Tag Archives: Education

Atlanta TV station exposes ALEC lobbyists in Savannah

Caught on-camera: ALEC’s off-duty sheriff’s deputies getting TV reporters thrown out of their own hotel for “taking pictures in the hotel”, after ALEC’s marketing droid denied any lobbying going on, nevermind the lobbyist and legislator in a bar spelling out how it works: ALEC gives “scholarships” to legislators who then meet in closed rooms with corporate reps (including all the companies involved in the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline) who have equal votes on draft bills for legislators to get passed as law in many states. Bills promoting fracking, pipelines, LNG export, and against solar power, renewable portfolio standards, not to mention for private prisons and privatized education and against municipal broadband and country-of-origin labelling, plus many other corporate give-aways subsidized by the taxpayers and the environment. It’s time for the IRS to revoke ALEC’s 501(c)(3) status. And for the Georgia legislature to apply the state’s sunshine laws to itself.

Brendan Keefe and Michael King, WXIA-TV, 22 May 2015, Legislators and corporate lobbyists meet in secret at Georgia resort, Continue reading →

Divest Harvard is winning, and we all will win sun, wind, and water power

Changing the world is hard and takes courage, but that’s why we will win. Bill Sargent had given up on global projects and turned to smaller local problems where it seemed there was a greater change of making a real difference. He wrote for Harvard Heat Week 27 April 2015, Heat Week: Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks,

But then I met Divest Harvard. Here was a group of bright, eager, sleep-deprived young undergraduates and grad students — free of such skepticism and willing to take on both Big Oil and the richest University in the world in one fell swoop.

He listed a number of ways Divest Harvard is winning because they chose the biggest targets under adverse conditions. For example: Continue reading →

VSU President’s Committee votes to divest from fossil fuels

Students, staff, faculty, and administration all say divest from fossil fuels. What will the VSU Foundation do now? One year after the committee was appointed 10 April 2014, it made a decision 8 April 2015:

S.A.V.E. applauds the decision by the President’s Special Committee on Campus Sustainability to support fossil fuel divestment. Leadership and stewardship are part and parcel to Valdosta State’s role as an institution of higher education and we call on VSU to honor these ethos by divesting from fossil fuels, ending its profiteering from ecological harm, environmental destruction, and human suffering.

Benjamin Vieth, the representative of Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.) on that Committee, sent the above announcement after approval by S.A.V.E. Among other organizations included on that committee, Continue reading →

Stanford aluminum battery

Another entrant in the battery race to clean energy storage.

Mark Shwartz, Stanford PR, 6 April 2015, Aluminum battery from Stanford offers safe alternative to conventional batteries: The new aluminum-ion battery could replace many of the lithium-ion and alkaline batteries in wide use today.

Stanford University scientists have invented the first high-performance aluminum battery that’s fast-charging, long-lasting and inexpensive. Researchers say the new technology offers a safe alternative to many commercial batteries in wide use today.

“We have developed a rechargeable aluminum battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames,” said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford. “Our new battery won’t catch fire, even if you drill through it.”

Although drilling would produce aluminum dust, which isn’t exactly benign. However, point taken.

Personally, I still prefer Continue reading →

Report of the Historic Courthouse Committee @ LCC 2015-03-09

No education, all law enforcement: Sheriff’s Office or Public defender’s office. Either would save the county money in the long run and preserve the courthouse through use of its services (heat, light, air conditioning). Plus some points on renovating the courthouse building and grounds. Judge McLane referred to this report in his talk at the Commission Work Session 9 March 2105, in which he said it would not be possible for VSU to use the courthouse without “some pretty dramatic and we think negative” changes to the building.

In his cover letter, Judge McLane said he was not sending the actual report to the Commissioners, yet clearly they were reading it in the Work Session, because they asked questions from it. And now you, the public can see the report. LAKE did not get it from the Commission, which so far as we know has not published it. The cover letter and the report are below in full. Continue reading →

Sheriff’s office and VSU @ Courthouse 2014-06-12

The Sheriff’s office could use more space, and VSU would like a research center downtown. For context, videos of the other hearings, and the Committee’s report, see Courthouse Preservation Committee Meetings.

Continue reading →

ESPLOST yes way ahead

ESPLOST will win by 4 to 1. Going not very far out on a limb, with only 3 of 9 precincts reporting, but with 79+ yes to 20% no at 8:30 PM, I predict ESPLOST will win. Oops, make that 7 of 9 precincts; changed while I was writing this.

-jsq

Videos: Day 3 of Budget Hearings @ LCC Budget 2015-03-05

The Airport Authority got inserted among the judges and lawyers, and the Coroner’s Office failed to turn in a budget. The day was mostly sitting around waiting, because most of the actual presentations were only a few minutes each, yet were scheduled hours apart, in the last day of the three days of “Budget Hearings” which aren’t really hearings because nobody from the public can speak and they don’t have a budget to hear yet. See the first day for the agenda.

Here are links to videos of each item with some notes by Gretchen, followed by a video playlist. No video for the first item, EMS, due to camera failure; sorry. For the rest, as the Chairman said, referring to Gretchen and the LAKE camera:

We have our videographer back there, so we’re ready.

Hm, maybe LAKE should submit a budget request to the county…. Continue reading →

Videos: Day 2 of Budget Hearings @ LCC Budget 2015-03-04

Maybe Georgia should fund mental health facilities instead of local jails having to act as mental hospitals. On a positive note, Agriculture is an $81M industry in Lowndes County. Law, taxes, and education, in the second day which was only in the morning, of the three days of “Budget Hearings” which aren’t really hearings because nobody from the public can speak and they don’t have a budget to hear yet. See yesterday for the agenda. Here are links to videos of each item with some notes by Gretchen, followed by a video playlist. And one more day to go today. Continue reading →

Videos: ESPLOST V kickoff meeting @ ESPLOST 2015-02-24

Co-Chair Jerome Tucker emphasized that ESPLOST helping public schools also helps economic development. See below for who we now know are the committee members for the Educational Special Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST). It’s mysterious why that information wasn’t in the PR before the meeting, but now we know, since Gretchen went and took the videos and collected the flyers you’ll find below.

Early voting already started that same day and continues through March 13th, with the final Election Day 17 March 2015.

Lowndes/Valdosta Citizens for Excellence in Education
Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
For Lowndes County Schools and Valdosta City Schools Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange