Showing posts with label guilford county. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guilford county. Show all posts

Friday, October 16, 2020

Guilford County and North Carolina Total Covid-19 Cases and Deaths YTD; What may likely happen next

Guilford County Covid-19

Total Cases;

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article241168731.html

Total Deaths;

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article241168731.html

Data back to September 26, 2020;

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article241168731.html

Guilford County Deaths by Age;

https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/human-services/health-department/coronavirus-covid-19-info/covid-19-data



Pre Air Conditioning Days = US had uptick in hottest Summer weather

The influenza pandemic in 1918 and 1919 occurred in three waves, killing about 675,000 in the United States and between 20 to 100 million worldwide.

The first wave eased during the Summer of 1918, which looks to be similar to current COVID-19 events, taking the effect of 2020's Summer time air conditioning had into account. 

In the Autumn of 1918, the second biggest wave began, consistent with the onset of Winter/Flu Season in the Northern Hemisphere with lower humidity and temperatures. 

2020's Fall outbreak looks to be less severe than 1918, as Covid appears to leave younger patients with much fewer complications and morbidity, as well as better wide spread social distancing and elder seclusion.

The third wave hit in the first half of 1919, and by the summer the pandemic relatively ended as those that were infected either died or developed immunity.

COVID-19 “established significant community spread in cities and regions along a narrow east-west distribution roughly along the 30-50 North latitude corridor at consistently similar weather patterns (5-11 degrees C [41 to 51 F] and 47-79 percent humidity)";

https://www.accuweather.com/en/health-wellness/higher-temperatures-affect-survival-of-new-coronavirus-pathologist-says/700800

If known infections retard significantly enough as asymptomatic spread goes relatively undetected in warmer weather, a new wave could hit the areas around the yellow with reported infections spreading through next Fall/Winter/Flu season.

Dropping amounts of water vapor in cold, dry Winter air makes it easier for Covid to become airborne. 

30 year average temperatures between 1988-2018 October through May indicate when a larger second wave will likely occur. Areas around Yellow to Green are most likely to experience higher case loads.

October;

https://gvn.org/sars-cov-2-response-efforts/

November;


December;


January;


February;


March;


Covid-19 should start dissipating for North Carolina by April;


Monday, October 12, 2020

Leon Black, worth $9 Billion+ from $7.8 Billion last year, who took Greensboro, Guilford County and High Point for more than $1,000,000 in taxpayer funded handouts via Fresh Market, moved at least $50 million to Jeffrey Epstein



https://www.google.com/search?q=leon+black+net+worth&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS712US712&oq=leon+black+net+&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l2.6853j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
"In 2016, Apollo Global Management LLC acquired the stock and Fresh Market is now a privately held company with over 13,000 employees, headquartered at 628 Green Valley Road."

https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/greensboro-and-high-point-to-hold-rare-joint-meeting-on-incentive/

"Leon David Black (born 1951) is an American investor and art collector. He specializes in leveraged buyouts and private equity. He founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 1990.

...Two months after the May 2012 anonymous purchase of one of four versions of Edvard Munch's The Scream, The Wall Street Journal reported that Black had been the one who had paid $119.9 million for the pastel, the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction as of that time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Black

"The Fresh Market is not only likely getting help from the Guilford County taxpayers, but also from the Greensboro taxpayers who are Guilford County taxpayers as well.

The Greensboro City Council is holding a special-called joint meeting with the High Point City Council on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 12:30 p.m. at the Guilford Technical Community College Center for Advanced Manufacturing, 6012 Gate City Blvd.

At that meeting, the Greensboro City Council plans to consider an incentive not to exceed $301,000 based on the Fresh Market creating 53 new jobs and retaining 248 jobs with an average wage of $86,000 and a capital investment by the Fresh Market of about $2 million."

https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/greensboro-and-high-point-to-hold-rare-joint-meeting-on-incentive/

County Taxpayers May Help Grow Fresh Market

While the Guilford County Board of Commissioners hasn’t discussed the project publically, the board has scheduled a public hearing for its Thursday, Nov. 21 meeting, when the commissioners will listen to any pro and con arguments from citizens and then vote on a proposed incentives package for the upscale grocery store chain.

According to county documents, the proposal is “to appropriate and expend $106,000 in county funds to The Fresh Market, Inc. for the creation of 53 new jobs and retention of 248 positions at an average wage of $86,000.”

https://www.rhinotimes.com/featured-article/county-taxpayers-may-help-grow-fresh-market/

In the past 37 years, Fresh Market has grown to a chain of 160 stores in 22 states. In 2010, the company held an initial public offering raising $290 million and the stock began trading on Nasdaq.

https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/greensboro-and-high-point-to-hold-rare-joint-meeting-on-incentive/
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Fake fiscal conservative Tony Wilkins and Justin Outling vote for City of Greensboro Tax Increase

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/04/fake-fiscal-conservative-tony-wilkins.html

Justin Outling: $500 from Marty Kotis, who he voted to give taxpayer monies to

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/01/roch-smith-jr-kotis-showers-council.html

The Rhino's Hammer, a lying liberal when told to be as Roy Carroll's crony faux journalistic boy toy to cover for City Council's handouts to John's boss

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-rhinos-hammer-lying-liberal-when.html

Think about how much taxpayer money Nancy Hoffmann has voted to give to Marty Kotis

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/think-about-how-much-taxpayer-money.html

A taxpayer funded parking deck for Roy Carroll and Tuggle Duggins moved by Councilmember Outling, seconded by Councilmember Hoffmann, to adopt the resolution. 

The motion carried on the following roll call vote:

Ayes, Nancy Vaughan, Yvonne J. Johnson, Mike Barber, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Jamal T. Fox, Sharon M. Hightower, Nancy Hoffmann, Justin Outling and Tony Wilkins"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/09/greensboro-council-to-consider-taxing.html

Goldie Wells signs on to be just like Justin Outling and Tony Wilkins; Appointed before an election

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/07/goldie-wells-signs-on-to-be-just-like.html

Premeditated fraud on the City's taxpayers by Justin Outling and City Council

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/12/tonight-greensboros-city-council.html

I made a bunch of phone calls today trying to find out who the realtor is for Roy Carroll's Publix Greensboro incentive deal

I saw Robbie Perkins huddled with Marlene Sanford at the Council meeting Tuesday night, waiting for the vote to give Roy Carroll millions more on top of the $32 million he just got with the Tuggle Duggins's boys from the Triad Good Government PAC, which gave to 7 out of 9 City Council members last election cycle.

Yvonne Johnson didn't even know where the money came from.

I asked Robbie if he was going to be the real estate agent for the retail space the City/Roy was building into the deck taxpayers were paying for by the ballpark.

He said he didn't know anything etc...

https://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2018/03/i-made-bunch-of-phone-calls-today.html

Robbie Perkins led the effort to line his and his friends pockets with taxpayer money without creating more jobs.

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/10/on-robbie-perkins-dishonest-campaign.html

Mayor Perkins and Crony Capitalist Roy Carroll seeking millions in taxpayers monies for water and sewer to Eastern Guilford County

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2012/03/mayor-perkins-and-crony-capitalist-roy.html

A sign of panic; "Wilkins, Barber win nods from 5 former Greensboro mayors"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-sign-of-panic-wilkins-barber-win-nods.html

Mike Barber personally profiting from Greensboro taxpayers with some help from Amanda Lehmert

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/03/mike-barber-personally-profiting-from.html

City Council Give Away; June 16, 2015; $188,280.87 of water and sewer for Roy Carroll hidden in item 9 of the consent agenda for Greensboro's City Council meeting

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/06/city-council-give-away-june-16-2015.html

How much did the city spend to get the sewer line installed under I-40 for Roy Carroll's AMEX backup data center project?

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/01/how-much-did-city-spend-to-get-sewer.html
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Adam Smith, the father of modern economics wrote “The proposal of any new law or regulation which comes from [businessmen], ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never to be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention.”
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If a democratically elected government is supposed to protect the public from profit-seeking special interests, so the people don’t end up living “in a van down by the river,” while the “Man” captures the community’s regulatory and political apparatus with campaign cash, are Roy Carroll's actions symptomatic of a systemic disease afflicted on an apathetic population, enabled by a majority of Greensboro's City Council?
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Hartzman's prepared statement on John Hammer, Roy Carroll and the Rhino Times, from last night's City Council meeting

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/12/hartzmans-prepared-statement-on-john.html

Roy Carroll's Tony Wilkins stealth donation via the Triad Good Government PAC

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/roy-carrolls-tony-wilkins-stealth.html

Roy Carroll funneling money to Nancy Vaughan via the Triad Good Government PAC

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/roy-carroll-funneling-money-to-nancy.html

John Hammer goes to the Infrastructure Committee meeting, doesn't report Marty Kotis getting a City property for less than the appraised value = John Hammer isn't a journalist

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/01/john-hammer-goes-to-infrastructure.html

Congrats to Roy Carroll and Randall Kaplan; Your names appear nowhere on $56 million in taxpayer handouts

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/11/congrats-to-roy-carroll-and-randall.html

Nancy Vaughan's 2017 Roy Carroll payoff for his parking deck

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2018/01/nancy-vaghans-2017-roy-carroll-payoff.html

Roy Carroll and Tuggle Duggin's Triad Good Government PAC, Nancy Hoffmann, and the rest of our bribed politicians

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/roy-carroll-and-tuggle-duggins-triad.html

Nancy Hoffman's post election filing take from Roy Carroll via the Triad Good Government PAC

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/03/nancy-hoffmans-post-election-filing.html

Today's City of Greensboro is the result of a transformation into an oligarchy"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/todays-city-of-greensboro-is-result-of.html

Greensboro, North Carolina; "Crony capitalism is the worst case in point"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/08/greensboro-north-carolina-crony.html

"North Carolina is no longer classified as a democracy"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/north-carolina-is-no-longer-classified.html

The Declaration of Independence and Our New Crony Royalty

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-declaration-of-independence-and-our.html

"In the mid–20th century, fascism actually meant something.

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/01/in-mid20th-century-fascism-actually.html

"Consider Greensboro's News Media.

"Our community's only defense again crony capitalism is a strong independent media.

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/10/consider-greensboros-news-media.html

"CRONY CAPITALISM THE CAUSE OF GREENSBORO’S PROBLEMS"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/10/crony-capitalism-cause-of-greensboros.html

Sunday, August 6, 2017

More Favors For Robbie Perkins?

Correction: This post was a mistake on my part. The discounted tax bill is available to everyone who pays early. My family paid in July and was discounted $1.12.

Begin original post:

Remember Mayor Robbie Perkins of NAI Piedmont Reality? Well I learned from a News & Record blog today that a new Zaxby's restaurant is being planned for the old location of Wasabi Chinese Restaurant at 4630 West Market Street here in Greensboro so I decided to look up the tax records and guess what I found?

The discounted unpaid bill is $5,843.70 and it is addressed to the care of NAI Piedmont.




