NEWSBUSTED on TRIADWATCH for 7/31/2009 84% of Americans Like Their Current Health Care

Newsbusted is new for 7-31-2009 see the embedded video above

Topics in today's show: 84% of Americans like their current health care, Rahm Emmanuel says the Obama administration "rescued" the economy, Obama doubts victory in Afghanistan, Coldplay sells one million digital albums.

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Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

Star Fleet Academy Video on House Bill 1623 from House Rep. Earl Jones Bad Bill of The Week

The Civitas Review has this as their Bad Bill of The Week CLICKHERE above is a youtube video from Civitas Review on the Star Fleet Academy at North Carolina A & T State University.

To All Candidates, This Is A Lesson On What Not To Do At A Campaign Kick Off Press Conference

Hat Tip newsbusters on this one.

This is a lesson on what not to do for a campaign kickoff press conference

Greensboro Neighborhoods Will Not Get A Fair Shake in The Zoning Process, Thanks To TREBIC

Neighborhood Communication Summary for Greensboro N.C.


The above document is from the public review draft of the new Land Development Ordinance rewrite for the whole City of Greensboro this section above is titled Neighborhood Communication Summary. One thing you see missing from this section is something called a "meet and confer " or "citizen information meeting" between the applicant for a zoning case and the surrounding property owners.Cities all over this state from Charlotte,Raleigh, Wilmington, and High Point require the applicant to hold some type of meeting with the citizens when they have a rezoning case.

Let's take a look back and see just what the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC) tried to do to the citizens of High Point back in 2005.

On September 27, 2005, a public hearing was held before the Planning and
Zoning Commission regarding the request by the City of High Point to amend Chapters 3 and 9 of the Development Ordinance pertaining to zoning map amendments (rezoning), conditional use permit and special use permit
procedures, including their notice requirements.

Speakers expressing opposition to and concerns about this request were Mr. Keith Price, 3907 Gisbourne Drive, Jamestown (TREBIC MEMBER), Mr. Ron Guerra, 4476 Kendale Road (TREBIC MEMBER) and Ms. Marlene Sanford, 1830 Eastchester Drive (President of TREBIC). All of the speakers were opposed to requiring a mandatory neighborhood meeting and submitting a report on this meeting. It was noted that this is something that most responsible developers are already doing, but it should not be mandatory for all requests.

Let's take a look at what was said in the draft to High Point Planning and Zoning on having mandatory meetings with the neighborhood.Here were the objectives of having required meetings with the surrounding property owners.

Objectives:

• To improve the rezoning process by providing an opportunity for citizens to become better informed of the applicant’s development proposal prior to offering their comments at the public hearings;


• To provide an opportunity for citizens to ask questions and determine what specific issues of concern, if any, they have with a specific conditional use district rezoning request prior to the public hearings;


• To provide an opportunity for the applicant to consider citizen’s concerns and offer conditions to address those concerns prior to submittal and consideration by the city of their conditional use district rezoning;

• To provide an opportunity to resolve citizen concerns before the P&Z Commission and the City Council consider the request and thus prevent delays once the rezoning is in process;


• To allow dialogue between the applicant and citizens to occur in an informal setting outside and prior to the formal rezoning process;


• To provide an opportunity for the applicant to be open and informative about their development proposal and to offer adequate conditions to mitigate potential problems before the public hearings;


• To allow the P&Z Commission, the applicant and the public to better prepare for their public hearing by providing them staff reports approximately one week prior to the P&Z Commission meeting;


• To provide an opportunity for rezoning requests to proceed in a more efficient manner by emphasizing the need for preparation by the applicant prior to submittal and by limiting changes once a request is under consideration by the city; and


• To reduce the length of time under consideration by the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council for some zoning proposals that would normally be tabled by the P&Z Commission or referred to the City Council’s Planning & Development Committee to provide time to address citizen concerns.

This requirement for mandatory meetings can and will help out the whole process in the long run.Let me give you a great example of what happens if you leave it like it is. There was a rezoning case off of Elm Street and Cornwallis Drive CLICKHERE back in December of 2008 where Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins partner Stan Hope Johnson was trying to rezone this property. He knows the process but decided to sneak this one in at last minute and only had a meeting 1 week before the zoning case was to be presented. Here is what was said at the blog spot dedicated to this rezoning case, " Following neighborhood opposition at a poorly advertised meeting on December 1, the developers requested the Greensboro Zoning Commission postpone their hearing until January 12 at 2:00". Following a poorly advertised meeting was a understatement and to know that this was done by a partner of a sitting council member, priceless.

Here is the final product from High Point City Council on a required Citizen Information Meeting:

Citizen Information Meeting
(22 days prior to P&Z meeting)
This step is only required for zoning requests which include a Conditional Use Permit.
Applicants are required to notify owners of property within 300 feet of the proposed zoning site and conduct a citizen information meeting or meetings. The applicant shall submit to the citizens a written description of their development proposal and a statement, provided by the Planning & Development Department, outlining the purpose of the citizen information meeting and the zoning process. The purpose of the citizen information meeting is to allow the applicant the opportunity to inform citizens about their zoning proposal and to provide citizens the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the proposal prior to the public hearings.
Following the information meeting(s), and at least 22 days prior to the P&Z Commission meeting, the applicant is required to submit a citizen’s information meeting report. At a minimum, this report shall include the following:
Names & addresses of property owners notified and date & method of notification;
Date, time and location of the citizen information meeting(s);
Written description of the development proposal presented at the meeting; and
Any comments, ideas, or suggestions from citizens that were incorporated into the zoning proposal.

How does TREBIC try not to let this requirement happen in Greensboro. Let's stack the deck in our favor on the Land Development Ordinance Committee where David Wharton CLICKHERE who is also a member of this committee had this to say back in January of 2009.

I made some comments at the meeting, too, in which I focused on the fact that the building and real estate industries hold majorities on key boards and commissions, specifically the Zoning Commission, the RUCO board, the Board of Adjustment, and the Land Development Ordinance Citizens Advisory Team (of which I was a member).
Marlene Sanford of TREBIC took issue with my figures, disputing in particular the LDO CAT numbers, which I said was weighted 11-4 in favor of real estate interests. Since this is a public board, I don't think I'll be violating anyone's privacy by posting their names and occupations here. So here they are:
Trip BrownBrown Investment Properties (TREBIC member)
James CoxUrban-Atlantic Builders
Mike Fox Attorney Tuggle Duggins and Meshan PA (TREBIC member company)
Dick Franks Koury Corporation (TREBIC member)
Gary Hill McAlpine Company
Jessica Marlies Environmental law attorney
Bob Powell North Carolina A&T University
Keith Price Samet Corporation (TREBIC member)
Todd RangelCommercial real estate manager SunTrust Bank
Gary Rogers Starmount Company (TREBIC member)
Todd Rotruck Independent Contractor
Mary Skenes Yost and Little (TREBIC member)
Gary Wolf Sparrow Wolf & Dennis, PA (TREBIC member)
David Wharton UNC Greensboro

Some might quibble with the way I counted. Mike Fox and Gary Wolf are both attorneys, but I counted them as being in the real estate industry because both of their firms are TREBIC members. And though Todd Rotruck was appointed as a representative of the GNC, he's also a contractor in the building industry.

Even on Ed Cone's blog David Wharton had this to say.

This might interest you: I and others tried hard to get a "meet and confer" requirement written into the new ordinance, which would require a developer seeking a rezoning to meet with the neighbors beforehand and to report to the zoning commission the outcome of the meeting.
The best we could get was a requirement that developers must report to the zoning commission on their efforts to confer with neighbors, which means that if they didn't try to meet, they have to say that.

The "best we could get" which means when you stack the deck of TREBIC members on this committee and ever since 2005 they have wanted to deny Triad residents the requirement of meeting with adjoining property owners you will see what comes out as a final product. Neighborhoods all over Greensboro need to be aware of what is happening and to be aware of what is going on.You can make a difference by letting your city council member or future city council member know that you would like a requirement for the applicant in a zoning cases to meet with adjoining property owners it is called "meet and confer" or "citizen informational meeting".

NEWSBUSTED on TRIADWATCH for 7/24/2009 President Obama's Approval Ratings

Newsbusted is new for 7-24-2009 click on the embedded video above or to see more at newsbusters.org CLICKHERE
Topics in today's show:

President Obama's approval rating, Broadcasters ask for a bailout, The economy continues to lose jobs, and "hotel Obama".

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Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

EGBAR MELVIN Fills Out Push Poll Questionnaire from TREBIC, NAIOP,TAA,GRRA,and GBA Special Interest Groups

The Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC) along with NAIOP the commercial real estate development association along with the Triad Apartment Association along with the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association along with the Greensboro Builders Association have a push poll questionnaire for all the candidates to fill out in the upcoming fall Greensboro elections.

Remember all of these same organizations were wanting to deny the citizens of Greensboro the right to Protest Petitions in the zoning process all last year and fought all the way till the end with the help of the Greensboro City Council on this talk of a compromise with the above organizations on state law. But as we have seen CLICKHERE the bill was passed on 3-5-09 with no compromise.

To see the special interest questionnaire click on the title above.

It is also noted that the questionnaire has the labels of all the above special interest groups but not TREBIC but at end of form you need to send in the form to TREBIC, odd.

A new write in candidate to the Greensboro elections has filled out the push poll questionnaire and his name is Egbar Melvin(parody) , to see his answers to the questions look below or click on the link.




Egbar Melvin Questionaire

NEWSBUSTED on TRIADWATCH for 7/21/2009 Teleprompter of The United States of America Fails

Newsbusted is new for 7-21-2009 embedded video is above on Triadwatch.
Topics in today's show: The national deficit, TOTUS fails, Biden says something crazy... again, Walter Cronkite dies.
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Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

Editorial Cartoons of the Week Compliments of William Warren

ALG Editor's Note: William Warren's award-winning cartoons published at GetLiberty.org are a free service of ALG News Bureau. They may be reused and redistributed free of charge.

Operation Dump The Developer's on Greensboro Fall Election Has a New Member

Now that the filing is over for the fall elections in Greensboro , we now have a new member to add to the list of candidates who need to get off Greensboro City Council or not even get elected to council at all for a myriad of reasons with the main one being the total conflicts of having people assosciated with the development industry and the influence on council.The newest member of this "Dump The Developer" bunch is Jim Kee who is running in District #2 to replace Goldie Wells.

Here is what was reported on the Yes Weekly! blog post CLICKHERE here is a part of the post
"And, according to a blurb in his kickoff program, he has the support of Henry Isaacson, the dean of real estate and development lawyers in Greensboro. Isaacson argues rezoning cases on behalf of developers, who make significant campaign contributions to council members considered friendly to their interests."

It is very disturbing to see Henry Isaacson in support of candidates and giving campaign money to candidates when we all know that he comes in front of council on numerous occasions to rezone cases all over the city and with all the ethical lapse of judgement in the past few weeks with the mayor and local developer Roy Carroll guess who is his main lawyer on zoning issues for Roy Carroll none other than Henry Isaacson.

Call me out for this but there should be a state campaign law that if you have to come in front of any municipality for a quasi judicial setting like a zoning case, that if you have given money to any candidate than each council member who did get money from the applicant or the lawyers for either side then they need to recuse themselves. This would stop the Henry Isaacson's of the world from giving money to the candidates and the council would actually look at each case for the merits.

The other 3 candidates in sitting council members Sandra Anderson Groat, Robbie Perkins and Zack Matheny are also on the list of dumping the developers.

If you would like to see how the whole make up of the Greensboro City Council is beholden to the development industry or as we call them around here TREBIC which is the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC) all you need to do is go to this blog called Protest Petitions for Greensboro CLICKHERE .This blog is full of information on where the citizens of Greensboro came together to fight to restore a state law that every other municipality in this state had the right to use in zoning cases but not Greensboro , they were exempted .

