Another look at Hickory Municipal Elections - Wards and Precincts - Silence DoGood

Silence DoGood wrote this piece right after the last election and I didn't want to keep harping on that sad state of affairs when it comes to Hickory municipal elections, but now when we look at the issue of non-participation and couple it with the issue of representation, then this article brings the issue full circle. Harry says that people need to get out and vote. I wonder if that would be enough, when we look to see how the rules are constantly manipulated to maintain a status quo that only benefits a small minority of the community. I agree that people must participate in order to change circumstances, but I also understand the frustration. No matter what we do those in power are going to throw up roadblocks. What you have to do is maintain your cool and keep moving forward. You have to believe that eventually we will get there. Don't give up and don't give in.

Another opportunity has come and gone. I’m speaking here of election day and the choices we make in deciding who will make decisions on our behalf. Some will waffle about how there were not any choices other than the same folks already running things. Whose fault is that, per chance? Why is the political process so covered in dirt and lambasted in mud slinging that no one wants to put themselves or their families under the microscope of scrutiny. I mean after all, most of what is debated it seems has little to do with qualifications to hold office. It has more to do with social mores and ecumenical piety than the ability to make rational decisions and work as a team to make things happen. Erstwhile leaving your own personal motives out of the equation, along with personal and familial monetary gain, and not doing anything illegal in the process. Anyway, that’s my general statement about the electoral process in Hickory and the nation as a whole.

I’ve been crunching numbers again. I’ve written, as has Thom and others, about the insanely disparaging pitfall of the way council members are elected in Hickory. Well, I’ve taken the process a few more steps into graphic detail and this document serves as testimony to that. Even though as a general overview and consensus, quite a few citizens think the manner in which representatives are elected is skewed, since you only have to live in the ward you want to represent, you’re elected by Citywide popular vote.

Recently, the city re-drew their ward maps in order to comply with federal laws that require such things. A balance was sought, according to the official City of Hickory website between the 6 wards of 6,668 people each. An admirable task, if it really counted for anything. The reason it doesn’t is you’re electing representatives citywide to serve in the respective wards. If it were not a federal law to re-draw the districts after each census, why would you even bother? Balancing the wards by population serves no purpose other than to comply with the Federal statute. Electing those ward representatives citywide allows for block voting from the other wards and a skewed representation on City Council. Like I said, I’ve been crunching numbers again. I started by identifying each of the 23 precincts from which Hickory draws their votes from, n=23. Those precincts are as follows:

PCT#    PRECINCT                          POLLING PLACE   -  POLL ADDRESS
04         BROOKFORD                    BROOKFORD TOWN HALL  - 1700 S CENTER ST HICKORY, NC
07         CONOVER WEST              FIRST METHODIST CHURCH  -  410 NORTH 1ST AVE CONOVER
11         COLLEGE PARK                ST ANDREW'S LUTHERAN CHURCH   -  629 8TH ST NE HICKORY
12         KENWORTH                     CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH  -  324 2ND AVE SE HICKORY
13         GREENMONT                   WESTMONT SR. CITIZENS CENTER  - 1316 MAIN AVE DR NW
14         OAKWOOD                      HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH  - 547 6TH ST NW
15         RIDGEVIEW                     BROWN-PENN CENTER  - 735 3RD ST SW
16         HIGHLAND                       HIGHLAND RECREATION CENTER  -  451 8TH ST DR NE
17         LONGVIEW NORTH            BETHEL METHODIST CHURCH  - 80 28TH ST NW
19         LONGVIEW SOUTH            CHRIST UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH - 1131 33RD ST SW
23        MOUNTAIN VIEW #1           BETHEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST -  4547 BETHEL CHURCH RD
24         MOUNTAIN VIEW #2          MTN. GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH  -  6156 MTN GROVE CHURCH RD
26         OAKLAND HEIGHTS            FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH  - 1301 12TH ST DR NW
28         ST STEPHENS #1              ST. STEPHENS LUTHERAN CHURCH  - 2304 SPRINGS RD
29         ST STEPHENS #2              ST. LUKE'S LUTHERAN CHURCH  -  3916 SPRINGS RD
30         SANDY RIDGE                   ST. STEPHENS LUTHERAN CHURCH ELCA  -  2259 12TH AVE NE
33        SPRINGS                           MT. ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH  - 4420 COUNTY HOME RD CONOVER
34        STARTOWN                       ST. PAULS REFORM CHURCH   - 3562 STARTOWN RD NEWTON
35        SWEETWATER                    NEW JERUSALEM LUTHERN CH  -  2120 STARTOWN RD
36        VIEWMONT #1                   ST. LUKES UNITED METHODIST CHURCH  - 52 16TH AVE NW
37        VIEWMONT #2                   MT. OLIVE LUTHERAN CHURCH  -  2780 N CENTER ST
38        FALLING CREEK                   LAKEVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH  - 4080 N CENTER ST
39        NORTHWEST                      NEILL CLARK REC. CENTER  - 3404 6TH ST DR NW

