Grass Roots Might Need To Look at Own Web Site

Grass Roots Productions has been in the news for the past few days with the first article from Amanda Lehmert at the Greensboro News and Record titled "Group Loses Non Profit Status" then we have the next article titled "City Says Grassroots Slipped Past Safeguards" .

In the first article
"Betty Cone, the organization’s co-founder, said she was swamped in 2008 and has not filed the tax reports since then."

then later in article this was said

"Cone said she didn’t think the IRS issue would have any effect on Grassroots’ sponsors. But she did not inform them in the last year that the group was no longer a nonprofit.
“I didn’t make any big announcement. I just took the (nonprofit status) information off of our forms and moved ahead,” she said."

Not so fast there Betty Cone because let's go to your web site for Grass Roots Productions and click on the tab that says Fun Fourth Festival and here is what is on the page.

The Fun Fourth Festival has been presented annually since 1975 as a
community celebration of Independence Day for Guilford County and the Piedmont Triad.
The festival is held in the Cultural District of Downtown Greensboro
and at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.

Over 90,000 people will attend Fun Fourth events this year, including the Freedom Run, the Kickoff Block Party, the Parade and Street Festival, as well as the Pops Concert and Fun Fourth Fireworks Finale. More than 100 businesses help sponsor the events and over 12,000 volunteer hours of assistance are donated.

Fun Fourth maintains all the favorite American Independence Day traditions and offers great entertainment and exhibits free. Put on your red, white and blue and come downtown to celebrate!

The Fun Fourth Festival is produced by Grassroots Productions Limited. This local non-profit corporation focuses on charitable and educational activities which foster interest in local history and events in Guilford County. An advisory board of local business and civic leaders oversees the planning of each event for this 501(c)3 organization.

The Annual Fun Fourth Festival has been recognized as a Top 20 Event by the Southeast Tourism society and as an Outstanding Event by Celebration NC Foundation.

________________________________________________________________________________

Betty Cone can say she took the non profit status off of her forms but is sure looks like she kept this section available for all to see on her web site as still being a non profit status at the fun fourth festival section of her company web site. Let's see how long it will take them to take this oss of their web site.

Let's not not understand how and why Zack Matheny injected himself into the curfew debate and who's on what side: Ed Wolverton and Milton Kern on "Safety," in Downtown Greensboro

"Ed Wolverton, president of Downtown Greensboro Inc.,
worked with Matheny on the proposals.

“A community may say they want the license for any nightclub
that stays open after 11 p.m. or maybe 12 a.m.” ...Wolverton said.

Wolverton said the teen curfew proposal is related to two incidents last summer
when a club had a “teen night” that led to fighting in a parking lot.

Should two incidents = restrictions for all teens?

Milton Kern...was another business leader who helped craft the proposals.

“The nightclub owners have to understand
they have to be responsible business people
and not have a 'shoot ’em up,’ wild night life,” Kern said.

Didn't the N Club already voluntarily shut down?

How can this not be about keeping young black youth

who live very near downtown Greensboro being relatively unwelcome

by some who may have seemed what some could consider somewhat bigoted like?

Would any others who attended what appeared to be a meeting of "Stakeholders"

after the N Club event

like to concur as to some of the topics of conversation

at what may have been the Empire Room?

Who was there? 

If most of our local print media is aware of what most don't, 

why wouldn't they bother filling everyone else in? 

Mayor Perkins Recusals Part #1 and Past Problems with the New GTCC Water and Sewer off of Highway 68

Greensboro City Council Meeting December 13, 2011

34. Resolution approving bid in the amount of $1,966,989.17 and authorizing Contract No. 2009-021 with J. R. Lynch & Sons, Inc. for the Greensboro Technical Community College (GTCC) General Water and Sewer Project. (Council District: n/a) (roll call vote) (Attachment #34 to Councilmembers)


The property that Mayor Perkins owns in front of the new GTCC buildings off of Highway 68 North is titled leabourne 68 llc . In the video above we have the mayor saying "I own property that could be effected by this item".  No Mayor Perkinsyou own property that is directly in front of the said property that is getting water and sewer so in reality your "could be" should have said" will be" effected and am sure that when you bought the property knowing full and well that this property was right in the way of providing water and sewer to the GTCC campus.

