Tag Archives: Government

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 →

Flooding study tonight, twice @ VCC 2014-05-06

Tonight we get to hear twice about the long-awaited flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: once with no citizen input at the Valdosta City Council Work Session, and then with citizen input at Valdosta City Hall Annex. Presumably this study will say something about the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the new force main to prevent manhole overflows, and maybe some upstream measures to keep quite as much water from getting there. This study only addresses issues within the city limits of Valdosta, not the larger watersheds upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers and downstream: that will take more funding. People downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.

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).

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

Opaque Planning Commission agenda from Lowndes County @ GLPC 2014-04-28

Just in case it might work, I sent an Open Records Request to the Lowndes County Clerk before Monday’s Planning Commission meeting. The result just arrived, two days later, 47 hours after the meeting started. It is in electronic form, as I requested, but it’s a PDF of a scanned image, so turning it into HTML would require OCRing it or transcribing it, unlike the real PDF I got by another means before the meeting and posted Monday. If the agendas and minutes for the Planning Commission were posted on the web like the Lowndes County Commissions own agendas and minutes already are, this problem wouldn’t arise, and there would also be less work for county staff.

-jsq

Gretchen Quarterman on Chris Beckham radio show 2014-04-29

“People would have a lot more confidence in the government if they understood it and they could see it happen,” said Gretchen Quarterman this morning on drive-time radio. She used last night’s Brookhaven apartment building rezoning public hearing in Lake Park to illustrate: local landowners have property rights and there was a lack of communication between the developers of a proposed apartment building, the Lake Park city government, and the neighbors.

She also talked about jobs, including in local agriculture. For example, she ran the 2014 South Georgia Growing Local Conference. Money spent on local agriculture supports the local economy, not companies far away.

She talked about stewardship of resources, including preserving local property and environment from the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline. She advocated Continue reading →

Local governments can regulate land use –the anti-fracking activists who just won the world’s largest environmental prize

There is something we can do about that proposed fracked methane pipeline.

Lindsay Abrams wrote for Salon today, The real secret to beating the Koch brothers: How our broken political system can still be won: A duo of activists has quietly bested the energy lobby, helping ban fracking in 172 towns. Here’s how they did it,

You probably haven’t heard of Helen Slottje, or, for that matter, of her husband, David. But in the past few years, the former corporate lawyers have become arguably two of the most powerful opponents of fracking in New York — not to mention the most successful. As the (sort of) public face of the duo’s efforts, Helen Slottje on Monday was honored with the Goldman Prize, the world’s largest environmental prize.

OK, what did they actually do? 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 →

One Hahira rezoning and annexation and Two Valdosta Conditional Use Permits @ GLPC 2014-04-28

It seems unlikely the Hahira rezoning and annexation will go anywhere tonight, due to the Lowndes County Commission letter of objection of 22 April 2014, even though that may be based on a misunderstanding. Hm, somebody wants to establish a recycling center. And Langdale Ford wants to establish a minor automotive repair facility.

Here’s the agenda, which arrived as a PDF actually convertable to text!

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue

Monday, April 28, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Videos: No you cannot speak @ LCC 2014-04-22

Two citizens from Hahira couldn’t speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, but the Chairman would go into the private board room out of camera range afterwards to speak to them. The Chairman did describe a statement about the Sabal Trail pipeline.

Veterinarian Amanda Hall didn’t appear but was appointed to the Dangerous Dog Board. They objected to the Hahira annexation request. They approved a bid for an mobile emergency bypass pump on a trailer, a computer lease purchase agreement, and two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that). And all four remaining voting Commissioners showed up.

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

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Dangerous Dog Board, Juvenile Justice, a pump, Hahira Annexation, and weather @ LCC 2014-04-21

Local veterinarian Amanda Hall for the Dangerous Dog Board, a very long weather report, another Hahira annexation request, a bid for an emergency bypass pump (water well? wastewater force main? other?), two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that). Oh, and all four remaining voting Commissioners showed up, unlike either the Work Session or Regular Session two weeks ago.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →