Category Archives: Economy

Open House at Mildred Hunter on Common Community Vision @ VLMPO 2013-10-23

“We have broadband”, said Bill Slaughter, while other people had different opinions on that and other topics Wednesday night at the Mildred Hunter Community Center.

Corey Hull introduced the session and a small but vocal group of citizens discussed all the main topic headings. He noted that there are more than twelve plans already in place in the various cities and counties in the Valdosta Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Area. Yet there were many common themes in those plans, and VLMPO was looking for other common areas in these meetings and online, and more specifically strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. If you have a community group of any size, VLMPO can come talk to it. They’ve been to the Chamber, to Rotary, to churches, etc. They expect to wrap this process up in December, with common vision and goals for the next ten or twenty years.

Matt Martin Local officials present included Matt Martin, Planning and Zoning Administrator for the City of Valdosta, and Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter. Martin didn’t say much, but Bill Slaughter was quite vocal. I thanked him for speaking up, even though I didn’t agree with everything he said. He helped clarify current county codes for stormwater retention, and Martin helped clarify the city’s codes.

As a long-time participant in local development (he’s CEO of Waller Heating and Air) Slaughter said when people are buying houses all they look at is Continue reading

Solar tariff damaging to solar growth in Georgia –GSEA

GSEA PR of yesterday about Georgia Power’s attempt to tax rooftop solar generators. Proposed Solar Tariff Unfair and Damaging to Solar Growth in Georgia,

Atlanta, GA — The Georgia Solar Energy Association Chairman Mark Bell said today that the tariff on solar installations proposed in the Georgia Power rate request now under consideration by the Public Service Commission is unfair to solar customers.

The tariff, which will add roughly $22 a month to residential solar customers’ bills beginning in 2014, will have a significant “chilling effect” on the robust growth of solar development now under way in Georgia. Solar investment currently is providing jobs and new infrastructure throughout the state, including its rural areas where economic investment is badly needed. Solar energy is making Georgia farms more cost-effective and productive, and high-demand manufacturing more efficient.

“This proposal penalizes solar at the exclusion of other energy saving methods, which Georgia Power supports. Georgia Power has traditionally Continue reading

Dominion buying up solar projects

A Virginia electric utility bought a solar project near Georgia Power’s nuclear plant Vogtle, and has been busily buying up four more, in Indiana and Connecticut. The Georgia electric customer is recent coal-to-solar convert Cobb EMC, not Georgia Power. This is the same Dominion Power that got Virginia to legalize its “standby charge” of a monthly fee for individuals to connect solar to its grid. Is Dominion trying to beat Edison Electric’s warning of the disruptive challenge of rooftop solar by building large solar plants? If so, it’s a start, with quite a few construction jobs. And all of this new solar power is expected to be online this year, a lot faster than nuclear….

Dominion says of its Azalea Solar Power Facility:

Location of Azalea Solar Power Facility Dominion announced on March 1, 2013, that it has acquired a solar energy development project in Georgia from Smart Energy Capital and Jacoby Development. The expected start of commercial operations is Dec. 1, 2013. (> View our news release for complete details.)

Dominion’s Azalea Solar Power Facility is planned to produce approximately 7.7 megawatts (AC) using photovoltaic technology. Dominion will select a contractor and oversee the construction of the project. The 40-acre project is located on Continue reading

You gonna take him, too? –police illegally arresting journalist

It all started with someone handing out DVDs in a Federal Reserve museum, continued with people being arrested on a public sidewalk for doing nothing, and ended with a judge reaffirming that yes, you can video police.

John [?] wrote for Next News Network a 19 October 2013, Federal Reserve Bank Settles Counterclaim with Journalist,

In May of 2011 in Missouri, Bruce Baumann was peacefully passing out DVDs with his local media chapter, WeAreChange Colorado, outside the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City. However, when Baumann and fellow activist Ronald Lewis attempted to enter the Federal Reserve’s money museum, they faced resistance from the private bank’s security, which led to both of their arrest. Although this resulted in ongoing litigation for nearly 30 months following the incident, Baumann was confident that he would not only be successful in defeating the charges, but he would also be victorious in trampling the Federal Reserve Bank with a counterclaim.

Unbeknownst to Lewis, his name was previously recorded on a list Continue reading

Striping and citing @ LCC 2013-10-08

Catching up with the Regular Session of 8 October 2013, why is the county going to pay $150/month for a traffic signal and $2200/month for offramp lighting (both at Exit 22, North Valdosta Road) when they could install solar panels and batteries once and pay nothing ongoing?

They tabled Nottinghill like the Planning Commission did. They voted to let Barrington subdivision sprawl into the county with no conditions, taking staff’s recommendation instead of one about a fence by the Planning Commission.. They voted to rotate the mostly ceremonial Vice Chairman position every eight months. They decided on a price for tentants in the Leila Ellis Building and will get around to drawing up a lease agreement. Commissioners finally did get that list of roads for striping. Fiddling changes to percentages evidence for juvenile justice and hardware and software for fining people coming off of I-75.

Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and a few notes. See also videos of the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading

Request pipeline town hall –Tim Bland to LCC

Received yesterday. Tim Bland wrote “This is what I emailed to all of the commissioners on Friday.” I added a few links and pictures. -jsq

Commissioners,

I would like to start by thanking Demarcus Marshall for attending the meeting held by Sabal Trail at Wiregrass Tech on Wednesday. It is nice to know that some of our elected officials are concerned about this project.

After talking with many of the affected landowners at this meeting, it appears that there is a general misconception about the certainty of this proposed pipeline. The officials from Sabal Trail, both in writing and in person, are telling landowners that this pipeline is coming and there is little any of us can do to prevent it. This appears to be the main reason for the high approval rating for the initial surveys. We were told that if we did not willingly participate in the survey, there would be little consideration given to our input and opinions when the pipeline is built. We were also told Continue reading

Another October LAKE meeting Tuesday 22 October 2013

Pipeline and local governance: Water (sinkholes, aquifer recharge, runoff, drinking water, and wastewater), trash (how about that Exclusive Franchise!), and money (no-bid contracts and plus SPLOST VII). If you want to help, we have a little list of tasks you can do. Why another meeting in October? The first one was at a time when many of the regulars couldn’t come, so here’s one for them.

What: Another October LAKE Meeting
When: 6:15PM Tuesday
after the Lowndes County Commission meeting
7 October 2013
Where: Michael’s Deli
1307 N Ashley St.
Valdosta, GA 31601

If you're on Facebook, please Like the LAKE facebook page. You can sign up for the meeting event there, Or just come as you are.

-jsq

Against rate hike and solar fee by Georgia Power

If you missed Savannah, Columbus tomorrow, then Gainesville, Athanes, and Atlanta: you can speak up against Georgia Power’s attempt to charge you for saving them money by generating solar power.

Mary Landers wrote for SavannahNow Friday, Ga. Power proposed rate hike, solar fee blasted,

“Unconscionable” and “theft” were two of the words used Thursday evening to describe a residential rate hike and fee on solar installations proposed by Georgia Power.

More than 50 people attended a meeting sponsored by Georgia Watch and the Sierra Club at the Coastal Georgia Center to discuss the issues.

The rate hike, proposed in July, would have average residential customers paying almost $8 more a month. Some homeowners with solar panels would pay a new monthly fee of about $22 by Georgia Power’s estimations.

Video by WJCL News: Continue reading

Lowndes vs. Florida Pipeline

The VDT got some good quotes from Spectra and from landowners, and even from a Lowndes County Commissioners at the Spectra dog and pony at Wiregrass Tech last week. Not the whole story, though; this one has legs.

Matthew Woody wrote for the VDT today, Lowndes residents oppose Fla. pipeline,

Andrea Grover (Spectra), Matthew Woody (VDT) Sabal Trail Transmission held an open house at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College last week to explain the Florida natural gas pipeline expected to run through South Georgia.

Sabal Trail had bulletin boards depicting aerial photos with the proposed 600-foot corridor mapped out with two red dotted lines running parallel to one another. In the center of these dotted lines, there was a brown line which highlighted an existing pipeline.

He got a bit more detail from Spectra rep Andrea Grover about Option A (the current proposed pipeline path) vs. Option B: Continue reading

Nukes have always been a government sponsored boondogle as cover for nuclear weapons production –John Pate

From Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace and Matsutaro Shoriki founding the Japanese nuclear industry to Shinzo Abe’s international nuclear salesmanship, nuclear power has always been a whitewash for nuclear weapons, with “peaceful” nukes a boondoggle for big corps subsidized by taxpayers and ratepayers. Yet the sun is rising around the world, on Japan as well as on the U.S.

U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower kicked it off with his “Atoms for Peace” speech at the UN, 8 December 1953,

The Atomic Energy Agency could be made responsible for the impounding, storage, and protection of the contributed fissionable and other materials. The ingenuity of our scientists will provide special safe conditions under which such a bank of fissionable material can be made essentially immune to surprise seizure.

The more important responsibility of this Atomic Energy Agency would be to devise methods whereby this fissionable material would be allocated to serve the peaceful pursuits of mankind. Experts would be mobilized to apply atomic energy to the needs of agriculture, medicine, and other peaceful activities. A special purpose would be to provide abundant electrical energy in the power-starved areas of the world. Thus the contributing powers would be dedicating some of their strength to serve the needs rather than the fears of mankind….

Against the dark background of the atomic bomb, the United States does not wish merely to present strength, but also the desire and the hope for peace.

And “Atoms for Peace” was part of an organized government PR campaign (“Operation Candor”) about Soviet nuclear weapons; see http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents/atoms_for_peace.html”>Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library for sources. Operation Candor was replaced by Operation Soothing Syrup (I am not making this up), according to Continue reading