Also one city council candidate with one of her main reasons for wanting to get back on the Greensboro City Council was the waffling on Greensboro City Council on bringing back Protest Petitions to Greensboro, here is that post CLICKHERE

After witnessing and being a part of a great contingent of people who restored Protest Petitions to Greensboro . To see the council want to compromise with TREBIC and state law was absurd and stupid on their part because they got exposed for all the citizens of Greensboro to see.

The Greensboro City Council did vote 9-0 to restore Protest Petitions to Greensboro but they all knew that if they didn't vote for this bill on the state level they might go ahead and not want to run for election this fall because a lot of citizens would have reminded each one that they chose the special interest group over the citizens of Greensboro.

It will be good to keep this up as a campaign issue as well because lately we have seen undo influence from one developer in Roy Carroll wanting to fly elected officials to D.C. and who knows what else the TREBIC's want in this city and county or how many more TREBIC members will be appointed to a board or commission.This week we will see the new manual of the Greensboro Land Development Ordinance rewrite with plenty of influence from the TREBIC's of this county, a new post on this to come so that we all can be reminded again who had the influence on this rewrite.

So in conclusion we have a new member of the "DUMP THE DEVELOPER " on Greensboro City Council elections for fall 2009 in Jim Kee who is running in district #2 with a cast of other members to dump as well in Sandra Anderson Groat, Zack Matheny and Robbie Perkins.

This is the time for a huge change on council and to get out the vote.

Roy Carroll's Company + City of Greensboro are Defendents in a Court Case As We Speak, Any Ethical Questions Now

Index of /tif



On June 11, 2009 Kotis Properties, INC. (Plaintiff) VS. City of Greensboro and Horsepen Village Commercial, LLC (Defendants) with a case # 09-CVS-8185



The Plaintiff, Kotis Properties, INC. complaining of defendants City of Greensboro and Horsepen Village Commercial, LLC. a Roy Carroll Company, pursuant to the provisions of the North Carolina Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. 1-253 et seq., N.C. Gen.Stat. 1-A-1, Rule 57, seeks a Declaratory Judgment from this court regarding the construction and application of Greensboro City Ordinance 30-6-13.3(e), as well as a writ of Mandamus and Injunctive Relief. In support of it's request, Plaintiff shows the court the following.



If you want to see the whole documents please click on the title above or CLICKHERE then start with document 8 then go down to 2 in succession.



This court case will show you plenty on why we don't need to have local developer Roy Carroll flying the Mayor of Greensboro and Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to D.C. for ethical and other reasons.

During the time of this plane trip to D.C. we have a developer in Kotis Properties taking to court both the City of Greensboro and one of Roy Carroll's companies in Horsepen Village Commercial LLC. Did anyone want to tell us about this situation? This was filed with the court back on June 11, 2009 while the dust up on the ethical lapses of judgement on the plane ride to D.C. didn't come to light till around June 30, 2009, CLICKHERE for that story.



On July 8, 2009 the defendant Horsepen Village Commercial (HVC) a Roy Carroll Company asked and was granted a extension till the end of this month or around the August 12, 2009 from lawyer H.Arthur Bolick II from Brooks Pierce Law firm which happens to be the same law firm that the City of Greensboro uses as well and this firm has billed the City of Greensboro $368,305.62 on numerous cases the city is involved with in the past year.

This whole situation can be traced back to the zoning case on April 14, 2008 CLICKHERE then proceed to the video, below is the minutes from this zoning case from the opposition to this development.The zoning case starts at the 1:42 mark of the video on april 14, 2008.

Speaking in opposition to the request were Chuck Winfree, Patrick Harman and Marty Kotis, who stated that area residents are very concerned about the added traffic congestion and safety issues related to that for this area. They feel that there is already a lot of density in this area and the proposed plans will only add to that. There is concern about the noise cone relative to the airport and the added air traffic by the addition of the FedEx facility. They feel
that the proposed zoning is inconsistent with the land use map and Connections 2025, which calls for low residential use in this area. There is already a plot of land just south that is an office complex that was rezoned a few years ago so there is no need for more office space. There is already a lot of new development along Horse Pen Creek Road with 5 new subdivisions since 2003 and one large complex. They feel it is not necessary for another large development in this area. They also do not feel that the conditions attached to the request do not substantially address the safety and welfare of the surrounding residents. They also do not feel that the proposed sports complex is very attractive and does not lend itself to improvement in the area.

In the court case filed on June 11, 2009 the actual controversy exists between Kotis and the City with respect to the City's approval of a road to be built in violation of Greensboro City ordinance 30-6-13.3 which states "Reserve strips adjoining street rights of way for the purpose of preventing access to adjacent property shall not be permitted under any condition. The area in question is at the intersection of Horsepen Creek Road and Jessup Grove Road CLICKHERE



This whole court case has some interesting facts or as a anon post wants me to say in allegations . If you go to scan item #6, here is a few of the points made in the court case.



22. The plan submitted by defendant, and subsequently approved by the city, calls not only for the placement of a "reserve strip" on the property, but also for lanes that are narrower than are ordinarily allowed. Plaintiff alleges upon information and belief that the reason the lanes were decreased in width was to allow the reserve strip to be installed.



23. Upon information and belief, the City intends to allow the road to be built with the reserve strip. The city, through it's Technical Review Committee (TRC), conditionally approved Horsepen Village Commercial(HVC) plan to install the reserve strip on April 14, 2009. Plaintiff alleges upon information and belief that the approval by TRC was the result of Carroll's exertion of political influence over the planning staff, board members, and members of the Greensboro City Council.



25. Upon information and belief, other entities under Carroll's control have a pattern and practice of illegally denying access to public rights of way in attempts to extort money or other business advantage from adjacent property owners. In particular:

A. Despite the requirements of Greensboro's ordinances , Carroll through one of his companies, failed and refused to complete a section of Winding Creek Drive that would have allowed access to a competing developer.

