No proposal will be belittled by the Hound. We want input from everyone. I beg you to please participate in this roundtable discussion. We want everyone to be cordial and civil, but no input is stupid no matter how large or small, no matter how simple or intricate.
Insiders and Outsiders are both needed in this process. This forum just might be what helps kickstart our city back to the progressive city that it was as little as a decade ago.
I have learned so much in the last few months and I think this solutions' forum will give everyone a better understanding of where we have been, where we are heading, and where we need to be.
If there is any information that you feel might compromise your anonymity, there are ways that these issues can be addressed without doing so. You can e-mail me and we can figure out together a way to address the issue without someone figuring out where it came from.
I am going to archive "Problems and Solutions" at the right under the Blog Archives on this page. I truly believe that doing this will help our city mature, grow, and prosper; fulfilling the potential that we all know that we are capable of.
Thank You,
Let's Get Started
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Thursday, October 30, 2008
Banking Bailout Money Paying for Stockholder Dividends and Wall Street Bank Bonuses
Read this article: With government permission, banks are looking to pay out 52% of $163 billion already allocated to them to their shareholders. This money was supposed to give liquidity to the credit markets and instead it is going to help prop up stocks and pay stockholder's dividends.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/29/AR2008102904533.html?hpid=topnews
This article shows that Wall Street banks are paying $70 billion to staff from the money they are receiving from the federal bailout.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/17/executivesalaries-banking
So $150billion+ is going to pay salary bonuses and Stockholder dividends from taxpayer money. How does that make you feel. For those of you that thought the bailout was necessary, do you still?
It is obvious that Government officials knew this was going to happen. They did nothing (and are still doing nothing) to stop it. The Feds were lying to us again!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/29/AR2008102904533.html?hpid=topnews
This article shows that Wall Street banks are paying $70 billion to staff from the money they are receiving from the federal bailout.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/17/executivesalaries-banking
So $150billion+ is going to pay salary bonuses and Stockholder dividends from taxpayer money. How does that make you feel. For those of you that thought the bailout was necessary, do you still?
It is obvious that Government officials knew this was going to happen. They did nothing (and are still doing nothing) to stop it. The Feds were lying to us again!!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Letter of Apology to City Council about Jeanette Wester's Truck
I would like to apologize about the issue of Jeanette Wester's truck. It has been brought to my attention that the city has had issues with this lady in the past and she was unlikely to cooperate. Those facts were not brought forward at the City Council meeting of 11/21/2008.
I am not someone that is looking to confront the council on every issue. I just believe that nuisance laws are conveniently arbitrary and not administered equally to all citizens. I only believe in standing up for the rights of all of the citizens of this community, especially the vulnerable. I am a conservative person that believes in small government -- a government of, by, and for the citizens.
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
I am not perfect, but I try to live by this rule. That is what I was getting at when the facts were presented to me on 11/21/2008. Whether the council had the facts about Ms. Wester's issues, I do not know. There should have been witnesses from the Highland Neighborhood Association present at the time of this hearing to make their case. I thought that Sgt. Baer made an excellent case, as to the facts, that something needed to be done; but I had the feeling that there were aspects missing to this hearing. Now I feel that I have those facts. Though I had to find them through alternative sources.
I will present this apology on my blog, so that people will be informed that there were grounds to believe that Ms Wester was not going to be cooperative in abating the nuisance.
Sincere Apology,
James Thomas (Thom) Shell
I am not someone that is looking to confront the council on every issue. I just believe that nuisance laws are conveniently arbitrary and not administered equally to all citizens. I only believe in standing up for the rights of all of the citizens of this community, especially the vulnerable. I am a conservative person that believes in small government -- a government of, by, and for the citizens.
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
I am not perfect, but I try to live by this rule. That is what I was getting at when the facts were presented to me on 11/21/2008. Whether the council had the facts about Ms. Wester's issues, I do not know. There should have been witnesses from the Highland Neighborhood Association present at the time of this hearing to make their case. I thought that Sgt. Baer made an excellent case, as to the facts, that something needed to be done; but I had the feeling that there were aspects missing to this hearing. Now I feel that I have those facts. Though I had to find them through alternative sources.
I will present this apology on my blog, so that people will be informed that there were grounds to believe that Ms Wester was not going to be cooperative in abating the nuisance.
