Tag Archives: tax

Gov. Deal: the good, the ugly, and the bad on prisons

Gov. Nathan Deal proposed a half-measure to reduce the Georgia prison population that nonetheless is a useful measure (the good). He reiterated a bogus talking point (the ugly). Then he proceeded to contradict it in advocating something that would work against reducing the prison population (the bad).

David Rodock’s interview with Gov. Nathan Deal is in the VDT today.

The Good

THE TIMES: How are we going to address the large number of incarcerated citizens and decrease those numbers?

DEAL: “I think one of the better things we can do is have accountability in courts whether they be drug courts, DUI courts, mental-health courts, towards sentence reform. the like. We know that they work. We know the recidivism rate, if they go through those approaches rather than directly into the prison system. We have less recidivism. We break the addictions, and we’ve got to work very closely on that.”

I’ve previously noted that Gov. Deal has taken at least a tentative step towards sentence reform. That’s good, but not enough. Let’s do the rest, Continue reading →

T-SPLOST public meeting in Valdosta Monday morning 19 September 2011

The next T-SPLOST public meeting is tomorrow morning:
Monday, September 19, 2011; 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; at the Valdosta City Hall Annex; 300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, Georgia; presentation will begin at 10:30 a.m.
These meetings are intended to gather public input:
After the public meetings the Roundtable will reconvene to review the public comments and adopt a final Constrained List that will be presented on the ballot to voters in 2012.
If you can’t go to the meeting, you can send in the public comment form or email Corey Hull at the SGRC.

I don’t know what you might want to comment on, but a couple of things that come to my mind are:

-jsq

Georgia and Florida Railway (GFRR) – Valdosta to Willacoochee Rehabilitation $6.25 million T-SPLOST

Now here’s a T-SPLOST project I like: upgrading the railroad that runs from Valdosta to Moody AFB and on to Ray City and Nashville in Berrien County, and Willacoochee in Atkinson County. This proposal is to aid freight, but with this upgrade to the track, the same track would be even more readily usable for passenger rail. That same track was used for passenger travel up into the 1950s. My mother used to catch the train at Barretts (just north of Moody) to go visit her relatives in Pearson (a bit east of Willacoochee).

It’s true the project sheet talks about “potential customers in the region”:

This project will provide for more efficient train operations along the rail corridor to accommodate the increase rail traffic serving the existing and potential customers in the region.
However, rail promotes development in existing population centers and at stations, unlike all along automobile roadways.

This project is also another example of how the economic area of Moody AFB includes Continue reading →

$12M to widen US 41 N is more than $7.5M for a bus system

There is no public transit in Lowndes County, except for the tiny MIDS bus system (I like it, but it’s small). Meanwhile, the county proposes to spend more in a new sales tax to widen one road, $12 million dollars for Old US 41 North, than a bus system would cost, $7.5 million.

One short stretch of road vs. a three-line bus system to connect Wiregrass Tech, Five Points, Downtown, Moody, East Side, South Side, West Side, and the Mall.

Road and bridge proponents usually mutter that a bus system won’t pay back for years, if ever. And that’s right: bus systems usually operate at a loss because local governments subsidize them for the social and economic benefits they bring, such as these:

This project will provide mobility options for all travelers; improve access to employment; and help mitigate congestion and maximize the use of existing infrastructure by promoting high-occupancy travel.
Employment, safety, and less sprawl, all from a bus system.

What road and bridge proponents don’t ever mention is: Continue reading →

Public comment form on T-SPLOST Roundtable

Received today on T-SPLOST meeting in Waycross today. -jsq
The SGRC website has been updated to correct the error for the public comment form. Thank you for letting us know and helping to spread the word about these public meetings.

-Southern Georgia Regional Commission

The correction has this new link to the form. The form says:
Public Comment Form
Southern Georgia Regional Transportation Roundtable
and asks for your name, address, phone, email, and your comments. I bet you could email that information if you don’t want to print out the form and write on it. The public notice about the regional T-SPLOST meetings said:
Comments are being accepted by email at chull@sgrc.us, by fax at 229-333-5212, or by mailing them to SGRC, ATTN: SG RTR, 327 W Savannah Ave., Valdosta, GA 31601.