B. Carroll's companies have also illegally denied access in other ways to be proven at trial.

We will see what happens at trial and there are some huge findings of facts especially at the end of #23. But to see what we have been talking about in the past few weeks in that there should be no circumstance where a local developer who comes in front of councils and commissions to be flying the Mayor of Greensboro and the chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to D.C. for any reason. Especially when we find out that there was a superior court case filed in the courthouse where both a developer and city are defendants in a court case . Was the Greensboro City Attorney's office going to let us know about this case while the ethical questions were out there to be answered?

UPDATE
Documents in court case in a scribd CLICKHERE

Who Are The Usual Suspects on The Aerotropolis Board?

Keith Debbage: A Triad aerotropolis awaits : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis



It looks like the Piedmont Triad Partnership wants to take the reins of this aerotropolis concept from what the Heart of the Triad could not do.. Reading the article in the ideas section of the News & Record from our local urban geographer Keith Debbage click on the title above or CLICKHERE

In the article Keith Debbage had this to say

"The Piedmont Triad Partnership last week announced the establishment of an impressive 25-member aerotropolis leadership board charged with developing a competitive strategy for our region and advocating for it."

Who are the most impressive 25 member leadership board? Well let's take a look.

We start out with mayors of 5 triad cities in Winston Salem, Kernersville, Burlington, High Point, and Greensboro with also a county commissioner from Montgomery County, he must be on the board for all the transportation needed to haul off the trash to montgomery county because the City of Greensboro won't reopen the white street landfill.

Then we can start looking at the usual suspects from the triad area in the 2 zoning stud lawyers in Jim Morgan from High Point and Henry Isaacson from Greensboro. Like these 2 people need to be on any more boards and commission.

There is also a unusual circumstance in that there are 3 people from the same company in Old Dominion Freight nice to share the wealth on this board with 3 people from the same company. There isn't room for one person from Fed Ex who has spearheaded this aerotropolis concept.

You can also know that Jim Melvin former mayor of Greensboro can't be left out in the cold so we see his second in command Ed Kitchen the former greensboro city manager now at the Bryan Foundation on this board.

Last but not least is Marlene Sanford from the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC).It should be that if TREBIC gets to put a person on any board then there needs to be a regular citizen as well to be appointed to this board because government should be by the people for the people not special interest .

If you can see by the makeup of this leadership board you will notice one thing missing any local citizen who might just bring a little perspective in the process. This is what got Heart of the Triad in trouble with screwing the citizens who actually live in the area that is being impacted from this aerotropolis concept. It looks like they have not learned their lesson again on this board as well. The same usual suspects.

Below is a list of all the members.

Mr. Douglas Atkinson
VP of Business Development
WFU Baptist Medical Center
Medical Center Blvd.
Winston-Salem NC 22157
336-716-7846
dcikinso@wfubnrc.edu

Mr. Greg Chabon
Attorney
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
300 N. Greene St., Suite,1900
Greensboro NC 27401
336-574-8068
gchubon@wcsr.com




Mr. Graham Bennett
President
Quality Oil Company
P.O. Box 2736
Winston-Solem NC 27102-2736
336-721-9505
gbennett@qocnc.com




Mr. F. Hudnall Christopher Jr.
Ex VP (retired)
Reynolds American Inc.
110 Oakwood Dr., Suite 320
Winston-Salem NC 27103
336-724-2759
fhcjr@aol.com



Dr. Joyendu "Joy" Bhadury
Associate Dean- Research and Graduate
UNC Bryan School of Business
P.O.Box 26165
Greensboro NC 27402
336-334-5338
joy_bhadury@uncg.edu



Mr. L.B. Clayton
VP of Mid SOuth Region
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.
500 Old Dominion Way
Thomasville NC 27360
336-822-5377
lb.clayton@odfl.com



Dr. Donald Cameron
President of Guilford Technical Community College
P.O.Box 309
Jamestown NC 27282
336-334-4822
dwcameron@gtcc.edu



Mr. David Congdon
CEO & President Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.
500 Old Dominion Way
Thomasville NC 27360
david.congdon@odfl.com



Mr. Dale Carroll
Deputy Secretary NC Dept. of Commerce
4301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh N.C. 27699
919-733-1374
dcarroll@nccommerce.com



Mr. Michael L. Herman
President, Best Services Group
829 Graves Street
Kernersville NC 27284
1-800-229-4787 ext 1406
mike@bestservicesgroup.com



Mr Brent McKinney
Executive Director Piedmont Area Regional Transportation
7800 Airport Center Dr. Suite 102
Greensboro NC 27409
336-662-0002
brentm@partnc.org



Mr. Brian Quinn
Plant Manager Steelcase Inc.
260 Swathmore Ave.
High Point NC 27263
336-434-8201
bquinn@steelcase.com



Mr. Jim Morgan
Managing Partner, Morgan Herring Morgan Green & Rosenblutt
P.O. Box 2756
High Point NC 27261
336-883-6177
jimmorgan@morganherring.com



Ms. Marlene Sanford
President of Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition
115 South Westgate Dr.
Greensboro N.C. 27407
336-855-1453
msanford@trebic.org



Mr. Graham Pervier
President Rockingham County Partnership
P.O. Box 205
Wentworth N.C. 27375
336-342-8138
gpervier@ncnorthstar.com



Mr. Greg Plemmons
Vice President Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.
500 Old Dominion Way
Thomasville N.C.27360
greg.plemmons@odfl.com



Mr. Maurice S.S. Hull
President Capstone Property Group Inc.
1208 Eastchester Drive, suite 205
High Point N.C. 27265
336-883-6500
mh@mpmanage.com



Mr. Kelly King
CEO BB&T Corporation
P.O. Box 1250
Winston Salem N.C> 27102
336-733-2311
ksking@bbandt.com



Mr. Henry H.Isaacson
Partner Isaacson Isaacson Sheridan & Fountain
Piedmont Triad Airport Authority Board Member
101 west friendly avenue suite 400
Greensboro N.C. 27401
336-2757626
hisaacson@iislaw.com



Mr. Donald A. Kirkman
President & CEO
Piedmont Triad Partnership
7025 Albert Pick Road Suite 303
Greensboro N.C. 27409
336-668-4556
dkirkman@piedmonttriadnc.com



