National Guard boosts presence in Flint to aid water crisis

The drive outside University Foods on West Warren in Detroit is one of the latest efforts to help those dealing with water worries in Flint.

Dennis Muchmore, Snyder’s outgoing chief of staff, said Friday he expects the Republican governor will confront the lead contamination of Flint’s drinking water early and prominently in his address, setting out a comprehensive plan for addressing not only the health-related issues in Flint, but the infrastructure problems there and in other cities around the state.

She said she would donate more than 180,000 bottles of water to the city, which is home to 100,000 people.

State health officials last week disclosed a spike in deadly Legionnaires’ disease in Genesee County in 2014 and 2015 when Flint was drawing water from the Flint River – an outbreak they say has ended.

Residents complained about the water’s taste, smell and appearance, and children were found to have elevated levels of lead due to the water supply; lead exposure can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in children.

From a church rally in Flint, Mich., the Rev. Jesse Jackson called the city a “disaster zone” and asserted that lead-contaminated drinking water is a civil rights issue.

This has resulted in President Obama declaring a state of emergency for the locals, but help has come in the unlikely form of singer/actress Cher.

A day before Gov. Rick Snyder’s annual State of the State address, about 60 protesters gathered outside his apartment in downtown Ann Arbor and chanted for his arrest.

Attorneys will meet Tuesday to discuss two new class-action lawsuits filed by Flint residents that target the governor, the state Department of Environmental Quality and the former Flint emergency managers who took control of the city’s purse strings after the financial emergency, among others, said Eric Hood, who is coordinating media for the plaintiffs. He had requests for help that he basically stonewalled. The governor declared a state of emergency in Flint on January 5, and US President Barack Obama declared a Federal emergency on January 16.

Democratic presidential candidate Vermont Sen.

In 2014, officials switched the city’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River to save money. Bernie Sanders, who is also running for the Democratic nomination, has called for Snyders resignation. “We know Flint is a situation that never should have happened”. “What I’d say is I feel bad about it, though, and it’s clear that changes needed to be made in my administration and I think long-term, there are things that need to be improved”, he reportedly said.

“Gov. Snyder should resign”, said Sanders in a statement on his website. The water, it turned out, contains high levels of iron from Flint River and lead from connecting pipes.