Tag Archives: Law

Most corrupt state sells public education to Waltons

Amendment 1 results And it wasn’t even close: 2,152,091 to 1,526,959 (58.50% to 41.50%). Lowndes County went for the Atlanta-power-grab “charter school” amendment 18,606 to 17,619 (51.36% to 48.64%). The voters of Georgia just sold their children’s educational birthright for a mess of slick brochures.

Amendment 2 results The other ALEC amendment, on multi-year contracts, passed by an even wider margin: 2,241,621 to 1,275,809 (63.73% to 36.27%). Lowndes went for it 20,205 to 14,414 (58.36% to 41.64%).

Apparently Georgia voters will vote for any old thing that’s submitted to them as a constitutional amendment.

Esau sells his birthright for a mess of pottage Congratulations, ALEC and Wal-Mart! You’ve demonstrated money talks and slick brochures sell. This was even better for you than ALEC’s so-called anti-immigration law which the legislature passed and that actually devastates Georgia agriculture for the profit of private prison company CCA. This time you got the people of Georgia to vote directly against their own best interests to the benefit of school privatizing corporations in Virginia and Michigan!

Boo Georgia voters. You’ve just given the most corrupt legislature in the country the ability to commit you the taxpayers to contracts for decades. And you’ve just traded your children’s educational birthright for a mess of slick paper.

-jsq

Precincts on Election Day 2012 in Lowndes County, Georgia

Naylor There’s an election going on! Here are some pictures of precincts around Lowndes County today. I’ve seen no lines, and everything seems to be flowing smoothly. Except there are multiple reports that when people call the Board of Elections to ask where they vote they’re getting a “this number disconnected” message. Apparently there are ten phone lines down there but only three people answering them, and the phone is not rolling over properly. Given all the recent changes in precincts, this is a problem.

Ready for you to vote at Pine Grove Sara Crow voted at Pine Grove (Clerk of Court, Lowndes County) Around 1PM Sara Crow said she heard at Pine Grove that about 900 people had already voted there today.

Rainwater I’m not blogging much today because I’m out helping Gretchen for Lowndes County Commission Chair. If you’ve got something interesting, send it in; I’m checking in frequently.

Here’s a slideshow:

Everyone Matters, so go vote!
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 November 2012.

Everyone Matters, so go vote! Everyone matters, so go vote!

-jsq

Most Early Voting Ever in Lowndes County, Georgia

Backed up onto the street More people have voted early in Lowndes County than ever before, with cars often backed up onto the street waiting to get into the Board of Elections.

Eames Yates wrote for WCTV Friday, Record Breaking Number of Early Voters in Lowndes County,

More people have now voted early in Lowndes County than any time in history. Sherrie Luther was voter 22,00[0]… People waiting to vote making her ballot the one that broke the previous record set four years ago.

In the 2008 presidential election, there were 45 days of early voting in Lowndes County. In this year’s election there were just 16 days. Nevertheless the record was broken.

Sherrie was rewarded

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Fair bidding practices and community public input —Barbara Stratton

Received today on County trash plan already failing. -jsq

Yet another example of government contracting not following the fair bidding practices or allowing community public input. Even if you attend government meetings no bid information is made public & even if bids are referred to the amounts are always in those elusive "packets before you" that only the members have access to.

In a recent Hahira City Council meeting the city attorney ruled that the city council did not have to put out the garbage service for bids & that it did not even have to have a contract. As of December 31, 2012 the city collection services will not be under contract at all so who knows what the rates may be or if a lower bid would have saved citizens money?

Barbara Stratton I've been involved in government contracting for years & I can tell you that the recent path government bodies have endorsed is leading further & further away from the bidding procedures that were enacted to prevent good old boy politics & kick backs & is opening the door wide for public/private partnerships that never answer to the citizens.

The state attorney general's office which should regulate bidding practices will not interfere with county or municipal issues unless a citizen is willing to pay $500 to a lawyer to present the case to them. They justify this as catering to "home rule" but in actuality they are turning a blind eye because it is within their jurisdiction to rule on non-adherence to proper bidding practices.

If the state believes in "home rule" why is Governor Deal pushing a state charter school board amendment that will take away local rule? The state seems to pick & choose its standards.

-Barbara Stratton

-jsq

Vote No on Amendment 1 —LAKE WALB Ad

John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange The WCTV news report didn’t mention something else LAKE has done about the Tim Golden use of a LAKE video without the required attribution: LAKE paid for a TV ad on the same WALB market as Golden’s ad. That LAKE ad is still playing today: watch the news and football on WALB in Valdosta and Hahira.

Bikram Mohanty is a man of integrity running for Georgia state Senate.

Creative Commons Attribution license The incumbent Tim Golden’s attack ad misuses a video I took of Bikram Mohanty, without the credit its YouTube license requires.

Tim Golden voted to put on the ballot an amendment that could siphon off your local tax dollars for charter schools, even if your school board doesn’t want them.

