea in 1970 when she adopted 7-year-old Lee Heh. She was the first American ever to adopt a child from another country while unmarried. Cheddar News sat down with Margolies, and her son Vu Pham, as she recounted her story.
A recent survey from tech giant HP shows that while women are very interested in advancing their careers, men are still promoted at a much higher rate. Managing Director of North America at HP Stephanie Dismore joined Cheddar News to discuss the data and how changes brought on by the pandemic helped — and hurt — women in the workforce. "This whole idea of hybrid working is a challenge, but it's also an opportunity. And ideally what it can do for women is provide extreme flexibility, and it gives them an opportunity to really be very vocal about what they need and how they can contribute the best in the environment that they're in," she said. "However, at the same time, while women are applying and wanting to advance their careers. COVID actually had the reverse effect. And if you look at other studies, one in four women actually took a step back from their careers or exited the workforce altogether."
Marshall Mayer, the co-founder of the Let's Buy an Island crowdsourcing campaign, joined Cheddar News to discuss purchasing of the Coffee Caye Island off the coast of Belize, building it into its own micronation, and what challenges he's faced in this process. "First of all we recognize where we are. We know we're in Belize, we're not, you know, we have no ambitions beyond the fun of this project," he said. "When it comes to actually creating this sort of thing, most of the people that started this project myself included are dedicated world travelers. We love going to sort of the unique and strange around the world and getting to know interesting cultures and interesting areas."
The hit show 'Snowfall' about the cocaine epidemic in 1980s Los Angeles returned for a fifth season in February, and Angela Lewis, who plays Aunt Louie on the show, joined Cheddar News to talk about the love that she has received for her role and her approach towards it. "I think the biggest thing that I do is I have to be confident," she said. "You cannot play a character like Louie without — you can't play her shrinking away from anything. You can't play her being insecure about whatever it is you might be insecure about." Lewis also touched on her advocacy for Black maternal health that had been sparked by her own pregnancy.
