Category Archives: Politics

ESPLOST V kickoff meeting today @ ESPLOST 2015-02-24

A committee of unknown members is holding a kickoff meeting today for the Educational Special Local Option Sales Tax. Various local news media carry the announcement below, but none of them seem to have the names of the committee members beyond one co-chair. I guess we’ll find out from the videos Gretchen is going there now to take.

In the City of Valdosta’s In The City This Week, Feb. 23-28,

Feb. 24: ESPLOST V Campaign. The ESPLOST joint committee will host a campaign kickoff on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., in the Valdosta City Hall Annex Multi-Purpose Room. At the meeting, committee members will share proposed projects for Lowndes County and Valdosta City Schools with citizens. Early voting runs Feb. 23 through March 13. The final opportunity to vote will be on the official Election Day, March 17. For more information, email Co-Chair John Eunice at jleunice@yahoo.com.

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Sabal Trail like Keystone XL is for corporate profit not jobs

It would go through our land to be sold everywhere else, with no jobs here. It wouldn’t even be a nominal benefit for those of us whose land, water, and taxes it would take.

President Obama was half right:

Understand what this project is. It is providing the ability of Canada to pump their oil, send it through our land, down to the Gulf, where it will be sold everywhere else. That doesn’t have an impact on U.S. gas prices.

In his press conference of 14 November 2014, he was referring to the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. Add Atlantic to Gulf and the above quote applies equally to the proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline.

History has countered his next assertion: Continue reading →

More military enlistments from Southwest Georgia

300x208 Military Enlistments, in Military Georgia, by John S. Quarterman, 30 December 2014 Yet another reason Atlanta doesn’t understand south Georgia: military enlistment is 1 in 100 people in south Georgia from Columbus to Valdosta, and less than a third of that in the Atlanta Metro area. Enlistment is probably related to two other major features of south Georgia that Atlanta doesn’t understand: it’s agricultural (traditionally a bastion of military supporters), and it’s poor (and enlisting is one way to a career). A certain pipeline company may not have taken this factor into account, either. Continue reading →

Videos: Candidates in Lake Park @ LPCoC 2014-10-16

Sitting at a table, the local candidates laid out their positions in Lake Park. See also LAKE videos of the previous candidate forum in Valdosta. Continue reading →

Videos: Valdosta Chamber Candidate Forum @ VLCoC 2014-10-07

Here are LAKE videos of the candidates forum at the Rainwater Conference Center organized by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce. In the one remaining County Commission race, for District 3, Tom Hochschild made opposition to the Sabal Trail pipeline a platform plank, while Mark Wisenbaker mentioned his opposition to the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation (DSS). We know Hochschild is opposed to that lawsuit and Wisenbaker is opposed to that pipeline, so we may get some change on the County Commission in January. Cary Scarborough of DSS was at this forum, as were many pipeline opponents. Bikram Mohanty wins special mention for best use of the VSU students Hochschild brought.

Continue reading →

Rosalynn Carter at Lowndes County Courthouse, 6PM Thu Oct 9th 2014

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will here tomorrow, 6PM October 8th 9th, at the Lowndes County Courthouse, to support her grandson Jason Carter for Governor of Georgia, the Lowndes County Democratic Party announced today.

Incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal’s campaign took $10,000 from Spectra Energy, which wants to build the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline through south Georgia. Deal’s campaign also accepted contributions from three other pipeline companies, adding up to at least $21,300.

Jason Carter’s campaign accepted no dollars ($0) from any of those companies. And as his campaign website says, State Senator Jason Carter “has twice received Environmental Leadership awards from Georgia Conservation Voters”.

Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter visited Valdosta in 2003, when they helped Habitat for Humanity build a house. Tomorrow she will be back, this time at the Courthouse.

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Meet the Candidates @ VLCoC 2014-10-07

Update 2014-10-21: Fixed year in title, and LAKE videos are posted.

Tuesday is the annual Chamber Meet the Candidates event. Usually there’s not much chance to ask them questions and see them answer in front of everybody, but at least you get to hear them speak.

Oddly the Chamber did not list which candidates will be there, but Valdosta CEO did:

U.S. Representative – District 1
E.L. Buddy Carter (R)
Brian Corwin Reese (D)

State Senate – District 8
C. Ellis Black (R)
Bikram Mohanty (D)

State House – District 174
John Corbett (R)
Jessie Smith (D)

Lowndes County Commission – District 3
Tally Mark Wisenbaker, Jr. (R)
Tom Hochschild (D)

Meet The Candidates 2014 Continue reading →

Nydia Tisdale’s video of being arrested for videoing a public event

The deputy is on camera refusing to identify himself as he holds her down. The best he’d do was “You’ll see it on the warrant”.

Background here, including a candidate laughing as she cries “Help!”

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Quitman 10+2 third trial

“Thank you for not plea bargaining” said George Boston Rhynes starting his series of videos on the ongoing third trial of Lula Smart of the Quitman 10+2. No newspapers, radio, or TV reporters at this trial about voters’ rights. But George is there.

Here’s George’s first report: Continue reading →

Nydia Tisdale’s offense: she sat in the front row

Landowner Johnny Burt’s excuse for having Nydia Tisdale ejected from an event advertised as a public campaign rally:

“She promptly sat down on the front row on the end where she would be right in their face and was making everybody uncomfortable.”

Shades of Ashley Paulk’s excuse for wanting that illegal bill of attainder Continue reading →