Interestingly enough, the Price Place Shopping Center located at 4626 West Market and also managed by NAI Piedmont got a discounted property tax rate as well.

And so did Baker Temple LLC, the owners of the Harris Teeter property at 4640 West Market Street. No, as far as I know they are not represented by Robbie Perkins or NAI Piedmont.

So did the Sheetz at 3941 West Market.

CBL-Friendly Center CMBS LLC, owners of Friendly Shopping Center. got a discounted property tax bill as well.

ITG Brands got a discount on their property taxes as well. Many of these property owners take their profits out of Greensboro and yet our City and County tax departments see fit to incentivize their businesses through property tax reductions the public never gets a chance to weigh in on.

So no, it's not just Robbie Perkins and NAI Piedmont. Hundreds of commercial properties are being taxed at discounted rates all across the city while homeowners and those paying rent on homes make up the difference.

And the public records don't even tell us how much the bills were discounted.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Will Clark Porter Please Stand Up?

Guilford County Committee Chairman, Clark Porter never responded to any media attempts to contact him concerning the lawsuit against him for 4 counts of "erroneously" accusing voters of voting in 2 states in 2016.


Will Mr Porter respond to my questions?


You see, I can't help but wonder not only how much the lawsuit cost Mr Porter but also, did the Guilford County Republican Party have to foot the bills for Mr Porter's actions.

And I was thinking that any tried and true member of the Guilford County Republican Party might also want to know where your money goes.

But Mr Porter isn't talking.

Could Mr Porter's actions here in Guilford County be tied to events in nearby Stokes County and across the state line where the headline reads, Prominent Virginia Politician Implicated in North Carolina GOP Voter Fraud Deceit?

Yep, sure could. Seems our Mr Porter is in really big trouble. He has ties to the folks in Virginia.



Forget Washington, these are the people who are leading you into hell right here at the local level.

Now I wonder what kind of nonsense the local Democrats are up to? You know, besides being stupid. The last time I picked on the local Democrats they had to dump their Rural Vice Chairman.

Friday, July 14, 2017

The Greensboro Development City Leaders Don't Want You To Know About

In the past I've written extensively about ways the never before used 500 acres at the White Street Landfill might be used for the economic development of Northeast Greensboro only to be ignored by Greensboro Mayor Nancy Barakat Vaughan and the rest of the Greensboro City Council.

Today I will tell you why.

I begin with a picture of the northeast side of the landfill taken from Google maps.

By clicking on the photo you can clearly see it is just a big empty field.

Now check out the same property as seen on the Guilford County GIS system.


Those yellow lines are lots and streets the City of Greensboro is planning to build-- lots that are behind the fences at the White Street Landfill on streets with names like Huff Street and Lakehurst Avenue, Highgrove Ave and other streets that don't yet exist inside the fences of the White Street Landfill.

And Lakehurst is actually the paved walking trail that goes around the east end of the landfill.

Who do these properties belong to?

Not to the City of Greensboro per say. They've already been handed over to the City of Greensboro Property Management Division whose job is to find buyers for these properties-- usually at less than market value.

One property, 1343 R1 Rankin Mill Road,  measuring 101 acres and bearing the legal description, "White Street Landfill" is the property of Guilford County and deeded the Guilford County Landfill.

There properties could be going to all sorts of great uses but here in Greensboro we'd rather give the taxpayers' property to developers than use it for real economic development.






Monday, April 24, 2017

What Is Going On With Guilford County Democrats?

The newly elected chairman of the Guilford County Democratic Party resigned under strange circumstances just 2 weeks after having assumed the position, claiming to have discovered previously unknown conflicts of interests involving his employer.


I found that to be rather odd considering he works for a mental health/substance abuse clinic in High Point. Was his employer providing services to the Guilford County Democratic Party? Were they bidding on services? It says right here, Ralph is a substance abuse councilor. Does he have some part time gig he's been keeping secret?

Just once I'd like to see a politician tell the entire story, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, when the politician bails. That, my friends, would change everything.

But none of them have any balls. Funny, when I posted  Let's Make Sure Stephen Bolen Never Holds Elected Office I was taking up for Ralph because Steven Bolen was deliberately taking Ralph's bio out of context in an effort to smear Ralph.

Previously I posted  Hey April Parker, Remember Billy Jones? and Let's Make Sure Stephen Bolen Never Holds Elected Office.

Then I published Did Ralph Rodland Resign As Guilford County Democratic Party Chair?

Read these stories and you will know the Guilford County Democratic Party is in tatters.

But it doesn't end there. Today I got an e-mail forward that the author made no mention of keeping secret. I don't know who Leslie Holcomb is but when you read what she has to say and watch the video she sent with her e-mail you will no doubt wonder what in the hell is going on.


Click on any image to enlarge.






Here's the video that came with the e-mail:



Well folks, I've known it for some time but I guess I'm going to have to come right out and say it. Why can't anyone let me do things the nice way? Why are white people always so damned stupid? Remember when I wrote the article  Hey April Parker, Remember Billy Jones? I closed by writing:

" Our local black and LGBT communities have so many others who are better suited for the job. I'm all for new blood but April ain't it."


That was what is known as sage advice that Ralph and others failed to heed. Advice that has now come back to bite them all in their lazy freaking asses.

You see, April Parker is an openly gay female. She's also black. There is nothing wrong with that. But April Parker has alienated the entire District 8 political establishment. None of our black east Greensboro leaders and few east Greensboro constituents like her. As one of the leaders of Greensboro's Black Lives Matter, she ran off young black men faster than they could be recruited.