Here is what was written a few years ago about this same property and remember that Councilman Zack Matheny recused himself from this vote but at the December 13, 2011 vote on this item he did not recuse himself like he did in past on this issue.

Highway 68 North + Anonymous Investors + Plus Zack and Robbie= Ethical Problems

Also Jordan Green from Yes! Weekly also had a post titled Highway 68 Shopping Center Receives Approval

in this article Jordan writes this

"commercial and residential future of the NC Highway 68 corridor near the new GTCC aviation campus took shape on Sept. 10 when the Guilford Planning Board unanimously approved a request by a group of anonymous investors. The decision rezones 51 acres from allow a shopping center and housing development to be built on what is presently a combination of woodland and pasture.

The request was opposed by about a dozen neighboring residents who lamented that the rural character of their community would be lost, and that they were being out-maneuvered by powerful developers with the deep pockets to secure expensive legal help. “This feels a lot like land speculation,” said Mary Fabrizio, an opponent from nearby Colfax. “It stinks because two of the investors are sitting on the Greensboro City Council.”

At-large Councilman Robbie Perkins and District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny have abstained from a city council vote on the project because of conflicts of interest.

Derek Allen, the lawyer with Brooks Pierce law firm who argued the case before the planning board, said that the two councilmen “had interest in groups that had interest in that property.”

The limited liability company interested in developing the property, which is currently owned by WA Kennedy Jr., was organized in June by Jennifer C. Noble, a lawyer with Brooks Pierce. The company’s registered agent is Stanhope Johnson, a partner with NAI Piedmont Triad, a commercial real estate company headed by Perkins.   "   
It would be great for the citizens to know just who are these anonymous investors and to have Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny and Mayor Perkins come clean on this whole situation that he was a part of in regards to the land speculation game they both played off of Highway 68 .

Will we see any reporting from the local and weekly papers in regards to this situation or is it ok for sitting councilmembers to have anonymous investors for the public to not know about,  especially when we are talking about taxpayers monies going into building the infrastructure like water and sewer.

Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins Gets Front Row Seats With Dook as Team Host, Please Explain?

Reading the Greensboro News and Record this morning with a great article on the trumpet played during the ACC basketball tournament by Jim Isley. We have a interesting tidbit that came out at the end of the article. Sorry that i could not link the article because it is in the e edition of the Greensboro News and Record which you need to be a subscriber to access.

In the article this is what was written

"It was a outpouring of patriotism that you don't see everyday", said Robbie Perkins, a City Council member who sat behind the Duke Bench and served as an official team host. 

Can someone please explain what are the job duties of a team host and where do we sign up to be the team host. It would be nice to get front row seats for the ACC Tournament especially when it is a UNC Vs. Dook final game where tickets were going for well over the $100 upper level and $250 lower level and could only imagine what front row tickets would go for. I am sure a elected official would not be taking free tickets and can prove that he bought those tickets or can the councilman explain what a team host actually does.

Is there a formal process to become a team host for all the ACC schools and if so please show us the process for becoming a team host. Maybe Ed Cone would like to be the team host for the UNC Tar Heels.

Also at the Greensboro City Council meeting on 3-15-2011 a few of the elected officials mentioned the ACC tournament and the great job that was done and some actually attended some of the games like councilman Zack Matheny mentioned at end of meeting. It would be nice to see if these elected officials paid for these tickets or were they freebies from who knows where.

Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny Did Receive Free Tickets To Greensboro Coliseum Video Embedded

NOTE: if you see a blank screen above please click it on and the embedded video will show up,

During the November 9, 2010 Greensboro City Council meeting, fellow contributor to TRIADWATCH George Hartzman spoke to council members on a agenda item which turned into talking about them receiving free tickets to events at the Greensboro Coliseum. As you can see in the above embedded video we now have Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny on record telling everyone that he did receive free tickets to the Greensboro Coliseum.

This all started back February 20, 2010 with a post titled "Free Tickets to Coliseum Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members, Is This Legal, Ethical or Conflict of Interest?" CLICKHERE .
This is where Greensboro City Council member Danny Thompson thanked fellow council members for letting them have their allotment of circus tickets for him to use.