Now, since the City of Hickory is broken into a quadrant, with each quarter so designated northwest (NW), northeast (NE), southeast (SE), and southwest (SW), I checked the address of each precinct polling place and grouped them according to the map quadrant system.  The result of that is the following table:

NW   
13    GREENMONT                 WESTMONT SR. CITIZENS CENTER - 1316 MAIN AVE DR NW
14    OAKWOOD                    HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH - 547 6TH ST NW
26    OAKLAND HEIGHTS         FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH  - 1301 12TH ST DR NW
36    VIEWMONT #1              ST. LUKES UNITED METHODIST CHURCH  - 52 16TH AVE NW
37    VIEWMONT #2              MT. OLIVE LUTHERAN CHURCH - 2780 N CENTER ST
39    NORTHWEST                 NEILL CLARK REC. CENTER  - 3404 6TH ST DR NW

NE   
11    COLLEGE PARK              ST ANDREW'S LUTHERAN CHURCH - 629 8TH ST NE HICKORY
16    HIGHLAND                    HIGHLAND RECREATION CENTER - 1451 8TH ST DR NE
28    ST STEPHENS #1          ST. STEPHENS LUTHERAN CHURCH  - 2304 SPRINGS RD
29    ST STEPHENS #2          ST. LUKE'S LUTHERAN CHURCH - 3916 SPRINGS RD
30    SANDY RIDGE               ST. STEPHENS LUTHERAN CHURCH ELCA - 2259 12TH AVE NE
38    FALLING CREEK             LAKEVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH - 4080 N CENTER ST


SE   
12    KENWORTH               CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH  - 324 2ND AVE SE HICKORY

SW   
15    RIDGEVIEW               BROWN-PENN CENTER  - 735 3RD ST SW04 BROOKFORD


The other nine (9) precinct polling places that collect votes in the Hickory municipal elections are located outside the corporate city limits of Hickory, and have been designated as ‘outside’ (OS) for the purposes of this data set.

OS  
4       BROOKFORD           BROOKFORD TOWN HALL  -  1700 S CENTER ST HICKORY, NC
7       CONOVER W.          FIRST METHODIST CHURCH - 410 NORTH 1ST AVE CONOVER
17     LONGVIEW N.          BETHEL METHODIST CHURCH - 80 28TH ST NW
19     LONGVIEW S.          CHRIST UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH  - 1131 33RD ST SW
23     MTN VIEW #1         BETHEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST - 4547 BETHEL CHURCH RD
24     MTN VIEW #2         MTN. GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH - 6156 MTN GROVE CHURCH RD
33     SPRINGS                MT. ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH - 4420 COUNTY HOME RD CONOVER
34     STARTOWN            ST. PAULS REFORM CHURCH  - 3562 STARTOWN RD NEWTON
35     SWEETWATER        NEW JERUSALEM LUTHERN CH -  2120 STARTOWN RD


I’ve shown the precinct number, the precinct label or name, where the polling place is and the physical address, according to Catawba Board of Elections. This is how they cluster by group:

To state the obvious shown in the above chart, the NE and NW accounts for 52% of the polling places for the City of Hickory. The SE and SW account for 8% of the polling places and the remaining 40% are located outside corporate municipal limits.