Sincere Apology,
James Thomas (Thom) Shell
Bev wants more of the Same Ole, Same Ole When It Comes to Our Roads
This article shows that Bev Perdue represents the status quo when it comes to North Carolina's corrupt DOT. No wonder, when one of her largest fundraisers was Louis Sewell Jr. of Jacksonville (a former DOT boardmember).
I like this quote. "The board has evolved into a shadow legislature," said David Hartgen, a transportation analyst at UNC-Charlotte who also writes for the conservative John Locke Foundation. "They see their job as bringing home projects to those counties. That's wrong."
I won't go further into the article. You really need to read it. Mrs. Perdue admits she won't ban fundraisers from serving on the DOT board, but Mr. McCrory will. This is the cronyism that we have been preaching about and this is the problem that I have with the good ole boys from down east. They run our state like they are Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. I think I've even heard these two on some political radio commercials. Is that the way you want our state represented?
If you vote for Mrs. Perdue, then you will be voting to continue to drive over the craters and pot holes on I-40. If you vote for her, you will continue to see our tax dollars funnelled to her buddies in the rural areas down east. It is time for these shennanigans to end and the best way to do that is to get these people out of office so that they can no longer damage our beautiful state.
I beg you to read this entire article. It's not that long.
http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/1240178.html
Watch this short film.
http://www2.talkingaboutpolitics.com/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ArticleView/mid/364/articleId/1415/Perdue-Fundraisers--Roads.aspx
I like this quote. "The board has evolved into a shadow legislature," said David Hartgen, a transportation analyst at UNC-Charlotte who also writes for the conservative John Locke Foundation. "They see their job as bringing home projects to those counties. That's wrong."
I won't go further into the article. You really need to read it. Mrs. Perdue admits she won't ban fundraisers from serving on the DOT board, but Mr. McCrory will. This is the cronyism that we have been preaching about and this is the problem that I have with the good ole boys from down east. They run our state like they are Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. I think I've even heard these two on some political radio commercials. Is that the way you want our state represented?
If you vote for Mrs. Perdue, then you will be voting to continue to drive over the craters and pot holes on I-40. If you vote for her, you will continue to see our tax dollars funnelled to her buddies in the rural areas down east. It is time for these shennanigans to end and the best way to do that is to get these people out of office so that they can no longer damage our beautiful state.
I beg you to read this entire article. It's not that long.
http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/1240178.html
Watch this short film.
http://www2.talkingaboutpolitics.com/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ArticleView/mid/364/articleId/1415/Perdue-Fundraisers--Roads.aspx
Friday, October 24, 2008
Newsletter about the Planning/Zoning Meeting of October 22, 2008
Harry Hipps attended the Planning and Zoning Board meeting as a representative of the Hound. His thoughts to me were that if the rest of the city were represented the way that this board carried itself, then the city would be in good hands.
The main reason he attended the meeting was to get a perspective of how this board would deal with The Drinking Establishment Moratorium Issue. Those, along with several other fascinating developments, are detailed below:
Several projects and zoning requests were discussed during the meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board. We will highlight only the main issues here and encourage readers to read the full minutes of city government for themselves.
A planned project by Pete Zagaroli on Hwy 127, at the location of the 127 Steakhouse and Century 21 Real Estate office was given unanimous approval by the Board. It will have two buildings of 20,000 square feet each with parking and some buffering. The first building will have two stories of office space. The second will have one story of office space and an upper story of residential space.
A large project by Third Gate Properties was approved that will extend from the area behind Shoney’s on Fairgrove Church Road to close to C R Laine on Hwy 70 SE. The area near Fairgrove will have some commercial and retail buildings then it will have townhomes marketed to HUD housing. The board commended the developer for his thorough planning which will include numerous street, water, sewer and runoff infrastructure improvements.
THE HOUNDS TAKE: These are two good, well planned projects that bring proper growth to the area. The plans are solid and will be executed by proven, competent developers.
The longest and most vocal issue was a requested zoning change on Hwy 127, at the Whisnant Farm property, by Pete Zagaroli from R3 to PDMU. This would allow mixed use of residential, office, retail, commercial tenants. Mr. Zagaroli presented an upscale concept of offices, and anchor tenant such as an upscale grocer, possibly a micro winery, and some high end townhouses. Reaction from Moore’s Ferry residents was mixed with some liking the upscale concept and pedestrian-friendly project and others not liking any commercial development at all. Some concern was expressed about the aesthetic aspects of the buffering – how it would look and should it allow pedestrian access to Moore’s Ferry. Crime and security impacts on the neighborhood were another concern by the residents. It appeared that the opposition increased by the property owners that lived on the east side of Moore’s Ferry nearer to the planned project.
