I have been out of town. I was glad to be back home until I read the list of City Council Candidates.
Showing posts with label random thoughts and reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random thoughts and reflections. Show all posts
Glad to be home
Sunset Over Fairmont Street
I have been out of town. I was glad to be back home until I read the list of City Council Candidates.
I have been out of town. I was glad to be back home until I read the list of City Council Candidates.
Thanks News and Record
-
The N&R finally gets it ! ! !
The new 2007 Election Blog is publishing questions and answers from local candidates.
I Hope this information will be published in the print editions, also.
I was not thrilled with some of the questions (and some of the answers), but I appreciate the fact that the candidates' answers, in their own words, are finally being published. This is a much better way to inform voters than the old way of publishing filtered information.
Editorial Opinions are fine, but should not be included in news articles about candidates, either intentionally or unintentionally.
See posts from October, 2005 and here
The N&R finally gets it ! ! !
The new 2007 Election Blog is publishing questions and answers from local candidates.
I Hope this information will be published in the print editions, also.
I was not thrilled with some of the questions (and some of the answers), but I appreciate the fact that the candidates' answers, in their own words, are finally being published. This is a much better way to inform voters than the old way of publishing filtered information.
Editorial Opinions are fine, but should not be included in news articles about candidates, either intentionally or unintentionally.
See posts from October, 2005 and here
A Beautiful Sunday Morning
-----
Hey Greensboro,
Enjoy Life, Look Outside, Smell the Air, Listen to the Birds, Watch the Squirrels, Smell the Flowers, Feel the Sun, Walk, Run, Sing, Find a Shady Tree, Rest, Think, Thank your Maker, Do Something to Help Someone other than yourself.
Enjoy what we have in Greensboro because if we keep allowing it to be destroyed by selfishness, it will not be here for our children. Not every new idea is good. Not every change is good. Bigger is not always Better.
I believe that Greensboro can move forward without destroying the good things of the past.
Hey Greensboro,
Enjoy Life, Look Outside, Smell the Air, Listen to the Birds, Watch the Squirrels, Smell the Flowers, Feel the Sun, Walk, Run, Sing, Find a Shady Tree, Rest, Think, Thank your Maker, Do Something to Help Someone other than yourself.
Enjoy what we have in Greensboro because if we keep allowing it to be destroyed by selfishness, it will not be here for our children. Not every new idea is good. Not every change is good. Bigger is not always Better.
I believe that Greensboro can move forward without destroying the good things of the past.
Election Sign
-----
I miss the sign that used to stand in a yard on North Mendenhall Street in Greensboro at election time.
It was hand lettered and It read:
DON'T RE-ELECT ANYBODY ! ! !
I miss the sign that used to stand in a yard on North Mendenhall Street in Greensboro at election time.
It was hand lettered and It read:
DON'T RE-ELECT ANYBODY ! ! !
An Amazing Accomplishment
-----
LONG LIVE THE PRINTED NEWSPAPER ! ! !
I am a little late to the conversation with Joe about the Printing Press. I am obviously a bit older than he because my first job at a newspaper was as an apprentice typesetter. I will not mention the year, but X-acto knives were not part of the composing/layout process. For years the presses could be seen from the street outside the building through large windows.
Linotype machines clicked away in the composing room as they dropped one slug at a time. A heavy piece of lead called a pig hung on the machine and melted a little as each letter was formed. Galley proofs were made on a hand press which was inked by hand and then a sheet of newsprint was placed over the type and a roller was passed over it to make an ink impression. The proofs were read and then corrections were made by hand, one line at a time. Because the type was not "read right" on the lead galley, the dump man (who made the proof pages and then corrected the galleys) had to read the lead upside down and backward. The make-up people put the lead galleys together to form individual pages. They worked on heavy wheeled tables called turtles. What a different world.
Headlines were set by hand, one letter at a time. I think that typesetting is where the old saying "mind your p's and q's" originated.
One of the good things about modern cold type composition is that I can't remember seeing a corrections line put in upside down. This happened frequently with the old lead corrections. Who remembers that?
It is always amazing to me that an entire newspaper can be written, edited, composed, proofed, printed and delivered every single day. What an accomplishment. One of the papers where I was employed published 5 editions a day. They were shipped all over the state. Long live the printed news ! ! !
LONG LIVE THE PRINTED NEWSPAPER ! ! !
I am a little late to the conversation with Joe about the Printing Press. I am obviously a bit older than he because my first job at a newspaper was as an apprentice typesetter. I will not mention the year, but X-acto knives were not part of the composing/layout process. For years the presses could be seen from the street outside the building through large windows.
Linotype machines clicked away in the composing room as they dropped one slug at a time. A heavy piece of lead called a pig hung on the machine and melted a little as each letter was formed. Galley proofs were made on a hand press which was inked by hand and then a sheet of newsprint was placed over the type and a roller was passed over it to make an ink impression. The proofs were read and then corrections were made by hand, one line at a time. Because the type was not "read right" on the lead galley, the dump man (who made the proof pages and then corrected the galleys) had to read the lead upside down and backward. The make-up people put the lead galleys together to form individual pages. They worked on heavy wheeled tables called turtles. What a different world.
Headlines were set by hand, one letter at a time. I think that typesetting is where the old saying "mind your p's and q's" originated.
One of the good things about modern cold type composition is that I can't remember seeing a corrections line put in upside down. This happened frequently with the old lead corrections. Who remembers that?
It is always amazing to me that an entire newspaper can be written, edited, composed, proofed, printed and delivered every single day. What an accomplishment. One of the papers where I was employed published 5 editions a day. They were shipped all over the state. Long live the printed news ! ! !
They Keep on Hanging
_____
Gail Feddish states in a letter to the editor of the News & Record that Illegally posted signs should be taken down.
http://blog.news-record.com/staff/letters/
Ms. Feddish is not the first to complain about these signs. Ernie Schiller complained in a letter to the editor last week. There have been other letters and blog comments for several years, including one in July, 2005 from D. M. Mitchell.
How many letters, phone calls and complaints will it take to bring these sign posters to justice? They are violating the laws of NC, of Greensboro, and the laws of good taste.
They are littering and should be stopped. Just taking down the signs is not enough. Also people (including political candidates) who put non-removable sticky signs on stop signs and other public property should be stopped.
Ms. Feddish says "So, neighbors and neighborhoods, take charge."
This is not as easy as it seems. Many of these signs are too high to remove without a boost. And many are posted too close to moving traffic to be removed safely by citizens.
See previous posts here:
http://greensboropeerpressure.blogspot.com/2005/07/ugly-illegal-signs.html
And here:
http://greensboropeerpressure.blogspot.com/2005/07/illegally-posted-signs.html
Gail Feddish states in a letter to the editor of the News & Record that Illegally posted signs should be taken down.
http://blog.news-record.com/staff/letters/
Ms. Feddish is not the first to complain about these signs. Ernie Schiller complained in a letter to the editor last week. There have been other letters and blog comments for several years, including one in July, 2005 from D. M. Mitchell.
How many letters, phone calls and complaints will it take to bring these sign posters to justice? They are violating the laws of NC, of Greensboro, and the laws of good taste.
They are littering and should be stopped. Just taking down the signs is not enough. Also people (including political candidates) who put non-removable sticky signs on stop signs and other public property should be stopped.
Ms. Feddish says "So, neighbors and neighborhoods, take charge."
This is not as easy as it seems. Many of these signs are too high to remove without a boost. And many are posted too close to moving traffic to be removed safely by citizens.
See previous posts here:
http://greensboropeerpressure.blogspot.com/2005/07/ugly-illegal-signs.html
And here:
http://greensboropeerpressure.blogspot.com/2005/07/illegally-posted-signs.html
Kitchen Reflections
-----
Our dishwasher hasn't been on it's best behavior for several days. Lowell and I have discussed it, cleaned it, talked to it, taken it apart and inspected everything we could see. We can't seem to find out exactly why the darn thing is leaking water. The leak seems to be coming from below the door on the front of the machine.
Oh well, we will figure it out one of these days or call in an expert. I like having a dishwasher.
When we moved into our house in 1971, it was equipped with an original 1920's style kitchen. I refused to move into the house until there was a new dishwasher in that old kitchen. We got a convertible (portable) dishwasher but the kitchen remains much as it was then. (We did have the whole house re-wired and we took up the linoleum and had the wood floor finished). The original old iron sink is weary and worn, but I love the wide well with a drain board on each side. A double sink would be nice, but I'd have to give up the drain boards and the wonderful ambience of an old fashioned kitchen.
One of the walls still has a vent to a chimney (covered with a flat plug-in) for a wood stove. An old rusty cook-stove is hidden in the back of our garage and another one makes a fine flower pot on the back porch.
Our kitchen is equipped with an old oak Dutch-style cabinet with a enamel finished pull-out shelf and a cutting board. It came from my Great Aunt Nina's house. There are no under-counter cabinets, because there are no build-in counter tops.
I have worn out several electric ranges over the years, including one of the first Liton combination smooth-surface cooktop, conventional oven, microwave combinations that we got in 1975 and several dishwashers (all convertible types) that have never been built in.
But, back to the dishwashing. I don't really mind washing dishes. Now that our five children are grown and have their own houses, cooking and washing up for 2 is not much of a chore.