However, you are probably thinking that doesn’t mean votes or even elections, since they are merely places to go vote and you’d be correct in that assumption. What I’m thinking though is, why are there so many polling places strategically located on the north side of the tracks and there are so few for the south side inside City limits? Particularly when Council went to so much trouble with committees to ensure 6,668 people per ward. Why is that? However, I will direct your attention to the following graphs and charts as illustrative of the overall point of this exercise, allowing ward representatives to be chosen at large in the City is wrong. Here’s why.


 


 


 



 Those same votes, as shown in the charts above are now presented to you by precinct polling place and quadrant.


 



 









Let me explain a couple things here about what you’re looking at. The vote numbers are excluding curbside, absentee, and provisional votes. The reason I didn’t include them is that there is no means of tracking location for one and there were only 12-16 of those votes cast voting for each of the 3 incumbents for another. There was zero votes for a challenger from any of those three sources. Also, my use of the words “incumbent” and “challenger” here are neutral references since it is not my purpose nor intent to engage in or deal with personalities.

Now, when 52% of the available polling places are located in areas that are favorable to you and your campaign and the votes coming out of those polls account for 89%, 88%, and 87% of the total votes cast in an election, you are in absolute control.

Is it plain and relatively simple now to see how it doesn’t matter how many people are in the respective wards? Isn’t it really easy to gauge how control is being leveraged using the system of at large ward voting currently being utilized? Can you see how apathy and disgust build among people to know, time and again, why should they bother to vote, when the game is rigged so why not just hand it to them by not running challengers or even participating in the process.

All the people are asking for is that they be allowed to choose the person that represents them, in their ward, where they live. Not choose the person that represents you, in your ward, where you live. But that is the system that is now in place. It has a very feudalistic quality to it. Sure, your allowed to vote but not that it matters with the way things are to make sure that any vote you cast that is counter to the status quo is null when it drops in the box or goes through the counter.

This is not an academic piece nor is it science, per se. The data hasn’t been controlled for variables such as voter turnout or number of challengers, nor is it a longitudinal examination across time, yet. I intend, in the ensuing weeks, to take the data from a previous submission to see how they stack up over the last 10 years and if that data supports the conclusions drawn.

As I’ve indicated in the past, I pose and ask lots of questions. I don’t just try to force feed you lop-sided information and insist you take it for the gospel. I encourage you to think critically, seek the answers to these questions and more on your own, and if arrive at a different conclusion, that’s great too, I’m not claiming to have the only answer. But with the way things are at present, it’s hard to ignore what’s staring at you.

Fair Representation - I actually wrote this myself

Unlike Mayor Wright, who submitted an article written by an elected official in Austin, Texas, I actually authored the piece presented here on the Hickory Hound back in November. I don't think the article from February 29, 2012's Hickory Daily Record really has much relevance to what we see here in Hickory. I had help with the research for those two articles and am appreciative of those involved in the movement to restore the voice of the Citizens of Hickory. Why is the Mayor against the people of Hickory having a voice? Is he against the First Amendment?


1961 -- A lesson in Hickory's History  - Hickory’s leadership in the 1960s was definitely not "all of one mind" and they seemed to never hold back in voicing their distinctive opinions. The decision to change the voting structure in Hickory was not changed through Unanimous Consent. The similarity that will be shown is that, like many issues we have seen lately with the current Council, there was no integrity of process. The end justified the means. The system changed through political maneuvering and did not allow the people’s will to even be taken into consideration. If the people are going to have their wishes suppressed to appease the desires of a small minority, then why should anyone expect the governing structure to be successful, when it isn’t going to have the support of a citizenry that they constantly undercut.


1967 - How we got where we are today -  The different wards of Hickory have a multitude of socio-economic and cultural differences and this diversity needs to be and should be represented.  Just because someone doesn’t represent a notion, idea, and/or mindset you understand doesn’t mean that it is invalid or radical. Different layers of thought lead to more creativity and thus ingenuity and innovation. Most of you will see past the interjection of the "One Man, One vote" issue. That has to do with apportionment and this issue had nothing to do with apportionment. If we were/are all the same, then why even have wards? They knew this. It was about control.