For more information please call Corey Hull at 229-333-5277.

-jsq

T-SPLOST meeting in Waycross today

Update 12:30 8 September 2011: SGRC provided a fixed link to the public comment form.

The first SGRC public meeting about the T-SPLOST Draft Constrained Investment List is today in Waycross:


View Larger Map
Wednesday, September 7, 2011; 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.; at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission Waycross Office; 1725 South Georgia Parkway West, Waycross, Georgia; presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.
If you live near Waycross, you may want to compare your local projects in the Draft Constrained Investment List with the previous unconstrained list to see what’s still in there and if there are any 50% cost increases like the Old US 41 North widening.

The VLMPO SGRC web page includes a link to a Public Comment Form but as you can see that link gets “page cannot be found”. Doubtless that’s an accident, given that VLMPO is and SGRC are among the most devoted to transparency of local governmental organizations.

Fixed now, with this new link to the public comment form.

I’d like to point out VLMPO SGRC does T-SPLOST administration, but is not responsible for the content of the project lists; those come from your local governments and are selected by the T-SPLOST regional committee and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Here’s the PDF public meeting notice received 30 August from VLMPO SGRC along with the cover letter already published. HTML version is appended below.

-jsq Continue reading →

CCA really doesn’t like community opposition, so apparently it works

Private prison company CCA, which in conjunction with ALEC promotes laws in dozens of states and nationally that lock up more people for CCA’s private profit at taxpayer expense, really doesn’t like community opposition to siting private prisons in their communities. Hm, why would CCA hate community opposition so much, unless it works?

Not quite rolling his eyes when she mentions visiting communities, CCA’s video pair disparage community opposition to private prisons on their own web page, When Corrections Meets Communities:

Question: There are Web sites and blogs that are adamantly opposed to your company and industry, and they provide negative information about you. Why?
Hm, you mean like some of the material on this blog?
Answer: CCA and all corrections companies recognize the ongoing efforts of local, loosely formed grassroots groups and national, well-funded associations that jointly oppose the establishment of partnership prisons, many for self-serving reasons. Such groups go to great lengths to attack, criticize and misrepresent the entire industry. They make false allegations and often rely on hearsay and unreliable sources. Regrettably, these biased groups often resort to misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric to turn isolated incidents into broad generalizations about the corrections industry as a whole.
Well-funded? Har! OK, not this blog. That plus we provide evidence, like Continue reading →

T-SPLOST public meetings coming up in a few weeks

The public meetings for Transportation Sales Tax Project List are coming up in a few weeks. The one in Lowndes County is:
Monday, September 19, 2011; 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; at the Valdosta City Hall Annex; 300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, Georgia; presentation will begin at 10:30 a.m.
There’s a meeting in Fitzgerald later that same day, and an earlier meeting in Waycross on Wednesdday, September 7th.

If you’re interested in saying something about the 50% increase in the Old US 41 North widening project or about some of the other projects still on the constrained list, this would be the place to do it. You can also send in written comments. Here’s contact information.

-jsq

The most damaging useless thing —Craig Cardella @ VBOE 29 August 2011

Craig Cardella said his wife Anne was a current Valdosta City Schools teacher and former Teacher of the year, and he was a former city manager who had done community development all his life.
I can tell you without doubt this is the most damaging useless thing I’ve seen proposed in many many years. This will do more damage to our community than just about anything I can think of short of a hurricane running through the middle of town. It will damage both the county and the city school systems severely. It will hinder the growth of the education of our children. It will cause chaos among the city and county school staffs, both of which are like this, because a lot of times they’re the same people.

Here’s the video:


The most damaging useless thing —Craig Cardell @ VBOE 29 August 2011
education, referendum, consolidation, statement,
Work Session, Valdosta Board of Education (VBOE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 29 August 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

More transcription; he’s just getting to the best parts: Continue reading →