Flint water crisis

The deadline for Flint property owners to take part in the city’s free lead service line replacement program is just a few days away.

A new study finds there was not a significant increase in fetal deaths in Flint during the city’s drinking water crisis.

Many in Flint have wondered if stillbirths between 2014 and 2016 were due to increased lead levels in the city’s drinking water. A 2017 report suggested Flint had seen a 58% increase in fetal deaths. But the report was criticized by academics and the state health department.  

A long line of Flint residents told a federal judge Tuesday that they are being victimized again by the massive water crisis legal settlement.

Since the proposed settlement of civil claims was first announced last August, it has been lawyers doing most of the talking.This was the first time that Flint residents had a chance to share their thoughts on and objections to the deal.

On Monday, a federal judge held the first of three days of hearings into objections to a $641 million settlement of Flint water crisis civil lawsuits.

More than 50,000 people have registered for a piece of the settlement of claims against the state of Michigan, the city of Flint, McLaren Flint Hospital and Rowe Engineering.

People will have the opportunity this week to raise objections to a proposed settlement of civil claims tied to the Flint water crisis.

Starting Monday, a federal judge will hold the first of three days of hearings.

The new administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency was in Flint Wednesday, in part to address the agency’s battered image in the community.

Michael Regan toured a community lab where young people test the quality of water samples. The lab was set up after Flint residents grew mistrustful of claims of government agencies, including the EPA, that their lead tainted water was safe to drink.

The city of Flint’s lead service line pipe replacement program is entering a critical next few weeks.   

Flint’s water crisis prompted the city to begin inspecting the service lines connecting homes and businesses to city water mains.  Aging pipes were the primary source of lead in the city’s drinking water.

State lawmakers are proposing using one-time federal funds to underwrite a $2.5 billion investment in Michigan’s water infrastructure.

The bill would use grants and loans to help pay for dam repairs, lead pipe replacement and other water related projects.

Senate Bill 565 includes:

-  $680 million for the creation of grant and loan programs to repair the most critical of Michigan’s dams 

A court hearing Monday will look at the process of reviewing grand jury documents in the Flint Water Crisis investigation.

Defense attorneys accuse prosecutors of “stonewalling.”

In January, nine government officials including former Gov. Rick Snyder, were charged with crimes ranging from willful neglect of duty to involuntary manslaughter. The criminal counts were handed down by a one-man grand jury.   

Circuit Court Judge Duncan Beagle has been overseeing the process of reviewing evidence presented to the one-man grand jury in the Flint water crisis criminal investigation. 

Former Governor Rick Snyder’s defense attorney says its “outrageous” that prosecutors have not given him all the evidence in Snyder’s Willful Neglect of Duty case.

Snyder was charged in January with two misdemeanor counts related to the Flint water crisis.   

The former governor could face a year in prison and up to a $1,000 fine on each count if convicted. He’s entered pleas of not guilty to the charges.

Sunday marks the seventh anniversary of the start of the Flint water crisis.

On April 25, 2014, officials pushed the button switching Flint’s drinking water source from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River.

The river water was not properly treated, resulting in lead leeching from old pipes into the city’s drinking water. 

Part of the $641 million Flint water crisis settlement might be in jeopardy.

McLaren Flint Hospital agreed to contribute $20 million to the settlement. The rest of the money is coming from the state of Michigan, the city of Flint and Rowe Professional Services.

The hospital faces lawsuits tied to deadly Legionnaires' Disease cases after the city of Flint’s drinking water was switched.  At least a dozen people died and scores more fell ill with the pneumonia-like illness. Roughly half the cases had links to the McLaren hospital.

It’s been more than a week since the registration period for the Flint water settlement closed, but it remains unclear exactly how many people signed up.

People affected by the Flint water crisis had until March 29th to register for the $641 million settlement involving the state of Michigan, the city of Flint, McLaren Flint Hospital and Rowe Professional Services.

In the final few days before Monday’s deadline to opt-in or opt-out of the settlement, people stood in long lines outside the Flint water settlement law office in downtown Flint. Many needed help filling out the settlement forms.

But it appears the wait was successful.

A judge has agreed to put the criminal case against former Gov. Rick Snyder on hold for a few months.

Snyder is facing two misdemeanor counts of Willful Neglect of Duty tied to the Flint water crisis. If convicted, the former governor could face up to year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. He has entered pleas of not guilty.

Monday is the deadline for people to register for the $641 million Flint water crisis master settlement.

As of a week ago, more than 33,000 people had registered to be part of the settlement.  

Attorneys say they have seen a crush of people in the last week wanting to opt-in or opt-out of the settlement. The lawyers say the deadline crunch will make it difficult for them to help people register and file objections to the settlement.   They asked U.S. District Judge Judith Levy to extend the deadline by another 60 days.

The criminal case against former governor Rick Snyder will proceed.

A judge rejected his lawyers’ request to dismiss the charges against him Thursday.

Attorneys are asking a judge to set aside nearly a third of the proposed $641 million civil settlement tied to the Flint water crisis for lawyer fees.

They made the request in a court filing this week.  

The State of Michigan and the city of Flint, along with a Flint engineering firm and a Flint hospital, agreed to put up the money as part of an agreement to settle legal damage claims tied to the city’s water crisis.

Former Gov. Rick Snyder should learn soon if a judge will dismiss charges against him connected to the Flint water crisis.

The former governor is charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty.   The exact reasons for the charges are unclear since a judge has yet to release evidence presented to the one-man grand jury that issued the indictment.

A judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss a perjury charge against a former top aide to former Gov. Rick Snyder.

Jarrod Agen was Snyder’s communications director and chief of staff.

He’s among nine people, including the former governor, recently criminally charged as part of the state's investigation into the Flint water crisis.  

There is a question whether the state’s case against former Gov. Rick Snyder will be able to move forward before the judge currently assigned the case.

The former governor is charged with two counts of Willful Neglect of Duty related to his handling of the Flint Water Crisis.

But during a brief court hearing Tuesday morning, District Court Judge William Crawford II delayed arguments until next month on a pair of defense motions to dismiss the misdemeanor counts against Snyder.

We may find out next week if a new judge will be needed in the Flint water crisis criminal investigation.

A former Flint official charged for his alleged role in the city's water crisis says the judge assigned his case should disqualify himself.

Genesee County health and education officials want young children from Flint evaluated for developmental issues.

Testing has shown Flint’s drinking water has long since recovered from its lead crisis in 2014 and 2015.   

But Nicole Jason, Intervention Services Supervisor with the Genesee Intermediate School District, says women may still be passing lead on to unborn children.

Attorneys for former Governor Rick Snyder are formally asking a judge to toss two misdemeanor charges tied to the Flint water crisis.

Snyder was formally charged with willful neglect of duty as part of an investigation by the Michigan attorney general's office into alleged criminal activity tied to Flint’s lead tainted tap water.

A federal judge is granting preliminary approval of a $641 million settlement of many of the civil lawsuits tied to the Flint Water Crisis.

The settlement involves lawsuits brought by Flint residents seeking damages related to their exposure to lead and other contaminates released when the city’s drinking water source was switched in 2014. Property owners and businesses are also seeking damages.