Private prison "a major impact on the community" --Brad Lofton

Previously we asked if public objections caused VLCIA to change its tune about letting CCA build a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia. OK, that was a rhetorical question: of course not!

Speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner, 28 January 2011, Brad Lofton praised the private prison project:

"...we hope will be under construction in the next 18 months. It will be about $150 million dollar project; anywhere from 4 to 600 new jobs. A lot of communities in Georgia are built around state prisons. A hundred of those 400 will be post-secondary, nutritionalists, physicians, nurses, vocational rehab, so we're proud of that project. You'll start to hear a little bit more about that. There will be about 300 construction jobs over about a 24 month period, which will have a major impact on the community."

Brad Lofton, Executive Director,
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

That was part of Lofton's famous "jobs, jobs, jobs" speech. Lofton is gone now, but apparently VLCIA still plans the prison.

The story continues in later posts.

-jsq

Comments

[matthew richard]

thank god, this bozo is leaving town . . . what might he have done next? how about a casino? or how 'bout we store spent nuclear fuel rods? maybe we should import garbage or medical waste? valdosta will remain a cultural backwater as long as we allow this kind of thinking to continue. get lost, lofton--the sooner the better.

[matthew richard]

if any city planners read this blog, have a look at this clip of portland, or, where development is done with people in mind: http://www.makingsenseofplacefilms.com/portland.html

[Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange]

As Dr. Dorfman of UGA has said:
* Sociologists are finding that today more and more high skill workers are choosing where to live first, then finding jobs.
* Because businesses want high skill workers, they follow these workers to places with good quality of life.
* If you attract good workers, good jobs follow.
http://lake.typepad.com/on-the-lake-front/2010/09/sprawl-to-ruin-or-dense-with-green-space-for-quality-of-life.html