Look at the vote and it relates to much of what we see today. Wards 3, 4, and 5 voted against the At-Large system. That is Kenworth, Ridgeview, and West Hickory. Wards 1, 2, and 6 along with the Mayor voted for the change. That is Historic Hickory, Northeast Hickory, and Viewmont. Do you see the pattern?

The final thought that I would like to leave you with in relation to this article is the travesty that people weren’t allowed to vote on this issue. Representative Poovey wanted to make that happen, but Representative Mullinax talked about Home Rule. This is a technicality of words, because this wasn’t about changing a budget or some other administrative issue. This was about the structure of how people vote being changed by the people who are recipients of those votes. Hickory’s Charter is its Constitution and it should have been representative of the wishes of the different segments of the city. As you can see it wasn’t a cut and dried issue and thus the citizen’s will should have been taken into consideration after debating the issue thoroughly… Hmmm… The more things change. The more they remain the same!!!

The current City Council could do the right thing and schedule this Special Election and let the citizens debate this issue and have the vote and maybe rekindle some interest in Hickory's politics and governance.

Let the People Vote!!!

But if the Council won’t do the right thing, then please

Sign the Petition!!!

The History of At-Large voting in Hickory - The HDR articles and Council Minutes Documents


 Hal Row's First Talk - CEG discussion about Ward Specific Voting - The Interview
 

Help Bring Fair Representation Back to the City of Hickory

2012 Cliff Moone for NC House Seat (96th District)

Cliff Moone, a Hickory Democrat, filed today as a candidate running for the NC 96th House District seat.

“I am running for the North Carolina House for two simple reasons. Our public school budgets are under siege; the best community college and university system in America is being unnecessarily underfunded. It is shameful for North Carolina to be 49th in the nation in per-pupil expenditures. We must make adequate investments in education if our children and youth are going to be prepared for the emerging 21st Century job market. Cutting education budgets and teaching jobs is not the way to a better future.”

“While one political party (Republican) has essentially had a monopoly on elected positions in this area, our unemployment rate has remained the second-highest in the state. Time and again, they have run on the promise of jobs. Time and again, they have gone to Raleigh and focused on other issues. And the jobs have mostly gone elsewhere. I think we can do better. We must challenge the status quo,”

Mr. Moone is a semi-retired pastor who has a background in education as the original Head Master of the Hickory Christian Academy and a former director of the Sylvan Learning Center here in Hickory. He is currently an instructor at Catawba Valley Community College.

Mr. Moone has been active in community affairs as a Rotarian and as President of the Parson of the Hills Ministry Board. An active leader in the Democrat Party, he is currently the 10th Congressional District Democrat chairman.

“I make the citizens and families of the 96th District three promises. I will represent them with integrity: I will never lie to them nor vote in any way that compromises my principles or my character. I shall hold ‘Constituent Concerns & Care’ meetings throughout the district each month that the Legislature is not in session to actually listen to the citizens, not talk at them. Because I believe in the concept of a true ‘Citizen’s Legislature,’ I pledge to hold this office for no more than three terms. I am not looking for a political career, but for an opportunity to give back to a community that has been a blessing to my family and me for nearly 25 years."

Mr. Moone will be facing Hickory Real Estate Developer Andy Wells in the upcoming election.

Bev Perdue's Associates Get Court Dates For Campaign Violations

Mr. Carrington has been all over this. Excellent Journalism. Real Journalism. The violations center around Morganton and the Chartered Flights originated out of Hickory Regional Airport - Profile Aviation.


Perdue Associates Get Court Dates For Fundraising Violations - Sitton, Stubbs will appear in March on felony campaign finance charges - The Carolina Journal - Don Carrington - February 27, 2012 - A former aide to Gov. Bev Perdue and a close friend of the governor have March dates in Wake County Superior Court to respond to felony charges related to their fundraising activities for Perdue’s 2008 campaign. A third person indicted on felony charges related to Perdue campaign fundraising has not had his initial court date scheduled. A fourth Perdue associate, Greensboro businessman Peter Reichard, worked out a felony plea in December.

