Author Archives: admin

Blazer Gardens recognized by VDT for promoting healthy food

Healthy food got recognition on the front page of the VDT today.

In today’s capitalistic food market, several people have felt compelled to begin “living organically.” This philosophy has been brought to Valdosta and centralized by a group at Valdosta State University.

Bobbi Hancock, a VSU student, founded Blazer Gardens@VSU in August 2010. The group currently has 14 active members.

“There was reports of a food pantry being implemented on campus and that was implemented because there was students going to the dining hall asking for food,” said Hancock. “I just thought, if we could teach students how to grow food, it would eliminate a lot of the issues we have with campus hunger.”

Blazer Gardens started as nothing but seeds in the yard of Kathryn Grant, an organization member.

“This was an opportunity for me to understand and for me to appreciate how my food is grown,” said Grant.

From their professor:
Dr. Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Blazer Gardens faculty advisor and VSU professor of modern classical languages, said she feels compelled to get involved with this organization.

“I think we are what we eat, so I want to be clean and organic and safe,” said Espinosa-Dulanto.

Maybe they can help us all not eat poisons and even stop Monsanto and ConAgra from poisoning our food supply. It’s good health and it’s good business.

-jsq

CCA private prison VDT front page today

Former Sheriff Paulk luke-warm; Sheriff Prine completely opposed. Water and sewer, wetlands, federal funding: all hurdles, says Paulk. Sheriff’s Association also opposed, says Prine. More in the VDT article.

Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine has also shared his thoughts on the private prison industry:
“If I’m going to house an inmate and if I’m going to be responsible, I’d rather them be in my facility not a private prison,” said Prine. “If I’m going to be responsible for them I want them to be within my reach. the Sheriff’s Association feels the same way I do. I’d say the large majority of Sheriff’s feel the same way about this. I don’t want a private facility handling my prisoners.”
Here’s video of Sheriff Prine saying most of that a few weeks ago.

They also mentioned the petition and quoted me:

“If those signatures and calls are making any impression on the Authority they certainly don’t admit to it,” said Quarterman. “This is another Lofton (Brad Lofton, former Authority executive director) project. It’d be nice if the Industrial Authority represented the community they were located in.”
Do you want the Industrial Authority to notice? You can sign the the petition, or send VLCIA your own letter, or write a letter to the editor to the VDT, or….

-jsq

County Commission votes tonight

Yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission work session lasted only eight (8) minutes, as you can see in the videos. Maybe they will say more tonight.

Here’s the agenda.

-jsq

Private investment in utility-scale solar plants

After the ribbon cutting for the new Tabby Solar and Lower Rates for Customers installation in Richmond Hill, I asked Dr. Sidney Smith about using electric meter technology for utility-scale solar plants, for example 1-5 megawatts, for which there is private venture capital seeking opportunities.

Here’s Part 1 of 2:


Private investment in utility-scale solar plants Part 1 of 2:
South Eastern Pathology Associates,
Selling Power, Lower Rates for Customers LLC (LRCLLC),
Richmond Hill, Bryan County, Georgia, 17 February 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Dr. Smith said that was possible, plus he’d already been talking to some potential German investors,

If our system works as we have designed, they’d like to invest 100 million or more.

That would be quite a bit of solar energy!

Here’s Part 2 of 2:


Private investment in utility-scale solar plants Part 2 of 2:
South Eastern Pathology Associates,
Selling Power, Lower Rates for Customers LLC (LRCLLC),
Richmond Hill, Bryan County, Georgia, 17 February 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

You can help by calling your state senator about SB 459.

-jsq

CCA cares about “public acceptance of the Company’s services”

We already knew from CCA’s 2010 report to the SEC and from CCA’s own video disparaging community opposition that community opposition can affect CCAs ability to site a prison. They said it yet another way back in 2009.

In the 17 August 2009 press release about Damon Hininger being appointed CEO:

This press release contains statements as to the Company’s beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that are forward-looking statements as defined within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties associated with: (i) fluctuations in the Company’s operating results because of, among other things, changes in occupancy levels, competition, increases in cost of operations, fluctuations in interest rates and risks of operations; (ii) changes
the risks and uncertainties associated with: … the public acceptance of the Company’s services, the timing of the opening of and demand for new prison facilities and the commencement of new management contracts; (iii) the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain correctional facility management contracts….
in the privatization of the corrections and detention industry, the public acceptance of the Company’s services, the timing of the opening of and demand for new prison facilities and the commencement of new management contracts; (iii) the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain correctional facility management contracts, including as a result of sufficient governmental appropriations and as a result of inmate disturbances; (iv) increases in costs to construct or expand correctional facilities that exceed original estimates, or the inability to complete such projects on schedule as a result of various factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, such as weather, labor conditions and material shortages, resulting in increased construction costs; and (v) general economic and market conditions. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in the filings made from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
So maybe we should drum up some community opposition to the private prison the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) wants CCA to build in Lowndes County, Georgia. What ideas do you have to go beyond the petition?

