Here are videos of all the presentations from the Meet the Candidates event at VSU Monday. This adds to the previous LAKE videos, and also includes a different perspective from George Boston Rhynes.
Update 4:40 PM 5 October 2012: Toma Hawk has supplied a third viewpoint.
Ron Borders, Introduction
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Update 10:15 AM 5 October 2012: Ignore this version and go directly to the complete version.
Here is the first set of LAKE videos from the Meet the Candidates event at VSU Monday.
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Ron Borders, Introduction
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The
failed EDF nuke project at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland
makes it clearer why Southern Company (SO) was the first company
to get a nuclear permit in 30 years:
it was the only one big enough and monopolistic enough to pull it off.
Even then it’s such a
bet-the-farm risk
that even
“great, big company”
SO only dared
to deploy its
“great big huge scale“ equipment
with the regulatory capture triple-whammy
of
a stealth tax on Georgia Power bills,
PSC approval of cost overruns,
and
an $8.33 billion federal loan guarantee:
a legislated
stealth tax in the form of
a rate hike on Georgia Power customers for
power they won’t get for years if ever.
If you’re a Georgia Power customer,
look on your bill for Nuclear Construct Cost Recovery Rider.
You’ll find it adds about 5% on top of your Current Service Subtotal.
Georgia is one of only a handful of states where such a
Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) charge is legal
thanks to our regulatory-captured legislature.
Doubling down on bad energy bets,
Southern Company is also
trying to use CWIP to build a coal plant in Mississippi.
A captive Public Service Commission that
rubber-stamps costs for Plant Vogtle.
In case there was any doubt as to the PSC’s role in legitimizing those new nukes,
the very next day Fitch reaffirmed Southern Company’s bond ratings.
Translation: Georgia Power customers subsidize SO’s bonds and SO shareholders’ stock dividends. The PSC also approved cost overruns being passed on to Georgia Power customers, and those nukes are already over $400 or $900 million, depending on who you ask. What do you expect when 4 out of 5 Public Service Commissioners apparently took 70% of their campaign contributions from utilities they regulate or their employees or their law firms, and the fifth commissioner took about 20% from such sources? Hm, there’s an election going on right now!Southern Company’s regulated utility subsidiaries derive predictable cash flows from low-risk utility businesses, enjoy relatively favorable regulatory framework in their service territories, and exhibit limited commodity price risks due to the ability to recover fuel and purchased power through separate cost trackers.
An
$8.33 billion federal loan guarantee.
Even that’s not good enough for SO and Georgia Power: SO is
asking for less down payment.
And what if even one of that three-legged regulatory capture stool’s legs went away? Continue reading
To get a decent deal on streetlights, a small Georgia city may have to help change the Georgia Public Service Commission. Or, an energy concern in Hahira happened to coincide with a visit by PSC candidate Steve Oppenheimer.
Ralph Clendenin, City Council member, is looking into converting
Hahira's streetlights to LEDs or maybe solar.
He has discussed that with Georgia Power, which will do it for
$250,000 up front.
At a savings of $1,000 a month, that would take quite a while to pay back:
more than 20 years.
Steve Oppenheimer, running for Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), found the streetlight issue interesting:
Just like you're looking at options the city might do for better choices for lighting in terms of serving the people and meeting your budget, as Georgians we need that, too.
He indicated that there are more solutions than we're being told.
To me what's improtant are homeowners rights, and we get control over the power rates, because our residential rates and small business rates have gone up about 31% in five years.
He brought up Dublin's solar streetlights, and solar for energy and jobs. He indicated energy was a future source of jobs.
What it comes down to is people like you in this room in the small communities figuring out what pieces do we put together to make our community better for tomorrow.
Afterwards in the entranceway,
Ralph Clendenin showed Steve Oppenheimer how
he'd figured out that Georgia Power was charging about 73% maintenance
above the electricity cost of the streetlights.
Oppenheimer said there were many options.
Clendenin suggested one:
The option I see right now is, the Commission somehow, has got to change the rules on how Georgia Power… structures payments.
Oppenheimer suggested a way to get there:
We need a commission with some new leadership, with some separation from industry, that doesn't have the apparent conflicts of interest.
Ralph summed it up pithily:
Ralph Clendenin: 73% is that forever payment to Georgia Power.
Steve Oppenheimer: It's a great deal, if you're on the right end of it.
[laughter]
What say we change the end of the stick we the taxpayers are getting from the PSC?
Here's a playlist.
Work Session, Hahira City Council, Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 1 October 2012.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).
-jsq
Apparently
WCTV’s “at the South Georgia Medical Center Parking Garage”>
meant actually in the nearby parking lot, because that’s where we found
some city and county employees and a few volunteers
standing in the shade of a Valdosta Police van.
An invocation and six speeches from five speakers ensued,
all in support of SPLOST VII,
the Special Local Option Sales Tax on the November ballot.
