Tag Archives: WWALS

Videos: EMT, Cleaning, Bids, VLCIA bonds, Airport Authority, Opioids @ LCC 2018-05-22

By far the longest item was a special proclamation for EMT Services, at 4.5 minutes, followed by cleaning bids, which took almost three minutes for the Lowndes County Commission to reject.

In Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, Gretchen took 2 minutes to invite them to WWALS’ Wild & Scenic Film Festival, at Mathis Auditorium, Thursday, May 31, 2018.

WSFF WWALS Logo, Graphics

Almost everything else was read out and unanimously approved, except the one most contentious the previous morning, 7 b. Additional Deputy Coroner Request, was tabled.

Below are Continue reading →

Still inconsistent, but has speed humps: Lowndes County Thoroughfare Plan 2018

The little-known Lowndes County Thoroughfare Plan drives development in Lowndes County. With no public notice and no public hearing. the Commissioners voted on it Tuesday, April 10, 2018. Probably you only heard that would happen if you looked at their agenda late last week, or you happened to read what I wrote about it Monday.

Lowndes County Road Map

Obtained through open records request, it’s on the LAKE website now.

Like the 2009 plan, Continue reading →

Videos: Resolutions and Railroad crossing @ Hahira 2018-01-30

The Hahira City Council passed two resolutions at its February 1, 2018 Regular Session, one supporting GA HR 158 to stop state fee diversions, and another supporting the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail. Two days before I spoke about both and there was discussion at the Hahira Work Session of January 30, 2018.

Another item from that Work Session has unfortunately become big news: possibly closing the Lawson Street railroad crossing, where a man was killed February 5 when a Norfolk Southern train struck a dump truck, according to WTXL. WALB says, “The Georgia State Patrol identified the driver as Dexter Brown, 48, of Barnwell, S.C.”. Mayor Bruce Cain gave a statement to Hahira Today, which also included some discussion of that agenda item: Continue reading →

Resolutions against GA state fee diversions and for water trail @ Hahira 2018-01-30

Tonight, a resolution for Georgia HR 158 against state fee diversions, and another resolution supporting the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, at the Hahira City Council Work Session (and Thursday on the Regular Session agenda). Also, Terry Benjamin will get sworn in again as Councilman, District 1, the food truck zoning ordinance is back, there’s a RR crossing closure request, and a Recommendation to Raise Hahira Depot Rental Fee from $400 to $500, among other items on the agenda.

Hahira City Council
January 30, 2018
Work Session Agenda
6:00 pm- Hahira Courthouse

  1. Call to order Continue reading →

Videos: Coal ash, Calles, Val North PD Water Sewer, Habitat CDBG, Sewage Valves, Stone Creek Antenna, Sheriff, Alcohol @ LCC 2017-03-14

Not on the agenda: Coal Ash and Y-Lead from Hahira Middle School and Teen Explosion. Also Stone Creek train quiet hours.

In a fifteen minute item, the Commission approved a split rezoning for REZ-2017-02 Calles, and they approved the removal of conditions from REZ-2017-03 Val North Dr, Stewart Circle. They approved the CDBG Grant preparation, but they didn’t mention they can’t actually apply until the resolve their feud with the local cities about tax allocation.

Below are links to each LAKE video of the 14 March 2017 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. See also Continue reading →

America’s largest college mutual fund VA529 owns Spectra Energy, a stranded investment

Parents and grandparents buy 529 college savings plans as safe investments, so VA529 chose poorly in Spectra Energy, the very risky company behind the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline now plowing through the Floridan Aquifer drinking water of south Alabama, Georgia, and all of Florida and under the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers against growing opposition. Maybe you’d like to mention that to Mary G. Morris, the Chief Executive Officer of Virginia529 College Savings Plan, the biggest mutual fund investor in both Spectra Energy and in Enbridge, which is buying Spectra. There’s a handy VA529 contact form or you can call or write:

1-804-371-0766
Toll-Free: 1-888-567-0540
9001 Arboretum Parkway
North Chesterfield, VA 23236

Spectra is so risky it just sold itself so Enbridge would take on about $22 billion of Spectra debt. Debt especially racked up since Continue reading →

Sabal Trail protests continue –VDT 2016-09-23

Front page today in the newspaper of record in the largest city in the Suwannee River Basin: the WWALS protest against DAPL and Sabal Trail at the US 84 Withlacoochee River bridge last Saturday, between Quitman and Valdosta, GA.

