The longer you drag on
that lawsuit,
Lowndes County Commission,
about your bogus
exclusive franchise
that benefits nobody but
ADS investors in New York City,
the more good PR local company DSS gets.
We could use
better than trash government around here.
Advertisement by Deep South Sanitation in the VDT yesterday: Continue reading
The feds also fell for CCA’s prison snakeoil; it’s not just for states like Georgia.
William Selway & Margaret Newkirk wrote for Bloomberg 24 September 2013, Congress Mandates Jail Beds for 34,000 Immigrants as Private Prisons Profit,
Noemi Romero, who came to the U.S. illegally at age 3, was arrested in January working at a Phoenix grocery store, where she used someone else’s name to get the job.
Romero, a 21-year-old who likes to draw and dance, spent the next four months behind bars, almost half of it in a cramped cell at a 1,596-bed detention center in Eloy, Arizona, run by Corrections Corp. of America. The company, with Geo Group Inc. (GEO) and other for-profit prison operators, holds almost two-thirds of all immigrants detained each day in federally funded prisons as they face deportation, U.S. data show.
Under law, taxpayers must pay Continue reading
The trial of Lula Smart ended in a mistrial,
reports George Boston Rhynes from the Courthouse in Brooks County.
So the first of
the Quitman 10
is going
like the Madison 9 did.
Here’s Part 1 of 3:
George says witnesses today talked about voter intimidation
and some said they would not vote again because of this
investigation on the Quitman 10+2.
He says the GBI agent was asked how they were trained before
they were sent to Brooks County, and they had little training
in voting investigations, plus they took ballots home from
the Board of Elections, including some with no addresses
for any of the persons they were investigating.
George also reported WCTV had a camera in the courtroom, after you may recall Continue reading
Trials for the Quitman 10+2 have finally started.
George Boston Rhynes is covering them every day on YouTube.
The only other reporter George has seen there was one from the Valdosta Daily Times. George is waving a copy of the VDT here as he discusses what the case is about: the Quitman 10 registered enough voters that several black people got elected to the school board in Brooks County for the first time ever.
Front Row: Linda Troutman, Lula Smart, April Proctor, Diane Thomas
Back Row: Latashia Head, Sandra Cody, Robert Dennard, Angela Bryant Nancy Dennard, and Kechia Harrison
Front page of the VDT yesterday, Quitman 11 trial gets under way, with no byline and no pictures, Continue reading
What do you the citizens want Lowndes County to be?
Here’s a chance to speak up, so when somebody asks where were you when
the decisions were being made, you don’t have to answer “lying on the couch
watching television.” (Thanks to Nolen Cox for that phrase.)
Corey Hull wrote on facebook today, Help Spread the Word for the Future of Lowndes County,
My office is conducting a survey and gathering public input on Facebook (go to www.facebook.com/valdostalowndesmpo) about what they want the Lowndes County Common Community Vision to be
( www.bit.ly/LowndesCCV). So far our participation has been low. I am calling on all of you to encourage your friends, family and colleagues to spread the word and let us know what you think about the future of Lowndes County and its cities.
Over the next two months there will be future opportunities for public input so stay tuned.
Thanks for your help.
On the Southern Georgia Regional Commission’s website, Lowndes County Common Community Vision, Continue reading
The divestment movement has come to VSU, thanks to Danielle Jordan and SAVE! -jsq
To: VSU Administration and VSU Board of Trustees
Petition: Divest Valdosta State From Fossil Fuels
We are asking Valdosta State University to:
- Disclose information on its investments
- To divest its holdings from fossil fuels within 5 years
- Freeze any new investments in the fossil fuel industry immediately
Why is this important?
As climate change progresses, we become more aware of the hazardous consequences that manifest in relation to a warming planet. We understand that in order to combat the issue, we have to alter our daily practices. However. the lobbying power of the major fuel companies has diminished the voices and power of individuals within our political system. Subsequently, policy has been written to favor the interests of the companies benefiting from the exploitation of our environment.
We are asking Valdosta State to distance itself from this industry and pursue alternatives, knowing that if we wish to address climate change, a collaborative effort must be made. By joining this movement, we can create a more ethical campus and move in the direction of sustainability.
In only half a dozen years Microsoft went from laughing at the iPhone
to admitting MS had none of the mobile phone or mobile device market,
while Apple became the most valuable company in the world.
Another entrenched industry, electric power
will also change radically in only a few years,
and
solar power will win like the Internet did.
MG Siegler of Google Ventures blogged this on ParisLemon 20 September 2013, What A Difference Six Years Makes…
Steve Ballmer, 2007:
Right now we’re selling millions and millions and millions of phones a year. Apple is selling zero phones a year.
Steve Ballmer, a few months later:
It’s sort of a funny question. Would I trade 96% of the market for 4% of the market? (Laughter.) I want to have products that appeal to everybody.
Now we’ll get a chance to go through this again in phones and music players. There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.
Steve Ballmer, yesterday:
Mobile devices. We have almost no share.
And it wasn’t just Steve Jobs riding Moore’s Law on an iPhone: Continue reading
A child born in the bottom fifth by income around here has a better chance of reaching the top fifth than in Atlanta. But that’s not saying much. And we can change this.
David Leonhardt wrote for NY Times 22 July 2013, In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters: A study finds the odds of rising to another income level are notably low in certain cities, like Atlanta and Charlotte, and much higher in New York and Boston. 4.3% Valdosta MSA vs. 4.0% Atlanta MSA. But 5.9% Brunswick, 6.0% Vidalia, and 8.8% Elijay. That’s the highest in Georgia.
Pretty much anywhere in Florida is higher than 4.3%.
Then there’s 11.2% San Francisco, Continue reading
Why should Georgia landowners have to cede property rights
to benefit nobody in Georgia, and at risk of our aquifer and
environment?
But Dougherty County residents are still playing NIMBY instead
of trying to stop it entirely.
Carlton Fletcher wrote for the Albany Herald 7 September 2013, Local opposition to natural gas pipeline growing,
Dougherty County landowners who’ve been contacted by representatives of a group planning the 465-mile Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline projected to run underneath their property say they’re not convinced by assurances that the $3 billion project is safe.
And they’re preparing to challenge the pipeline even as project surveyors seek access to their land.
“This is not just a threat to my land, to our region’s water, Continue reading
I agree with the pathologist who did the second autopsy and found new evidence, Dr. William Anderson:
“My recommendation is to redo the investigation,” Anderson said Wednesday morning. “Open it back up and find out what happened.”
Jordan Conn wrote for Grantland yesterday, A Death in Valdosta,
Multisport athlete Kendrick Johnson was found dead in his Georgia high school’s gymnasium in January. Authorities ruled it an accident, but Johnson’s family believed something very different — and a second autopsy appears to support their suspicions.
I don’t always agree with Rev. Rose, but I still do on this one: the number of people colluding to cover up a thing like this would be most impressive.
However, the GBI is involved, and after the Quitman 10 are now several years without a “speedy” trial, GBI involvement taints the case. So with the new evidence let’s see a new investigation.
The Grantland story is confused about Continue reading