Vote for integrity; vote for Bikram Mohanty for Georgia state Senate, Vote No on Amendment 1 on Nov. 6th and vote No for Amendment 1.

This WALB ad, like the WCTV news interview, is another rare instance of the LAKE politburo deciding LAKE would go on record as an organization, so I was speaking for LAKE.

TL;DR: If you want to use LAKE materials, cite the source.

-jsq

Tim Golden campaign admits using LAKE video without attribution —WCTV

Greg Gullberg WCTV WCTV got Tim Golden’s campaign on record admitting it used a LAKE video without attribution. Golden’s spokesperson claimed (erroneously) that they didn’t need to cite the source. As you can see below, that’s not what the license says.

Greg Gullberg wrote for WCTV last night, Valdosta Man Takes Legal Action Against GA Senator Over Use Of Video,

John Quarterman, Lowndes Videographer A videographer in Valdosta is taking legal action against Georgia District 8 State Senator Tim Golden.

John Quarterman says video he shot was used in an “Attack Ad” against Senate candidate Bikram Mohanty without his permission.

“A video posted on Youtube that clearly says that attribution is required. And there’s no attribution, no sources sighted, and he didn’t ask permission. That’s mis-use of our material,” Quarterman said.

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Calvert Cliffs nuke terminated

Yesterday on Nuclear Information and Resource Service’s website:

Update, November 1, 2012: UniStar is seeking review of decision by NRC Commissioners, Nuclear Energy Institute filed motion in support. NIRS and NRC staff support the ASLB decision. We will post the Commissioners’ decision when filed. However, today the ASLB officially issued an order terminating the Calvert Cliffs-3 licensing proceeding.

That continues what happened after EDF pulled out and neither Southern Company (SO) nor Duke would step in. Another one down, SO: watch out for your three-legged nuclear regulatory-capture stool at Plant Vogtle on the Savannah River!

-jsq

PS: Owed to Star Priscilla.

 

The power of going solar —John S. Quarterman

Solar panels on farm workshop --John S. Quarterman My op-ed in the VDT today. Remember to vote today or Tuesday. -jsq

This spring, the University at Buffalo turned on 750 kilowatts of solar electricity. Rutgers U., in New Jersey, installed 1.4 megawatts in 2009 and started on 8 MW this summer. Down here with a lot more sun, how about solar panels on VSU parking lots?

There’s plenty of private solar financing available. Also in New Jersey, a company installed 6 MW of solar on high school land and leased the power to the school supplying most of its needs win-win. You can go see a solar farm already working fine here, 200 kilowatts at Mud Creek Wastewater Plant. Why not do the same


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at Lowndes High School, where all the world on I-75 could see, attracting business to our community?

Why not?

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New solar in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida: where’s Georgia?

What are these new solar projects? Here are a few FERC lists, in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Florida, and there are more in Texas. Not so many in Georgia.

  • Zongyi Solar America’s 20 MW Tinton Falls Solar in Monmouth County, New Jersey, is online. Tinton Falls Solar is the largest photovoltaic project in New Jersey.
  • Southern Sky Renewable Energy LLC’s 5.6 MW Canton Landfill Solar Project in Canton County, Massachusetts is online. This photovoltaic project is built on the closed and capped Canton Landfill. It is the largest solar facility in New England. The electricity generated is sold to the Town of Canton under a long-term agreement.

New Jersey again! 20 Megawatts is even larger than the 6.1 MW at Lawrenceville School. And Massachusetts, even farther north. Let’s also look just south of us:

  • SunEdison’s 3.6 MW Phase 2 Lakeland Regional Airport Solar Project expansion in Polk County, Florida is online. The Lakeland Regional Airport Solar has a total capacity of 6.3 MW. It is the largest photovoltaic project in Florida. The electricity generated is sold under long-term contract to Lakeland Department of Electric Water Utilities.

Ah, but that’s illegal in Georgia! Here you can sell electricity only to your one and only monopoly utility, predetermined for you by the 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act. Maybe we should change that?

The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce helped promote that solar project. Maybe better PR than feuding with the newspaper?

Also only slightly farther south of us, Continue reading →

Wind and solar were all the new U.S. electric generation in September 2012

Wind and sun provided all the new electric power generation deployed in September 2012. As Moore’s Law continues to decrease solar prices, solar power gets deployed still more rapidly, and wind also gets installed on time and on budget. Meanwhile, nuclear takes a three-legged nuclear regulatory-capture stool and hardly any new reactors get finished anyway.

Stephen Lacey wrote for TP Climate Progress 24 October 2012, Wind And Solar Make Up 100% Of New U.S. Electricity Capacity In September,

September was tied for the hottest of any September on record globally. It was also a very hot month for renewable energy in the U.S. According to figures from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, wind and solar accounted for all new electricity capacity added to America’s grid in September.

New wind is up 25% Jan-Sep 2012 over the same period last year, and new solar is up 78%. For comparison, new coal is Continue reading →