Category Archives: Forestry

Duke Energy solar: NC, SC, and now Florida

Duke’s new solar farms in Florida echo what Duke was already doing three and a half years ago when an independent study concluded more solar power in North Carolina would save utility ratepayers tens of millions of dollars annually.


Duke solar power farm in Perry, Florida, courtesy Duke Energy

John Downey, Charlotte Business Journal, 23 October 2013, Study: Solar benefits outweigh costs in NC, Continue reading

Sabal Trail destruction at Bell property, Mitchell Co., GA 2016-09-13

See for yourself what Jeb Bell was talking about to GPB, in these videos he sent of the destruction Sabal Trail is doing on his property. His father, James Bell, says it started immediately after a small protest Monday, and is plowing through gopher tortoise burrows, rare pitcher plants, large pine trees bulldozed and burned, and today within 300 yards of his house. James Bell the elder will be at the US 84 Withlacoochee River bridge 9AM this Saturday, September 17th 2016, to join the WWALS Watershed Coalition protest against Sabal Trail and the Dakota Access Pipeline, which are now owned by the same companies. That’s between Quitman and Valdosta, GA; see you there.

Sam Whitehead, GPB News, 15 September 2016, Sabal Trail Pipeline Plows Through Southwest Georgia, Local Opposition, Continue reading

Videos: Community Policies, Comprehensive Plan Workshop #5 @ SGRC 2016-04-18

One video for all the fifth workshop on Community Facilities & Services and Intergovernmental Coordination for the Comprehensive Plan Update for Greater Lowndes County.

Here’s a video playlist: Continue reading

Community Policies, Comprehensive Plan Workshop #5 @ SGRC 2016-04-18

6PM tonight at SGRC, fifth Workshop, as Ariel Godwin reminded us five days ago:

At our next workshop, we will finish reviewing the Issues and Opportunities for the Greater Lowndes Comprehensive Plan. We have two sections to review: Community Facilities & Services and Intergovernmental Coordination. I am attaching the Issues from those sections as they currently stand.

Since this is our second-to-last workshop, in the interest of time, I am attaching Continue reading

Videos: Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Workshop @ SGRC 2016-04-04

Here are links to the LAKE videos of the 4 March 2016 Workshop on the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan Update, followed by a video playlist. The next Workshop is 6PM tonight.

Here’s a video playlist:


Videos: Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Workshop
Workshop, 2016 Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan Update (SGRC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
327 West Savannah Ave., Valdosta, GA 31601, 4 April 2016.

-jsq

Videos: Community Wellness and Housing, Comprehensive Plan Workshop #3 @ SGRC 2016-03-21

Here are LAKE videos of the third Workshop of 21 March 2016 about the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan Update.

The fourth Workshop is tonight, 5-7PM, at SGRC, 327 W. Savannah Avenue Valdosta, Georgia. Here’s the current draft of March 30, 2016, which resulted from that third workshop. Come help us update it!

Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Workshop #2 @ SGRC 2016-03-07

Very interesting input on the second Workshop on updating the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan, including quite a bit about agriculture, rivers, and roads. Educational issues are in the Update, including the underlying issue: poverty.

See also the invitation with a link to the Workbook draft used at that meeting.

Here are links to the LAKE videos of the two main topics, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading

Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Workshop @ SGRC 2016-04-04

The current draft is dated March 30, 2016. Come Monday and help update it further!

Economic Development, II. Issues and Opportunities The next workshop for the Joint 2016 Lowndes County and Cities of Dasher, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton, and Valdosta Comprehensive Plan Update will be on:

Monday, April 4, 2016
5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.
Southern Georgia Regional Commission
327 W. Savannah Avenue
Valdosta, Georgia

We will continue reviewing the Issues and Opportunities.

The current draft of the plan is available at: Continue reading

Issues and Opportunities in Comprehensive Plan Workshop @ SGRC 2016-03-21

This Reminder came in today, refreshingly explicitly mentioning agriculture. Note the different location, this time at the Health Dept. office after the Planning Commission meeting.

The next workshop for the 2016 Greater Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Update will be:

Monday, March 21, 2016
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 W. Savannah Avenue
Valdosta, Georgia

At this workshop we will Continue reading

Help fix land revaluation: come to Farm Bureau –Board of Equalization

Come to the Farm Bureau in two weeks to hear Tax Assessor staff present their updates and provide your input Contents for changes to the rural land revaluation, this time taking into account rivers, aquifer recharge zones, and uniformity. Maybe the Tax Assessors actually don’t want more flooding in Valdosta; both the City of Valdosta and GA-EDP have already shown interest in attending about that point.

At an appeal on my property valuation, the Board of Equalization stopped short of actually ordering the Tax Assessors to redo last year’s rural land revaluation, because staff volunteered Continue reading