Category Archives: Planning

Farm Days: Connecting Lowndes County and the City of Valdosta

Yesterday I wrote that interactions about Valdosta Farm Days between the Lowndes Commmission and the City of Valdosta “could have been smoother if one or both of the parties had been proactive.” The VDT reported that the County Commission wants to know about Valdosta Farm Days, and apparently there was a disconnect between the staff and the Commissioners. Here’s how the Commission came to be informed, through interactions of citizens and staff.

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 →

T-SPLOST Executive Committee —Ashley Paulk of LCC at LCDP (Part 2)

He says there’s a lot more to learn, T-SPLOST has got a good regional executive committee, etc., but:
Right now, I do not have a good or warm fuzzy feeling about this. That could change.
And previously he said if it did change, he would come back and tell us about it.

That was Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC), talking at the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP) monthly meeting about T-SPLOST.

Here’s the video:


Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
explains T-SPLOST (HB 277) and the Transportation Investment Act of 2010
at the monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Next: Questions.

-jsq

Biomass protesters @ VCC 7 April 2011

You’ve seen them before and here they are again: biomass protesters, this time outside Valdosta City Hall, 7 April 2011.

Old and young, Continue reading →

When the biomass plant is cancelled —John S. Quarterman

What will happen to the spirit of activism when the biomass plant is cancelled?

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 →

Let’s see these “many” biomass opponents

So what’s the evidence that these biomass opponents are many, as the VDT says? We could review letters to the editors in the VDT, but let’s look at the visual evidence LAKE has recorded. With no pro-biomass demonstrators anywhere to be seen. Sure, a few people show up at government meetings to speak for the biomass plant, but by my tally they are indeed very few, and most of them are either former employees or board members of the Industrial Authority. Yes, LAKE has posted videos of them, as well: Ken Garren, Nolen Cox. Crawford Powell. Or watch the people at the microphones during the 6 December 2011 VLCIA biomass “forum” and see what you think the ratio is.

My opinion is the same as I posted last month: “Black and white, young and old, conservative and liberal, college professors and unemployed”. Come see for yourself today outside Valdosta City Hall starting at 5PM.

-jsq

Jails Reap Millions Off U.S. Illegal Alien Crackdown

Betty Liu reports for Bloomberg that Jails Reap Millions Off U.S. Illegal Alien Crackdown:
The big winner in the crackdown on the illegal immiggration has been the private prison industry. As Bloomberg Business Week reports in its latest issue, companies such as Corrections Corporation of America are making millions. In fact, CCA makes more money from detaining immigrants than it does from any single U.S. state.
She goes on to mention CCA’s stock price has gone up by a factor of ten since 9/11.


Bloomberg’s Betty Liu reports, 18 March 2011. (Source: Bloomberg)

The source of the money CCA and its investors and executives are making? Our tax dollars!

With all the additional jail time, misdemeanors, and felonies in new state laws such as Arizona’s, states could catch up with the feds in paying CCA through the nose!

-jsq

Meanwhile in Dublin and Laurens County, Georgia

Jerome Tucker mentioned that it was Willie Paulk who enticed MAGE SOLAR to Dublin and Laurens County, Georgia. She’s president of the Dublin Laurens County Chamber of Commerce. Here’s a writeup in GeorgiaTrend about what’s going on there.

Hm, instead of taking out $15 million in bonds to be paid back by the taxpayers, the community around Dublin joined together and made available just as much money: Continue reading →

T-SPLOST Explained —Corey Hull of VLMPO at LCDP (Part 1)

T-SPLOST is a ten-year one-cent sales tax, organized in twelve regional taxing districts, through committees composed of county chairs and city mayors, plus an executive committee with some of them plus 3 people from the legislature, which funnels transportation funding requests to GDOT, which picks, and then sends to a referendum in 2012. Got all that? No? Well, Corey explains it much better than I do.

You’ve heard Corey Hull of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO) give a brief version of T-SPLOST at VLCIA. Here he talks at greater length at the Lowndes County Democratic Party:

The Georgia legislature passed what was then known as House bill 277 called Transportation Investment Act of 2010…. It created or proposed a one percent sales tax for transportation purposes throughout the state of Georgia. It creates twelve special transportation taxing districts that are based on the boundaries of the regional commissions. And that is where the connection with the regional commission stops. They are not the same body….
So who are these regional commissions? Continue reading →

VDT says VLCIA illegally made up a document

Today’s editorial in the VDT is Another Industrial Authority misstep refers to the VDT article and editorial of Sunday, and continues:
The reporter who conducted the interview with Industrial Authority Project Manager Allen Ricketts has been subsequently repeatedly contacted by Ricketts for what he deems “false reporting.” According to Ricketts, the timeline was never official and was only something the Industrial Authority threw together to appease the Times when given an official Open Records Request. Ricketts is apparently unaware that legally he cannot produce a document that does not exist to comply with said request. If he knowingly did so, as he now claims, that is a clear violation of the Open Records Act.
Presumably that would be the “Project Critical Path time-line is attached” that wasn’t actually attached to documents returned for an open records request of 17 February 2011. Hm, since VLCIA did supply such a document to the VDT, presumably it is now a VLCIA document subject to open records request, even though it was not what VLCIA told VDT it was.

Back to the VDT editorial: Continue reading →

T-SPLOST explained by Corey Hull and Ashley Paulk, tonight, LCDP

6PM tonight, Monday 4 April 2011, at Hildegard’s Cafe, 101 East Central Ave, the topic at the Lowndes County Democratic Monthly Meeting is T-SPLOST, according to their Chair Gretchen Quarterman:
Come hear Chairman Ashley Paulk and MPO Director Cory Hull give us information about T-SPLOST. The special local option tax for Transportation.
Ashley Paulk is Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission. Corey Hull is Coordinator for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO).

So you’ll have some idea what to expect, here’s Corey Hull’s explanation of T-SPLOST to VLCIA in February.

Here’s a very interesting question by Norman Bennett at that same meeting.

You can come ask questions tonight!

-jsq