Tag Archives: Law

Vermont Yankee may be next nuke to close



UBS predicts Entergy will close its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant soon:
that’s the same Entergythat couldn’t keep the power on during the SuperBowl
and that

can’t keep Pilgrim 1 nuclear reactor up in Massachusetts during a winter storm
(down 3 days now, for the third downtime in a month).
A few days later, UBS
set Entergy up on a quarterly earnings call to mention that
Vermont Yankee had already been taken off the New England energy
capacity auction, which would make it easy to replace.

San Onofre still down in California,

Dominion Power closing Kewaunee in Wisconsin,

NRC terminated Calvert Cliffs in Maryland,

Duke closing Crystal River in Florida,
and maybe Vermont Yankee next?
How about

we pass HB 267 to stop Georgia Power charging for cost overruns
for Vogtle 3 and 4 and see how long before Southern Company stops that project?

Andrew Stein wrote for vtdigger 6 February 2013 (updated 7 Feb),

In report, financial firm forecasts that Entergy may close Vermont Yankee,

In an investment research letter, the Swiss financial services
company UBS Securities anticipates Entergy Corp. will retire one of
its nuclear power plants in 2013, and it cites “Vermont Yankee
as the most tenuously positioned plant.”



UBS representatives met with Entergy’s new leadership team on Feb.
1, the same day Leo Denault became CEO and chair of the board for
the Louisiana-based company that operates the Vermont Yankee nuclear
power plant.

And that’s how a clean-broom new CEO often signals his intentions:
by bringing in outside experts to provide him cover for what he
already intends to do anyway.
And this new-broom CEO

is Entergy’s former Chief Financial Officer
who as CFO has repeated fiddled with Vermont Yankee to try to
make it less unprofitable.
What did those experts say?

Continue reading →

Ways to fix the trash problem

I commend Commissioner John Page for
his op-ed in the VDT today,


attempting to do what no other Commissioner has tried:
to explain the trash issue.
Indeed, like him, most of the people I talked
to while campaigning for Gretchen were for keeping
the waste collection centers open, and of those
the vast majority were willing to pay more,
which is the main reason the previous Commission
made a big mistake in closing those centers.
Unfortunately his letter seems to indicate nothing can be done.
Well, here are some things that can be done.

Let the contract lapse.

Commissioner Joyce Evans insisted on the contract
with the sole provider being only for one year.
Let it lapse after that year!

Publish the contract.

What’s in the contract?
How do we even know it’s for only one year?
The new Commission already had to

do over a decision of the previous Commission
(remove license fee from Sunday alcohol sales)
because the ordinance written up afterwards wasn’t what
they thought they passed.
Publish the contract and let everyone see!

Publish an accounting for the waste collection sites.

Commissioner Page wrote:

The county was losing hundreds of thousands
of dollars each year because the fees for the permits
were not bringing in enough money to fully fund
the sites.

How do we know that?

Continue reading →

A bill for renewal of a fee on hospitals to pay for Medicaid



The Georgia legislature showed some responsibility for public health Friday,
even though it did so through a shell game.

Gretchen noted that
Aaron Gould Sheinin and Misty Williams wrote for the AJC Friday,

‘Bed tax’ clears final hurdle,

The state’s ailing Medicaid program benefited from critical care
Friday, when the House overwhelmingly approved a bill that will make
way for renewal of a fee on hospitals.

Senate Bill 24 will transfer the power to levy the fee — seen
as necessary to avoid a loss of $700 million in funding for the
medical care program that serves low-income Georgians — from
the Legislature to the state’s community health care agency.

Continue reading →

Why must the small business owner be discarded? —Deep South Sanitation

Cary Scarborough, owner of a local sanitation business, previously

asked the Commission not to grant a monopoly on waste collection.
He was quoted in

today’s VDT article,
and he has elaborated on his company’s facebook page.

To the Commission,

13 November 2012:



Don’t do this to private enterprise, to an individual. If it’s done
to me, it will get easier later down the road to do it to someone
else.

