Remember, much of the discussion already happened the previous morning in the work session.
Continue readingLOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 23, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
He’s back from Afghanistan and has a new plan to fight McDonald’s.
Vince Schneider asked the County Commission for an ordinance about hours.
After quoting from the U.S. Tenth and Fourth Amendments and talking about privacy rights, he read similar passages from the Georgia Constitution, and this one, from Section II. Origin and Structure of Government:
All government, of right, originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole. Public officers are the trustees and servants of the people and are at all times amenable to them.He then read a definition of ordinance, and noted that many ordinances deal with issues of safety, health, morals, etc.
His recommendation: for the Commission to pass an ordinance limiting hours of operation for such type of enterprises.
That’s the county attorney visible directly past Schneider (under the microphone). Of course it’s the commissioners who must propose and pass any ordinance. That will require Continue reading
Neal Peirce wrote a syndicated column 22 May 2011, Misguided U.S. drug policies afflict Mexico, Central America:
So what can be done? Continue readingThe war on drugs in Mexico, partially funded by hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. government assistance, has not only failed to curb the trade but intensified horrific violence, corruption and human rights abuses, writes Neal Peirce.
For most Americans, the recent news of popular demonstrations in Mexico was probably a small diversion from the daily tide of bloody global reports from such faraway hot spots as Pakistan, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Bahrain.
Why worry, most of us likely concluded, if thousands of Mexicans are marching in the streets, protesting the horrific violence and high death toll in their nation’s raging drug war? Isn’t that their problem?
It’s true, the news reports focus less on the American role, more on growing anger with the government of President Felipe Calderón and the meager returns from the massive police and military crackdown on the drug trade he inaugurated in 2006.
Since then, more than 37,000 Mexicans have been murdered, often tortured and brutalized before their deaths, as cartels battle for control of drug smuggling routes and brazenly assassinate anyone, official or average citizen, they think is in their way.
The hard lesson is that the war on drug dealers, decreed by Calderón and partially funded by hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. government assistance, has not only failed to curb the trade but intensified horrific violence, corruption and human-rights abuses.
The Chamber has put videos of its Economic Summit
along with the VSU report it commissioned up on
its website.
The videos are on vimeo, because they’re a tad lengthy.
However, they are conveniently linked in by subject.
Here’s a quote from Chamber president Myrna Ballard:
Particularly our average weekly wage rates, which we started becoming very concerned about around 2004. My first human inclination was to go into denial. I spent several months deciding whether I should even mention this in our community or not.There’s part of the problem around here: nobody wants to talk about problems. That needs to change.But the bottom line on it is, when you have a challenge, when you have a problem, you can’t fix it until you come to grips with the fact that you do have an issue that you need to deal with.
However, I don’t like her next point quite as much, which was that they already have a plan and were presenting it. That’s part of the reason people don’t want to speak up about problems: because so often nobody is listening.
She did go on about Opportunity Central, though. And the Chamber did put up videos of the whole thing on the web. Bravo, Chamber and ReKasa!
-jsq
PS: Rekasa told me they were going to do that, and Jim Parker noted that they had done it.
I’ve seen this before. AustinEnergy went in one year from solar isn’t an option to Continue readingTwo years ago, Southern Co. claimed “Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are not really an option for us in the Southeast.”
Now the new CEO, Thomas Fanning, says he’s “bullish” on solar. While the new attitude on solar is refreshing,
There are some interesting parallels/similarities in regard to the discussion of trash and biomass.
There is no doubt mankind produces trash, as there is no doubt that we need energy. What we keep forgetting, though, is an honest reflection on how we can be less “waste-ful”, both in terms of energy and trash.
Thus, instead of reducing the amount of trash we create by Continue reading
“Prohibition didn’t work in the past, and it’s not working today”.
Franklin said LEAP now represents 50,000 members worldwide.
Few issues unite people across the political sprectrum like this one, from the NAACP to Grover Norquist.
We don’t need a private prison in Lowndes County to lock up more people. We need fewer people in prison so we can afford to educate people.
-jsq
So, as David Rodock reported this morning in the VDT solid waste management was a discussion topic for Lowndes County Commissioners, even though it wasn’t on yesterday’s work session agenda.
Interesting that a meeting was held after the work session. I was at the work session, camera in hand, and you can see what transpired there with talk of the jail , the possibility of Sunday alcohol package sales, oh and the animal shelter all during the County Manager’s Reports.Nothing has been said (in public) about solid waste disposal since the public meetings where the pubic was told by Chairman Rod Casey and County Manager Pritchard that the county staff had “examined every option” and there was nothing that the public could possibly suggest that hadn’t already been considered.
The proposed plan (VDT Article August 29, 2008 Lowndes County’s proposed solid waste plan in effect Jan 1) was basically curbside collection (where no vendor could meet the proposed price cap suggested by the county) and what we ended up with was pay for drop off permits (VDT Article May 13, 2009 Solid waste disposal permits now available).
Joe Pritchard remembers those meetings like this (Update 25 Sept 2013 to add reference, “Commissioners want Lowndes out of the trash business” by David Rodock in the VDT 24 May 2011):
“I went through eight public meetings, better described as floggings, where the public just vented every ounce of frustration they ever had relating to solid waste over that time period,” said Joe Pritchard, county manager. “That was not a pleasant process. Yes, we need to come up with a way of notifying the public, but I’m here to tell you, that public meetings is not it.”
So, the problem (disposing of garbage costs money) still exists and the county has known that for years. Yet, here we are on the cusp of a crisis again and Commissioner Raines says
“My mind’s made up and I’m willing to call an emergency meeting tonight if we need to”
Why hasn’t the county been soliciting input during these two years that they knew the system was out of balance? Why must everything be a crisis?
-Gretchen
Videos of all the redistricting meetings are going up
on legis.ga.gov
shortly after they are taken.
The one from
Savannah
is up now.
Those are the videos taken by the reapportionment committee itself. Any videos LAKE takes will go on YouTube as usual.
-jsq
PS: Location of the videos so far owed to RJ Hadley.
This comment from Jane Osborn came in last night on
County Animal Shelter Issues. A good place to ask such questions of
public officials might be at
this evening’s County Commission meeting,
5:30 PM, 327 N. Ashley Street.
Sheriff Chris Prine is often in attendance.
-jsq
Abuse of an animal is a criminal offense. The GA Dept. of Agricultureis a regulatory agency able only to issue fines, not pursue criminal investigations. Why are these reports not on the desk of the sheriff of Lowndes County for criminal investigation? Dismissing the allegations because the people whose testimony was taken might be biased does no service to the current or future animals that will pass through the shelter.