-jsq

Videos of Lowndes County Commission Work Session 2012 02 27

Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Work Session Meeting held February 27, 2012, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia. Here’s the agenda.

Here’s a playlist:


Videos of Lowndes County Commission Work Session 2012 02 27
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

6c. Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement @ LCC Work Session 2012-02-27

Lowndes County has been in a Mutual Aid Agreement for 10 years. This is a renewal of the agreement for 4 years. Having this agreement in place makes cooperating with neighboring counties and municipalities easier.

-gretchen

Here’s the video:


6c. Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement @ LCC Work Session 2012-02-27
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

I didn’t see any commissioners object this time. Instead they didn’t say anything at all. We’ll see tomorrow. Some context in this previous post. Plus this appears to be the actual agreement on the GEMA website.

-jsq

Georgia Power peddling old disinformation about solar power

On the same day as SB 401 revived as SB 459 gets a hearing in a better committee, Georgia Power trots out the same old tired disinformation it’s been peddling for years. As if we didn’t already know that almost all solar installations in Georgia are installed by certified solar installers. Or that pretty much every inverter these days comes with built-in automatic cutoff if the grid goes down to which installers add air-gap cutoff knife switches plus breakers. And as if Georgia Power didn’t know it and EMCs could charge a percentage on electricity arbitraged across their networks, which gapower could use to finance any needed grid improvements, while retaining a hefty profit for doing not much of anything else. Meanwhile, those of us who chose to participate in solar electricity arbitrage would get lower rates for customers. We do know all that, but maybe your state senator doesn’t, so maybe you should call your senator today and tell them you want to be able to buy and sell solar power without having to get it from the utility monopoly.

Greg Roberts, Vice President of Pricing and Planning for Georgia Power in Atlanta, wrote for the Savannah Morning News today, The solar sleight of hand. I’ll only quote part of his concluding paragraph.

Georgia Power is involved in many efforts to expand the use solar energy
Usually dragged along behind reluctantly, Continue reading →

Enabling a commodity market in solar power: Dr. Smith’s electric meters

Dr. Smith’s electric meters enable a commodity market in solar power, with billing from generators to customers. And EMCs can take 1% or so for carrying the power, plus they can get advertising rights that could be worth more than selling electricity! If SB 459 or something like it gets out of committee and into law.

Dr. Sidney Smith explained how the electric meter he’s developed uses cellular technology to facilitate direct billing from solar generator and customer. Gretchen asked him what if they generate more than they use. Dr. Smith said they wouldn’t. I asked what if they added more panels. He said they could, but there are trees in the back.

Here’s Part 1 of 5:


Enabling a commodity market in solar power: Dr. Smith’s electric meters Part 1 of 5:
South Eastern Pathology Associates,
Selling Power, Lower Rates for Customers LLC (LRCLLC),
Richmond Hill, Bryan County, Georgia, 17 February 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

He forgot about the parking lot out front where the panels he just connected are located: no shading there, and plenty of room for more solar panels.

Dr. Smith said the best places for solar are where there is no shade and near power poles. Gretchen asked how do you finance? Dr. Smith answered, Continue reading →

Sweetheart deal for private prison site?

CCA has a contract to buy the private prison site from a private landowner. But who did that landowner get the site from? The Industrial Authority! And the sale prices involved are rather interesting: the landowner gets almost 100% profit in five years. One person I showed them to immediately said, “sweetheart deal.” What do you think?

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) bought the site back in 1998 for $1,243,200, and sold it to the landowner in 2007 for 1,463,512, which is an increase of about 18% in almost 10 years or about 2% per year. CCA can buy it from the landowner in 2012 for $2,907,000, for an increase of 99% in about five years or almost 20% per year. Which is far more than the 20% in five years or about 4% per year shown by the assessed value. And this remarkable surge in the price of that land is during the worst real estate market since the Great Depression.

Does this look like a sweetheart deal to you?

DatePrice$ Increase% Increase% /yearFromTo
2012? $2,907,000 $1,443,488 99% 20% N.L. Bassford JrCCA
2012 $1,756,320 $   292,808 20%   4% Assessed Value
2007 $1,463,512 $   220,312 18%   2% VLCIAN.L. Bassford Jr
1998 $1,243,200 Camellia Investment Co. VLCIA
Prices in this table are taken directly from the legal documents.
All percentages are rounded and approximate.
Images of the deeds and plats are on the LAKE website.

Here is a petition for VLCIA to reject the private prison.

-jsq