And a white Democratic Party Chairman from High Point and a mostly white run Guilford County Democratic Party wants to shove this woman down our throats solely because she is black and gay? Because Guilford County has never before had an openly gay black woman on the county commissioners? Because they and their LGBT friends control the fat checks from Replacements Limited?

Why would anyone in his or her right minds appoint anyone to office that the voters of that district do not want to see hold the office?

Well I may be a dumb, white redneck from northeast Greensboro with a fake high school diploma, living in the far reaches of District 8 but I've been here for 61 years and I know my black neighbors ain't having none of that shit. The last thing my black neighbors want and need is another black person in local politics bought and paid for by white money be it LGBT money or any other kind of white money. Hell, we've already got Jamal on City Council, how many tokens does east Greensboro need?

And I can't say that I blame them.

Why I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if a lot more resignations were to come about real soon.




Saturday, April 22, 2017

Did Ralph Rodland Resign As Guilford County Democratic Party Chair?

I got a telephone call last night telling me that Ralph Rodland has resigned as Guilford County Democratic Chairman over issues involving the selection of April Parker to run against Skip Alston to replace Ray Trap here in Guilford County District 8. My source is an elected official who has been highly reliable in the past but I'm as yet unable to confirm Mr Rodland's resignation.

Perhaps you remember my recent articles, Hey April Parker, Remember Billy Jones? and Let's Make Sure Stephen Bolen Never Holds Elected Office which seem to confirm the disarray of our local Democratic Party.

This morning I found Democrats postpone Guilford Commissioner selection by Yasmine Regester in The Carolina Peacemaker which states:


"Janet Barnes, N.C. African American Caucus president, who says she supports Alston’s bid, opposed taking a vote on Alston on Monday night. She said there were not enough of the district’s voters present.

“This was not fair representation and this meeting was not properly publicized to District 8 voters. That is a violation of the party’s Plan of Organization. There are only about 30 people and not enough members of the executive committee present to vote,” said Barnes.

Guilford County voting statistics show that 66.2 percent of District 8 is comprised of Democrats, with 20,054 of those voters being African American. Each precinct has a captain or precinct leader that represents the precinct on the party’s executive committee. Out of 20 Guilford County precincts, only six are organized with precinct committees."

Interestingly, my source told me that while District 8 is majority African American and politically active, District 8's African American voters and party members were not informed of the selection process or that it was taking place. You know, voter fraud.

"Ralph Rodland, GCDP chairman said that a notice was mailed out last week to registered Democrats in District 8. Another notice will now be sent announcing next week’s meeting."

I don't know how the process works but I'm a registered Democrat living in District 8 and I certainly wasn't informed. Nothing came in my mailbox, Mr Rodland. Nor did anything come for other family members who are also registered Democrats living in District 8. And yes, we vote in every election.

So if Mr Rodland didn't resign, perhaps now is the time.



Thursday, April 20, 2017

Hey April Parker, Remember Billy Jones?

I hear April Parker is planning to run against Skip Alston for County Commissioner.

Long time readers know I've never been a fan of Skip Alston but here's what I know about Skip Alston: You can have a reasoned and thoughtful conversation with Skip Alston about anything you wish to talk about. Skip knows how to listen. It can even be a pleasant conversation if you allow it to be so. Why just Tuesday night I had a brief but pleasant conversation with Skip and his lovely wife. Skip and I are both hoping more of you will visit and contribute to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

Now folks that have seen Skip and I argue with each other in public might think differently but trust me, it's true.

As for April Parker, entirely different story. I'm being told by very reliable sources that Ms Parker

"...has never had a decent conversation and everyone finds it impossible to work with her. In meetings I've never heard her follow through with Roberts Rules of Order."


I found her to be exactly the same way in online conversations at Greensboro's Black Lives Matter forum on Facebook. It was as if she hated the fact that I am white, male, heterosexual, and older.

Never mind that I've lived in a majority black neighborhood for over 60 years, support the efforts of my black neighbors and are highly thought of by them. Never mind that I've written extensively of the problems of institutional racism and racist liberals, Ms Parker just assumed that because I'm white, male, heterosexual, and older, that I must be the enemy.

Never mind that I've publicly expressed that poor white people living in black neighborhoods suffer from the same problems forced on poor black people.

Never mind that I support the rights of the trans community and spoke out against HB 2 right here on the pages of this website, April Parker and her co conspirator Cherizar Crippen branded me an enemy and threw me out of the forum because...

Well, it looked to me like they have control issues. Like they expect everyone in the world to be up on all the latest phrases and ideas, and know exactly what everything means. And if you're white, male, heterosexual, or older, and don't know what everything means then obviously, in the minds of April and Cherizar, you're the enemy.

Well guess what ladies, if you're lucky you'll live long enough until you get to the point that you won't be able to keep up either.

And April Parker will never hold elected office. Our local black and LGBT communities have so many others who are better suited for the job. I'm all for new blood but April ain't it.


Thursday, April 13, 2017

Let's Make Sure Stephen Bolen Never Holds Elected Office

Yesterday morning I got the following e-mail from a Mr Stephen Bolen. You can click on it to expand it to full size:



Now I don't know Stephen Bolen from Adam's house cat so I can only guess as to why Mr Bolen would send me such an e-mail out of the blue. My guesses:


A. Mr Bolen is an ideological conservative who hates Democrats, Liberals, and Progressives,

or

B. Stephen Bolen is a Democrat who, for whatever reason, opposed the selection of Ralph Rodland as Chair of the Guilford County Democratic Party as is indicated on the following page of the Guilford County Democratic Party website: http://www.guilforddems.org/gcdp-officers/

Now if  Mr Bolen is an ideological conservative who hates Democrats, Liberals, and Progressives then he wasn't very bright to pick Billy Jones as the person to break the news that Ralph Rodland "is a person in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drugs." You see, I'm no idiot, I actually do research instead of taking for granted something is true simply because someone else provided a hyperlink.

