Content two months running
in VLCIA agendas!
And the potential project list is up from six to nine.
Here’s the agenda:
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial AuthorityContinue reading
Agenda, Tuesday June 18, 2013 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
Today is
Garbage Man Day,
at least as proposed by
“John D. Arwood, second generation garbage man and CEO of Arwood Waste”.
Hm, what does that
remind me of?
Let
me think….
Well, anyway, here’s
a local garbage man.
-jsq
Basing a local economy on attracting retirees may not work so well anymore. Fortunately, there are plenty of things we can do here to provide jobs for our graduates and to attract non-retirees.
Jim Galloway wrote for the AJC Saturday, Rural areas a less populated place as Baby Boomers shy away,
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau issued 2012 population estimates showing that, for the first time ever, the rural population of America has suffered a measureable drop.
“First time ever”? I guess Galloway has never heard of Continue reading
Not just
EDF and Calvert Cliffs
that would be enabled by
the current NRC rule-changing comment period.
In April
NRC denied a license to NRG and Toshiba Corp. (aka Nuclear Innovation North America, or NINA)
for two new reactors at the South Texas Project nuclear facility outside Bay City;
the same facility where STNP 2
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/2013/01/fire-in-texas-nuclear-reactor.html
had a fire in January.
The reason for denial was the same as for EDF and Calvert Cliffs: Continue reading
The NRC “upheld” license denial for the Calvert Cliffs nuke
with its fingers crossed, the very same day
directing staff to look into changing the requirement
by which it just ruled.
A requirement against majority ownership by a foreign firm,
in this case
Électricité de France (EDF),
whose flagship Cattenom reactor
caught on fire a week ago with smoke seen from miles away;
two people died at Cattenom in February.
You can comment on NRC’s proposed changes to let EDF
fire up Calvert Cliffs
online or in person June 19th in Maryland.
The same day
the NRC upheld denial of a license, 11 March 2013,
the same Commission
“directed the staff to provide a fresh assessment on issues relating to FOCD including recommendations on any proposed modifications to guidance or practice on FOCD that may be warranted.”
And the issue with Calvert Cliffs was that very same “foreign ownership, control, or domination (FOCD) of commercial nuclear power plants.”
This explains why Continue reading
A Japanese feed-in tariff apparently provoked an explosion of solar power, making Japan head up towards China and Germany in installed solar power. Where is the U.S.? Where is Georgia, with much more sun than Japan? Maybe there is something more to learn from Fukushima after all, SO CEO Tom Fanning.
Michael Fitzpatrick wrote for Fortune 13 June 2013, Japan: The world’s new star in solar power; China and Germany have new competition at the top,
According to a report by energy analyst IHS on Japan’s energy mix, Japan’s solar installations jumped by “a stunning 270% (in gigawatts) in the first quarter of 2013.” That means by the end of 2013 there will be enough new solar panels equal to the capacity of seven nuclear reactors. Such massive growth will allow Japan to surpass Germany and become the world’s largest photovoltaics (PV) market in terms of revenue this year.
PV cell production and shipment (GWp) in Japan: Total (orange), Export (green), and Domestic (blue)
しばとも
How did this happen? Continue reading
The county government’s attempt to put a local business out of business
is this 9:30 AM at the county palace this morning 14 June 2013.
Physical Address:
Courtroom 5D, Fifth Floor
Lowndes County Judicial Complex
327 N. Ashley Street
Valdosta, GA 31601
WALB’s earlier story said June 4th, but now it’s June 14th (today), because Lowndes County Attorney Walter Elliott is also an attorney for Turner County in the LOST case before the GA Supreme Court, and he was going to be in Atlanta arguing before the Supreme Court on June 4th. Funny how everything is done for the convenience of the county government, and not for its citizens. Maybe we should change that.
-jsq
Here’s the Georgia Supreme Court’s own video of
S13A0992 Turner County v. City of Ashburn et al.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013.
It starts with the attorney for Turner County, Walter Elliott
(who is also Lowndes County Attorney)
apparently arguing that the courts shouldn’t intervene because
only legislative bodies should decide on taxes.
The judges didn’t seem to understand his argument.
One judge wondered how disputes would be settled then. Elliott said the local elected bodies would decide or the tax wouldn’t be levied. Another judge pointed out that legislative bodies could delegate administrative functions. Later the same judge asked how to distinguish this case from a child custody case as far as criteria and a court being able to decide. Elliott claimed that was a judicial function, but allocating tax dollars was not. The judges didn’t seem to be buying the city attorney’s argument later, either.
Funny how the Supreme Court of Georgia videos its sessions, but the Lowndes County Commission does not.
My LTE in the VDT Thursday. I’ve added links to some of my inspirations. -jsq
Local leaders worked hard to get the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area declared. Why now are they acting like a Ludowici speed trap for local businesses?
The Lowndes County Commission shouldn’t act like a private business trying to exclude anybody it doesn’t like. State law says local governments are supposed to have open bids and public hearings. A promise (in the VDT) in March 2013 of a non-exclusive contract for trash collection turned into exclusive in October; at least two of the five bidders are now the same company; and the county is suing
a local business to the profit of a company owned by investors in New York City. Meanwhile, no public accounting has ever been seen of the former waste collection sites and no public hearing was held before they closed, despite state law.
Business exists to make a profit. Government exists to provide public services like law enforcement, water, sewers, roads, and yes, trash collection. Sure, balanced books are good. But money isn’t the main point of government: providing what the people need is, and the people didn’t ask the county to exchange the waste collection centers for lower prices that won’t last.
Businesses (except monopolies) have to Continue reading
“I hope you’ll consider a democratic process working into your rules,”
remarked a military veteran at
Tuesday night’s
Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.
After saying he was also concerned about how Deep South Sanitation is being treated, Gary Wright said:
There is a little bit of a lack of democratic process in your meeting groundrules. On your website I don’t know anything in there that said you have only thirty minute meetings for the entire thing. I don’t know if this happens whenever you have a meeting that’s only thirty minutes long; I’ve never been to one.
Their rules don’t say that, but it’s not surprising there is confusion, given Continue reading