In

the VDT:

“I have not been told by the County that what I’m doing is
illegal,” Scarborough said. “But I realize they’ve drawn
up an ordinance, and they’re probably going to say that it’s
illegal. If they come after me, I guess they have to come after
me.”

Scarborough believes that if the citizens aren’t required to
contract with Advanced Disposal, they are then allowed to choose.

“If the citizens can choose, why can’t they choose me?”
he said.

On Deep South Sanitation’s

public facebook page:

“REGARDING THE ISSUE OF THE TRASH ORDINANCE IN LOWNDES COUNTY”

Continue reading →

No choice on trash —”representatives from Lowndes County”



The VDT went deep under the Lowndes County government’s anonymous cover
for an interview with “representatives” who
confirmed that unincorporated residents have no choice
for trash collection other than

the monopoly the Commission granted
to a company from New York City.

Jason Schaefer wrote on the front page of the VDT today,

County trash ordinance goes into effect Friday:
VDT has Q&A with county leadership about new law, burning,

VDT:
Lowndes County has said residents aren’t required to sign a
service contract with Advanced Disposal. What other services are
there in the area, and do they include Deep South Sanitation in
Valdosta?

LC:
“According to the solid waste ordinance, Advanced Disposal
will be the only residential hauler licensed to serve unincorporated
Lowndes County. There’s been some confusion about trash collection
service in the city. This ordinance is just for unincorporated
Lowndes County, not for any of the cities.”

Maybe these were the same “representatives” who sent

an unsigned letter
saying there were 5,000 residents of unincorporated parts of
Lowndes County who didn’t already have curbside service, and they
have one choice now: the one-and-only
county-appointed purveyor of waste bins.
What could possibly go wrong?

Continue reading →

Get a job —Lowndes County to waste site workers

Continuing to ignore its responsibilities to protect public health, safety,
and well-being,
the Lowndes County government proceeded with its plan
to trash rural residents’ waste collection sites,
and told part time workers there to get a job.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT today,

Trash centers dumped:
Final week to make trips to county recycling centers,

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners near the end of 2012 voted


to approve a contract with Advanced Disposal to serve as the sole
waste company to conduct curbside trash pick-up in unincorporated
Lowndes County. Some citizens remain critical of the change in
service, which will cost $12.80 per month, and many are trying to
get their last loads to the collection/recycling centers before they
close….



Full-time employees at the recycling stations, which are already
employees of Public Works, said County Clerk Paige Dukes, will be
moved to different positions within the department. Part-time
employees will need to find new jobs.

Why might citizens be critical?

Continue reading →

I-75 as the Governor Melvin Ernest Thompson Memorial Highway?

Did you know the legislature is likely to rename much of Interstate 75
through Lowndes County in honor of a former governor,
and spend $4,500 for signs to do so?

The Valdosta Daily Times, Lowndes County


NOTICE OF ROAD FACILITY DEDICATION



Notice is given that there will be introduced at the regular 2013
session of the General Assembly of Georgia a resolution sponsored by
Senator Tim Golden, 121 State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia 30334, (404)
656-7580, to dedicate the portion of Interstate 75 in Lowndes County
from the West Hill Avenue exit to the North Valdosta Road exit as
the Governor Melvin Ernest Thompson Memorial Highway in honor of his
achievements, accomplishments, and contributions to Lowndes County
and to the State of Georgia; and for other purposes. The estimated
cost of such dedication is $4,500.00.

00046038

1/19/13

And such a bill has been introduced in the Georgia House (not the Senate) as

HR 47, Governor Melvin Ernest Thompson Memorial Highway; Lowndes County; dedicate,
sponsored by
(1) Shaw, Jason 176th, (2) Carter, Amy 175th, (3) Black, Ellis 174th,
(4) Sharper, Dexter 177th, (5) Houston, Penny 170th.

Here's the part that ties Gov. Thompson to here:

WHEREAS, Governor Thompson was instrumental in the success of the City of


Valdosta and Lowndes County, where his leadership as a founding member of
the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority spearheaded much of the
urban development and planning for Valdosta and the surrounding areas,
including the Azalea City Industrial Park; and

And establishing Industrial Parks was a cutting-edge idea: in the 1950s.