We will get the dishwasher fixed or replaced; because, for one thing, if I didn't have it I would MISS THE VERY BEST THING ABOUT A DISHWASHER. It is a marvelous place to hide unwashed dishes and cookware.
Our dishwasher hasn't been on it's best behavior for several days. Lowell and I have discussed it, cleaned it, talked to it, taken it apart and inspected everything we could see. We can't seem to find out exactly why the darn thing is leaking water. The leak seems to be coming from below the door on the front of the machine.
Oh well, we will figure it out one of these days or call in an expert. I like having a dishwasher.
When we moved into our house in 1971, it was equipped with an original 1920's style kitchen. I refused to move into the house until there was a new dishwasher in that old kitchen. We got a convertible (portable) dishwasher but the kitchen remains much as it was then. (We did have the whole house re-wired and we took up the linoleum and had the wood floor finished). The original old iron sink is weary and worn, but I love the wide well with a drain board on each side. A double sink would be nice, but I'd have to give up the drain boards and the wonderful ambience of an old fashioned kitchen.
One of the walls still has a vent to a chimney (covered with a flat plug-in) for a wood stove. An old rusty cook-stove is hidden in the back of our garage and another one makes a fine flower pot on the back porch.
Our kitchen is equipped with an old oak Dutch-style cabinet with a enamel finished pull-out shelf and a cutting board. It came from my Great Aunt Nina's house. There are no under-counter cabinets, because there are no build-in counter tops.
I have worn out several electric ranges over the years, including one of the first Liton combination smooth-surface cooktop, conventional oven, microwave combinations that we got in 1975 and several dishwashers (all convertible types) that have never been built in.
But, back to the dishwashing. I don't really mind washing dishes. Now that our five children are grown and have their own houses, cooking and washing up for 2 is not much of a chore.
We will get the dishwasher fixed or replaced; because, for one thing, if I didn't have it I would MISS THE VERY BEST THING ABOUT A DISHWASHER. It is a marvelous place to hide unwashed dishes and cookware.
Re-Blogging
Several people have asked why I have neglected my blog lately. I just haven't had the heart to or courage to do it. But here goes.
It just gets worse and worse. The newspaper wrote that the Police Academy training program run by the Greensboro Police Dept. has cheated and let unqualified cadets graduate and has not kept adequate records. It might not be accredited. The official investigation report is on-line. It might not be a bad idea to close it down. GTCC has a law enforcement training program that could be used. I am not sure of the cost of each program or how adequate the Guilford Technical Community College program is.
The Police Department is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation , the FBI, and a private company on other charges of internal corruption and racism. The City Council Members are participating in a game of deceit by taking lie detector tests to prove that they have not given the press information about the police investigation. The Police Chief was fired and he and his lawyer have not been told the charges against him. The new City Manager says they are bad. He told the City Council, but warned them not to tell. Greensboro is being sued by some present and former police officers and citizens. This is a big secret that has not been kept very well.
The powerful Simpkin's PAC, which is run by black leaders and controls lots of votes of ignorant people, has been asking candidates running for office to contribute to their coffers in order to be endorsed by the group. This has been going on for years. This is the group run by several current or former members of the Guilford County Commission, the Greensboro City Council and the NC Legislature. This group helped Rev. King and his nonprofit building company bilk the city, state, feds and private donors out of millions of dollars. Although the group did much good by building housing for low income people here and elsewhere, they misappropriated and mixed funds illegally. Rev. King and Homestead did not go through city approved regular channels to get much of his funding.
The new APPOINTED, not elected, DA refuses to press any charges against the nonprofit builder Homestead, even as the local newspaper investigates the deal. He was backed by the Simpkin's PAC and won the Democratic Primary against a woman who has worked in the DA's office for, I think, 15 years. He fired her when she announced that she would run for DA.
The former city manager went to work for the Bryan Foundation (run by former mayor Jim Melvin and supported by Jefferson-Pilot). They were the primary backers of the Center City Park downtown which is across the street from the abandoned Wachovia High-Rise. The park is referred to as a 12 million dollar gift to the city. But; in reality, it is costing the city millions and will continue to do so because the city has raised taxes in the downtown area to maintain the park. The park was built (no matter what they say) to help make the building more attractive to potential purchasers. The city and county have agreed to give a developer over 2 million dollars to "help" him develop the building into a mixed-use office, retail, condo space where he will live in a pent house on the 17th floor and the mayor hinted at more help for tenants of the building.
Action Greensboro is losing its clout and has joined two other "economic development groups" to form a new group called The Greensboro Partnership. I think it will disband quietly very soon. Just as I said years ago, the whole thing was to build that stadium and sell the Wachovia Building for the friends of Jim Melvin and Jefferson-Pilot. BTW, Jefferson-Pilot Financial has been sold to a Pennsylvania company who will move the headquarters out of state. The executive director of Action Greensboro (the promoters of the new stadium and new park) will leave soon to be director of the nonprofit Cemala Foundation founded by the Cone family who have given money to Action Greensboro. The Cemala Foundation has temporarily suspended its grant program.