Vdt Desiree Carver, Valdosta Daily Times, Friday, September 23, 2016, front page, Sabal protests continue,

The WWALS Watershed Coalition stood on the bridge between Brooks and Lowndes County Saturday to show solidarity with Dakota Access Pipeline opponents in Dakota and to continue its battle against the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline.

That’s the US 84 bridge over the Withlacoochee River, on the Continue reading →

Yoho hikes Sabal Trail pipeline route

Calling on Austin Scott GA-08 and Sanford Bishop GA-02 and other members of Congerss to also ask the Corps for a Supplementary Environmental Impact Study (SEIS) about Sabal Trail discrepancies. Same story appeared in the Suwannee Democrat yesterday.

Page 5A Thomas Lynn, Valdosta Daily Times, 17 May 2016, Yoho hikes Sabal Trail pipeline route,

LIVE OAK. Fin. — US. Rep. Ted Yoho hiked with around 30 opponents to the Sabal Trail pipeline through Suwannee River State Park’s Big Oak Trail in north Florida to look at sinkholes near the proposed route.

The morning hike was a result of Continue reading →

Moratorium on Palmetto Pipeline goes to GA Gov. for signature on HB 1036

We all won twice against invading pipelines this week in the Georgia legislature. Yes, pipeline companies, advocates of water, air, and property rights work together, too A smashing 34-128 defeat of Spectra Energy’s invading Sabal “Sinkhole” Trail natural gas pipeline, by WWALS, Flint Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Georgia Sierra Club, Georgia Water Coalition, SpectraBusters, and many others, wasn’t the only win for landowners, environmentalists, and the people in the Georgia legislature this week. Push Back the Pipeline‘s petroleum products moratorium passed the final legislative hurdle in the House and is on its way to Gov. Nathan Deal to sign. You know, if Deal had stood up for the people against Sabal Trail, too, its easements to drill under Georgia rivers including our Withlacoochee River and Okapilco Creek, would have been defeated in the State Land Commission of which he is chair before they ever got to the legislature. But we all won, and won again! Spectra, Kinder Morgan, and even ALEC lost this time.

Walter C. Jones, jacksonville.com, 23 March 2016, Bill to stall pipeline from Belton, S.C., to Jacksonville awaits Georgia governor’s signature: Georgia House adopted moratorium that would impose moratorium on licensing and permitting until July 2017, Continue reading →

Videos: Rivers and Pipeline, Rehab homes, LAMP Lease, Rezonings, Alcohol, public defender, paving Stafford Wright Road @ LCC 2016-02-09

Gretchen thanked them for putting most of the response to her open records request on CDs, shortly after they had said at their recent planning session that they wanted to promote interaction with the community. Still nothing from the county attorney about the Sabal Trail documents, and it’s been well over three days. I invited them on behalf of WWALS to a workshop and a movie; there’s more below. See also the contested rezoning 5.d. REZ-2016-05 Union Rd Subdivision, E-A to R-A, ~114 acres for more water issues.

Three citizens spoke explicitly about the pipeline, Jim Parker, Michael Noll, and Dr. Mario Bartoletti, as also noted in Jason Stewart, VDT, 11 February 2016, Sabal protests continue. As I noted in another post,

I go to a lot of county commission meetings in Georgia and Florida. Nowhere but Lowndes County do I see Continue reading →