The bill adds:

Continue reading →

GA SB 51, The Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act




Georgia Senator Buddy Carter has introduced a Senate bill for the current
session of the legislature,

SB 51,
“The Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act of 2001”.
It attempts to fix
Georgia’s special solar financing problem,
the antique 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act.

Why 2001?
Apparently Buddy Carter has been introducing it every year since then.
Last year

Georgia Power’s disinformation campaign
nuked it when it was

SB 401.
Has the legislature gotten tired of Georgia Power and its parent the Southern
Company being
way late and overbudget on those new nukes?
Does the legislature want Georgia citizens to get the savings and job
benefits of

the fastest growing energy source in the country?
Will
GaSU help with SB 51, or only with GaSU’s attempt to become a solar
monopoly utility?
You can contact your legislators and tell them what you think.
Every one of them who

voted for Georgia Power’s stealth-tax rate hike for that nuke boondoggle
should vote for SB 51 to start getting Georgia on a clean path to jobs
and energy independence.

This bill is not perfect:
it counts

“generator fueled by biomass”
as

Continue reading →

Where is the speed zone ordinance? @ LCC 2011-01-10



Lowndes County won’t install speed control devices:
policy or ordinance or “decision”, by whom and when?
And where is the speed zone ordinance they passed in January 2011,
according to the

Work Session Minutes of 10 January 2011:

Adoption of the Revised Speed Zone Ordinance,

County Engineer, Mike Fletcher,
presented the Commission with a revised speed zone ordinance
in accordance with Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)
requirements. Mr. Fletcher added that 2 once approved, staff would send
the document back to GDOT for execution. Commissioner Evans questioned
the speed limit on Boring Pond Road. Mr. Fletcher explained that since
the road has been paved, the new ordinance will allow for the new speed
to be posted at 45 mph and 55 mph. Mr. Fletcher added that prior to the
road being paved, the speed limit was 35 mph. Commissioner Raines asked
if the document was a county ordinance. Mr. Fletcher replied yes, adding
while the county can make certain recommendations, GDOT prepares the draft
in accordance with their regulations.

Chairman Paulk asked Mr. Fletcher
to provide those in attendance with a short explanation of speed control
devices. Mr. Fletcher explained that in the 1990’s a previous Commission
made the decision that speed control devices would not be allowed
on county roads due to maintenance and safety issues. Mr. Fletcher
added that over time that decision has become policy.

Commissioner
Powell stated he had received a request from citizens to increase the
speed limit on portions of Old Clyattville Road to 55 mph. Mr. Fletcher
replied that due to the curb and gutter installed on the road, he would
not recommend it. Mr. Fletcher added he would be glad to check with GDOT
to see what the state’s recommendation might be. Commissioner Powell
asked Mr. Fletcher to move forward with contacting GDOT.

When “in the 1990’s” was this Commission decision made?
In which minutes can we see the vote and the text of this decision?

And how is policy made?
By the Commission in an open meeting, or by the staff
at some unspecified “over time”?

Plus, where is this speed zone ordinance?

-jsq

Special assessment: ordinance or policy? @ LCC 2011-01-10



Ordinance or policy?
In the

Work Session Minutes of 10 January 2011
the special assessment rate is set “in accordance with Lowndes County’s
financial policies”:

Special Assessment Rate for 2011,

Finance Director, Stephanie Black, presented the proposed special
assessment rate at 5.25% (two percent above prime), in accordance
with Lowndes County’s financial policies. Commissioner Raines asked
if the rate would fluctuate through the year in the event the prime
rate adjusted. Ms. Black answered that the county is required to set
the rate annually so the actual prime rate would not be considered
again until the beginning of next year.

Yet

yesterday she said:

“It’s just always been set at 2% above prime.
I believe it’s in your ordinance.”

Which is it, a policy or an ordinance?
Maybe it’s a policy set in an ordinance.
If so, which ordinance?
Is it one of the

dozen on the county’s website
or is it one of the many more that are not?

-jsq

PS: Owed to Jane Osborn.