And here's what the hyperlink provided by Stephen Bolen http://rcnc.org/aboutrcnc/board-of-directors/ really says

"Ralph Rodland is a person in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drugs since March 28, 2010.

He serves as Executive Director of Caring Services, a licensed mental health and substance abuse treatment facility and long-term transitional housing program in High Point, North Carolina. Ralph is currently finalizing his Certified Substance Abuse Counseling credential and will be fully credentialed in August of 2016. He is a member of the Guilford County Medication, Education, Detection and Safety Coalition, created to help address the opiate epidemic.

He is a Recovery Community Messaging Trainer and holds these trainings at Caring Services, so the clients he serves are able to effectively communicate their recovery status with the world around them. His recovery status has brought about hope and stability to his life, two traits he never thought possible while battling his active addiction. He is a Godfather, an uncle, a son, and enjoys films and political history."


You see, I'm also clueless as to who Ralph Rodland is-- never heard of him-- but rather that take a statement out of context in an effort to slander someone I actually searched for the truth. But hey, you don't have to take my word for it, that's why I provide hyperlinks, screen grabs and more documentation than any media outlet in all of the Piedmont Triad when I post articles online.

So in the interest of fairness, I replied to Mr Stephen Bolen with the following e-mail demanding I see an apology e-mailed to Ralph Rodland in 24 hours or I would go public with Mr Bolen's attempt to smear Mr Rodland.



Is our Stephen Bolen a child molester as the Google search suggests he might be? https://www.google.com/#q=Stephen+Bolen+&spf=1  As I've never met the man I cannot say. But I e-mailed him on Wednesday morning demanding he apologize to Mr Rodland in 24 hours and it has now been almost 36 hours and I've yet to hear anything back from Mr Bolen.

Has he taken to hiding out?


As I pointed out to Mr Bolen in my e-mail to him:

"You must be very careful when taking quotes out of context as they can come back to bite you in the ass."


Look, I don't know anything about Ralph Rodland. He may or may not be a good choice to run the Democratic Party. Personally, I could care less. I could care less about any political party. But here's what I do care about: Honest men and women being selected and elected to political posts and offices. And anyone who would take such statements out of context, turning them into complete fabrications and lies as Mr Stephen Bolen has done, has no business being involved in the political process that picks and chooses who you and I get to cast out votes for.

So in the interest of making sure that Stephen Bolen never gets the chance to hold political office, please share this with everyone you know across Party lines.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

For Years We Tried To Warn You

From the Business Insider: The retail apocalypse has officially descended on America


"More than 3,500 stores are expected to close in the next couple of months.

Department stores like JCPenney, Macy's, Sears, and Kmart are among the companies shutting down stores, along with middle-of-the-mall chains like Crocs, BCBG, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Guess.

Some retailers are exiting the brick-and-mortar business altogether and trying to shift to an all-online model.

For example, Bebe is closing all its stores — about 170 — to focus on increasing its online sales, according to a Bloomberg report. The Limited also recently shut down all 250 of its stores, but it still sells merchandise online.

Others, such as Sears and JCPenney, are aggressively paring down their store counts to unload unprofitable locations and try to staunch losses."



And remember: Greensboro has 6 TIMES THE NATIONAL AVERAGE OF RETAIL SPACE. How does that translate?

Not only are stores closing but no one is coming to fill the void.


"Retail Space Per Person
Greensboro 142 square feet
US National Average 23.5 square feet
Canada 16.4 square feet
Australia 11.1 square feet

Europe 2,5 square feet"

Now take note: this figure of 142 square feet per person is for the City of Greensboro alone, and does not include the rest of Piedmont Triad which also appears to be well above the national average.

And where did that figure of 142 square feet come from? None other than the  2010 East Greensboro Strategic Plan published by none other than the City of Greensboro. Those dummies thought it was a good thing.

I fully expect to see the Greensboro City Council bailing out connected developers with proposals to convert empty shopping centers into low income housing. But believe me, they won't be doing so because they care about poor people.

I expect a vast migration of people leaving Greensboro beginning with those who can most easily afford to move to greener pastures, thus devastating our local tax base.

Those developers hit with store closings will fall behind on their city and county property taxes.

City and County governments will be forced to look to an ever poorer group of remaining residents for new sources of money.

Municipal services will be cut.

Police departments will be tasked with making a profit for government as takes place in many small towns. Murders will be ignored but don't dare drive 2 miles over the speed limit.

Okay, so that's a bit of hyperbole but you get it. But getting a cop to answer an emergency call will get ever harder as 5 to 6 officers and cars will be tied up with every traffic stop. GPD ain't Highway Patrol, you know-- these guys work en force.

That bail out for Say Yes to Education? It ain't happening. But then after the County Commissioners finish cutting the budget for the County Schools your kids won't be educated enough to go to college in the first place.

More laws against being poor and homeless in Downtown Greensboro will be passed because of complaints from downtown business owners who live in neighborhoods in Northeast Greensboro. That will result in more door to door panhandlers in the Northeast and Southeast, and more aggressive sales people going door to door in the nicer neighborhoods.

You see, there's a pattern to these events and I've been watching it for years.

