I got redistricted into LCBOE District 1,
and Districts 1, 2, and 3 are all up for election,
with 1 and 2 contested.
If, like me, you can’t tell which district you’re in or who’s
running without a map and a list,
see the list Gretchen drew up.
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens successfully fought for and
implemented changes to the state’s Open Records law, believing that
transparency in government is essential to the public trust. The law
passed in 2012 states, “The General Assembly finds and
declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of
open government; that open government is essential to a free, open,
and democratic society; and that public access to public records
should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that
the public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the
efficient and proper functioning of its institutions.”
The VDT asked for records from the Lowndes County school system
and didn’t get them.
Their experience sounds quite similar to many LAKE has had
with the county government in particular,
with records not being provided in the statutory three days,
and sometimes not even an excuse or a list of what might
eventually be available.
LTE in the VSU newspaper, The Spectator, today. -jsq
To the Editor,
Climate change is the defining issue of our time.
Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree that
humans are the cause. S.A.V.E.
believes that it’s time for people to become the solution.
Globally,
we are feeling the impacts of record-setting temperatures, most
notably in the extreme weather patterns and rising sea levels.
Recent
chemical (W.VA) and
coal ash spills (N.C.) add to the urgency
of moving beyond fossil fuel. Yet here on our campus there’s a
remarkable disconnect between the classroom and the board room.
Shockingly, the VSU Board of Trustees includes science deniers,
oblivious to the threat of climate change—and to the academic
integrity of this institution of higher learning.
Recently,
the Board dismissed S.A.V.E.’s
request that VSU rid its portfolio of fossil fuel holdings.
Board Chairman,
Wayne Edwards,
a financial analyst, cast doubt on
the study that accompanied our request.
But we ask you, who knows more about climate, a team of
2,000 scientists from 154 countries who have compiled data from more
than 9,000 studies, or a stock broker? Our point is that serious
decisions at this institution are being taken by people who lack the
proper credentials.
Maybe that’s what the VSU Foundation wants to tell SAVE
when they dine Monday:
VSU gets it (even if Harvard doesn’t) that fossil fuels are a bad investment and solar is where the profits, students, and investors are.
Seventeen foundations controlling nearly $1.8 billion in investments
have united to commit to pulling their money out of companies that
do business in fossil fuels, the group announced on Thursday.
The move is a victory for a developing divestiture campaign that has
found success largely among small colleges and environmentally
conscious cities, but has not yet won over the wealthiest
institutions like Harvard, Brown and Swarthmore.
But the participation of the foundations, including the Russell
Family Foundation, the Educational Foundation of America and the
John Merck Fund, is the largest commitment to the effort, and stems
in part from a push among philanthropies to bring their investing in
line with their missions.
“At a minimum, our grants should not be undercut by our
investments,” Continue reading →
Carolyn Eager, who is on the Foundation investment committee.
She resigned as
chair of the Industrial Authority
in 2009,
and was one of three former VLCIA chairs who in 2011 published
a statement backing school system consolidation.
Weather report by Ashley Tye, Emergency Management Director
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2014.
All the local schools are closed, public and private, K-12 and college,
so the best thing to to is to stay home.
Commissioner John Page said a constituent had just asked him
if Lowndes County owned any snow plows.
Answer: no, but the county can get access to them if needed.
Due to potentially unsafe travelling conditions through tomorrow
morning and several people letting us know they would not be attending,
we are cancelling the Digital Economy workshop in Valdosta tomorrow.
Please feel free to come to the February 6th
workshop and we will add
an hour before or after to discuss ISP specific issues and review the
business survey.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Julia
See
previous post for details about the other workshop dates.
We would like to invite you to one or more workshops to help us
develop a Digital Economy Plan for our Region.
The Southern Georgia Regional Commission, in partnership with the
Georgia Technology Authority, is coordinating and developing a
Digital Economy Plan for the 18 counties in the South Georgia
Region to identify the unique characteristics of the digital
economy in our region, its strengths, weaknesses, its needs and its
opportunities.
Bryan Zulko gave me this information about a workshop Thursday
in Nashville, Georgia.
I don’t know if there’s a fee; none is mentioned on the flyer.
Presumably the contact listed can tell you. -jsq