Now this past week when George Hartzman asked the question again we have Zack Matheny go on record as saying he received and used the circus tickets free of charge . Will the local media talk about this issue probably not because everyone one of them are also on the free ticket trough with barter agreements from print, weekly newspapers and news 2. If you would like to see barter agreements with local businesses CLICKHERE  .

This is serious stuff where we have a local ABC General Manager getting fired for receiving free meals and tickets  but not any ramifications or policy changes when the Greensboro City Council members receives free tickets to events out at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Greensboro City Council on a regular basis votes on plenty of issues in regards to the Greensboro Coliseum and knowing that they get free tickets to events out at coliseum is completely unethical and should be abolished.

Guilford County Commissioner Bruce Davis In Some Hot Water With Federal Tax Liens Over The Years

Guilford County Commissioner and North Carolina Senate candidate Bruce Davis might need to explain himself, considering the 3 documents below.

guilford county commisssioner bruce davis federal tax lien


PART 2

guilford county commissioner bruce davis federal tax lien part 2


PART 3

guilford county commissioner federal tax lien part 3


As you can see above, Guilford County Commissioner Bruce Davis has had a few tax liens from the feds against him and his company. In 2007, there was a $14,814.61 tax lien assessed. Then on August 15, 2008, another case was filed with a total tax lien for $10,760.12. Also in October of 2008, it looks like the numbers came down to be $6,224.19.

You can also see from the state web site for corporations, CLICKHERE Bruce Davis is also the treasurer. If there is anyone who needs to speak up for these tax liens, then he may be the only one to blame.

It will be interesting to see if Bruce Davis will come clean on these tax liens against him and his company, because he is in a 3 way race for the North Carolina Senate seat #28 vacated by Katie Dorsett.

Pigs, Poultry, and Politics + TREBIC + FREE MEAL = Ethical Issues for Local Elected Officials in Guilford County

Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC) our local special interest lobbying group headed by Marlene Sanford has a annual gathering in it's 11th year called Pigs, Poultry, and Politics- Old Fashioned Political Rally. Click on the title above or CLICKHERE


If this is a old fashioned political rally it sure is composed of the most connected sponsors who give plenty of campaign contributions to the local politicians. Let's take a closer look at who is sponsoring this political rally.

2010 Sponsorship Congress members:


President: Signature Property Group

Governor: AT&T; Fairway Outdoor Advertising

Senator: BB&T; Brown Investment Properties; Davenport Transportation Consulting; D.R. Horton Homes; Isaacson Isaacson Sheridan & Fountain, LLP; Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP


Commissioner: K. Hovnanian Homes; Pest Management Inc

This old fashioned political rally is where TREBIC can tell all the local politicians who runs Guilford County and where do you get your campaign contributions from.This is where Marlene Sanford President of TREBIC can say to the local politicians just how many more TREBIC  members can we fit on these boards and commissions in Guilford County, especially in the City of Greensboro.

Governor Sponsor: Fairway Outdoor Advertising and it's main kingpin W.S. Morris III from Augusta Georgia, between the in kind contributions from Fairway Outdoor Advertising and the campaign contributions to local politicians he is one of the most generous campaign contributors in this county and he doesn't even live here.Lately there hasn't been much campaign giving from W.S. Morris but this company is very generous with their influence and sign placements all over Guilford County.


Senator Sponsor: Isaaacson, Isaacson & Sheridan. We like to call them King Zoning Stud Henry Isaacson and his son Little King Zoning Stud Marc Isaacson because if you want to get a zoning case passed in Greensboro or Guilford County these are the one's who give plenty of money to the local politicians campaign coffers and if you haven't seen their DOG AND PONY SHOW it is a masterpiece just go to a Greensboro City Zoning meeting to witness King Zoning Stud Henry Isaacson  in action.