Too bad your elected leaders never paid attention. Not even Tony Wilkins who remains forever in the pockets of developer, Marty Kotis.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Say Yes To Education Is Publicly Funded

It's time to put the rumor to rest and tell the taxpayers the truth about Say Yes To Education: Say Yes To Education is publicly funded.

Yes, it is true there are millions in private donations as well but supporters for Say Yes don't want you to know about the public tax dollars that are being sunk into Say Yes around the nation.

For example: In an article in the
"Re-elected to the Common Council in 2005, Miner championed — and helped pass — legislation that gave

$1 million in initial funding to “Say Yes to Education,” a program that provides support services for Syracuse City School District students and promises free or reduced tuition to students who graduate from city high schools."

And from NPR station WRPO we learn that just 7 years later Syracuse is still waiting on $20 Million Dollars in state funding to keep the program afloat.

"And he said there are some signs of progress, including a $20 million contract for Say Yes to Education, which provides college tuition to Syracuse school graduates.

“The only thing standing between that money being in a central New York bank account from where it is today is sign off from the office of the state comptroller,” Simpson said."

This comes at a time when David Friedfel, Director of State Studies at the Citizens Budget Commission, says that Syracuse schools are short $83 Million Dollars for the coming school year. What's the point in promising free college when you're not going to educate them in the first place?

Here's are the claims made by Say Yes Syracuse in 2011 as published in the Toledo Blade:

"The program is expensive. Say Yes estimates that it costs annually about $3,500 per student, and that's not counting the college scholarships. Right now, the district covers only about half of the $30 million to run the program but must pay for it on its own by the end of the 2013-2014 school year."

But as we now know Syracuse is waiting on a $20 Million Dollar bailout from the State of New York in 2017. And where is the State of New York hoping to get that $20 Million? Legal settlements from banks. In other words, the State of New York doesn't have the money yet either.

Ever heard of counting your chickens before they hatch?

And check this out. From the article Syracuse kids get free tuition through plan to spur economy using fines on banks:

"The endowment is the last remaining piece of the work Say Yes did in Syracuse to be taken over by local authorities.

Aside from the scholarships, Say Yes set up after-school programs, legal and mental health services in Syracuse. Those programs, and funding for them, have all been absorbed by a partnership between the city, school district and county.

The only Say Yes staff that remains in Syracuse works on college eligibility and financial aid. Say Yes also continues to offer free tuition to Syracuse students at 103 participating private colleges.

Say Yes to Education President Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey said she would take the lessons learned here to other regions of the country."


Have you ever seen a city, county, school board partnership that wasn't taxpayer supported?
The people who run Say Yes have already cut a trail and run, leaving Syracuse to fend for itself.

Meanwhile, over at Say Yes Buffalo.

From the Business Journal: $10 million state grant a big lift to Say Yes to Education Buffalo fundraising:

"A $10 million state grant would be the largest-ever gift to Say Yes to Education Buffalo and have a dramatic impact on the organization's ongoing fundraising activities."

But alas, the article continues...

"The grant was announced Monday as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion 2" plan and still must be approved in the state budget."

What's the deal? Why is the State of New York taking so long? Could it be they suspect something about Say Yes To Education that Greensboro, High Point, and Guilford County leaders would rather you and I not know?

And that Buffalo Billion program with which they hope to fund Say Yes Buffalo? Well as it turns out it has a few money problems of its own:

"But the management of the Buffalo Billion by the Cuomo administration has raised eyebrows — and concerns — in some quarters."

It only gets worse...


And just in case you are wondering, Say Yes Guilford has received funding from Guilford County, the Guilford County Schools, the City of Greensboro and the City of High Point.


Thursday, December 8, 2016

Guilford County Public Information Request

from: Billy Jones
to: rkeller
cc: Justin Conrad
mlawing
MPAYNE
jphilli1
Hankhenning
abranso
Raymond Trapp
date: Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 9:58 AM
subject:Public Information Request

Ms Keller,

Please provide, in electronic form, documentation and communications containing all open public records requests to Guilford County.

To be clear, produce all public records requests which have not been fulfilled by Guilford County.

Thanks,

Billy Jones
.
.
From: Robin Keller 
Date: Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 10:23 AM
Subject: RE: Public Information Request
To: Billy Jones 
Cc: Mark Payne

Thank you for submitting a records request. We have received your request and will forward to our Legal Counsel for response.

Robin B. Keller, NCCP, NCCCC
Clerk to the Board
Guilford County

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Say Yes To Education-- The E-mails: Part 4

How many bomb shells can we drop in one report? You may be about to witness a record.

Like I noted in Part 3 of this series, Say Yes To Education-- The E-mails, we here at EzGreensboro.com weren't the only ones looking into what was going on and wondering how Weiss and company could possibly be paying 38% returns on investments. Even the Ghost of Harriet Tubman had concerns about that and other things as did Robin Ingram who sent the following e-mail to Nora Murray of the Guilford County Schools on May 6, 2016:

"I would like to request the Guilford County Schools Vendors, Contractors and MWB database including any/all fields in the database in excel.





 Robin"
Ms Ingram forwarded the reply which finally came after several attempts, on June 8, 2016, not necessarily because it has anything to do with Say Yes To Education but because Ms Ingram believes the information sent to her was invalid.