(1.09.12) Questions Remain About Perdue Flight Operation
RALEIGH — The lieutenant governor’s office scheduled flights for official business for Bev Perdue from a list of “aircraft providers” maintained by the Perdue campaign. Providers were not reimbursed for official business. Perdue insists she was unaware of the program at the time.

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(1.06.12) CJ Editorial: Flight Plan Clear As Mud
Even after four supporters of her 2008 campaign have been indicted for fundraising violations -- and one has been convicted -- Gov. Bev Perdue has refused to speak in detail on the charges.

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(12.15.11) Convicted Perdue Donor Reichard Involved in Scheme to Hide Illegal Contributions
RALEIGH — Peter Reichard, along with three other Perdue associates, are implicated in two additional schemes to skirt campaign laws and deliver illegal funds to the governor’s election efforts.

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(12.13.11) Indicted Perdue Supporter Hints at Defense Strategy
RALEIGH — Businessman Peter Reichard faces a felony obstruction of justice charge for accepting $32,000 from maxed-out campaign donor Charles M. “Mike” Fulenwider. Reichard used Fulenwider’s money to pay a portion of the salary of Juleigh Sitton, whom Perdue hired to run the governor’s western North Carolina office.

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(12.01.11) Support Groups Vary For Indicted Perdue Team Members
RALEIGH — When high-powered political operatives get indicted in North Carolina they know they’re going to have to run a gauntlet of media types as they head to the local magistrate to get their mug shots taken.

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(11.29.11) Grand Jury Indicts Three from Perdue’s Campaign Team
RALEIGH — A Wake County grand jury indicted three people on Monday for illegal activity associated with the financing of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue’s 2008 campaign for governor.

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- February 26, 2012

Silencing The Critics - paulcraigroberts.org - Paul Craig Roberts - February 20, 2012 -
Whose interests are being served by Washington’s endless and multi-trillion dollar wars? Certainly not the interests of the 50 million americans with no access to health care, nor the 1,500,000 american children who are homeless, living in cars, rundown motel rooms, tent cities, and the storm sewers under Las Vegas, while huge amounts of public funds are used to bail out banks and squandered in wars of hegemony. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suJCvkazrTc               The US has no independent print and TV media. It has presstitutes who are paid for the lies that they tell. The US government in its pursuit of its immoral aims has attained the status of the most corrupt government in human history. Yet Obama speaks as if Washington is the font of human morality.                The US government does not represent americans. It represents a few special interests and a foreign power. US citizens simply don’t count, and certainly Afghans, Iraqis, Libyans, Somalians, Yemenis, and Pakistanis don’t count. Washington regards truth, justice, and mercy as laughable values. Money, power, hegemony are all that count for Washington, the city upon the hill, the light unto nations, the example for the world.


Soaring oil prices will dwarf the Greek drama - Since last week's eurozone "grand summit", the headlines have been positive and, in the official photos anyway, the main players appear to be smiling. As such, the global equity rally goes on. - The Telegraph of London - Liam Halligan - February 25, 2012 - The International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy think-tank funded by oil-importing Western governments, tells us that crude demand is "declining remorselessly throughout the OECD [countries]". Given that the Western economies remain weak and the eurozone is heading for recession, the "advanced economies" are consuming less crude.             The fine print shows, though, that even IEA demand projections, which tend to be under-estimates, show OECD oil use falling just 0.9pc in 2012. Demand among the non-OECD countries, meanwhile, including the emerging giants of the East, is forecast to rise 2.8pc. Total global crude consumption, then, is still set to increase by another 1pc this year, mimicking the trend of 2011.             The "demand destruction" thesis is useful for Western governments desperate for cheaper oil – and it used to be true. Not so long ago, OECD oil use was so important that a Western demand slow-down was enough to lower global crude prices, so helping us recover. But rampant non-OECD demand now accounts for half the world total – and rising. Chinese oil consumption has recently surged at an astonishing 7pc-8pc per annum and the People's Republic is now second only to the US in terms of overall oil use. Misguided Western attempts to print our way out of trouble using QE are also boosting crude demand and pushing up prices, as savvy investors seek an "anti-debasement" hedge.             On the supply side, while attention focuses on geopolitical flare-ups, the important trends relate to geology and finance. Since the 1960s, the discovery rate and size of new oil and gas fields has fallen markedly. More than four-fifths of the world's major fields are beyond peak production. The output of the world's largest 580 oil fields is declining at a 5.1pc annual average. Strategic oil traders now worry aloud about falling pressure at Saudi's Ghawar, Cantarell in Mexico and other giants fields. The credit-crunch, meanwhile, severely cut investment in exploration and well development, which is likely to have long term supply implications.              While there's lots of hype about tar sands and shale fuels, these new technologies often expend more energy than they create, while causing horrendous environmental and water-supply problems. Conventionally-produced crude will remain absolutely critical, and demand for it will spiral, until mankind bans the internal combustion engine, outlaws ammonium-based fertilisers, dismantles the global pharmaceutical industry and learns to live without plastic. I can't see that happening anytime soon.                Geo-political issues are important, of course. A major Gulf conflict would obviously see oil prices spike. But crude is now expensive not due to political argy-bargy but because of the fundamental truths of demand and supply. Meanwhile, Western share prices keep rising.