We also have Brown Investment and Chester Brown who is connected to Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins with a new shopping center out off of church street and HWY. 150 with Guilford County Commissioner Billy Yow also the well driller on this project. Then we find out that one of Chester Brown's employees Russ Parmele VP of business development has moved right from Greensboro board of adjustment to the Greensboro Zoning Commission without any opposition . It must be nice to go from one commission right to another without any objections and to see if there has been any applications in the databank waiting to get on this board but the TREBIC connected Brown Investment goes right to the front of the line. Amazing

These are just a few of the usual suspects who will be at this Old fashioned political rally. The influence of TREBIC on the local politicians needs to come to an end. When you hear certain politicians come out and say TREBIC has been contacted and TREBIC has some interest, it only goes to show that the FOX is guarding the Hen House and each year they want everyone to know who the FOX actually is.

_________________________________________________________________________________


We also have a new ethical dilemma for any local politician who has received a e mail from TREBIC on this annual gathering . If you would like to go to this event check out the application CLICKHERE . If you see the link it states that this event will cost you $30.00. This poses a real problem and all you need to do is CLICKHERE. This is where TREBIC states this

"Welcome Elected Officials and Candidates!


We invite you to attend our Annual "Pig, Poultry & Politics" event on Thursday, October 14 from 4:30 to 7:00 pm. TREBIC and its member Trade Associations represent nearly 4000 real estate professionals in and around Guilford County, plus all their employees.
Provide your name and mailing address and we'll send you the tickets. See you there!

ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CANDIDATES FREE REGISTRATION"

TREBIC also sent out a email to all the local elected officials and here is what was in the e mail,

"Please plan to attend the 11th Annual Pig, Poultry & Politics Thursday, October 14th! You can reply to this email to RSVP. Your ticket is complimentary, but if you need tickets for guests, they can be purchased for $30 each, $35 day of the event. You can order tickets on our website, www.trebic.org, or you can use the order form attached. "

It states that the local elected official and candidates can get their ticket for free and complimentary.


We have seen plenty of problems on the state level with some DMV workers were given free meals just like the Greensboro ABC Manager Katie Alley who is in a little hot water for her lunch dates with vendors comping the meals for her. How is this different from the most influential lobbyist group in Guilford County TREBIC giving FREE MEALS to local elected officials and candidates right before the elections.

If you are a local elected official and do plan on going to this event it is in your best intertest to NOT take the free meal and buy a $30 ticket and run it through your campaign committee fund because to me this is accepting a free meal and should not be done. Ethics is a real issue and it is time for our local elected officials and candidates understand how this free meal is not right and if you want to attend then pony up the $30 or not go. Triadwatch looks forward to seeing your $30 contribution on your campaign returns from this special interest lobbying political rally event brought to you by the non registered lobbyist Marlene Sanford and the non registered lobbyist group TREBIC.      

Changes to ABC Board in Mecklenburg County , Will Greensboro Do Anything or Play The Delay Game?

HAT TIP PUNDIT HOUSE: CLICKHERE


According to a new post at blog called Pundit House titled "Big Bucks for Booze Board," Mecklenburg County N.C made a complete overhaul of their local Alcoholic Beverage Control board. At the end of the post this is what was stated:

"Along with the salary adjustments, commissioners also approved other tweaks to ABC oversight and operation: the local board must submit a monthly copy of law enforcement activity report to the board of commissioners; submit an annual balanced budget to the board of commissioners and hold a public hearing before adopting a budget; conduct an annual financial audit and present it to commissioners for review; receive commission approval for any salary increase for the CEO; and obtain advance approval from the county finance director for any ABC Board travel expense that exceeds $1,000."

When will we see our local Greensboro ABC control board take on the issues raised with this report from July 14, 2010 from Mark Binker at News and Record? Here is a link to original report CLICKHERE . Below are some of the allegations,

The report by Alcohol Law Enforcement Officers details several things of value they say Alley inappropriately took from liquor industry representatives. Alley says some of reports findings are wrong and others fell within generally accepted business practices.