The state has made it possible for brewers to produce and sell beer with higher alcohol content. More bars are opening downtown and the ballpark promotes cheap beer more than it does baseball. Action Greensboro has sponsored an event downtown for the past several years where college students are given discounts on alcohol and rides back and forth from campus are provided for that one night to get their drunk selves home. The city provides policemen on bikes to ride around downtown, but can't afford to hire enough police for other areas of the city.
Several lawyers who represent big developers are almost never turned down when they ask for zoning and other changes in the laws governing development. A friend of mine is currently fighting a development on New Garden Road that includes a big box type Eckerd Drugstore and a bank building in a residential neighborhood. One of these high-powered lawyers, Henry Isaacson, is representing the developer. They have been turned down by the Greensboro Planning Department and the Zoning Commission. The City Council was scheduled to hear the case last Tuesday, but it was postponed until late June by the lawyers of the developer.
Greensboro is losing its tree canopy at an alarming rate due in part to bad development decisions. The city keeps annexing area for which it cannot provide adequate services. A bond issue will be on the ballot in November to help fix government properties which have NOT BEEN MAINTAINED PROPERLY for years. We are not taking care of what we have.
The director of the Planning Department retired with a city pension and went to work for the Sports Commission that is pushing for public money to build an ACC Museum in Greensboro next to the Coliseum. The city talked about plans to buy the old Canada Dry building which is next to the Coliseum. That plan has been put on hold for now. The newspaper thinks it is a good idea. The site is owned by the wife of the editor of the News and Record. State Senator Hagan is on the state appropriations committee and got (in closed session) the State of NC to appropriate 2 million dollars for the museum which promoters are calling The ACC Hall of Champions. The museum in Greensboro is a good idea, but not with government funds. (Like the ACC doesn't have enough money to build their own museum.) The Greensboro City Council requested that the legislative representatives from our area ask for this money. The Chamber or Commerce thinks it's a great idea.
A study committee made up of mostly non-users of public transportation has recommended increasing bus fares and handicapped transportation fees. Bus service will be improved with more routes and more frequent service. That is good. Greensboro has needed better transportation options for years. A federal grant will make all bus service free to college students, but poor working people will have to pay more to ride the bus.
And I don't even want to think about the ways GDOT and the Parks and Recreation Department are wasting money.
And I must mention bad decisions by the Guilford County School Board and Administration. And some of the increase in County taxes is, in part, due to bad decisions by the County Commissioners and the School Board. What a mess.
CITY PROPERTY TAXES WILL INCREASE to pay for the new TRASH TRANSFER STATION and for hauling trash to a dump in another county. Greensboro is on the verge of being banned from having new industry here because of air pollution. Duke Power and two other power companies have applied for permission to build nuclear plants near here and the old coal-fired plants are spewing mercury into the air every day.
The jail is overcrowded with inmates sleeping on the floor. Two men are running against the current sheriff saying that we don't need more jail space. The feds are considering taking over the Guilford County Jail and requiring it to be brought up to code or a new one built. They did that in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County had to build a new jail. To it's credit, The City Council changed the zoning rules so that the county can build a new jail close to the old one downtown. If the feds take over, it will cost the county (that's we taxpayers) more than if they go ahead and do it soon. Because of the condition of our jail, the county and individual commissioners are liable if inmates or employees decide to sue over conditions or if anyone is hurt because of the conditions that exist there. The court system needs more funding and better administrative oversight.
The City, County and State governments are throwing "economic development funds" around like confetti.
These are some things that I can think of right at this moment. I repeat -- It just gets worse and worse. I think that with good government and informed citizens, we can have a wonderful city. I keep trying. Sometimes I wonder why.
It just gets worse and worse. The newspaper wrote that the Police Academy training program run by the Greensboro Police Dept. has cheated and let unqualified cadets graduate and has not kept adequate records. It might not be accredited. The official investigation report is on-line. It might not be a bad idea to close it down. GTCC has a law enforcement training program that could be used. I am not sure of the cost of each program or how adequate the Guilford Technical Community College program is.
The Police Department is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation , the FBI, and a private company on other charges of internal corruption and racism. The City Council Members are participating in a game of deceit by taking lie detector tests to prove that they have not given the press information about the police investigation. The Police Chief was fired and he and his lawyer have not been told the charges against him. The new City Manager says they are bad. He told the City Council, but warned them not to tell. Greensboro is being sued by some present and former police officers and citizens. This is a big secret that has not been kept very well.