The Board had concerns with water runoff and traffic issues. Water runoff is already a concern in this area and the impervious surfaces on the project would be in excess of 50%, well above the allowable 24% threshold (which could be mitigated by a runoff control plan). The bottleneck of Hwy 127 and Cloninger Mill Road was also a concern.
With Mr. Zagaroli not having a firm commitment from an anchor tenant, and uncertain economy which could delay implementing the project and the water runoff issues the Board recommended denying the request. It will be taken up at Hickory City Council on Nov. 18.
THE HOUND TAKE: Mr. Zagaroli’s concept is interesting and it appears that the community consensus is that if he could pull it off as conceptualized it would be a good thing. However, with the current financial and macroeconomic environment deteriorating there are a lot of unknowns and not enough solid commitments to proceed with it at this time. Allowing a zoning change would possibly allow some other developer to build a much less desirable project if Mr. Zagaroli were not able to implement his concept. It’s probably wise to delay the project and hope that it can proceed at a future time when economic conditions are more favorable.
Finally the Board denied zoning changes that would restrict where bars and nightclubs can operate. The Board expressed some frustration as to why the problem that the City Council wants to address, specifically the number of Police calls that the nightclubs generate, would be sent to Planning and Zoning. Secondly, they were perplexed as to why they should deal with this now since the City is going to rewrite the whole land use plan in a couple of months. They were sympathetic to the problem but felt that this was not the proper venue.
THE HOUNDS TAKE: The Board did the right thing. This whole issue is a pet project cooked up by the City Council at February’s retreat. And since the year is almost over and they haven’t done anything, they are in a rush to meet an arbitrary, self-imposed deadline. The problem is some bad management by some of the bar owners and it is not a problem of land use. This whole issue could probably be resolved by a meeting with the bar owners to work with them to reduce problems.
Alex Rooker’s suggestion that they could get a couple of free Police calls per month, followed by fees imposed on excessive calls to Police seems like a much more reasonable response. The harsh, authoritarian approach to this issue speaks poorly about how some members of City Council want to impose their will, rather than communicate with citizens and build consensus on solutions. We are also highly suspicious that this has a lot to do with denying the Cercil Brothers the permit they have petitioned for and which the City is now spending our tax dollars in court fighting. If Council had the professionalism of the Planning and Zoning Board we would be a lot better off.
The main reason he attended the meeting was to get a perspective of how this board would deal with The Drinking Establishment Moratorium Issue. Those, along with several other fascinating developments, are detailed below:
Several projects and zoning requests were discussed during the meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board. We will highlight only the main issues here and encourage readers to read the full minutes of city government for themselves.
A planned project by Pete Zagaroli on Hwy 127, at the location of the 127 Steakhouse and Century 21 Real Estate office was given unanimous approval by the Board. It will have two buildings of 20,000 square feet each with parking and some buffering. The first building will have two stories of office space. The second will have one story of office space and an upper story of residential space.
A large project by Third Gate Properties was approved that will extend from the area behind Shoney’s on Fairgrove Church Road to close to C R Laine on Hwy 70 SE. The area near Fairgrove will have some commercial and retail buildings then it will have townhomes marketed to HUD housing. The board commended the developer for his thorough planning which will include numerous street, water, sewer and runoff infrastructure improvements.
THE HOUNDS TAKE: These are two good, well planned projects that bring proper growth to the area. The plans are solid and will be executed by proven, competent developers.
The longest and most vocal issue was a requested zoning change on Hwy 127, at the Whisnant Farm property, by Pete Zagaroli from R3 to PDMU. This would allow mixed use of residential, office, retail, commercial tenants. Mr. Zagaroli presented an upscale concept of offices, and anchor tenant such as an upscale grocer, possibly a micro winery, and some high end townhouses. Reaction from Moore’s Ferry residents was mixed with some liking the upscale concept and pedestrian-friendly project and others not liking any commercial development at all. Some concern was expressed about the aesthetic aspects of the buffering – how it would look and should it allow pedestrian access to Moore’s Ferry. Crime and security impacts on the neighborhood were another concern by the residents. It appeared that the opposition increased by the property owners that lived on the east side of Moore’s Ferry nearer to the planned project.
