This time, 24 March 2011,
Angela Manning, minister of the 1500-member New Life Ministries
in Valdosta near the proposed site for the Wiregrass Power LLC biomass plant,
read from the Valdosta City Council’s own mission statement and
asked,
How do you adhere to your mission statement?Here’s the video: Continue reading
As Dr. George said Continue reading
Dr. Cristóbal Serrán-Pagán y Fuentes reminds us we don’t need a biomass plant
because:
We have plenty of sunshine here.You’d think the Valdosta City Council would know that, since only about a month ago Mayor Fretti assisted groundbreaking for Wiregrass Solar LLC. Maybe it takes somebody from Spain to remind everyone. Spain, which is a leader in solar power in the world. Spain, which is actually north of Georgia.
Here’s the video:
-jsq
First I praised the
completion of the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant in Valdosta.
Then I complimented
Brad Lofton on finding his new job and hoped he’d be happy in Myrtle Beach.
Then I praised the VDT for
its editorial recommending using this opportunity to consult
the councils of the various municipalities and the County Commission,
and in particular that one way to produce
unity in the community
as G. Norman Bennett had previously advocated,
would be to find out what the community wants VLCIA to do.
I understand the point about beliefs. But it’s not all about just the beliefs of just the people on the board. It’s also about things like is there enough water, and do we want businesses that soak up a lot of water, like Ben Copeland said at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce. Beliefs are good, but facts are better. Thank you.
-jsq
Former VLCIA board member Gary Minchew
said he wanted to have a Take 2 on his goodbye speech.
I have great admiration for what y’all are doing, sticking to your guns. I learned a lot. One thing I didn’t learn was to keep my mouth shut. I run into a guy the other day who remembered me from a college course from the University of Georgia. The only thing he remembered was me and the professor, and I always argued with him. And you pay the price for saying what you believe. I paid the price in that course. I think in that course I got the only A I ever made in college. I mean, really, anybody in politics that can sit there and take whatever is dished out and you stick to your beliefs, I have the greatest admiration in the world for you. We did not always agree, but I have the greatest admiration for you, and that’s great. It’s a lot more fun sitting out here than it is up there. I didn’t break down this time, so give me a break.
It’s interesting that he accurately characterizes what VLCIA does as politics. Also that he refers to beliefs, but says nothing about evidence or facts or the community.
For reference, here is Gary Minchew’s parting speech Take 1.
-jsq
It’s like denying the earth goes around the sun. Why would they identify with such a silly thing? Because of what actually dealing with climate change would mean: Continue readingAnd the reason is that climate change is now seen as an identity issue on the right. People are defining themselves, like they’re against abortion, they don’t believe in climate change. It’s part of who they are.
So I’ll give you my opinion, like I gave it to the County Commission,
and at the end of this post there’s a chronological list of links to
all the NOAA Weather Radio posts so far.
But first, what do these radios do? According to NOAA:
NWR is an “All Hazards” radio network, making it your single source for comprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with Federal, State, and Local Emergency Managers and other public officials, NWR also broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards – including natural (such as earthquakes or avalanches), environmental (such as chemical releases or oil spills), and public safety (such as AMBER alerts or 911 Telephone outages).So these radios provide all the types of information J.L. Clark referred to. There’s more information in that NOAA web page.
I spoke after J.L. Clark on 22 Feb 2011. There is no video, because LAKE had only one camera at that meeting. From memory, here is the gist of what I said.
I live out on the edge of the county. I remember when Ashley Paulk moved in next door.Continue reading
Are NOAA Weather Radios “wasteful spending”?
We’ve already seen staff present the case for about 5,000 NOAA Weather Radios at $21.50 each, paid for out of grant money. They made that case at the 8:30AM 7 Feb 2011 Lowndes County Commission Work Session.
At the regular session the next day (5:30 PM Tuesday 8 Feb 2011),
citizen Nolen Cox spoke against the NOAA grant and more generally said
“just say no to grants”.
He also went on at some length about how he didn’t believe in climate change.
Nevermind that the fifth U.S. or British board of inquiry has
reconfirmed yet again that the data and analysis for climate change
are solid.
EMA Director Ashley Tye summarized the case for NOAA Weather radios,
according to the minutes,
stating Lowndes County had been awarded $107,500.00, in Hazard Mitigation grant funding for the purchase of 5,000 NOAA weather radios to benefit all of Lowndes County. Mr. Tye added that Alert Works had presented the low bid in the amount of $21.50 per radio.Finally, the Commission had some discussion. According to the minutes: Continue reading
We’ve already heard about NOAA Weather Radios from two different citizens,
Nolen Cox
and Ken Klanicki.
What are they talking about?
As usual, much of the discussion was in the work session
(8:30 AM Monday 7 Feb 2011), available here in two parts.
In Part 1 staff talks about buying about 5,000 NOAA weather radios so the citizens can get weather news. Low bidder would charge $21.50 per radio.
In Part 2, staff notes that the grant would require that the radios can’t be earmarked, so people could come to the county office to pick up radios, and staff proposes to have several community events throughout the community, well-advertised, for people to pick up radios and staff to answer questions about them.
One of the commissioners notes:
That’s almost $108,000 tax money what happens to that grant money if, we say you know, it might not be a good idea […] what happens to that?Continue reading
Continue readingFrom: John S. Quarterman
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 1:40 PM
To: Commissioner@lowndescounty.com
Cc: Paige Dukes
Subject: Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to be HeardDear Commissioners,
At your most recent meeting I mentioned I had a few suggestions about your new Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing To Be Heard, and at least one of you has indicated he would like to see them, so here they are.
“2. A maximum of 10 persons shall be allowed to speak at any meeting.”I think that number is too low. On the one hand,