On the LAKE Front

Downtown Valdosta Farm Days today

Tasty food, local community, and local economy, all on the grounds of the historic Lowndes County Courthouse: Downtown Valdosta Farm Days is here again this morning, from 9AM to 1PM.

-jsq

Third Thursday in Hahira

Today is Third Thursday in Hahira. I'd go, but I promised to be somewhere else. Maybe somebody can take pictures?

-jsq

University at Buffalo installs solar array at entrance

Meanwhile, about a thousand miles north of us, a 750 kilowatt solar array opens in Buffalo, New York.

According to PR of yesterday from the University at Buffalo, UB's 3,200-Panel 'Solar Strand' to be Dedicated at Opening Ceremony: Will provide enough electricity to power hundreds of student apartments on campus,

In celebration of Earth Day and to promote clean, renewable energy development, the University at Buffalo and New York Power Authority (NYPA) will dedicate the UB Solar Strand, the 3,200-panel photovoltaic array, at an opening ceremony on Monday, April 23.

Those panels seem inclined quite a bit more than ones around here. That's because UB is at 43 degrees north latitude, way north of our 31 degrees. And there's a lot less sun up there, too. Yet they just installed a solar array more than twice as big as the 350 KW array in Valdosta.

UB is a university, and it uses the project for more than a single practical purpose:

Earth Day and Valdosta Farm Days Saturday 21 April 2012

It's a food festival Saturday in Valdosta! Before, after, or during stocking up on local food at Valdosta Farm Days at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse, you can mosey up Patterson Street to Drexel Park for lunch, music, fun, and education at Earth Day! Drive, bike, or even walk; it's only a little more than a mile.

What: Come celebrate the Earth with us, and learn about growing your own food!! When: 10AM-3PM Saturday 21 April 2012 Where: Drexel Park, across Patterson St from VSU, E. Brookwood Drive, Valdosta, GA

Appended is the text of the announcement.

-jsq

Videos of Rally for HOPE @ LCDP 2012 03 24

Rain kept the numbers down, but the enthusiasm was strong in Lakeland at the Rally for HOPE, 24 March 2012.

The announcement said:

This will be a Rally for the Hope Scholarship and a Voter Registration. Everyone concerned about HOPE is invited. We will have guest speakers and will hear from those students and families affected by the current status of HOPE.

The featured speaker was Janice Barrocas of HOPE for Georgia, which is running a three year nonpartisan campaign to save HOPE scholarships.

Bikram Mohanty explained that there will be a shortfall of $270 million for the HOPE scholarships in 2012. Janice Barrocas pointed out there were really two HOPEs now: the other one being the Zell Miller scholarships. Bikram showed a map that illustrates that very few Zell Miller Scholarships go to south Georgia.

Janice Barrocas and Bikram Mohanty discussed that HOPE is funded by a lottery, and lottery funds are down in the recession. The blue line on the chart is deposits from the lottery into the HOPE program, the red line is expenditures, and the green line, dropping rapidly, is reserves at the end of the year.

Janice Barrocas noted that

The end users of this program were not at the table

when the recent HOPE changes were passed. Especially students mostly found out when they got stuck with bigger bills they had to pay. Students and their families may still be too polite to mention they have financial troubles, but it's time to break the culture of silence when it's a choice between the family eating or the student going to school. Betty Marini pointed out students loans add up to $1 trillion dollars, which is a huge drag on the economy.

Matt Flumerfelt observed that there is a push for divestiture and privatization these days, and he wondered if the silence around the quick passage of the recent HOPE changes wasn't because it was a money grab for the lottery funds.

Tech school HOPE is grants, and most tech school students get them. If HOPE went away, the lottery would

Solar projects get community support

What if the Industrial Authority supported industry that had a business model, brought jobs, and had the support of the community? It can happen, and already has!

Citizen Carol wrote for Texas Vox 6 January 2012, Austin Energy drought proofs its energy with new Webberville Solar Project,

Public Citizen says kudos to the City of Austin and Austin Energy for their vision and efforts in completing this project. Given that the State Climatologist is warning us that Texas can expect up to 5 more years of the current drought cycle, this project came just in time to help provide our community with drought–proof electricity during the peak use times — that will come in handy next summer.

Remember we already discovered this right here in Valdosta and Lowndes County? The Wiregrass Solar commissioning was a popular event, with many critics of the Industrial Authority lavishly praising it for the solar plant. Nobody complained about living near a solar installation. How about some more clean industry?