Mr J. Edward Kitchen
Vice President Joseph M. Bryan Foundation
P.O. Box 14829
Greensboro N.C. 27415
336-691-9803
edkitchenjmb@aol.com



Dr. John Kasarda
Director Institute of Private Enterprise
UNC Kenan Flagler Business School
Campus Box 3440
Chapel Hill N.C. 27599
919-962-8201
john.kasarda@unc.edu



Mr. Thomas McKim
Chairman Airport Commission
R.J. Reynolds
401 N. Main Street
Winston Salem N.C. 27102
336-741-3348
mckimt@rjrt.com



Mr. Ralph Womble
Partner Triad Street Partners
635 N. Trade St.
Winston Salem N.C> 27101
336-777-3876
rhw@triadbiz.rr.com

This Trip on Local Developer Roy Carroll's Plane Stinks To High Heaven

Editorial: Say no to friendly skies : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis


The Greensboro News & Record has a lead editorial with a title "Say No To Friendly Skies" CLICKHERE

In the editorial this is what was said in the second section

Failing the sniff test?
That may be so, steamed High Point blogger Keith Brown, but this trip "stunk to high heaven."

At issue is the fact that Carroll does business with the city and county governments. He received tax incentives from both entities to help build a new 17-story downtown tower, Center Pointe. Could his generosity with the free flight curry favor for him with elected leaders in the future?

It's a fair question. Yet, in times like these, public-private partnerships are especially valuable and necessary. "If we have private businesses that are willing to help get our elected leaders to a location to bring dollars back to Greensboro, then, by golly, we ought to do it," Sanders said.

There certainly is plenty of precedent for such partnerships in recent years. For instance, the nonprofit economic booster group Action Greensboro footed the bill for jet trips to Oklahoma City for citizens and city leaders in 2002, and Columbus, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn., in 2001.

As long as those relationships are up-front and transparent, shouldn't they be permitted for the common good they promote?

In the case of Carroll, yes, he has received incentives and, as a developer, yes, he does periodically come before local boards on zoning matters. But his company is not involved in the South Elm/Lee Street development. "He has no vested interest in what is happening on that site," Sanders said. "All he was trying to do was to be a good citizen."

Let me explain that the quote "stunk to high heaven" was in a email exchange with the News & Record so if you ever send a email to them you might just get quoted with anything you say.

As we have seen from the above quote from Walker Sanders from the Community Foundation he states that Roy Carroll has no vested interest in what is happening on this site.But let's take a look at what was reported in the Triad Business Journal paper edition July 10-16 2009 called Triad Talk from Justin Catanoso with a title on front page "Sanders Simmers Over an Opportunity Wasted" here is what was in the article:

"The normally affable and easy-going Walker Sanders was fuming this week, disappointed that a tough-to-coordinate trip to Washington, D.C., fell apart due to perception problems, and downright angry that too many people in Greensboro “seem to spend more time killing deals than trying to make things happen.”

You say perception problems others say ethical problems just ask the Greensboro City Attorney Terry Wood who said this in the editorial,"City Attorney Terry Wood disagrees. "Regardless of what (the School of Government) says, I'm pretty sure I'm right," said Wood, specifically of General Statute 133-32 that forbids any contractor who "has contract with a government agency" or "anticipates bidding on such a contract in the future" to provide gifts to elected officials who decide on such contracts.
"I am sure this is all well-intended," Wood said, "but Roy Carroll is a contractor with the city."

Then if you read more of the story in the business journal ,this is what was said about this whole elm street project" Essentially, the deal looks like this. The school system would sell the 16 acres it now occupies in Fisher Park, along with other properties around the county , to private developers. The new property tax revenue generated from those sales would help pay the school system's portion of the bonds floated to build the new 250,000-square-foot headquarters on South Elm. City and County bond funds would also pay for the building."

It would be interesting to know just who the private developers are who are going to get the land swap deal from the school system as stated in the business journal. One fact that we know is that Roy Carroll owns land a few blocks away from this property and where does he fit in to this land swap deal or private developers deal because he might not have a financial interest in lee street but he sure does have plenty of property close to the school board buildings and other properties that the school owns in the area that is up for a land swap deal or private developers deal.

Today we have another post from Guarino with a title "The Airplane Trip To D.C., and our Elected Officials" CLICKHERE, great post.

Greensboro City Attorney Advised That Trip To D.C. Raises Ethical Concerns for Mayor of Greensboro and County Chairman

City attorney advised against trip over ethical concerns : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

It is great to see Amanda Lehmert Killian or Amanda Killian from the Greensboro News & Record finally report on the latest happenings with local developer Roy "North Carolinians for Leadership in Government Political Action Committee" Carroll and his unethical use of his private plane for local elected officials to travel to D.C. .

This all started when ed cone had this to post at his blog CLICKHERE
then a little bit later in day this was posted at Triadwatch CLICKHERE
then my good friend Dr. Guarino has this post as well CLICKHERE
all of this happened on June 30, 2009.

Later in the week on July 4, 2009 Triadwatch had this post with a title"Developer Roy Carroll's Plane Will Sit on Tarmac While the Mayor and Chairman Ponder Ethical Standards." CLICKHERE

News 2 and reporter Justin Quesinberry on July 6, 2009 did a complete puff piece on this whole affair , CLICKHERE but one of the interesting apsects of this puff piece was that the city and county attorneys were the city staff who had problems with this local developer who has and still does business with the City of Greensboro.

Now on July 10, 2009 the Greensboro News & Record has a article with a title "City Attorney Advised Against Trip Over Ethical Concerns." CLICKHERE .

Here is a few excerpts from the article

"Johnson said she was comfortable with making the trip after she learned that Carroll has no financial stake in the project.

"I guess that’s why you have lawyers. You try to listen to them,” she said. “You don’t want people to have any question in their minds whether you are doing what is right or ethical.”

Wood said he discussed the issue with the county attorney and the University of North Carolina School of Government.

Although legal opinions about whether the trip would violate the law vary, Wood said it was his opinion that City Council members and county commissioners, as government representatives with contracting authority, should not go on the flight.