Several of the speakers were not so positive off the podium about the
library and auditorium projects, and nobody from the library board spoke.
Here are videos of all of the speeches.
Continue the growth —Sam Allen, co-chair
Also
the VDT was there,
and
Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT yesterday,
Committee kicks off SPLOST campaign,
The major theme of the event was a firm reminder that SPLOST VII is not a new tax, just a continuation of a penny sales tax that has been in place since 1987.
Fair enough. However, Sam Allen’s second talk summed up what’s wrong with SPLOST VII: Continue reading
At the 24 July 2012 Regular Session,
Lisa Burton gave a much shorter version of her
presentation from the previous morning’s Work Session,
and the Lowndes County Commission unanimously rubberstamped without
discussion
the library board’s selection of an out-of-state architect
over several local candidates.
Here’s the video:
Rubberstamping library architect
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 24 July 2012.
-jsq
A local middle school teacher spelled out problems with the
charter school referendum: no local control over creation or operation
of the charter schools it would authorize; money siphoned off from
existing local schools; and charter schools actually perform
worse than traditional public schools anyway.
Christie Davis, a teacher at Hahira Middle School, speaking at the Lowndes County Tea Party monthly meeting Thursday, pointed out it’s not just the preamble to the referendum that’s misleading. The actual wording of the referendum is also misleading:
Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?
She remarked:
It sounds very good that we should say yes. It’s very misleading. And the reason why it’s misleading is totally purposeful. It says something about local communities. We already have that right in our local community, our local boards, to go ahead and implement a charter school, if we see the need. However, they put it in there so that voters that don’t really know what’s going on think they’re helping our local schools by voting yes. However, by voting yes, it will be funding a parallel state school system that we have no control over.
Here’s the video:
A parallel state school system that we have no control over. —Christie Davis
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2012.
Thanks to Diane Cox, President, Lowndes County Tea Party, for the invitation.
She also got into the financial aspects:
Continue readingBill Moyers takes on ALEC.
Posted yesterday On Bill Moyers’ website, ‘United States of ALEC’ Video Previews
This week, Moyers & Company (check local listings) presents
“United States of ALEC,” a report on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of — ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership”. But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.
He said more on Huffington Post Wednesday,
Continue readingIt would be easier for people to vote for SPLOST VII if they knew what they were getting. So far, that’s difficult to tell from what’s been published. Many questions remain to be answered.
We’ve already seen the WCTV story that quotes a total of $35 million for SPLOST VII. And Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT 5 August 2012, SPLOST project list released: Renewed sales tax would build library, auditorium
The county projects penny sales tax collections through SPLOST VII to total at least $150 million during a six-year period, a sum that could fund a library complex, an auditorium, the installation of a mandated public safety radio system, an array of municipal water and sewage improvements, new equipment for police officers and firefighters, and road maintenance projects.
There is not adequate funding for these projects if the SPLOST referendum does not pass, according to city and county planners.
$150 million is not $35 million. $150 million divided by six is $25 million, not $35 million.
The mystery deepens.
Continue readingReceived today. -jsq
Continue reading
September 26, 2012
George Boston Rhynes
5004 Oak Street
Valdosta, Georgia 31605TO: U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development
Valdosta City Government
Valdosta Housing Authority
Valdosta Industrial AuthorityThe following is our honest responses to HUD and in response to the City of Valdosta’s 8th Year of responding to HUD CPMP Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. This includes Narrative Responses to CAPER questions in relations to and with the Consolidated Planning Regulations and questions from the general public as highlighted on page 5, paragraph 1.
CITIZENS VIEW POINT AND RESPONSES: {GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES AND JOHN ROBNISON}
after reviewing all previous CAPTER’S and the city’s responses to them, I commend the City of Valdosta for responding to HUD in an extremely professional manner on paper. One can see and feel the professional prowess involved in providing these answers the City of Valdosta has placed on paper over the city’s (long) historic past. However, when one looks deeper into the problems facing our beloved community, one will find the following to be as Paul Harvey would say the rest of——-the story!
GENERAL QUESTIONS: The City of Valdosta’s response on the issues remains the same as reported in many other CAPERS such as:
- City attained the goal of:
- # of homes was brought up to code.
- Worked in conjunction with——
- to train, resident information sessions were held that yielded nearly 30 attendees etc.
- Staff continues to…., Overall, the city is pleased with the second Consolidated Plan Submission.
- (3.a) The city hosted several Section 3 Information Sessions and will continue to provide more information to…. Work with local community and faith-based organizations to identify and address.
- I could go on and on with these highly professional lines of what some see as solutions to the real problems in the City of Valdosta, Georgia. However there is another side and forgive me for not going through the complete CAPER in the above manner. I am sure your time is valuable; therefore I will cut through the chase and provide the following in response to the City of Valdosta RESPONSES. Not only to this CAPER but others we have read and taken into consideration:
A recent meeting held in the Valdosta City Annex about Community Housing etc. perhaps exemplifies