Many ways Valdosta can stop biomass

VDT says Only city can stop biomass. Well, maybe not only, but they could, by some of the things VDT suggested.

There are other things Valdosta could do, such as what the VSU Faculty Senate did: pass a resolution opposing biomass. Remember, the mayor of Gretna, Florida did that. If little old Gretna can do it, TitleTown USA can do it!

The Valdosta City Council could also hold an ethics investigation of their own appointees to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, on the topic of why those appointees are in favor of a project with demonstrated health hazards to the community.

Short of that, Valdosta could demand transparency from VLCIA: Continue reading →

Timing confusion —John S. Quarterman

Sent to all four Commissioners and the County Clerk Sunday evening:
Dear Commissioners,

There seems to be confusion as to how long citizens get to be heard. The policy says five minutes. Yet in at least a couple of recent examples, citizens were cut off at less than that,

4 and a half minutes for me on 28 June 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJseMtJvJE8

4 minutes 39 seconds for Jessica Bryan Hughes on 24 May 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZxieSV6Yz8

You can see the times on the YouTube videos.

This timing confusion may be because

Continue reading →

GA HB 87 ridiculed in California editorial

The Ventura County Star in California editorialized Sunday:
Laws sometimes have unintended consequences, and laws hastily passed in time of high political passions inevitably do.
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The Bleu Owl: LAKE meeting at the Bleu Pub Tuesday PM

We didn’t have a LAKE meeting last week due to the holiday, so we’re meeting this Tuesday, 12 July, after the Lowndes County Commission Meeting, so about 6:30 PM.

The Blue Pub is at 116 W Hill Ave in Valdosta, with the usual entrance being from the parking lot off of Toombs Street. Sign up in the facebook event or come as you are.

If you follow this blog, you know there are many local issues, most having to do with transparency. And that’s the big issue: lots of small groups going at individual issues, and not getting very far. Let’s talk about that.

-jsq

Three rezonings and three board appointments: Lowndes County Commission

Lowndes County Commission work session Monday morning and regular session Tuesday evening. Here’s the agenda:
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 11, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
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Lowndes County could stop biomass plant

VDT is not quite right when it says Only city can stop biomass. The Lowndes County Commission could do it.

According to Ashley Paulk, a few months ago VLCIA approached the Lowndes County government, asking them to ask VLCIA not to extend Sterling Planet’s contract for the biomass plant. Chairman Paulk refused to accept that hot potato and instead laudably told the community what was going on. Yet there was a bit of a good idea in what VLCIA was asking. Lowndes County could pass an ordinance such as VDT is suggesting banning the incineration of human feces.

Remember, Lowndes County rezoned the land for the plant. It’s time to review that rezoning to see if in light of new information it should be rescinded. According to the VDT, Wiregrass Power LLC supplied a fake timeline, so it wuld not be interesting to know what else they said wasn’t true?

For that matter, wasn’t the rezoning to build a certain biomass plant according to a certain plan which has no expired? Maybe the rezoning is already null and void and the Commission just needs to declare it so.

Short of that, the Lowndes County Commission could demand transparency from VLCIA:

Continue reading →

Only city can stop biomass —VDT

VLCIA has once again passed the buck on biomass, and the Valdosta City Council could pick it up and finally deal with it.

VDT editorial yesterday: after the

In a recent Valdosta council meeting, longtime councilman Sonny Vickers asked if there was any way to put the biomass issue to rest once and for all. The good news, Councilman Vickers, is that there is and it’s all in the city’s hands.

The Industrial Authority signed an agreement with Wiregrass Power LLC which allows the company to purchase the land from the Authority and proceed with the project on its own. Although the Authority hasn’t yet voted on the issue, it appears that they don’t have a choice and may be compelled to honor the agreement.

Compelled? Give me a break! VLCIA has an attorney, and one of its board members is an attorney. If they can’t find a way to break a land purchase contract because conditions have changed, they need new legal counsel.

Why didn’t they discuss that in their yet another special called meeting Thursday morning, in which they apparently discussed that offer from Sterling Planet to buy the proposed biomass plant site?

VDT continued:

And once the land is purchased, as long as the company complies with existing zoning laws, there is not a way to prevent the plant from being built.

Oh, but there is.

Continue reading →

This looks like gambling with my tax dollars. —Karen Noll

Received yesterday on “You can’t borrow yourself into prosperity.”:
The industrial authority’s spending of money seems to have no end. They don’t seem to budget appropriately or have a long range plan for the land they have acquired. Yet another industrial park when the Hahira park is still without any leasers.

This looks like gambling with my tax dollars. I don’t gamble with my own money for the reason that I am likely to loose. The board & staff feel no responsibility to the taxpayers. so, it is clear that they would ignore our demand for a no biomass clause and support of clean air for our families.

-Karen Noll

Another anti-HB 87 rally gets national coverage

AP story in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, Opponents of GA immigration law rally at Capitol:
Several hundred people, mostly labor union members, rallied Saturday at the Georgia Capitol against the state’s new law targeting illegal immigrants. It was the latest in a string of actions by opponents to protest the law.

The Rev. Al Sharpton told the crowd the law violates civil and human rights and will lead to racial profiling of U.S. citizens and others who are in the country legally.

“We’re going to stop it here before it goes any further to other communities,” the New York-based minister and civil rights activist said. “We cannot have a nation where, based on your language or your race, determines your rights. Your rights must be determined by the fact that we’re all equal.”

The Washington Examiner included a byline, by Kate Brumback, and an AP photo:
Ben Speight, a local Teamsters organizer, echoed those sentiments and said labor groups must get involved.

“Let’s get in the way of hate. Let’s build a social movement,” he said, to loud cheers. “Labor cannot be isolated. We’ve got to reach out to the community and stand up against hate.”

Weekly rallies; an interesting development on a subject that unites urban union members and rural farmers.

-jsq

Wiregrass Tech town hall on a soft skills/work ethics curriculum 8 August 2011

Found on the Lowndes County web pages:

Town Hall Meeting

with state and local leaders
Monday, August 8, 2011
6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College
Brooks Hall Conference Center
4089 Val-Tech Road, Valdosta

Give your input on a
soft skills/work ethics curriculum
required by House Bill 186 to help
prepare our future workforce for success and
help our businesses and industries to prosper.

Meeting will be moderated by Melvin Everson,
Executive Director of the Governor’s Office
of Workforce Development.

For directions or information please call 229-333-2121.