The powerful Simpkin's PAC, which is run by black leaders and controls lots of votes of ignorant people, has been asking candidates running for office to contribute to their coffers in order to be endorsed by the group. This has been going on for years. This is the group run by several current or former members of the Guilford County Commission, the Greensboro City Council and the NC Legislature. This group helped Rev. King and his nonprofit building company bilk the city, state, feds and private donors out of millions of dollars. Although the group did much good by building housing for low income people here and elsewhere, they misappropriated and mixed funds illegally. Rev. King and Homestead did not go through city approved regular channels to get much of his funding.
The new APPOINTED, not elected, DA refuses to press any charges against the nonprofit builder Homestead, even as the local newspaper investigates the deal. He was backed by the Simpkin's PAC and won the Democratic Primary against a woman who has worked in the DA's office for, I think, 15 years. He fired her when she announced that she would run for DA.
The former city manager went to work for the Bryan Foundation (run by former mayor Jim Melvin and supported by Jefferson-Pilot). They were the primary backers of the Center City Park downtown which is across the street from the abandoned Wachovia High-Rise. The park is referred to as a 12 million dollar gift to the city. But; in reality, it is costing the city millions and will continue to do so because the city has raised taxes in the downtown area to maintain the park. The park was built (no matter what they say) to help make the building more attractive to potential purchasers. The city and county have agreed to give a developer over 2 million dollars to "help" him develop the building into a mixed-use office, retail, condo space where he will live in a pent house on the 17th floor and the mayor hinted at more help for tenants of the building.
Action Greensboro is losing its clout and has joined two other "economic development groups" to form a new group called The Greensboro Partnership. I think it will disband quietly very soon. Just as I said years ago, the whole thing was to build that stadium and sell the Wachovia Building for the friends of Jim Melvin and Jefferson-Pilot. BTW, Jefferson-Pilot Financial has been sold to a Pennsylvania company who will move the headquarters out of state. The executive director of Action Greensboro (the promoters of the new stadium and new park) will leave soon to be director of the nonprofit Cemala Foundation founded by the Cone family who have given money to Action Greensboro. The Cemala Foundation has temporarily suspended its grant program.
The state has made it possible for brewers to produce and sell beer with higher alcohol content. More bars are opening downtown and the ballpark promotes cheap beer more than it does baseball. Action Greensboro has sponsored an event downtown for the past several years where college students are given discounts on alcohol and rides back and forth from campus are provided for that one night to get their drunk selves home. The city provides policemen on bikes to ride around downtown, but can't afford to hire enough police for other areas of the city.
Several lawyers who represent big developers are almost never turned down when they ask for zoning and other changes in the laws governing development. A friend of mine is currently fighting a development on New Garden Road that includes a big box type Eckerd Drugstore and a bank building in a residential neighborhood. One of these high-powered lawyers, Henry Isaacson, is representing the developer. They have been turned down by the Greensboro Planning Department and the Zoning Commission. The City Council was scheduled to hear the case last Tuesday, but it was postponed until late June by the lawyers of the developer.
Greensboro is losing its tree canopy at an alarming rate due in part to bad development decisions. The city keeps annexing area for which it cannot provide adequate services. A bond issue will be on the ballot in November to help fix government properties which have NOT BEEN MAINTAINED PROPERLY for years. We are not taking care of what we have.
The director of the Planning Department retired with a city pension and went to work for the Sports Commission that is pushing for public money to build an ACC Museum in Greensboro next to the Coliseum. The city talked about plans to buy the old Canada Dry building which is next to the Coliseum. That plan has been put on hold for now. The newspaper thinks it is a good idea. The site is owned by the wife of the editor of the News and Record. State Senator Hagan is on the state appropriations committee and got (in closed session) the State of NC to appropriate 2 million dollars for the museum which promoters are calling The ACC Hall of Champions. The museum in Greensboro is a good idea, but not with government funds. (Like the ACC doesn't have enough money to build their own museum.) The Greensboro City Council requested that the legislative representatives from our area ask for this money. The Chamber or Commerce thinks it's a great idea.
A study committee made up of mostly non-users of public transportation has recommended increasing bus fares and handicapped transportation fees. Bus service will be improved with more routes and more frequent service. That is good. Greensboro has needed better transportation options for years. A federal grant will make all bus service free to college students, but poor working people will have to pay more to ride the bus.
And I don't even want to think about the ways GDOT and the Parks and Recreation Department are wasting money.
And I must mention bad decisions by the Guilford County School Board and Administration. And some of the increase in County taxes is, in part, due to bad decisions by the County Commissioners and the School Board. What a mess.
CITY PROPERTY TAXES WILL INCREASE to pay for the new TRASH TRANSFER STATION and for hauling trash to a dump in another county. Greensboro is on the verge of being banned from having new industry here because of air pollution. Duke Power and two other power companies have applied for permission to build nuclear plants near here and the old coal-fired plants are spewing mercury into the air every day.