Among the reports findings, Alley is alleged to have:


-accepted more than 70 meals from liquor company representatives.
-accepted and/or free lodging from liquor company representatives for travel in New York and California.
-prevailed on liquor industry contacts to obtain free or discounted liquor for personal use.
-collected mini-bottles meant for sale as premiums with regular liquor bottles, giving them to favored employees or taking them for herself.
-reported some bottles of high-end liquor as damaged but keeping them for herself rather than disposing of the liquor in question.
-taken home parts of in-store displays that should have been returned to liquor companies, including bar stools and an electric fireplace.
-ordered employees to forge to the signature of the Greensboro ABC Board chairman on a financial disclosure document


Close to 2 months have passed and not one peep has been heard out of the Greensboro City Council on the allegations against local ABC board general manager Katie Alley.

I want to give out my George Hartzman question for the day to end this post, and it is a question to General Manager Katie Alley.

As you can see from the report, you had accepted well over 70 meals from liquor company representatives, and during this whole process of going out to eat with the representatives, did you ever pick up the tab for one meal during this whole time?

If the answer is yes, please release the receipts.

Katie Alley expected the liquer distributors to pick up the tab. Hopefully, more information will come out on this issue . The local Greensboro ABC board is circling their wagons around Ms. Alley to protect their monopolistic empire of extorted favors, instead of cleaning house, which is what Charlotte and Mecklenburg County did.

Maybe it's time for our local elected leadership to step up to the plate and call for some reforms, even though they recieve the same treatment from campaign contributors with business before our legislature.

Maybe that's why they haven't.

Greensboro Coliseum Bartering for Services ? for Matt Brown Video Embedded

Please check out embedded video below



During the business item section of the Greensboro City Council meeting on 7-20-2010 we had Coliseum Managing Director Matt Brown present this:

56. Resolution approving bid in the amount of $1,227,775 and authorizing Contract No. 2010-074 with RP Murray for the Coliseum VIP Building Construction Project. (Council District: all) (roll call vote) (Attachment #56 to Councilmembers)


As you can see from the above embedded video we have Coliseum Director Matt Brown in a bartering agreement for over $300,000 with local companies DH Griffin CLICKHERE with President David Griffin and Brady Trane HVAC Services CLICKHERE with Jim and Joe Brady.

What is bartering?
Barter is the trading of goods or services directly for other goods or services, without using money or any other similar unit of account or medium of exchange.

In the video it seems like Mike Perdue the Coliseum Maintenance Superintendent has worked out a trade agreement with these 2 companies.It would be interesting to see what this trade agreement has in it.

As we have seen in past the Greensboro Coliseum has trade agreements with the Greensboro News and Record, Yes Weekly, Rhino Times as seen in this post at Vie de Malchance CLICKHERE .

One glaring question,  is this legal?
Should local governments get into the bartering of services or should it be bidded out to the lowest bidder?
Did any other companies get a chance to barter for services on this VIP room?

Just a few questions to ponder and let's see if our local newspaper or one of the weeklies will dig deeper into this bartering of services at the Greensboro Coliseum.

N.C. Assoc. of ABC Boards Annual Meeting is Held ? Are You Kidding Me!

It was interesting to read the Greensboro News and Record today, 7-15-2010 to read the investigative reporting from Mark Binker regarding the local chairman of the Greensboro ABC commission. Now the Governor has chimed in CLICKHERE and wants serious action taken against Katie Alley.

One interesting thing to read in the paper edition that is not online is that Mike Fox, the lawyer for the Greensboro ABC commission, wants to meet asap on this issue, but some are out of town and starting next week some will be attending the Association's annual meeting.

Which gets me to what you are going to see in the scribd version below

2010 Summer Conference Bulletin for N.C. Assoc. of ABC Commissions


As you can see from the registration above but if you can't see the scribd version you can go to this web location CLICKHERE and what Mark Binker wrote this morning, the North Carolina Asssociation of ABC Boards, which is a part of the State of North Carolina, is spending our tax dollars in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Not anywhere in North Carolina.
The room rates look to be around $200 a night and the conference registration is $145 for the meeting.
We can also probably say that the chairman's and other attendees will probably come back to North Carolina and expense this trip as a business trip in another state.
Does anyone see the irony in this?
Our state ABC association is housing their annual meeting in another state.
Are you kidding me?
Let's see if anyone will talk about this on top of all the ethical lapses in judgement of boards from Charlotte to Wilmington to Greensboro, now that they are meeting in another state.
Amazing.
You would think in this recession that a North Carolina association would want to spend their dollars in North Carolina.................think not.