8 reasons why gas will hit $5 a gallon this year - MSNBC - By Paul Ausick and Douglas A. McIntyre, 24/7 Wall St. - Two warring trends are pushing and pulling gas prices. On the one hand, Americans now drive less than at any time in the past 11 years. On the other hand, gasoline and oil inventories are at very low levels around the world, and traders believe that supply will tighten significantly. The fact that Americans drive much less will not offset an interruption of supply from the Middle East, a decision by refineries to charge more to turn oil into gasoline, or higher demand from emerging economies like China and India.              24/7 Wall St. reviewed the major reasons that gas prices have risen in the past quarter and analyzed whether the causes will improve or worsen. We have estimated how much each factor could increase gas prices. Together, those increases would be enough to push gas prices up by another $1.50.           1)Strait of Hormuz     2)Iran       3) Refiners raising prices     4) Other geopolitical risks         5)The EU may save itself         6) U.S. Economic Recovery          7) Summer          8) Supply Risk


Gasoline Prices Are Not Rising, the Dollar Is Falling - Forbes - Louis Woodhill - February 22, 2012 - Unfortunately, the talking heads that are trying to explain the reasons for high oil prices are missing one tiny detail. Oil prices aren’t high right now. In fact, they are unusually low. Gasoline prices would have to rise by another $0.65 to $0.75 per gallon from where they are now just to be “normal”. And, because gasoline prices are low right now, it is very likely that they are going to go up more—perhaps a lot more......          In terms of judging whether the price of WTI is high or low, here is the price that truly matters: 0.0602 ounces of gold per barrel (which can be written as Au0.0602/bbl). What this number means is that, right now, a barrel of WTI has the same market value as 0.0602 ounces of gold.           During the 493 months since January 1, 1971, the price of WTI has averaged Au0.0732/bbl. It has been higher than that during 225 of those months and lower than that during 268 of those months. Plotted as a graph, the line representing the price of a barrel of oil in terms of gold has crossed the horizontal line representing the long-term average price (Au0.0732/bbl) 29 times.......            Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke uses a “core CPI index” that excludes food and energy to guide monetary policy. From Big Ben’s point of view, rising gasoline prices are not a problem. For the rest of us, they are becoming a big problem.......      Over the centuries, gold has been “the golden constant”. Eventually, all prices equilibrate with gold. This is why gold represents the best available standard in terms of which to define the value of a monetary unit. Forty-one years ago, when the value of the dollar was defined in terms of gold at $35/oz, WTI was selling for $3.56/bbl..........            During the 1970s, the toxic combination of a weak dollar, high tax rates, and onerous regulations introduced a new word into America’s economic vocabulary: stagflation. Reaganomics banished this word to the history books. Now, President Obama and Fed Chairman Bernanke are teaming up to give stagflation another try. It is not likely that Americans will like it any more this time around than they did 40 years ago.