The jail is overcrowded with inmates sleeping on the floor. Two men are running against the current sheriff saying that we don't need more jail space. The feds are considering taking over the Guilford County Jail and requiring it to be brought up to code or a new one built. They did that in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County had to build a new jail. To it's credit, The City Council changed the zoning rules so that the county can build a new jail close to the old one downtown. If the feds take over, it will cost the county (that's we taxpayers) more than if they go ahead and do it soon. Because of the condition of our jail, the county and individual commissioners are liable if inmates or employees decide to sue over conditions or if anyone is hurt because of the conditions that exist there. The court system needs more funding and better administrative oversight.
The City, County and State governments are throwing "economic development funds" around like confetti.
These are some things that I can think of right at this moment. I repeat -- It just gets worse and worse. I think that with good government and informed citizens, we can have a wonderful city. I keep trying. Sometimes I wonder why.
Will $15 Million Grant Help Workers?
--
On Thursday, Feb. 2, a N&R headline announced a $15 million work-force training grant. Don Kirkman who is President of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, which will manage the federal Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Grant money said that some of the money will be used to build a leadership training school at the local Center for Creative Leadership and some of the money will be used to hire staff to manage some of the programs. Also some of the money will be used to create training templates at local schools to retrain displaced workers.
Wednesday, Feb. 8, the N&R carried a story about Bryan Foundation donations. One of these is $25,000 to the Welfare Reform Liaison Project. The money will be used to actually train people for logistics and distribution jobs.
Training people for jobs that are expected to be available in our area seems like a better use of money than adding a leadership training school to an already internationally known training program that is too pricey for working people to attend. Maybe some of the money will be used to train staff that will be needed to help manage some of the new programs that the PTP is planning. When will the training filter down to the people who just need training for jobs that pay a living wage?
Yesterday on the guilfordopinion blogspot Sam's notes questioned the effectivenss of the $15 federal grant. So do I.
What is the definition of workforce training? Training Laborers? Training Managers? Training Business Executives? Training Regional Leaders?
All of the above. Of course, we need all of these, but who needs the most help now?
What do you think?
On Thursday, Feb. 2, a N&R headline announced a $15 million work-force training grant. Don Kirkman who is President of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, which will manage the federal Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Grant money said that some of the money will be used to build a leadership training school at the local Center for Creative Leadership and some of the money will be used to hire staff to manage some of the programs. Also some of the money will be used to create training templates at local schools to retrain displaced workers.
Wednesday, Feb. 8, the N&R carried a story about Bryan Foundation donations. One of these is $25,000 to the Welfare Reform Liaison Project. The money will be used to actually train people for logistics and distribution jobs.
Training people for jobs that are expected to be available in our area seems like a better use of money than adding a leadership training school to an already internationally known training program that is too pricey for working people to attend. Maybe some of the money will be used to train staff that will be needed to help manage some of the new programs that the PTP is planning. When will the training filter down to the people who just need training for jobs that pay a living wage?
Yesterday on the guilfordopinion blogspot Sam's notes questioned the effectivenss of the $15 federal grant. So do I.
What is the definition of workforce training? Training Laborers? Training Managers? Training Business Executives? Training Regional Leaders?
All of the above. Of course, we need all of these, but who needs the most help now?
What do you think?
Balloons Drifting Across the Stratosphere
-----
I love my cell phone. It makes my children seem closer to me and makes me feel more connected to my friends and family. I have been a mobile phone user since 1992 and have rarely gone over my pre-paid allowance of minutes. Back then I only had 15 minutes a month to use, then the minutes were over 50 cents each, plus roaming charges if I were out of my "home area". I'm not one to chat on the phone for endless hours. I just like knowing that I have a phone nearby.
When I moved from Savannah to NC, it was a big deal to call home and talk to my mamma. She thought long distance telephone calls were an extravagance and was never really comfortable talking long distance. She only called when she had something special to say. She usually said it and then got off the line. She wrote lots of letters and I have kept most of them. Letters make great keepsakes and reminders of life a while ago, but telephones are so convenient and easy.
Today, I communicate with my children almost every day. Some days we e-mail or speak on the phone several times. And it's not always a call from me to interrupt their busy days. They call me regularly. And I love it. And with call phones, they can reach me almost any time because I usually have my phone with me.
I have found that I cannot use my cell phone in certain parts of South Carolina and in the Mountain areas of North Carolina and Georgia. In my family, we refer to these non-cell-phone-accessible areas as the bowels of South Carolina and the hilly mountains.