Here is a great link to send to the people at the North Carolina Association of ABC Boards CLICKHERE
if you didn't clickhere it is a link to VISITNC the state tourism web site.

Another Episode of Robbie's Recusals from Greensboro City Council Meetings

During the Greensboro City Council meeting on April 20, 2010 Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins added another recusal to his resume. Video below.

REGULAR MEETING


TUESDAY

APRIL 20, 2010

5:30 P.M.

COUNCIL CHAMBER
21. Resolution approving the proposed amendments to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Plan, Target Area and Budget for submittal to the North Carolina Division of Community Assistance. (Council District: all) (roll call vote) (Attachment #21 to Councilmembers)


22. Resolution approving allocation of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds for support of a Permanent Supportive Housing Project recommended by the Community Resource Board and authorizing the City Manager to execute loan documentation. (Council District: 3) (roll call vote) (Attachment #22 to Councilmembers)


Robbie Perkins says in the video that one of our real estate brokers found this piece of land for Mr. Levy and his group and have a direct financial interest and need to abstain. Just a few questions in just how did your real estate broker find this property? Was there any inside maneuvering for this property?

This concludes another episode of Robbies Recusals

HAT TIP Piedmont Publius CLICKHERE

Here is what Piedmont Publius had to say about this

"The item was to allocate Neighborhood Stabilization funds for a public housing project to be located near the corner of N. Elm and Pisgah Church Road. The city housing planner told the council that the 20-unit project had a total cost of $2 million, $800,000 of which would be provided by the city.



Before the discussion, council member Robbie Perkins said he had to abstain from the discussion and the vote because one of his brokers found the property for the developer an thusd he had a “direct financial interest.”


I’m not sure who’s providing Perkins’ brokering fee, but an average citizen would look at this and say a public official is profiting from a project that is receiving taxpayer funds. That never looks good.


By the way, the item passed with an 8-0 vote with practically no discussion or debate, something I like to call a ‘City Council special.’"

TO BE CONTINUED

Why would the Rhino Times, which receives ad revenue from the Coliseum, explain a free ACC ticket issue with a caveat?

Tournament Tickets

...Do you know how many ticket books are given to the Coliseum and…who gets them?...

Anonymous [Rhino Letter to the Editor submitter]

[Rhino] Editors Note: Elected officials do not get free tickets to the ACC tournament from the Coliseum.

Rhino Times, February 25, 2010

Hartzman Questions:

Why the qualified response?

Does any entity give elected officials free tickets for anything
at the Coliseum or anywhere else?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how much does the Rhino receive in advertizing dollars
indirectly paid for with some of the community’s money?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how many complimentary tickets have the Rhino or its employees received from whom?

If some have received free tickets,
has any reporting and/or budgetary appropriation been compromised?

Aren’t gifts to elected officials supposed to be reported?

If those who received free tickets did not attend said events,
who did, and what was the face value of any admissions
relative to any campaign contributions?

If tickets were circulated for the Circus,
were some distributed for “Around the World in 80 Days” at Triad Stage?

Please contact TriadWatch with any interesting tidbits.

Free Tickets To The Circus Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members, Is This Legal or Ethical or Conflict of Interest?

Greensboro and Guilford County Information Requests Emailed February 24, 2010

Why did MacArthur Sims donate $125 to Robbie Perkins and $100 to Jim Kee on the same day after the pre-election filing deadline?

The art of government,

consists of taking as much money as possible,

from one party of citizens to give to the other.

Voltaire

http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/elections_cms/docs/2009%20docs/yrend/KEE_JIM_yrend09.pdf

http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/elections_cms/docs/2009%20docs/yrend/PERKINS_ROBBIE_yrend09.pdf

Why would Roy Carroll wait until October 27th, 2009 to contribute to Jim Kee’s campaign?

Illusions commend themselves to us,

because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead.

We must therefore accept it…when they...collide with a bit of reality,

against which they are dashed to pieces.

Sigmund Freud

http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/elections_cms/docs/2009%20docs/yrend/KEE_JIM_yrend09.pdf