Category Archives: Georgia

Primary candidate debate 6PM tonight at VSU

Hear from the people who want to represent you in the Lowndes County Commission, on the Lowndes County School Board, and in the Georgia State Senate. Here’s who’s running, and details of tonight’s event are below.

When:	6-8PM Tuesday May 13th 2014
Where:	Room 1011 Bailey Science Center Auditorium, 1500 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta State University
Moderator:	Scott James of 92.1FM talk radio
Parking:	Gravel lots off of Georgia Avenue

This debate is organized by the South Georgia Young Republicans, VSU College Republicans, Lowndes County Republican Party, and the Young Conservatives of America.

CONTACT: Ben Smith, SGYR President, 229-412-5610, sgyrrocks@gmail.com

-jsq

Agricultural Workshop in Douglas May 29 2014

Agriculture is Georgia’s biggest industry, and USDA is holding a workshop on that in Douglas at the end of May.

On Team Agriculture Georgia‘s blog, Team Ag Georgia is coming to Douglas!

The Spring 2014 TAG workshop will be held at the City of Douglas Central Square Complex in Douglas, GA (click here for directions) on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Courses being offered during the Spring Workshop include:

Organic/Naturally Grown Certification

Financing Small Farms – Ag Aware

Olive Production
Continue reading →

Chip Rogers out at GPB

What’s really not sustainable? Promoting the “Agenda 21” talking points as an elected official, even in the most corrupt state in the union (Georgia).

Chip Rogers was top of the heap as the Senate Majority Leader, voting for all sorts of stuff to hold Georgia back, from eorgia Power’s nuke rate hike (CWIP) SB 31 in 2009 to sponsoring putting two constitutional amendments on the state ballot in 2012, including one for charter schools that would siphon off public school money).

Then he was caught promoting showing an “Agenda 21” talking point movie to legislators in the state capitol. He decided Continue reading →

Videos: Candidates Forum, Hahira Historical Society @ Hahira 2014-04-26

Hear your potential elected officials speak for themselves, last Saturday at the Hahira Historical Society. These videos are presented without commentary, except for a special prize to the candidate who spoke the longest by far, Richard Raines, who first promised to be brief, then spoke for 14 minutes. He made some other promises, too, and left without listening to his opponents.

Candidates and others may use these videos as-is or they may edit,

provided they cite the source: Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

Contente

Here’s a table of contents by what they are running for. Continue reading →

Videos: Golf, aviation, and by-laws @ VLCIA 2014-04-15

A scheduled guest didn’t show up and an unscheduled guest did, about broadband. Perhaps 250 jobs from a prospective logistics distribution Project Royal and a potential agriculture-related Project Orange. Express Scripts brought 135 jobs last year and now are adding 175 jobs. Executive Director Andrea Schruijer emphasized the importance of existing industries in generating jobs and capital investment. She’s also discovered agriculture is 13% of Georgia GDP and 10% of that is grown in our region.

Next VLCIA meeting will be noon Thursday May 20th because of a trip to Atlanta later that same day. They may be in their “new digs” by then, and Building-Committee-UpdateChairman Mary Gooding promised an open house once they were moved in.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos, and a few notes.

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Thursday, April 15, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street

Continue reading →

Candidate Forum at Hahira Historical Society 6PM tonight

Tonight is the first open candidates forum of the election season, for all candidates running for offices voted on by residents of Hahira, at the Hahira Historical Society, 116 E. Lawson Street, in the old Smith Hospital Doctors Building in Hahira, 6PM April 26th 2014.

That includes:

Georgia General Assembly

State Senate District 8: Ellis Black (R switched from House 174), John Page (R switched from County Commission District 5), Bikram Mohanty (D ran last time and placed well), and Richard Raines (R not running again for County Commission District 2). Continue reading →

FPL already dirtying Georgia air at Plant Scherer: and a pipeline, too?

Georgia Power’s Plant Scherer is #1 among the U.S. dirtiest power plants. But FPL owns most of one of the four units there, dirtying Georgia’s air for Florida’s power. The same FPL that wants the fracked methane Sabal Trail pipeline through Georgia, destroying Georgia’s environment. It’s time for Georgia to say no to destroying Georgia’s environment for a company in another state.

Thomas Stackpole wrote for Mother Jones 11 September 2013, 1 Percent of America’s Power Plants Emit 33 Percent of Energy Industry’s Carbon, Continue reading →

Second mistrial of Lula Smart of the Quitman 10 + 2

How many mistrials does it take before the whole Quitman 10 +2 case gets thrown out of court? Two and counting, as of Friday.

George Boston Rhynes interviewed Brooks County Commissioner James Maxwell outside the courthouse in Quitman on a rainy day:

Mistrial! Another mistrial.

And the prosecutor wants to schedule another trial. George asked the Commissioner how much another trial would cost Brooks County.

It will cost quit a bit of money. We could use that money on a day like today to repair roads. People can’t get in and out and here we are wasting the taxpayers on another mistrial.
No evidence! No evidence! And another mistrial.

Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →

Valdosta working to fix sewer problems

The city of Valdosta does have a plan to fix its sewer problems; it’s funded; and it’s moving along rapidly.

In the Spotlight on Valdosta’s front page says:

Click here for updates to Valdosta’s Sanitary Sewer System improvement projects.

That link leads to Valdosta Sanitary Sewer System Improvements [Since moved by Valdosta to a new URL. 2018-01-28 -jsq], Continue reading →

Sewage into the Withlacoochee again –WCTV

Although the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) didn’t overflow in the rains earlier this week, and apparently not yesterday, either, there were manhole sewage overflows then and according to the Florida Department of Health there were similar overflows yesterday, from Valdosta into the Withlacoochee River.

WCTV posted yesterday a News Release: Florida Department of Health,

TALLAHASSEE- The Florida Department of Health today issued an advisory to residents in counties surrounding the Withlacoochee and the downstream Suwannee River. The City of Valdosta has reported a spill, made up of a combination of storm water and untreated sewage, that has overflowed into the One-Mile Branch, Two-Mile Branch, Sugar Creek and Cherry Creek which flow into the Withlacoochee River. Lab test results received April 18, 2014, indicate higher than normal levels of fecal coliform bacteria in the river waters.

Oddly, there doesn’t seem to be anything about this on the city of Valdosta’s own website yet, but no doubt there will be. More in later posts about what that.