Some people might like this, but I'm not one of them. That is why I was excited to read in today's News & Record about a new technology that might someday help my phone work almost everywhere. A story from Bismarck, ND tells me that there is a plan by a company called Extend America to use balloons to fill gaps in cell service areas. How wonderful! I hope it works. The article says that it works in the lab and cost a lot less than building cell towers. According to the article, 3 balloons could cover the same area as 1100 towers.
Ain't Technology Wonderful ! ? ! ?
I love my cell phone. It makes my children seem closer to me and makes me feel more connected to my friends and family. I have been a mobile phone user since 1992 and have rarely gone over my pre-paid allowance of minutes. Back then I only had 15 minutes a month to use, then the minutes were over 50 cents each, plus roaming charges if I were out of my "home area". I'm not one to chat on the phone for endless hours. I just like knowing that I have a phone nearby.
When I moved from Savannah to NC, it was a big deal to call home and talk to my mamma. She thought long distance telephone calls were an extravagance and was never really comfortable talking long distance. She only called when she had something special to say. She usually said it and then got off the line. She wrote lots of letters and I have kept most of them. Letters make great keepsakes and reminders of life a while ago, but telephones are so convenient and easy.
Today, I communicate with my children almost every day. Some days we e-mail or speak on the phone several times. And it's not always a call from me to interrupt their busy days. They call me regularly. And I love it. And with call phones, they can reach me almost any time because I usually have my phone with me.
I have found that I cannot use my cell phone in certain parts of South Carolina and in the Mountain areas of North Carolina and Georgia. In my family, we refer to these non-cell-phone-accessible areas as the bowels of South Carolina and the hilly mountains.
Some people might like this, but I'm not one of them. That is why I was excited to read in today's News & Record about a new technology that might someday help my phone work almost everywhere. A story from Bismarck, ND tells me that there is a plan by a company called Extend America to use balloons to fill gaps in cell service areas. How wonderful! I hope it works. The article says that it works in the lab and cost a lot less than building cell towers. According to the article, 3 balloons could cover the same area as 1100 towers.
Ain't Technology Wonderful ! ? ! ?
Some definitions for your consideration
extortion
|ikˈstôr sh ən| noun:
the practice of obtaining something, esp. money, through force or threats.
DERIVATIVES extortioner noun: extortionist |-ist| noun ORIGIN Middle English : from late Latin extortio(n-), from Latin extorquere ‘wrest’ (see extort ).
extortionist
noun; racketeer, extortioner, extorter, blackmailer; informal: bloodsucker, vampire.
Thesaurus
extortion noun: arrested on a charge of extortion
blackmail, shakedown; formal exaction.
incentive
|inˈsentiv| noun: a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something : there is no incentive for customers to conserve water • a payment or concession to stimulate greater output or investment : tax incentives for investing in depressed areas | [as adj. ] incentive payments. ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin incentivum ‘something that sets the tune or incites,’ from incantare ‘to chant or charm.’
Thesaurus
incentive noun: only financial incentives will curb the polluting activities of major industries
inducement, motivation, motive, reason, stimulus, stimulant, spur, impetus, encouragement, impulse; incitement, goad, provocation; attraction, lure, bait; informal: carrot, sweetener, come-on. antonym deterrent.
bribe
|brīb| verb: [ trans. ] persuade (someone) to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement : an undercover agent bribed the judge into giving a lenient sentence | [ trans. ] you weren't willing to be good to your sister without being bribed with a lollipop. | [ intrans. ] he has no money to bribe with.
noun: a sum of money or other inducement offered or given in this way. DERIVATIVES bribable adjective briber noun ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French briber, brimber ‘beg,’ of unknown origin. The original sense was [rob, extort,] hence (as noun) [theft, stolen goods,] also [money extorted or demanded for favors,] later [offer money as an inducement] (early 16th cent.).
Thesaurus
bribe
verb: pay off, suborn; informal: grease someone's palm, fix, square. noun: she accepted bribes
inducement, incentive, payola; informal: payoff, kickback, boodle, sweetener.
extortionist
noun; racketeer, extortioner, extorter, blackmailer; informal: bloodsucker, vampire.
|ikˈstôr sh ən| noun:
the practice of obtaining something, esp. money, through force or threats.
DERIVATIVES extortioner noun: extortionist |-ist| noun ORIGIN Middle English : from late Latin extortio(n-), from Latin extorquere ‘wrest’ (see extort ).
extortionist
noun; racketeer, extortioner, extorter, blackmailer; informal: bloodsucker, vampire.
Thesaurus
extortion noun: arrested on a charge of extortion
blackmail, shakedown; formal exaction.
incentive
|inˈsentiv| noun: a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something : there is no incentive for customers to conserve water • a payment or concession to stimulate greater output or investment : tax incentives for investing in depressed areas | [as adj. ] incentive payments. ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin incentivum ‘something that sets the tune or incites,’ from incantare ‘to chant or charm.’
