Category Archives: Transparency

Tonight: Planning Commission Agenda @ GLPC 2012-05-21

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) meets tonight. Here’s the agenda.

The agenda was faxed by GLPC Chairman Bill Slaughter to Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, at her request; GLPC itself still doesn’t have agendas online, ten months after SGRC stopped posting them.

There’s one rezoning case on the agenda, a county case:

2. REZ-2012-09 John A. Copeland
Property Location: Loch Laurel Road, Valdosta, Ga
Request to rezone ~5 acres from R-A (Residential Agriculture) and R-1 (Low-Density Residential) to C-C Crossroads Commercial)

According to the Lowndes County Tax Assessors database, James R Copeland and Elizabeth J. Copeland own two lots on Loch Laurel Road with Situs/Physical Address of 0 Loch Laurel Road, one of 1 acre and the other of 8.67 acres, and another one mostly surrounded by those two at 3248 Loch Laurel Road of 1.5 acres. It will be interesting to see how those plots add up to about 5 acres. Whatever GLPC recommends, final action is scheduled for the Lowndes County Commission at its 12 June Regular Session.

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Cancelled: both work session and regular session of Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2012-05-21

No county commission meetings this week.

According to LowndesCounty.com,

Current Events

May 21 Lowndes County Work Session CANCELLED
May 22 Lowndes County Regular Session Meeting CANCELLED

Why? Follow either of those links, and all it says is:

For questions please call County Clerk, Paige Dukes, at 229-671-2400.

The next meetings on their calendar are work session Monday 11 June 2012 and regular session Tuesday 12 June 2012.

-jsq

Quitman 10+2 petition

Funny how only the actions of the black activists who won school board seats got investigated by the GBI, and only they were charged with anything, despite a number of irregularities among the losers. If that doesn't seem right to you, this may be of interest: U.S. Justice Department – Eric Holder: Identify prosecutorial misconduct/voter suppression in Quitman 10 +2 case

Many voters in Brooks County are older African-Americans who are senior citizens in their 60's, 70's and 80's that witnessed first-hand the politics of Jim Crow in the last century, but had to deal with GBI agents coming to their doorsteps of their small rural town with guns strapped to their side asking questions. Some were voting for the first time or the first time in years in 2010, but there has been an ongoing effort by Republicans to present more obstacles and/or threats to eligible voters so they would be discouraged not to vote.

I think the Quitman 10+2's real crime was very simple: winning. Even worse, they used an innovative strategy (absentee ballots) for an end-run around their opponents. If that school board election in Brooks County had been a football game, the Q10+2 would be hailed as heroes by the local and state press for winning the game. Why is winning an election by legal means not accorded the same treatment?

-jsq

2006 and 2011 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, Valdosta

What’s this AI everyone is talking about related to fair housing? Now you can see for yourself.

Copies of the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, City of Valdosta, are now available for 2006 and December 2011 on the LAKE website. I retrieved both of them today from Document Central on the the City of Valdosta’s Document Central. It is my understanding that the 2006 version has been there for some time, and the 2011 version was put there today. The 2011 version is a draft that has not yet been approved by HUD.

I have not read either version of the document yet, so I don’t have much to say about it yet. The point is that you can read it yourself. I’ve also pulled all the 2011 maps into separate web pages to make them easier to work with. No doubt the Valdosta City Council and staff, as well as the community steering committee formed by Council James Wright would be interested in feedback. Or you can comment on this post.

-jsq

How Much Wind and Solar Capacity Would a Billion Dollars Buy?

Those cost overruns so far on the new nukes? How much solar and wind could that money buy?

John Hanger wrote on his Facts of the Day today, $913 Million Construction Overrun Hits Georgia New Nukes: How Much Gas, Wind, Solar Capacity Would That Buy?

Comparing the Vogtle initial $913 million cost overrun to the capital costs of gas, wind, and solar plants show just how big these cost overruns can be. The Vogtle $913 million cost overrun by itself could have paid for approximately 1,000 megawatts of natural gas generation; 450 megawatts of wind power; and 330 megawatts of solar power.

Don’t forget that’s just the first cost overruns on those nukes. When the current Plant Vogtle nukes were built, there were supposed to be four at a cost of $660 million; only two were built, at a cost of $8.87 billion. That’s a cost overrun of 1300%. How much solar and wind could $8 billion buy?

Moreover, gas, wind, and solar generation could be up and running in 3-years or less from the first day to the last day of development, as opposed to the 10 years or more needed to build a nuclear plant.

Austin Energy’s new 30 MW solar farm, for example, approved beginning of 2009, opened end of 2011, and cost less than originally projected.

Oh, and solar doesn’t leak radioactive tritium like Plant Hatch and won’t get shut down two days after an NRC clean bill of health like Plant Vogtle.

-jsq

 

Cost overruns already starting for Georgia Power’s new nukes

Remember how Georgia Power customers get to pay for cost overruns on the new nukes? Well, the overruns have already started.

JoAnn Merrigan wrote for WSAV 15 May 2012, Environmental Groups: Plant Vogtle Reactors Almost One Billion Over Budget,

A group of nine national environmental groups says that the two new nuclear reactors being built at Plant Vogtle (near Waynesboro in eastern Georgia) are over budget by up to $1 billion dollars. The opponents say Georgia Power’s share of the cost overruns is currently $400 million and that may cost ratepayers as well as taxpayers who are guranteeing loans in the billions of dollars.