To hear the Mayor of Greensboro Yvonne Johnson say that since local developer Roy Carroll had no financial interest in this property she was comfortable being on his personal plane to D.C. is a complete ethical lapse of judgement . As we all know there is a fall election coming up and she has some real competition in Bill Knight and to hear a sitting Mayor not understand the ethical aspects of this trip and why local elected officials should not be on this trip on a major donor to the mayor's campaign who has gotten tax incentives from both the city and the county as well. This is a good example of what is wrong with these local elected officials and some Community Foundation members like Walker Sanders and Lynn Wooten who don't understand the ethical apsects of this trip.

It is also interesting to note that there hasn't been one quote from the chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners in Skip Alston about the postponing of this trip.

The Community Foundation of Greensboro had this to say in article

"The foundation is baffled as to how the flight could have been construed as a gift, spokeswoman Lynn Wooten said.
Carroll offered to let the foundation use the plane before it was clear who might travel to Washington on the trip, Wooten said."

It is fine and dandy for local developer Roy Carroll to offer the plane to take as many people as you want on this plane trip to D.C. like Uma Avva, David M. Ball ,Jon Bell, Louise F. Brady Chair-elect ,Chester H. “Trip” Brown, Jr. ,Kent J. Chabotar ,Sue Cole ,Elizabeth Cone ,Mona Edwards Chuck Flynt, ,William Geter ,Patrice A. Hinnant ,Kathy Hinshaw ,Tomasita Jacubowitz ,Joyce Johnson ,C.C. Lamberth ,Robert E. Long Jr. ,Kathy Manning ,Ken Miller ,Norman G. Samet ,Mable Scott ,Linda E. Sloan ,Andrew Spainhour Dennis G. Stearns ,Stuart A. Taylor ,Jerry Tolley ,Jonathan Wall ,Ed Whitfield ,James T. Williams, Chair ,Lea E. Williams ,Otis L. Wilson, Sr. ,David M. Worth andAnn B. Zuraw . These are all the names of the Board of Directors at Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

But don't take any local elected officials because it is completely unethical to have a local developer who has business in front of the Greensboro City Council and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners plenty of times in the past and I am sure plenty of times in the future on a unfettered access plane trip to D.C. to meet with the federal officials in D.C..

NEWSBUSTED on TRIADWATCH for 7/10/2009 CNN's Ratings Continue To Fall

Newsbusted is new for July 10, 2009 click on the embedded video above or CLICKHERE
Topics in today's show: Iraqis take over security in Iraq, North Korea's nuclear program, CNN's ratings continue to fall, and a Ukrainian village wants to name itself after Michael Jackson.
Love the show?
Then help spread the word by embedding it on your blog or telling your friends on Myspace and Facebook.

Think you're funny?
Send your (short) jokes to newsbusted at dialognewmedia.com.
If we use them, we'll pay you USD $50 for each one.
Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

CONVERGE RIGHT 2009 with Plenty To Talk About

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

Sam Hieb, Piedmont Publius CLICKHERE
Sam Spagnola, The Spag Report CLICKHERE
Jeffrey Sykes, A Priori Concepts CLICKHERE
Tony Wilkins, Busy Being Born CLICKHERE
Beelzebubba, renown blog commentator
Cheripickr, renown blog commentator
Dr. Joe Guarino, Guarino CLICKHERE
Bob "Bubba" Grenier, Noteworthy CLICKHERE
Keith Brown, Triadwatch CLICKHERE and with my first foray into the blogosphere as well in Protest Petition for Greensboro CLICKHERE



Here is a picture revealed on Tony wilkins blog CLICKHERE with 2 online blog commentators who are well known by all in cheripickr then tony wilkins then beelzebubba.

The meet up at the Greensboro Grasshoppers game was a great time had by all and to see a lot of new faces that I have only seen online was a treat. Many stories were shared and many observations were talked about .Look forward to more great post by many different avenues we all take in the blogosphere.

We also have some commentary from i hope my good friend FEC with a title called
"The Humpty Dumpty Bunch", CLICKHERE .

Ethics and the Aerotropolis of the Triad

Many Triad residents are outraged by the current lack of ethics, accountability and responsibility in our land-use and transportation planning processes in our region and state. An article from the Greensboro News & Record CLICKHERE indicating the intent of developers and "Aerotropolis" planners to meet with the NC General Assembly on Wednesday to request future state funding of this effort.

Please consider the failing state of our bridges and infrastructure and failing air quality. Please consider that North Carolina leads the nation in the number of acres of lost farmland, even though agri-business is our largest and most stable economic comtributor.

Is there any reason that an "AUTHORITY" such as PART or PTIA, (chartered by the NC General Assembly) should not be covered by the State Government Ethics Act? Since N.C.G.S.14-23.1 specifically states it is to cover elected and appointed officials who serve or represent a public agency, would you say that one who has been elected to the Greensboro City Council, has been appointed to lead the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Transportation Advisory Committee that plans roads for northern Guilford County, serves on the Board of Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation and who owns NAI Piedmont Triad real estate brokerage who is trying to develop property throughout the Heart of the Triad area, upon whose Steering Committee he sits would be exempt from the provisions of this statute? Is there any reason that members of the Piedmont Triad Partnership economic development group, (that also receives state funding) should function without ethical restraint? Perhaps Brent McKinney, Executive Director of the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority leadership might reference the Code of Ethics for Triangle Transit Authority [NC] Board of Trustees found on page #61 of Ethics in Public Life by A. Fleming Bell, II. It can be obtained through the Institute of Government at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The article I reference follows. Thank you for your consideration of this request to oppose state funding of the "Aerotropolis" planning scheme.

Respectfully,
Cathy M. Poole

News 2 Puts Their Own Spin on Cancelled Trip To D.C. for Mayor and Local Developer Roy Carroll

News 2 and Justin Quesinberry with video embedded above try to explain to the citizens of Guilford County and the citizens of Greensboro how flying on local developer and campaign donor Roy Carroll's jet to D.C. was fine and dandy.