Thesaurus
incentive noun: only financial incentives will curb the polluting activities of major industries
inducement, motivation, motive, reason, stimulus, stimulant, spur, impetus, encouragement, impulse; incitement, goad, provocation; attraction, lure, bait; informal: carrot, sweetener, come-on. antonym deterrent.
bribe
|brīb| verb: [ trans. ] persuade (someone) to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement : an undercover agent bribed the judge into giving a lenient sentence | [ trans. ] you weren't willing to be good to your sister without being bribed with a lollipop. | [ intrans. ] he has no money to bribe with.
noun: a sum of money or other inducement offered or given in this way. DERIVATIVES bribable adjective briber noun ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French briber, brimber ‘beg,’ of unknown origin. The original sense was [rob, extort,] hence (as noun) [theft, stolen goods,] also [money extorted or demanded for favors,] later [offer money as an inducement] (early 16th cent.).
Thesaurus
bribe
verb: pay off, suborn; informal: grease someone's palm, fix, square. noun: she accepted bribes
inducement, incentive, payola; informal: payoff, kickback, boodle, sweetener.
extortionist
noun; racketeer, extortioner, extorter, blackmailer; informal: bloodsucker, vampire.
I miss my maple tree
It was fall and the leaves were beginning to show beautiful colors all over Greensboro. Lowell and I and the children were cleaning up a yard that, I am told had been beautiful when the Sink family lived here, but was now overgrown and neglected. We had moved into an old house on an oak tree-lined street where many squirrels scampered. It was fall and the leaves were beginning to show beautiful colors all over Greensboro.
We pulled up lots of weeds, small trees and wild onions. Charlie, our first born, planted three of the little trees in our front yard. One maple survived. The main trunk of the tree broke a little and bent over. Charlie taped it up and the darned thing thrived. He watered it and kept the weeds and grass from swallowing it up. It grew into a beautiful tree near the street at the edge of our driveway. The colors of the leaves every fall were glowing. I loved that tree and the rustling sound of the dry leaves. It was beautiful in the spring when the green leaves shimmered in the rain. The shade it provided against the harsh rays of sun on hot summer days was refreshing.
Several years ago a big wind came and blew over a giant oak tree in a neighbor's yard. The tree was pulled out of the ground. Its roots pulled part of a front porch and steps out of the ground. The top of the oak tree landed in our driveway. There was damage to several houses and cars. The wind blew the top out of our beautiful maple tree and split the tree so badly that all of the limbs had to be taken down.
I couldn't bear to lose the tree completely; so, we left the tall stump standing until this summer. The flower bed that had been under the tree and then around the stump is still there. The yellow mums are a bit neglected this year but still beautiful. I miss my maple tree, but I have beautiful memories.
Maybe one of the little trees growing in the flower bed now will someday grow into a big tree that will offer beauty and shade to everyone who passes this way.
We pulled up lots of weeds, small trees and wild onions. Charlie, our first born, planted three of the little trees in our front yard. One maple survived. The main trunk of the tree broke a little and bent over. Charlie taped it up and the darned thing thrived. He watered it and kept the weeds and grass from swallowing it up. It grew into a beautiful tree near the street at the edge of our driveway. The colors of the leaves every fall were glowing. I loved that tree and the rustling sound of the dry leaves. It was beautiful in the spring when the green leaves shimmered in the rain. The shade it provided against the harsh rays of sun on hot summer days was refreshing.
Several years ago a big wind came and blew over a giant oak tree in a neighbor's yard. The tree was pulled out of the ground. Its roots pulled part of a front porch and steps out of the ground. The top of the oak tree landed in our driveway. There was damage to several houses and cars. The wind blew the top out of our beautiful maple tree and split the tree so badly that all of the limbs had to be taken down.
I couldn't bear to lose the tree completely; so, we left the tall stump standing until this summer. The flower bed that had been under the tree and then around the stump is still there. The yellow mums are a bit neglected this year but still beautiful. I miss my maple tree, but I have beautiful memories.
Maybe one of the little trees growing in the flower bed now will someday grow into a big tree that will offer beauty and shade to everyone who passes this way.
Just Do It !
Please vote in your local elections. Every vote makes a difference!
Greensboro City Council Election is November 8. Early voting (also called no-excuse voting) is available now at the Guilford County Courthouse at Market and Eugene streets, in beautiful downtown Greensboro.
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"Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little"
Edmund Burke (1729-97)
Greensboro City Council Election is November 8. Early voting (also called no-excuse voting) is available now at the Guilford County Courthouse at Market and Eugene streets, in beautiful downtown Greensboro.
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"Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little"
Edmund Burke (1729-97)
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