Tag Archives: Lowndes County

AT&T says it invested $675 million in networks in Georgia first half 2013

Let’s compare T’s recent investments in various states. The telco and cableco incumbents played this game back in 2004, too, going on about how much they were investing, so the Valdosta City Council wouldn’t vote to do its own municipal network. What’s the plan to get fast (100Mbps+) affordable (less than $30/month) Internet access everywhere in Georgia?

Christopher Seward wrote for AJC 8 August 2013, AT&T: $675M invested in Georgia networks,

T 4G (not LTE) Coverage in Georgia AT&T said Thursday it invested more than $675 million to upgrade its wireless and wired networks in Georgia in the first half of the year.

The investments include new cell towers—base stations used to send signals to mobile phones—more antenna reach, improvements to its 4G LTE network for quicker data downloads and more Wi-Fi hotspots, the company said.

Here’s the actual T PR of 9 August 2013, AT&T Invests More Than $675 Million in Georgia Wireless and Wireline Networks, which has some details about cable, 4G LTE, etc., including this: Continue reading →

VDT links Plant Vogtle nuke cost overruns to Kemper Coal

Even the VDT has caught on to cost overruns for Kemper Coal and the new nukes at Plant Vogtle.

VDT posted an AP article 29 July 2013, Miss. deal may figure into Georgia nuclear plant, and Charlotte Observer posted it the day before, including Ray Henry as the author,

In Mississippi, the Southern Co. utility took financial losses when the cost of building a new power plant went over budget. In Georgia, another of the company’s projects is going over budget, but it has not yet taken a financial hit.

Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power promised utility regulators that it would charge its customers only for $2.4 billion in costs for building a coal-fired power plant in Kemper Country. Those customers will also have to pay off another $1 billion in bonds for the project, though the utility cannot make a profit off that borrowed money.

The utility’s deal in Mississippi has become a point of debate as Georgia regulators consider who should pay for the increased cost of building two more nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle (VOH’-gohl), southeast of Augusta. Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols said he wants Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power to consider a Mississippi-style deal here, and Georgia regulators are carefully tracking financial developments in Mississippi.

Echols said he was interested in the idea of a project spending cap.

“I’m sure when they made that deal they didn’t think they were going to over the cap, but they did,” Echols said.

Oh, come now, they went 26 times over budget last time. Why would anyone believe Continue reading →

Planning Commission on subdivision next to Moody AFB, REZ-2013-08 MFH Tract A @ GLPC 2013-07-29

Now you can see what they were looking at: those documents are on the LAKE website for REZ-2013-08 MFH, for a subdivision on Roberts Road immediately next to Moody AFB.

First County Planner Jason Davenport said a few words about the TRC recommendation.

Commissioner Ted Raker (Hahira) wanted clarification about this application would require additional changes to meet the requirements of the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC), specifically that it would not help with safety, fire, health, general welfare, etc. “In fact seven out of the eleven were negative.”

Davenport confirmed that that was correct, and that was staff’s analysis. Staff paid by your tax dollars, so you shouldn’t have to file an open records request and pay ten dollars when staff could just put it on the web with the GLPC agenda, which they also don’t now but could easily put on the web.

Nobody spoke for the request. Numerous people spoke in opposition.

Tom Kurrie said in 38 years of practicing law Continue reading →

Documents for REZ-2013-08 MFH Tract A on Roberts Road

What the TRC recommended, who the TRC is, the parcel numbers, the Planning Commission board packet, and other related documents are on the LAKE web server for REZ-2013-08 MFH Tract A, 0181 025B & 0181 027, Roberts Rd, 123.45 ac., MAZ I to Residential PD, 184 lots, County Utilities, the rezoning next to Moody AFB that has been withdrawn. The parcel numbers above were not in the GLPC agenda but are in the recommendations of the Technical Review Committee (TRC).

Lowndes County Planner Jason Davenport to TRC 23 July 103, July 29th GLPC Lowndes County Rezoning Update,

Good afternoon Planning Commissioners.

Based on the TRC meeting this morning please find this month’s TRC rezoning recommendations and current analysis below or attached to this e-mail. Continue reading →

Fukushima has contaminated its aquifer; what about our aquifer?

Fukushima is dumping radioactive water into its aquifer. Plant Hatch is the same design and sits above the Floridan Aquifer we drink out of. Can’t happen here? On 19 December 2001 TEPCO said there was no possibility of a tsunami large enough to knock out Fukushima Daiichi. Plant Hatch is the same design as Fukushima, and while a tsunami really is unlikely at Hatch, for all we know Hatch still has substandard fire protection and the risk if Hatch does go bad is like the risk if a French reactor goes bad: soil contamination the size of France and Germany (or larger than Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and north Florida) plus radioactive contamination of the aquifer we drink out of.