What I found interesting is the following, automatically generated text attached to the end of e-mails being sent by

"This e-mail is for the sole use of the individual for whom it is intended. If you are neither the intended recipient, nor agent responsible for delivering this e-mail to the intended recipient, any disclosure, retransmission, copying, or taking action in reliance on this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the person transmitting the information immediately. All e-mail correspondence to and from this e-mail address may be subject to NC Public Records Law which result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement. In compliance with federal laws, Guilford County Schools administers all educational programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination because of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, color, age, military service, disability or gender, except where exemption is appropriate and allowed by law. Refer to the Board of Education's Discrimination Free Environment Policy AC for a complete statement. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Guilford County Schools Compliance Officer, 120 Franklin Boulevard, Greensboro, NC 27401; 336-370-2323"


I replied to all with the following e-mail:

"Thanks for passing this along. 65,000 monthly readers at EzGreensboro.com are bound to have questions.

-Billy Jones, Candidate for Mayor of Greensboro 2017.
PS. Ms Murray. how can an e-mail be both confidential and subject to public records laws at the same time?"

I also BCC'd the message to some school board members who are well aware of public records laws as this points out the Guilford County Schools also have a problem with public information.

But what was even more interesting was this e-mail to Angie Henry, CFO,: Guilford County Schools:



"Dear Ms. Angie Henry, Chief Financial Officer:


Several months ago I submitted a Public Information Request for information from Guilford County Schools however when the attached database was forwarded to me it was incomplete.

There are several vendors/contractors that have Guilford County School staff member contact and email addresses.  

Please advise why this database has been altered and is not the actual contact information for all vendors and contractors that your department and GCS has."


I've yet to hear back from Ms Henry. That database can be seen here. Expect to read more on that after the smoke clears.

Meanwhile, in this June 13, 2016 article from Syracuse, New York, where Say Yes To Education is supposed to be doing such great things Syracuse.com reports:

"The Syracuse City School District will receive $10,186,478, more than all other districts in the state except for NYC and Buffalo. The Syracuse district can decide how to divvy up the funds among its schools."

What's that? I wonder how much of that money they plan to use to cover their own Say Yes shortfalls?

I took a screen grab for those of you too dumb to know how to click on links but would still accuse me of lying:


And then there's this from the same article:

"To that end, schools across the state are offering health and legal services, free meals and classes for parents. The Syracuse City School District has offered these types of services through programs like Say Yes to Education, but proponents of community schools envision them as single points of access to a formalized, trackable system."

In other words, Syracuse gets to Say Yes To Education twice as much as before.

 And more recently on June 2, 2016, George Hartzman sent the following public information request to Syracuse City School District:
"From: "George Hartzman"
Date: Sat, Jul 2, 2016 at 12:39 PM -0400
Subject: Public Information Request
To: "Alicea, Jaime" <JAlicea@scsd.us>, "Wright-Williams, Monique" <MWright-Williams@scsd.us>, "Moon, Timothy" <TMoon@scsd.us>, "Mulvey, Linda D." <LMulvey@scsd.us>, "Slack, Suzanne" <SSlack@scsd.us>, "Miller, Christopher" <CMiller@scsd.us>
Please provide all documents and communications to or from "scontreras@scsd.us" containing "Say Yes to Education" for the last three months on a computer disk or other electronic means.


Please provide Say Yes to Education financial information detailing how much Say Yes and Say Yes Syracuse has paid in scholarships from your school system.

Please provide how much total has been spent on items other than scholarships.

Please do not provide the information in printed form.


Thanks,



George Hartzman
Hartzman Fiduciary"

On July 6, 2016 George received the following reply from the Syracuse City School District:
"Don't call us, we'll call you."

Or something to that effect.

Stay tuned for Say Yes To Education-- The E-mails: Part 5

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Harriet Tubman On Say Yes To Education

As many are aware Harriet Tubman was a champion of the people. According to her Wikipedia entry she "was an American abolitionist, humanitarian, and an armed scout and spy for the United States Army during the American Civil War. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved families and friends,[2] using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped abolitionist John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era was an active participant in the struggle for women's suffrage."

Well I know you won't believe me-- I'm not sure I believe it myself-- but it appears Ms Tubman has returned from the grave to warn us about Say Yes to Education. Today she e-mailed me dire warnings that I'm about to share with you.

Click here to read Harriet Tubman on Say Yes to Education.





You may also want to read my series, Say Yes To Education-- The E-mails: in which I share with you the warnings shared with the Guilford County School Board, Guilford County and the City of Greensboro before their elected leaders signed on the dotted lines with Say Yes and Weiss Investments.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Say Yes To Education-- The E-mails: Part 3

If you haven't read them already I recommend you start with Say Yes To Education-- The E-mails: Part 1 and follow the linked articles back to here.

Before I begin with Part 3, allow me to tell you about George Hartzman, the man who is blowing the whistle on Say Yes To Education.

George Hartzman correctly predicted the last recession long before others saw it coming. At Wells Fargo, he blew the whistle on Wells Fargo for cheating their customers out of their retirement savings by telling them they are doing better than they actually are.

Matt Tabbi of Rolling Stone Magazine was quoted in Mr Hartzman's suit against Wells Fargo.
.
.
Say Yes To Education was founded in 1987 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Apparently they ran out of money in 2013.



Say Yes, Hartford, Connecticut was founded in 1990. It closed in 2005 having only sent 58 students to college.




Even the nice folks at Wikipedia have issues with Say Yes history.

On November 17, 2012, in an article entitled, Say Yes, Too Good To Be True, Buffalo News reporter Mary Pasciak wrote:

"It sounds almost miraculous in the landscape of urban education, where change is arduous and slow.

And Say Yes has, indeed, helped the Syracuse schools make significant strides in just a few years.

Ninth-grade scores on one Regents exam went up 10 points in a single year. Hundreds more high school graduates are attending community colleges. Enrollment in the city schools increased for the first time in a decade.