-jsq

 

Marching at the Industrial Authority 2012-03-06

After starting up at the prison site and heading out, we honking at the Valdosta City Council, we marched at the Industrial Authority office. Drive Away CCA!

Here's Part 1 of 3:

Marching at the Industrial Authority 2012 Part 1 of 3:
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Motorcade against Corrections Corporation of America, Drive Away CCA,
CCA, VLCIA, Corrections Corporation of America, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority,
Valdosta City Council, Lowndes County Commission, incarceration, prison, private prison,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

They weren't in, since they only meet once a month.

Here's Part 2 of 3:

Starting up Drive Away CCA —Winn Roberson 2012 03 06

Winn Roberson told us how he had the idea for the motorcade against CCA, from the private prison site past Valdosta City Hall to the Industrial Authority.

Here's Part 1 of 2:

Starting up Drive Away CCA —Winn Roberson 2012 03 06 Part 1 of 2:
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Motorcade against Corrections Corporation of America, Drive Away CCA,
CCA, VLCIA, Corrections Corporation of America, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority,
Valdosta City Council, Lowndes County Commission, incarceration, prison, private prison,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

And how he wasn't opposed to it just because it was down the street from him; also because:

"Every step so far has dollar signs behind it."

A private prison would give everybody from justices to jailers incentive to keep more people in prison instead of rehabilitating anybody.

Here's Part 2 of 2:

Video: Drive Away CCA radio (John S. Quarterman interviewed by Chris Beckham)

The motorcade went well and you can still help Drive Away CCA!

Turning radio into TV, here's LAKE video of Tuesday morning's interview with Chris Beckham about Drive Away CCA, the motorcade against the private prison. Listen for the mentions of Sheriff Chris Prine (he is opposed to the private prison "I want him in my jail, not a private jail") Winn Roberson (the motorcade was his idea), Matt Flumerfelt (he filed the open records request that revealed the contracts with the March 13^th), Bobbi Anne Hancock (she dug up a history of CCA that reveals problems for many years and she had a very funny interview with VLCIA executive director Andrea Schruijer), George Boston Rhynes (he's been following incarceration and especially jail issues for many years), and former sheriff and current Lowndes County Commission Chairman Ashley Paulk (he listed a number of hurdles the prison project would have to leap before it could happen), and also the VDT. Too many other people are involved to name here.

Here's the video:

Video: Drive Away CCA radio (John S. Quarterman interviewed by Chris Beckham)
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Radio WVGA 105.9 FM with Chris Beckham, Drive Away CCA (DAC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Audio from WVGA 105.9 Also, audio from WVGA 105.9 is available.

There are plently of things you can still do to help Drive Away CCA:

• Sign the petition.
• Speak at the Valdosta City Council meeting Thursday or at the Lowndes County Commission meeting next Tuesday. They're both implicated in this private prison decision.
• Write a letter to the editor.
• I'm sure other people can think of many other things.

CCA cares about "public acceptance of the Company's services". If we show enough public opposition, we can Drive Away CCA!

-jsq

Motorcade against CCA, 5PM Tuesday March 6th

Do you want to live in a prison colony? Help us say, CCA Go Away!

Join us 5PM Tuesday March 6th 2012 at the private prison site (Dasher-Johnson Road off US 84 at Inner Perimeter) for a motorcade by Valdosta City Hall to the Industrial Authority offices: for education and against the private prison.

When: 5PM (rush hour) Tuesday March 6th How: Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles Who: Everybody is invited What: Oppose the Private Prison From: Proposed Private Prison Site US 84 @ Inner Perimeter Road (Staging on Dasher-Johnson Road next to US 84) By way of: Valdosta City Hall Valdosta City Council Work Session Honk to say No CCA! To: Industrial Authority Office 2110 N. Patterson Street (Patterson at Park Avenue) Bring a sign: No Private Prisons! Contact: noprivateprisons@gmail.com Winn Roberson, 229-630-2339, winnroberson@bellsouth.net John S. Quarterman, 229-242-0102, politics@quarterman.org

on the web View Larger Map Petition

Winn Roberson read the newspaper Friday (February 24th) and realized the prison site was down the street from him, so the news finally sunk in. This motorcade was his idea to drive the point across to the Industrial Authority: we don't want a private prison!

John S. Quarterman lives about as far away from the prison site as you can get in Lowndes County, but realizes it will affect everybody for many counties around. So let's say CCA Go Away!

-jsq

PS: If you can't come, you can still sign the petition to the Industrial Authority, or write a letter to the editor, or...