I’m not going to attempt to name all of them, because the ones I missed would be miffed. I will say that’s Gretchen Quarterman on the right. And that these are people from all over the area, city and country, Democrat and Republican. Growing food is the universal community builder.
GBMG is “organized as a cohesive working group in Lowndes, Brooks, Echols, and Lanier Counties”. They’ll be holding more classes, so you, too, can become a master gardener.
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How much should it cost for a citizen to get access to agendas
and minutes of a tax-funded board?
How does about $2 per meeting strike you?
Bobbi Anne Hancock filed an open records request for the agendas and minutes of all regularly scheduled and called meetings of the VLCIA letter asking $125.09 for copies of agendas and minutes of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) from 2006 to the present, and got this letter back:
So at 12 meetings per year for five years plus another 3 months, that would be about 63 meetings, divided into $125.09 gets about $1.99 per meeting.
Is this normal practice? Let’s compare. Continue reading
First, an excerpt from the paper paper story by David Rodock, “Farmers market proposal discussed by commission”, Tuesday, April 12, 2011, page 3A (it’s not online): Continue reading
Their board is considering passing an open records policy to match the Georgia state law, but doesn’t like it much:Boland had also been working to gain more information on the possible expansion of the Humpty Dumpty Hotel owned by Foodonics, however, she came under fire for holding private meetings with the company without the knowledge of the rest of the authority which has caused some in the community to cry foul.
But after the allegations arose, Boland maintained that the meetings were for gathering information only and that she was merely waiting to get all the facts before presenting them to the board.
“They can ask you until you’re blue in the face and they don’t have to explain what they’re going to do with them,” he said. “But I know there’s nothing you can do about it.”They also want to change their financial audit cycle from annually to every three years.
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sock puppet: the act of creating a fake online identity to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for one’s self, allies or company. — New York TimesJim Galloway asks, About Beth Merkleson: Does Casey Cagle’s most out-spoken foe wear pants and carry a senator’s BlackBerry?
For a week, Republican grassroots activist Beth Merkleson has been on a tirade against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.
Fuming at allegations that Cagle was colluding with Democrats to recoup his power that Senate Republicans stripped from him last November, Merkleson dubbed her near-daily e-mails the “Georgia Senate Informer.”
Then again, it’s very possible that Merkleson never existed. Or thatContinue reading
| At the Lowndes County Commission work session on Monday morning, County Manager Joe Pritchard distributed a map to the Commissioners from the Valdosta Main Street Manager, Amanda Peacock, detailing a proposal for a Farmer’s Market on the sidewalk of the old County Courthouse. |
proactive: serving to prepare for, intervene in, or control an expected occurrence or situation; anticipatory |
Lowndes County Commission work session, 12 April 2011, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
While apparently supportive of the initiative, the process could have Continue reading
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Public Notice of a Public Comment and Review Period and Public Open HouseContinue reading
In accordance with requirements set forth in 23 CFR 450.316, 42 USC 2000d, Executive Order 12898, and Executive Order 13166, and other laws and regulations; the Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO) has developed the Draft Public Participation Plan (PPP) which includes a Limited-English Proficiency Plan and Title VI Compliance Plan, for the Valdosta Metropolitan Planning Area which includes all of Lowndes County and portions of Berrien and Lanier Counties.
This PPP is available for public review and comment from April 15, 2011
Rezoning some land for 100 Black Men of Valdosta was the
first order of business on the
agenda for Valdosta City Council for 7 April 2011:
5.a. Consideration of an Ordinance to rezone 0.24 acres from Single-Family Residential (R6) to Office-Professional (O-P) as requested by 100 Black Men of Valdosta (File No. VA-2011-09). The property is located at the southeast corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Drive and South Troup Street. The Planning Commission reviewed this request at their March Regular Meeting and recommended approval (7-0-1 vote).
Planning Director Matt Martin, presented the case. Continue reading
But to ensure
local boards and agencies become more responsive to the community,
even better is to
appoint people to them who want to be more responsive to the community.
Many such appointments are available right now.
Valdosta’s list of open appointments, qualifications, etc. can be found here. There are 14 positions open on 8 boards, ranging from the Parks and Recreation Authority, which has its own dedicated tax millage larger than that of the Industrial Authority, to the Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful Board, which has a paid executive director. Here’s an excerpt: Continue reading
The Florida Legislature’s push to privatize many more prisons, its most far-reaching cost-cutting plan in years, could open a lucrative door to politically connected vendors who stand to profit.Why is this path so popular with the Florida legislature? Continue readingSenate and House budgets require the state to privatize prisons in South Florida, home to one-fifth of the statewide inmate population of 101,000. The region is the home of the GEO Group, the nation’s second-largest private prison operator, which currently runs two private prisons, including the largest private lockup, the Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Milton.