Author Archives: admin

Will school unification improve education? —CUEE

The real answer is in the first sentence after A: in this FAQ by CUEE:
Q: HOW WILL UNIFICATION OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS IMPROVE EDUCATION?
A: School unification, by itself, will not improve the quality of education for our children.
Unfortunately, CUEE didn’t stop there. Their FAQ continues: Continue reading →

Texas still susceptible to private prison boondoggle

Even though Texas has cancelled some prisons and closed at least one private prison, private prison companies continue to push to privatize Texas prison services.

Mike Ward wrote 30 April in the Austin American-Statesman, Lawmakers chafe as push continues to privatize prison health care

“There is a push on to change the system we have, a system that is cost-effective and is a national model, even before we know whether there will be any real savings,” said House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden, R-Richardson .

“I think it’s something we should look at, to see what the real facts are, but I don’t think we should be rushing to a decision right now about this,” Madden said. “Most of the Legislature, I believe, think(s) that a decision this big — whether the system should be privatized — is one that we should make, not some board or agency.”

The American-Statesman first reported the privatization efforts in March and that top aides to Gov. Rick Perry have been involved in some of the meetings with vendors and lobbyists.

More from the article: Continue reading →

Valdosta City Governnment 101

Tim Carroll pointed out on LAKE’s facebook page that Valdosta’s Government 101 will be graduating soon. Jane Fleming Osborn remarked that
It is an enlightening and eye-opening class you should not miss !”
According to the city’s writeup about it:
…is designed to give City of Valdosta residents age 21 and older an inside look at how their city operates daily. Participants will be exposed to all city departments according to the following itinerary:
  • April 4 Introduction to Class
  • April 11 Public Safety and Municipal Court
  • April 18 Engineering, Public Works and Utilities
  • April 25 Financial Administration, Industrial and Economic Development
  • May 2 Community Building and Neighborhood Development
  • May 9 Facility Tour and Graduation

Last year’s class was the first, with 23 graduates.

For Lowndes County residents who do not live in Valdosta, the equivalent is… Continue reading →

Well Councilman Yost certainly believes Councilmen should give their opinion —Leigh Touchton

From Valdosta City Council minutes on their webpage. I was told point blank by Mr. Carroll that he would not deliver his opinion on biomass (or anything else apparently) until the moment he casts his vote. -Leigh Touchton
*COUNCIL COMMENTS 07/08/10 CONTINUED *

Councilman Yost stated that Mr. Rhynes asked some good questions earlier about the proposed Travel Ordinance and a mountain has been made out of a mole hill on that subject. The reporter that usually covers the Council meetings did call Councilman Eunice and that was reported in the newspaper. She was asked by Councilman Eunice to call other Council persons to give their view on the Ordinance and what happened at that meeting. She stated that everyone was on their way to Savannah to attend the Conference. Councilman Eunice was also on his way to Savannah when she called. Councilman Yost stated that if she had asked then he would have given her his opinion; however, now that Mr. Rhynes has asked he would give his opinion

Continue reading →

Solar panels increase home value

Posted on slashdot 23 Apr il 2011:
“Venture Beat reports that a study (PDF) by Berkeley National Labs has found that homes sold in California earned a premium for solar panels. The benefit ranged from $3900 to $6400 per kW of capacity. An earlier study found that proximity to solar or wind power may also raise home values.
-jsq

PS: Hats off to Cheryl Ann Fillekes for this one.

Wake-up and break off the spell of the Leviathan —George Boston Rhynes

This comment from George Boston Rhynes arrived just now, on “Talk to my chairman”. -jsq
I was at the last LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING when Chairman Ashley Paulk shared information about the Biomass Project extension being denied and the alleged secrecy surrounding keeping the general public ignorant.
“Because certain people won’t share with you and I think it’s unfair. We were approached about three weeks ago, Mr. (Joe) Pritchard (County Manager) was, by the Industrial Authority, and we were tentatively asked to make a move to ask that they not extend the contract.” (Chairman Paulk!)
Chairman Paulk words prove that there is an apparent pattern and practice
Continue reading →

Want to be like Atlanta?

I ran across some interesting information at The American Lung Association web site about the state of air quality.

There were several things that jumped out at me right away.

  • First, Lowndes County doesn’t even have a device for monitoring ozone levels. We need to get one.
  • Second, on particulate emissions, Lowndes County gets a “B”. Fulton County gets an “F”, Dekalb gets an “F”, Cobb gets “D” and Clayton gets “C”. Horrifyingly, Douglas, Fayette, Henry and Rockdale Counties don’t even have particulate monitors.
  • Third, over one third of the population of Lowndes County falls into the two vulnerable categories of “Over 65” or “Under 18”.

Do the leaders of our area really want us to be like the Atlanta area? Do we want to poison our children, our parents and our grandparents with dirty air? Dirty air leads to both lung and cardiovascular disease.

What are a few of things we could do to keep our air clean?

  • We could transition to clean energy sources like solar.
  • We could develop public transportation.
  • We could become active in our community and attend public meetings to let our leaders know what issues are important to us and that we want to be involved in decisions regarding development, industry and environmental stewardship.

-Gretchen

Dear elected and appointed officals: please send us material —LAKE

LAKE welcomes all elected and appointed officials to comment on this blog, to send submissions to post, or to call us up. Please see our Submissions Policy.

While LAKE would be ecstatic if all elected and appointed bodies did their own PR so we didn’t have to, in the meantime, we’re here, and we do what we can, with a little help from everyone involved.

I’m all for openness —Tom Call

The member who hardly ever speaks at board meetings makes a strong case for openness.

Tom Call called me back about the biomass plant, and we talked about a number of other matters. He remarked that he was not an appointed spokesperson for the Industrial Authority, so this is just him talking.

I asked him about Ashley Paulk’s remarks in the 26 April 2011 Lowndes County Commission meeting. Tom Call said VLCIA was not standing behind any other body, and he clarified what had happened.

He said the biomass plant had been brought to the Industrial Authority by Continue reading →