The nine environmental groups, Friends of the Earth, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Center for a Sustainable Coast, Citizens Allied for Safe Energy, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions, NC WARN, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Nuclear Watch South, are also suing:

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Citizen Right Denied Quitman-Brooks County Board of Education —George Boston Rhynes

Received today. -jsq

On May 8th, 2012; at 6:00 PM, I (GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES) was denied the right to address the Quitman-Brooks County School Board of Education. Please not that this was at a public meeting in the State of Georgia under our form of government.

May 14, 2012
George Boston Rhynes
(229-251-8645)
5004 Oak Drive
Valdsota, Georgia 31605


TO: Brooks County School Board of Education
     &nbsp(229-263-7532)
      President Brad Shealy
       School Superintendent Debra H. Folsom
       Board Member Robert Lawrence Cunningham III
       Board Member Mr. Wayne Carroll Jr.,
       Board Member Mr. Gerald Golden
       Board Member Mr. Joseph Luke Mitchell
       Board Member Ms. Dennis Monroe
       Board Member Mr. Frank Thomas
       PO Box 511
      1081 Barwick Road
      Quitman, Georgia 31643

Moreover, my request was to speak before all members of the school board, parents, local press and others that attends such meetings. However, after three e-mails and several phone calls I was denied this right in the State of Georgia; as a Brooks County Family tax paying property owner.

I served my country for over 20 years and have been involved in civil and human righs since 1975 but have never seen such ill treatment of a United States Citizen wherein it is so diffuculy to address ELECTED and/ SELECTED officials within a state. I did not have this much trouble addressing a military school in Ramstein, Germany.

Again my family owns property in Brooks County (43 acreamust) as you will hear on the video below. However this did not matter to the Brooks County President Brad Shealy and those that get requests to address the school board in Quitman and Brooks County Georgia.

I can (only) imagine

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Who voted for Georgia Power’s nuke rate hike (CWIP)?

Who voted for that Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery Rider that appears on your Georgia Power bill, charging you for electricity you won't get from the new plant Vogtle nukes for years?

Project Vote Smart has lists of Yeas and Nays for that Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) charge, which was in 2009’s SB 31, "Energy Rate Increases to Finance Nuclear Power Plant Construction".

Compliments to all who voted Nay to this stealth tax that is slowing down deploying renewable energy in Georgia, delaying the solar and wind clear path to jobs and energy independence. Georgia Power customers can also vote against CWIP with their bill payments.

First let's look at our local delegation:

DistrictWhoPartyVoted
8Sen. Tim GoldenTurncoatYea
174Rep. Ellis BlackTurncoatYea
175Rep. Amy CarterTurncoatYea
176Rep. Jay ShawDemocraticYea

Every one of our local delegation voted for the CWIP rate hike. Here "Turncoat" as a party indicates they were Democrats at the time, but since got re-elected as a Democrat in 2010 and then became Republicans after the election. Democrat Jay Shaw did not run again. His son Jason Shaw ran as a Republican and won. Project Vote Smart is a bit confused by that, and by the party switching, so I've corrected those points in these lists.

Why do the Yeaers want to let Georgia Power charge its customers for electricity they won't get for years, if ever?

Also, notice every Democratic and one Republican co-sponsor of SB-31 is out of office.

Don Balfour (GA – R)
J.B. Powell (GA – D) (Out Of Office)
Chip Rogers (GA – R)
Mitchell W. 'Mitch' Seabaugh (GA – R) (Out Of Office)
Ed Tarver (GA – D) (Out Of Office)
Thorborn 'Ross' Tolleson Jr. (GA – R)

Hm, maybe voting for that nuke boondoggle wasn't good politics….

Here are the complete lists of votes on SB 31 for Senate and House. In the House list there's former Speaker Glenn Richardson not voting! And now he and former Governor Roy Barnes are suing Georgia Power about CWIP.

-jsq

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Industrial Authority next Tuesday @ VLCIA 2012-05-22

VLCIA has announced a meeting date change (to next Tuesday) in multiple places, and has already posted an agenda!

According to their facebook site and meetings webpage:

Notice: The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Regular Meeting has been rescheduled for the month of May. The meeting date will be Tuesday, May 22, 2011, 5:30 P.M. in the Industrial Authority Conference Room.

That’s at 2110 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA.

Their facebook page has a new logo on it (shown on the right above). Also this snazzy cover image:

Both the new logo and the cover image are legible (unlike their old swoosh logo, still on their website, and seen to the right here). And the cover image has useful information, like what VLCIA is about and how to reach them!

However, I note that of those

3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VALDOSTA BUSINESS
  1. Major Transportation Network
  2. Competitive Incentives
  3. Pro-Business Attitude

none of them is clean solar energy or fast Internet access. (Also, why are they SHOUTING?)

Here’s the agenda, which is back to their old content-free style. They don’t even say what the executive session is for. (Is it legal for them not to say?)

-jsq

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Agenda
Tuesday, May 22, 2012 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
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Hospital Authority unaudited finances

If the hospital authority had a web site, I suppose this is the type of information that could be provided to the public so that they could know about the operations and financial health of the institution.

-gretchen

On South Georgia Medical Center letterhead 8 May 2012, CERTIFICATE OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

I, Greg S. Hembree, the Chief Financial Officer of the Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County, Georgia D/B/A South Georgia Medical Center, have reviewed the attached unaudited balance sheet, unaudited statement of revenues and expenses, and unaudited statement of cash flows for the six month period ending March 31, 2012, and to the best of my knowledge the statements present fairly the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the Authority.

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