Harvey Wasserman wrote for the Progress today, The Fukushima Nightmare Gets Worse, Continue reading →

Proposed development next to Moody AFB has been withdrawn (REZ-2013-08)

Received in response to an open records request to Lowndes County, here is the developer’s withdrawal letter, and correspondence between Lowndes County Zoning and Planning with Moody AFB confirming that this was indeed REZ-2013-08 MFH Tract A on Roberts Road that was withdrawn. It seems the U.S. Air Force would also like to see GLPC minutes online; that request came from Deputy, Housing Division, Air Force Civil Engineering Center, located in San Antonio, Texas.. Also, doesn’t Georgia open meetings law require a summary of actions taken within a few days of a Planning Commission meeting? -jsq

Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 19:56:40 -0400
Subject: MAZ-1
From: Roger Sevigny <rsevigny@alleneng.net>
To: Jason Davenport <jdavenport@lowndescounty.com>, <bslaughter@lowndescounty.com>
Cc: Mike Fletcher <mfletcher@lowndescounty.com>, Joe Pritchard <JPritchard@lowndescounty.com>

Gentlemen,

I had no idea of the county anger with MFH LLC. I thought Continue reading →

EPA raising radiation limits? Comment period still open

Should we worry about those radioactive tuna off California? Should we raise radiation limits like EPA is proposing?

J. D. Heyes wrote for NaturalNews 30 May 2012, Fukushima radiation now detected in the U.S. food supply,

“I wouldn’t tell anyone what’s safe to eat or what’s not safe to eat,” Madigan told Reuters. “It’s become clear that some people feel that any amount of radioactivity, in their minds, is bad and they’d like to avoid it. But compared to what’s there naturally […] and what’s established as safety limits, it’s not a large amount at all.”

PR from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility 8 April 2013, WHITE HOUSE APPROVES RADICAL RADIATION CLEANUP ROLLBACK: Civilian Cancer Deaths Expected to Skyrocket Following Radiological Incidents,

The White House has given final approval for dramatically raising permissible radioactive levels in drinking water and soil following “radiological incidents,” such as nuclear power-plant accidents and dirty bombs. The final version, slated for Federal Register publication as soon as today, is a win for the nuclear industry which seeks Continue reading →

News media finally reporting Fukushima leaking radioactive water into ocean

It’s not just a storage tank, either; radioactive water has been leaking for more than two years, from the broken reactor buildings into groundwater and the Pacific Ocean. It’s not just a local Japanese problem: Fukushima is here.

The cautious version, by Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito, Reuters, today, Radioactive water seeping into Pacific from Fukushima is ’emergency,’ official says,

Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an “emergency” that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country’s nuclear watchdog said Monday.

This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority task force, told Reuters.

Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) are only a temporary solution, he said.

VOA News, also today, admits leaks have been going on for more than two years and nobody knows how to stop them, Fukushima Operator Under Fire for Radioactive Leaks,

Rianne Teule, a nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace International, says the issue is a serious environmental concern.

“Most of all it proves TEPCO is incapable of dealing with this situation and that the Japanese authorities should really step in and ensure that proper action is taken to stop the leaks,” said Teule.

But it is not clear what other actions TEPCO could take at this point. Former Nuclear power plant designer Masashi Goto worked on several projects with TEPCO.

“The situation is already beyond what Tepco can handle,” said Goto. “If Continue reading →

Path of proposed pipeline through Lowndes County

That pipeline that starts in PCB-polluted Anniston, Alabama, where would it cross Lowndes County?

Two routes, one north to south, another from Brooks County southeast to the Florida line.

Pipeline points with streets Pipeline points with imagery

On this google map, A is the land mentioned in Massive pipeline project may cross Lowndes, by Jason Schaeffer, VDT, 30 June 2013, B, C, and D several of the parcels listed in the letters Sabal Trail Transmission LLC sent Lowndes County (another is very near D). They all form pretty much a straight line north to south. The actual route probably Continue reading →

Expansion of Azalea City Trail for bicycles

More bicycling soon in Valdosta. Still no map of Azalea City Trail on Valdosta’s website that I can find. The picture of bicyclers comes from Parks and Rec. Heads-up by Corey Hull of VLPRA.

Valdosta PR 1 August 2013, Portion of Williams Street Closed for Improvements and Expansion of Azalea Trail,

On Monday, August 5, the City of Valdosta will begin construction on the Williams Street Improvements Project. The project, which spans from Ashley Street to Park Avenue, will include the reconstruction of the Williams Street centerline, new curbs and gutters at various locations, minor storm drainage repairs and a new asphalt surface.

The project also features the construction of a 10-foot wide sidewalk that will tie into the existing 2.7 mile Azalea Trail, which currently stretches from the Vallotton Youth Complex to the Craig Center on Gordon Street. This multi-purpose trail will soon after be extended to Woodrow Wilson Drive, providing additional recreational opportunities and a safe route for citizens traveling to the South Georgia Regional Library.

During the construction, Continue reading →