Attorneys for Guilford County and the City of Greensboro had concerns for local elected officials flying on local developer Roy Carroll's jet.In the video above the Mayor of Greensboro Yvonne Johnson had this to say,"I didn't know , that any of us did at the time ,that if you have done business in the past that is not a good way to go" .

Business in the past how about $2 million dollars in city-county tax incentives on Center City Pointe.

Then you can add Roy Carroll's North Carolinians for Leadership in Government Political Action Committee with the Mayor and 6 sitting Greensboro City council members in 2007 receiving $1,000 in campaign contributions. Except for Sandra Anderson Groat who lost her thousand dollar check and had to settle for $900 and some dollars.

While we are at it we can add Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins who is the leasing agent for Roy Carroll's Center City Pointe here is the article on that one at Triadwatch CLICKHERE.

Then we can also talk about what happened just on April 30, 2009 where here is the post on Roy Carroll wanting to amend parking deck agreement with the city of Greensboro CLICKHERE

How about Roy Carroll wanting to scrap the whole downtown design manual that has been talked about in the past few months.

Can we go on and on on this and not to mention his property on horse pen creek road as well.

To hear the community foundation president Walker Sanders say this,"For us to take our elected officials to Washington, there's nothing illegal or nothing wrong with us doing that. We as a community have to realize we have to do that."
No you don't have to do that and you shouldn't be offering Roy Carroll's plane to do that.You might want to go to UNC School of Government and talk to A Fleming Bell with his book titled"Ethics, Conflicts, and Offices: A Guide for Local Officials; County Government in North Carolina ", CLICKHERE

As reported in the online post at digtriad click on the title above here is what the Mayor of Greensboro said "I don't mind using my money," Johnson said when asked by WFMY News 2 about using the allotment instead of the jet."
It is funny to see the mayor say "my money" but as stated in the online edition that didn't get mentioned in the video. Here is what our local elected officials get for travel expense money,"Greensboro City Council members receive $3,500 a year for travel expenses. Guilford County Commissioners are allowed a maximum of $1,500 for out of state travel (as much as $2,500 if the county manager approves additional money for travel).

This whole trip was unethical from the beginning and to see that both the attorneys offices in this county had issues with this trip shows you that the correct avenue is to not take the jet of a major local developer to D.C. use your taxpayer expense account and fly commercial to D.C. or in the words of the mayor "my money".

Here are other post on this issue ROCH 101 CLICKHERE

Triadwatch post in past week CLICKHERE with a title"Developer Roy Carroll's Plane Will Sit on Tarmac While Mayor and Chairman Ponder Standards"

FIling For Elections in Guilford County Have Begun and Here is a List of the Candidates

The filing for the upcoming elections have begun in Guilford County . To see the whole list of candidates from today click on the title above or CLICKHERE then proceed to 2009 candidate filings.

Triadwatch will have a listing of all the candidates on the left side of the blog with links to each candidate who provides a web site for the citizens to see. If you are a candidate and wish to have your web site linked on Triadwatch e-mail me with your information.

Here is a few of the candidates who have filed today, and UPDATE on 7-7-09

Mayor of Greensboro

Yvonne Johnson

Greensboro At Large, Seats To Fill 3

Marikay Abuzuaiter

Danny Thompson

Sandra Anderson Groat

Max Benbassat

Greensboro District #1, Seats To Fill 1

T.Dianne Bellamy-Small

Ben Holder

Greensboro District #2, Seats To Fill 1

Jim Kee

Greensboro District #3, Seats To Fill 1

Zack Matheny

George Hartzman

Greensboro District #4, Seats To Fill 1

Joseph W Rahenkamp

Joel Landau

Greensboro District #5, Seats To Fill 1

Art S. Boyett

Mayor of Jamestown

NONE

Jamestown Town Council, Seats To Fill 4

Georgia Nixon-Roney

Will Ragsdale

Mayor of Pleasant Garden

Anne Kearns Hice

Town of Pleasant Garden, Seats To Fill 1

Henry F. Tripp

Town of Sedalia, Seats To Fill 3

Ophelia Jones

Valerie Marie Mack

Town of Summerfield, Seats To Fill 2

Richard Paul Lovett

Whitsett Town Council, Seats To Fill 2

Lee (Monk) Greeson

Sedgefield Sanitary District, Seats To Fill 5

Robert R. Davis

Developer Roy Carroll's Plane Will Sit on Tarmac While The Mayor and Chairman Ponder Ethical Standards

In the Greensboro News & Record online edition here is the headline "Community Foundation Delays D.C. Trip", CLICKHERE . In the article this is what was said from the Community Foundation

“Questions have been raised as the result of the misperceptions of some regarding the use of this donated plane,” the statement said. “While we are disappointed by the misperceptions this travel plan has caused, more importantly we value the public’s trust and do not want to do anything to damage that trust. Therefore, we are postponing the trip.”also in the print edition that came out on July 4th 2009 this was below the title of article,

"Some questioned the ethics of using a foundation member's jet" , Triadwatch was all over this aspect of the trip to D.C.

Earlier in the week Triadwatch had this to say about this whole ordeal.

Ed Cone writes today that local elected officials are flying to Washington D.C. to meet with our elected federal officials on securing federal money for a redevelopment project which the News & Record talked about CLICKHERE.

Here is the part of the post that needs to get a closer look and scrutiny, Ed Cone writes this,"The group will be flown to DC at no tax-payer expense by developer Roy Carroll, says Johnson." Here is the post CLICKHERE

We have a local developer in Roy Carroll who also has a local Political Action Committee called "North Carolinians for Leadership in Government " giving free airplane rides to local elected politicians in Mayor Johnson and Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston.

Is it ethical and or legal for a local developer who already got tax incentives from both the greensboro city council and guilford county commissioners flying local elected officials to Washington D.C. ?

How will Roy Carroll report this on his political action committee?

These are some of the questions that need to be answered or talked about.