The Board had concerns with water runoff and traffic issues. Water runoff is already a concern in this area and the impervious surfaces on the project would be in excess of 50%, well above the allowable 24% threshold (which could be mitigated by a runoff control plan). The bottleneck of Hwy 127 and Cloninger Mill Road was also a concern.
With Mr. Zagaroli not having a firm commitment from an anchor tenant, and uncertain economy which could delay implementing the project and the water runoff issues the Board recommended denying the request. It will be taken up at Hickory City Council on Nov. 18.
THE HOUND TAKE: Mr. Zagaroli’s concept is interesting and it appears that the community consensus is that if he could pull it off as conceptualized it would be a good thing. However, with the current financial and macroeconomic environment deteriorating there are a lot of unknowns and not enough solid commitments to proceed with it at this time. Allowing a zoning change would possibly allow some other developer to build a much less desirable project if Mr. Zagaroli were not able to implement his concept. It’s probably wise to delay the project and hope that it can proceed at a future time when economic conditions are more favorable.
Finally the Board denied zoning changes that would restrict where bars and nightclubs can operate. The Board expressed some frustration as to why the problem that the City Council wants to address, specifically the number of Police calls that the nightclubs generate, would be sent to Planning and Zoning. Secondly, they were perplexed as to why they should deal with this now since the City is going to rewrite the whole land use plan in a couple of months. They were sympathetic to the problem but felt that this was not the proper venue.
THE HOUNDS TAKE: The Board did the right thing. This whole issue is a pet project cooked up by the City Council at February’s retreat. And since the year is almost over and they haven’t done anything, they are in a rush to meet an arbitrary, self-imposed deadline. The problem is some bad management by some of the bar owners and it is not a problem of land use. This whole issue could probably be resolved by a meeting with the bar owners to work with them to reduce problems.
Alex Rooker’s suggestion that they could get a couple of free Police calls per month, followed by fees imposed on excessive calls to Police seems like a much more reasonable response. The harsh, authoritarian approach to this issue speaks poorly about how some members of City Council want to impose their will, rather than communicate with citizens and build consensus on solutions. We are also highly suspicious that this has a lot to do with denying the Cercil Brothers the permit they have petitioned for and which the City is now spending our tax dollars in court fighting. If Council had the professionalism of the Planning and Zoning Board we would be a lot better off.
Let's Add this up - $1.979 trillion in bailouts and counting
The Fed is back at it again. The Federal Reserve will provide up to $540 billion in loans to help relieve pressure on money-market mutual funds beset by redemptions.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ajw94.nC0a5w&refer=us
Here is a link to all of the bailouts now set in place:
http://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/2008/10/lets-add-this-up.html
In my opinion this is what is leading to Wall Street's meltdown. This only ends with the complete devaluation of our currency. They tell you these bailouts are necessary, but I am telling you that this is pushing us further and further into a corner. We are being boxed into a situation and limiting our ability to have flexibilty in the decisions that will have to be made.
We would have been better off to have to gone through a stagnant deflationary period, than what this is going to force upon us. We will still have to go through that stagnant period, but with a much weaker dollar, all that that entails, and we will be further in debt.
You need to read up on the Weimar Republic and what happens when you deflate your currency and thus bring about hyperinflationary pressures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic
Here is Wikipedia reference to hyperinflation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ajw94.nC0a5w&refer=us
Here is a link to all of the bailouts now set in place:
http://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/2008/10/lets-add-this-up.html
In my opinion this is what is leading to Wall Street's meltdown. This only ends with the complete devaluation of our currency. They tell you these bailouts are necessary, but I am telling you that this is pushing us further and further into a corner. We are being boxed into a situation and limiting our ability to have flexibilty in the decisions that will have to be made.
We would have been better off to have to gone through a stagnant deflationary period, than what this is going to force upon us. We will still have to go through that stagnant period, but with a much weaker dollar, all that that entails, and we will be further in debt.
You need to read up on the Weimar Republic and what happens when you deflate your currency and thus bring about hyperinflationary pressures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic
Here is Wikipedia reference to hyperinflation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation
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