GE “Forcing” Employees Into Chevy Volts - Gas2.org - Christopher DeMorro - February 20, 2012 - General Motors and General Electric are two companies that have been in the political crosshairs lately. GM stands accused of “crony capitalism,” while GE is under fire for paying no Federal income taxes in 2010. The two companies share more than that though, with GE placing an order for 12,000 Chevy Volts and other hybrid vehicles.               A memo leaked to Green Car Reports lays out GE’s plans for their new fleet of Volts, and as expected, it has some people crying foul.                    The memo, sent to employees of GE Healthcare Americas team explains that all sedan, crossover, and minivan purchases in 2012 will be replaced by the Chevy Volt. Only field engineers are exempt from having to drive a company Volt.                  GE will offer estimates for installation Level 2 Charging Stations, though all-gas use will be allowed when there is no electric option. Any employees who opt out of the Volt program will not be compensated for their expenses. Those who do choose to drive the Volt will be reimbursed for public charging and home charging costs, in addition to gas uses.

  
Lowe's offers buyouts to corporate staff - Company offers buyouts to staffers in Mooresville and Wilkesboro offices - Charlotte Observer - February 25, 2012 - Lowe's Inc., the Mooresville-based home improvement chain, is offering buyouts to corporate staff, as the retailer slows store openings, cuts costs and focuses on the digital aspects of its business. The buyout offer - known as a "voluntary separation program" - applies to corporate staff members at the company's offices in Mooresville and Wilkesboro. Lowe's gave buyout notices to eligible employees on Monday. Employees who take the buyout will receive a lump-sum payment, based on how long they've been with the company.           
The company did not specify how many employees it hopes will take the buyout, but Yenichek said "the majority" of corporate employees are eligible. Lowe's is one of the largest employers in the Charlotte region, with about 5,200 employees working at the Mooresville and Wilkesboro locations. Layoffs could follow if the buyout is not sufficient, Ausura's letter said. Lowe's has seen its earnings fall for three straight quarters, and its performance has lagged that of chief rival Home Depot. In Lowe's most recent quarter, the company's profit fell to $225 million, down from $404 million in the same quarter a year ago. Lowe's reports its fourth quarter and full-year earnings on Feb. 27.           The company has already eliminated about one manager in each of its 1,725 stores to cut costs. The company also announced last year that it was closing 20 underperforming stores, resulting in nearly 2,000 job cuts, and cutting the number of stores it plans to open by half over the coming years.


Roanoke mail processing facility to close - The Roanoke Times (Virginia) - Sheila Ellis - February 22, 2012 - The U.S. Postal Service will close its Roanoke mail processing facility, a union representative said tonight.            Lisa Kirkwood, chief steward for American Postal Workers Union Local 482, said workers were told at a meeting with Postal Service officials tonight that the facility will be shut down. It employs about 500 people. It's not clear when the closing will occur.                    Letters and packages will be sent instead to Greensboro, N.C., to be processed, resulting in slower delivery and the death of the Roanoke postmark.                    The Roanoke processing facility has been in jeopardy since last year, when the Postal Service, citing significant decreases in mail volume and a massive infrastructure, said it was considering closing 250 processing facilities, including those in Roanoke and Lynchburg.      U.S. Postal Service to Cut 35,000 Jobs as Plants Are Shut - By Angela Greiling Keane - February 23, 2012 



Who's announced most job cuts: Uncle Sam - MSNBC - Allison Linn - February 13, 2012 - Msnbc.com asked outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas to compile a list of the employers that have publicly announced the most job cuts from the beginning of 2007 through the end of 2011. Challenger relies on public announcements and news reports to compile its data and checks those against government-mandated layoff notices when available.                  The U.S. government topped the list with 112,800 job cuts announced over the past five years, mainly at the U.S. Postal Service and in the defense sector. The government tops the list in part because it’s the nation’s largest employer. The government employed about 2.8 million workers as of January, so the announced job cuts would have amounted to only about 4 percent of the total.             Even if you don’t want to work for the Post Office or Defense Department, the prospect of making a career with the federal government may be waning. The Labor Department projects that federal government employment will shrink by 372,000 jobs by 2020.

The Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury gone rogue? Sounds like it.