On Monday, qualifying week begins for candidates interested in running
in the November election for
Valdosta Mayor, City Council At Large and
Council Districts 1, 3, and 5;
Hahira City Council Districts 2 and 3;
City of Dasher
Post 3 and 4;
City of Lake Park Mayor and four council
positions;
Remerton Mayor and five council seats;
Valdosta School Board
Districts 4, 5, and 6.
The VDT points out that city elections usually don’t get much turnout,
but this year there are two referendum questions on the ballot that
may cause record turnout.
They are:
Continue reading →
After the County Commission meeting today, Chairman Ashley Paulk
and I were chatting and he mentioned that starting at the next meeting
everyone with a camera would be moved to the back of the room.
Last week, the ACLU of Georgia submitted
comments
to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to ask that the agency not renew its
contract with Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) for operation of
the McRae Correctional Facility.
McRae is located in Telfair County, Georgia. The prison is owned by CCA,
which purchased it in 2000. McRae currently houses a population of low
security, adult male, primarily non-citizen prisoners. The contract
between CCA and the BOP is set to expire in November 2012.
Why? Lack of medical treatment for prisoners, among other reasons.
For example:
Continue reading →
The Georgia Solar Energy Association is proud to present the Southern
Solar Summit 2011 as we bring together an outstanding group of industry
leaders to demonstrate that Solar Works in Georgia though job creation,
economic development and energy security. You are cordially invited to
attend this FREE session to inform and prepare you for the expansion
of solar energy in Georgia. Agenda: 8:15-8:30A Networking & Welcome
by Joy Kramer, GSEA Director- Sponsored by Suniva and Power Partners
Solar. 8:30-9:30A Solar 101. A review of solar thermal and solar
phovoltaic systems for utility-scale and rooftop applications. Speakers:
Lee Radney, MAGE Solar Deborah Purcell, Power Partners Solar 9:45-10:45A
Financing Solar Projects: A discussion of the tools and methods that get
Wall Street investors interested in Georgia solar projects and new ideas
for generating revenues for County and school administrators. Speakers:
Lee Peterson, Reznick Group TBD 11:00-12N The Economic Impact of Solar
Energy in Georgia. A panel discussion on the skilled jobs and revenues
that can be created by supporting an industry that is growing at an
annual rate of 26%. Speakers: Tim Echols, Public Service Commissioner,
Pete Marte, Hannah Solar, Joy Kramer, GSEA
Snake Nation Decision, Lowndes County Commission, Tonight 5:30PM
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 August 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Call to Order
Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
Minutes for Approval
Work Session — August 8, 2011
Regular Session — August 9, 2011
For Consideration
Change Order to Snake Nation Road Contract
Assistance to Firefighters Grant
James Road Water Main Repair
Capacity Fee Waiver for Country View Mobile Home Park
SCADA Upgrade
USGS Funding Agreement for Hwy 122 Stream Gauge
Declaration of Merchandise as Surplus — Fire Department and Public Works
Approval of TAN and Resolution
Bids
Training Tower for the Fire Department
Asphalt Surfacing at Naylor and Clyattville Parks
Striping and Signage on 29.34 Miles of Roadway
Reports-County Manager
Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
Pending approval from Judge Stephen Schuster, the first meeting of Cobb
EMC members in nearly three years will convene at 10:15 a.m. Sept. 17.
At that meeting, members will decide two issues: whether to allow voting
by mail-in ballots at future elections, and whether to amend the electric
cooperative’s bylaws to limit director compensation to a daily rate
while also prohibiting future directors from being paid retirement
benefits. Previously vested benefits would not be affected.
On March 11, a 39-year-old man held in detention at the Stewart Detention
Center, a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in
southwest Georgia, died at a hospital in Columbus.
That’s in Lumpkin, west of Americus, south of Columbus.
To this day, the immediate cause of Roberto Martinez Medina’s death
remains unclear (a press release pronounced the cause of death as
“apparent natural causes”).
Last month, Leonard Odom, 37, died at the Wheeler County Correctional
Facility in south-central Georgia.
That’s in Alamo, GA, between Macon, Tifton, and Savannah.
Both facilities are operated by Corrections Corp. of America, which
has a contract with the Department of Homeland Security to operate the
Stewart center and one with the Georgia Department of Corrections to
operate the one in Wheeler County.
Attention to weak students.
Status and autonomy for teachers.
Educators running the show, not business people.
All this creates a real educated workforce.
“Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be taught
by stupid teachers,” Louhivuori said, smiling. “We try to catch the
weak students. It’s deep in our thinking.”
So what do they do? Drill the weak students on test questions?
Nope:
Continue reading →
If the projects are built, in just over a decade passengers could
be riding trains from Atlanta to Cobb County or to Emory University,
or traveling new, swifter ramps through the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange,
or finding countless arterial roads wider and less clogged, from Henry
County to Cherokee County and all points in between.
Why, in the second decade of the 21st century,
do we continue with a failed traffic model from the
middle of the 20th century?
Seems to me traffic safety should be
pertinent and should include pedestrians.
and instead of
more unsafe roads
making life unpleasant and unsafe for communities,
we could go for
roads that serve communities.
Olens unveiled news of the hearing by the House Judiciary Committee
while he was participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Atlanta
Press Club.
Members of the club offered him suggestions on how to broaden the law
to help them get documents from government agencies.
One reporter even suggested extending the open-records requirements
to the governor. Current law exempts the governor’s office, but recent
occupants have chosen to voluntarily comply in most cases.
Olens said he had to be realistic.
“The problem is I need a majority in the House and a majority in the
Senate, and I need to get the bill passed,” he said. “Everyone should
be subject to the Open Records Act … but you have to make a decision
if you want to improve the law or you just want to whine.”
On Monday, qualifying week begins for candidates interested in running in the November election for Valdosta Mayor, City Council At Large and Council Districts 1, 3, and 5; Hahira City Council Districts 2 and 3; City of Dasher Post 3 and 4; City of Lake Park Mayor and four council positions; Remerton Mayor and five council seats; Valdosta School Board Districts 4, 5, and 6.
After the County Commission meeting today, Chairman Ashley Paulk
and I were chatting and he mentioned that starting at the next meeting
everyone with a camera would be moved to the back of the room.
