I applaud the activism of
the many and varied biomass opponents!
Let me repeat my prediction: the biomass plant will never be built.
That’s no reason to stop doing what you’re doing.
You know opposition is having an effect when
VLCIA repeatedly denies it.
You might be surprised how many other people think this plant will never be built. Ashley Paulk told me Continue reading
Molly Duet
writes in the VSU newspaper today:
Protestors wearing respirator masks held signs reading “Biomass? No!” in front of the Valdosta City Hall building on Thursday. Members of the Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy, the VSU student organization Students Against Violating the Environment, and other concerned Valdosta citizens showed up to protest the construction of the Wiregrass Power: Biomass Electric Generating Plant.The Spectator article quotes from two speakers for whom LAKE happens to have video, linked below. Continue reading“We already have solar power resources in place that we could be using and I feel like money should be directed towards that,” Ivey Roubique, vice-president of the Student Geological Society, said. “It wouldn’t be good for the community and even though I’m in college here it still matters.”
Dr. George gets to the point!
After talking to several Valdosta City Council members, he has
observed that people make up their minds regardless of evidence.
So he wants to know:
What evidence would you need to see to conclude this is a bad idea?
Dr. George also gets at something even deeper that Council might
consider a wakeup call:
The public outcry about this across the political spectrum, from conservative to liberal.People against the biomass plant are not just black or white or young or old or conservative or liberal or college professors or unemployed: they are all of those things. The intransigence of elected and appointed officials is causing citizens to stand up and be heard on this and other issues around the county. This issue is serving as a catalyst for people to demand more transparent and responsive government.
Here’s the video:
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Let’s meet
the CUEE board and ask them a simple question.
The Chair, Leroy Butler, named them in this order: Rusty Griffin (Vice-Chair), George Bennett, Tom Kurrie, Walter Hobgood, Johnny Ball, Jack Edwards, Jud Rackley, Gene Godfrey, and “last but certainly not least” Ruth Council. (Not named but listed on CUEE’s website are David Durland, Terry Hunt, and Ronnie Mathis.)
As I told Rusty Griffin, I congratulate CUEE on holding public meetings about their plans.
Here’s the question:
How many of the current CUEE board are from the county outside of Valdosta?Continue reading
Do you think the Valdosta and Lowndes County School Systems
should be consolidated?
I don’t, but CUEE does, and they’re having an “official kick-off”
6PM tomorrow, 24 March 2011, at the Gazebo Room,
James H. Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place, Valdosta.
Note at the top of the invitation:
It’s Your Decision. It’s Your Choice.Well, not if you live in the county outside Valdosta, it’s not. CUEE is promoting a referendum for Valdosta voters in November 2011 for Valdosta to give up its school system: Continue reading
LAKE is thrilled when the VDT covers things so we don’t have to.
David S. Rodock in his writeup in VDT this morning on
yesterday’s Lowndes County Commission meeting
includes this list that was not displayed in the public meeting,
yet was approved by the commissioners.
Car 41 No where are you?
Here’s the list: Continue reading
Beth Fouhy writes for AP that
Openness in state gov’t? AP survey shows obstacles
More openness in government. Lawmakers across the country, including the Republicans who took control in many states this year, say they want it. But a survey of all 50 states by The Associated Press has found that efforts to boost openness often are being thwarted by old patterns of secrecy.The story lists some good progress in some states, including Alabama. Then it goes into some backsliding: Continue readingThe survey did find signs of progress in a number of states, especially in technological efforts to make much more information available online. But there also are restrictions being put in place for recent electronic trends, such as limits on access to officials’ text messages.
Chairman Jerry Jennett asked for Citizens Wishing to be Heard,
and first up was
Leigh Touchton, President of
Valdosta-Lowndes NAACP,
who presented them
a letter from Dr. Robert D. Bullard,
about his findings that 80% of the residents
within one mile of the proposed Wiregrass Power Plant are black
and 75% of biomass facilities in Georgia are sited in minority/poor communities.
“This is what is called environmental racism.”She also said she was tired of people who are against biomass being represented as a fanatical fringe crew, primarily by Mr. Lofton, considering she stood before them representing the local NAACP, the Georgia state conference of the NAACP, “the largest organization non-profit of voters in the state of Georgia”, and the national NAACP.
Perhaps I missd it because I was a few minutes late, but this was the only mention of the Wiregrass Power LLC biomass plant that I heard at this VLCIA board meeting.
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If you go to lowndescounty.com, pull down Government at the top,
select Board of Elections, then
Election Results, you can select a format for displaying
election results.
And the results at 8:50 PM 15 March 2010 are:
| BOE SALES TAX QUESTION | VOTES | |
| YES | 82.66% | 2,931 |
| NO | 17.34% | 615 |
| Total Votes: 3,546 |
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If you’re not yet convinced to get out and vote today to continue
the 1% ESPLOST local sales tax that pays for school buildings, books,
band instruments, and sports equipment for the Valdosta and Lowndes County, Georgia school systems,
here are two Facebook pages:
And
where you can vote.
And here’s
lots of detail on where the money goes.
The two school boards are setting a standard for local government transparency in posting a detailed notice in the newspaper five times,
holding information sessions, going to other people’s meetings and speaking,
handing out flyers, etc.
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