The trouble is, Say Yes exaggerated many of its claims.

And in some cases, Say Yes takes credit for improvements in Syracuse that it is – at best – only partially responsible for."

Say Yes was selling themselves as the greatest thing for education since the pencil sharpener but according to Mary Pasciak the pencils weren't all that sharp:

"Asked for a detailed breakdown of the results that Say Yes has achieved in Syracuse, Eugene Chasin, chief operating officer of Say Yes, provided a copy of a study by Steven M. Ross, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Laura Rodriguez, a Syracuse University graduate student.

Ross and Rodriguez magnified that 10.3 percentage point gain by calculating it as an increase of 27.2 percent over the original passing rate. 

What’s more, according to Ross and Rodriguez’s own data, over the longer term, the ninth-grade algebra results were improving much more slowly. Over three years, the schools posted a three-point increase in the percentage of ninth-graders passing the algebra exam.

Say Yes officials generally don’t talk about results on other Regents exams.

The Buffalo News conducted its own review of Syracuse students’ performance on Regents exams in eight courses, based on data made available through the state Education Department.

Using the base year of 2007-08, the year before Say Yes began rolling out support services for Syracuse students, the results were a mixed bag. Students did better on half of the exams – math and science – four years later, but fared worse on the other half – primarily social studies and English."

Ouch! Folks in Greensboro and Guilford County were reading this too. Just not the folks in charge of spending your money. Apparently Google is beyond most of them. And while Say Yes in Syracuse was claiming big numbers they had no way to verify them.

"But the increase was not as impressive as the 60 to 70 percent increase that Ross and Rodriguez cited.
That’s because instead of comparing the freshman college class each year, they were counting the freshman plus the sophomore class in the second year of their study.
And there is another caveat. Say Yes officials concede that they do not know how many Syracuse high school graduates in total actually enroll in college in any given year – they only count those who file papers with Say Yes.
The district does not track student enrollment in college – so there’s no way to know whether the increase means more students are actually enrolling in college, or more students are filing papers with Say Yes.
Before Say Yes came to Syracuse, nobody had ever counted how many high school graduates in that city enrolled in college."

And then there's this:

"Say Yes contends that the group’s college tuition guarantee has started to reverse the steady drop in enrollment of Syracuse public schools by drawing middle-class families back to the city.

“After declining enrollment over 10 years prior, now there is stability and some increase,” Chasin said.

There was, in fact, a one-year enrollment increase in Syracuse – an overall increase of almost 2 percent, or 383 students.

It was driven almost entirely by an increase in students of Asian descent.

A study by two Syracuse University professors, Robert Bifulco and Ross Rubenstein, last year found that after annual enrollment declines for 10 years, the Syracuse schools experienced an increase in enrollment in 2009, the year after Say Yes came to town.

The number of Asian students increased by more than one-third, to 1,034, building on a similar increase the year before.

The white student population grew as well – by exactly eight students, to 5,823. The increase is minimal, Rubenstein said, but significant after losing 200 or more white students annually for many years.

But the study pointed out that there are many possible factors – including changes in birth rates and an improved city economy – that may have contributed to the overall enrollment increase.

“A more plausible competing explanation is that the city experienced a large and sudden increase in immigration from Asian countries unrelated to the Say Yes program,” Bifulco and Rubenstein wrote."

In 2015 people in Greensboro and Guilford County were asking questions about Say Yes. They had read this same article and others like this one from the Buffalo News that points out:

"In addition, the organization counts all students who receive enough federal and state tuition grants to cover their tuition costs, even if Say Yes contributes none of its own scholarship money toward the student’s tuition."

But no one from Say Yes was talking. For example: On Tuesday December 29, 2015 I was forwarded the following e-mail. Honestly, I'm not sure who Conzswella Collins is but as my e-mail address is at the top of every page of this website, I'm never surprised when inquiring minds seek our assistance.

"On Tue, Dec 29, 2015 at 6:59 PM, Conzswella Collins
For Say Yes to be in partnership with so many public organizations like City and County I was shocked to receive this inquiry back.  This concerns me that in lieu of being transparent and openly sharing information with a Guilford County resident this type of reply would be received after requesting Say Yes committee meeting minutes.

While I have not responded back yet this only peaks my interest of who and what will be unfolded from SAY YES 


On Tuesday, December 29, 2015 5:35 PM, Richard Moore <rmooregso@me.com> wrote:


Ms. Collins: your email to Abbey Johnson concerning meeting minutes was forwarded to me as President of the scholarship nonprofit. Would you mind telling me how you are connected to the program and what your interest in seeing the minutes is?

Thanks.

_________________
Richard (Skip) Moore

Sent from my iPad"

I would have been shocked too. Ms Collins and I exchanged several more e-mails and on January 6, 2016 she wrote:


"I have not received any committee meeting minutes from any of the Say Yes Committees nor the one scholarship committee."

Yes, it does appear that transparency is a problem. Now please allow me to 'splain' something to all you backwater jerks: My name is Billy Jones and I am a Candidate for Mayor of Greensboro in 2017. And I happen to know for a fact that when your non profit is funded by the city, county, state, school board, federal government or any other means that provides you with tax freaking dollars you no longer have any right to keep secrets I don't care if the freaking Communist Chinese are asking you for information. They're called public records for a reason.

Because that's the law and that's what you will do. And when I'm elected Mayor of Greensboro you risk losing your City funding for failing to do so. All of it.

Stay tuned for Say Yes To Education-- The E-mails: Part 4