Michigan's then-governor, Rick Snyder, knew about the severe deterioration of Flint's drinking water and how the residents were suffering. He did nothing to alleviate the situation. Oh yes, bottles of drinking water were eventually distributed.
Flint is a working-class city and solidly Democratic while Snyder is Republican. People died from illnesses that originated in his bureaucrat's decision to "switch . . . the city’s drinking water source from Detroit’s municipal water system to the Flint River . . . to save money." Lead began to leach from pipes while residents were told that the water was safe.
One Flint native, filmmaker Michael Moore, screened the details of this monstrosity in "Fahrenheit 11/9." Greg Palast called this segment the best documentary filmmaking he'd ever seen.
Charges against officials responsible have been dropped by the new Democratic administration. Go figure.
At www.nytimes.com