UPDATE Greensboro News & Record has an article tonight CLICKHERE

UPDATE UPDATE Guarino has a post as well CLICKHERE

Local elected officials need to be understand what ethical standards are and this trip on a major campaign donor and major developer in Roy Carroll's plane stunk to high heaven. If Mayor Johnson and Guilford County Chairman Skip Alston want to fly to D.C. then use your expense travel budget money that each of you have as a elected official to fly commercial up to D.C. if it is that important to meet with federal officials.

It is time for all local elected officials to understand this will not pass muster seeing a major campaign contributor and developer offering his plane for a trip to D.C. for any purpose whatsoever. As you can see from the delay in the trip someone got to them to explain to the local elected officials it wasn't going to fly with the citizens of this area.

Happy Independence Day!

The Fourth of July is a day that is usually a time when families get together for sunshine hot dogs, fun, and fireworks. Every American regardless of race, sex, income, and political party celebrates the day that the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, spurring the start of the American Revolution.
Like many other national holidays, the meaning can often be lost in the festivities. And so it is up to each of us to, in the words of Jefferson, "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
The American system of government, with the Founding Father's emphasis on "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," has inspired almost every country in the world to rise up and take control of their own destiny. Constitutional Republics have spread throughout Europe, and just this year fellow freedom fighters as far away as Iran and as near to us as Honduras are standing up for their own independence much like our Founding Fathers did more than two centuries ago.
This is America's lasting legacy. Before 1776, only two Constitutional Republics even attempted to bring any form of freedom and liberty to mankind: The Greek and Roman Empires. But the people of these great nations became apathetic, not realizing, as John F. Kennedy wisely warned, "Complacency is the jailer of freedom."
So, while the Fourth of July has become a day of festivities (celebrating if nothing else, a day by the pool or at the beach), what Americans really are observing is the fact that a relative handful of courageous citizens lit a flame of liberty and installed a form of government that has governed over unprecedented prosperity and individual liberty. And even today, "the glow from that fire can truly light the world."
http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=1340

From Our Friends at GETLIBERTY.ORG
Americans for Limited Government


ALG Editor's Note: William Warren's award-winning cartoons published at GetLiberty.org are a free service of ALG News Bureau. They may be reused and redistributed free of charge.

Loopholes, Big PACs, and the North Carolina Budget Debate

Loopholes, Big PACs, and the Budget Debate

By Bob Hall

Legislators in Raleigh are struggling to piece together a budget for a state with a lot less income to spend. Cuts for vital programs are definite. But what about cuts to the tax breaks that reduce income and benefit wealthy special interests who happen to be major political donors?

The program to provide uninsured children with health care will be cut back, but what about the unusual tax credit insurance companies get in North Carolina that reduces their tax bill by $20 million a year, a hole the rest of us have to fill?

Students (and their parents) will suffer because of cuts in teacher assistants, but what about cutting the $12 million annual subsidy that primarily benefits wealthy athletic boosters at the universities?

Many legislators are promoting an approach to handling the budget crisis that incorporates basic principles of fairness, but they face opposition from colleagues who listen most closely to wealthy business groups with well-funded lobbies and political action committees (PACs).

At Democracy North Carolina, we recently connected the dots between the big PACs and tax breaks that the NC Department of Revenue says are valued at more than $1 billion a year. (See the report at http://www.democracy-nc.org/.)

Here are just a few examples:

● “Athletic Supporters”: A group of UNC-Chapel Hill boosters called Citizens for Higher Education set a record for PAC donations to legislative candidates by handing out $479,000 during the 2008 election. It backs a controversial subsidy that means taxpayers finance out-of-state athletic tuition costs that athletic boosters formerly paid. The state House eliminated this subsidy (worth over $12 million a year) in its budget proposal, but the Senate did not.

● Big Insurance: Two insurance companies have sizeable PACs – the Blue Cross & Blue Shield PAC (giving a total of $171,250 in 2008) and Nationwide PAC (total - $226,500). Budget proposals increase the regulatory fee on insurance firms, but caps on taxing the companies’ revenue may still save them more than $150 million a year. The Senate proposal eliminated an unusual tax credit on what insurance firms pay into guaranty funds to protect against their failure, which saves them $20 million a year.

● Big Tobacco has lost some recent fights, but with the help of the R. J. Reynolds PAC (total - $88,000) and numerous lobbyists, it defeated a provision in an early version of the House plan to end a tax break worth $12 million a year for cigarette manufacturers, and it continues to lobby legislators against Gov. Beverly Perdue’s proposal for a substantial increase on the excise tax on a pack of cigarettes.

● Boss Hog: Thanks to the political clout of agribusiness, including the donations of the NC Farm Bureau PAC (total - $222,150) and NC Pork Council PAC (total - $187,000), agriculture gets many exemptions from regulations, as well as a host of tax breaks. A proposal to reduce one break for the biggest farms – the cap on the sales tax paid on purchases of farm equipment and supplies – could generate over $100 million in new revenue.

● Telephone giants: AT&T (PAC total - $140,500) and Embarq Corp. (PAC total - $151,250) are two of the firms that benefit from a tax break on the purchases of telephone equipment that costs the state an estimated $31 million a year in lost revenue.

● Mega Corporations: The big banks (four banking PACs contributed $704,300 in 2008), drug makers like GlaxoSmithKline, tobacco firms, and other multi-state corporations would pay an additional $45 million to $100 million in taxes to North Carolina if they were forced to report the income of their various subsidiaries through a method called “combined reporting.” But the NC Chamber and other groups are fighting this proposal, which the House adopted but Senate leaders oppose.

● The Super Rich: At a time when so many are suffering, simple fairness means individuals who still make more than $250,000 (after deductions) should pay a higher tax rate. Both the House and Senate have ideas for a more progressive income tax structure, but how truly progressive the final plan will be remains a question. The rich have plenty of PACs speaking for them, but what about the ordinary citizen?

The test of the balanced budget this year will be how fairly it distributes the pain of spending cuts and how well it ends the loopholes and favoritism built into the tax system over decades by special-interest lobbies.

Bob Hall is executive director of Democracy North Carolina, a nonpartisan research and advocacy center for campaign finance reform and voting rights.