A Poem For Greensboro Developer Roy Carroll

High-rise Huckster

He put his name on towers tall
for everyone to see.
Bribed politicians, every one
from penthouse luxury.
Built monuments to honor him
as if he were a god
but only when he segwayed
would he even get a nod.

What a hoot! Sorry, Roy, but the first time a cop goes down on a Segway he'll curse you like the crook you are.

And while I like Officer Ryan Todd I'd like to thank N&R photographer, Scott Hoffman for this photo of Officer Todd illegally crossing a downtown Greensboro street on his Segway. Perhaps Todd can use this photo the next time he teaches a bicycle safety class to our local elementary students.

Update: Sean has more on GPD Segway Cops.

The Greensboro Chicken Report

This time I'm not talking about City Council-- yet.

From today's News & Record:

"And though that might seem a revolutionary concept to the citified — people who use words like “sustainability” and “artisanal” — to Simmons, it’s second nature.

“It would not be a disgrace to go back to that, in my thinking,” Simmons said. “Sometimes you get too high and forget where you came from. That’s my theory.” Please continue reading.

Kudos to Joel Landau.

“Right now a lot of homeowner groups prohibit it,” said planning board member Joel Landau, “just like they prohibit clotheslines. They think it detracts from the appearance. They may just have to get used to it.”

I can't remember a time when the Greensboro home I live in wasn't a mini farm. For people in Greensboro's upper class neighborhoods to deprive poor neighborhoods of fresh food is just plain wrong. I do remember my surprise when my mother explained to me that most people ate vegetables from the grocery store. Even to a 5 year old it seemed a waste of money that could have been better spent on toys.

And yes, considering the current lack of bees nationwide and a worldwide shortage of fish I am considering a hive and a huge tank for my backyard.

Link via Ed Cone.

Why I No Longer Participate In Greensboro's Recycling Program

Like many businesses the largest expense a recycling business faces is the costs associated with transportation-- namely $5.oo per gallon diesel fuel in trucks that get around 5 miles per gallon.

In Greensboro, FRC, the privately owned company that manages Greensboro's recycling doesn't have to pay for transportation costs because mine and your tax dollars are footing the bill. Imagine if taxpayers were picking up the tab for the transportation costs associated with your business. Add that to the fact that the company that handles Greensboro's recycling pays very low wages and offers few benefits and you'll understand the sweetheart deal this company has with the City of Greensboro.

That's not to say I don't still recycle-- I do recycle. As a matter of fact I'm currently recycling things FRC sends to the landfill at taxpayers' expense.

Because all recyclable commodities are currently trading at all-time record high prices I get paid to recycle the products you are paying to haul away. And contrary to popular beliefs, almost everything is recyclable.

If your church, school, non-profit or civic group wants to raise needed funds and practice sustainable living then I highly recommend you pool your resources and get paid to recycle Greensboro. Everything you put in those big brown City of Greensboro recycling cans and more can be sold as recyclable salvage.

The Dream Nears: Billy Buys The Machine

A few months back I told you of my dream to build houses for the poor and homeless by building them from bailed plastic bags just as thousands of homes have been built of straw bails over the course of the last 100 plus years.

I've e-mailed several building engineers and architects and all agree that plastic bail houses would be stronger than brick houses and far better insulated with a life expectancy of several thousand years.

Today I bought 3 straw bailing machines. I plan to keep one but if anyone would like to attempt this or a similar project the other two can be bought. Call me in my office at 336-698-4616.

Robbie Perkins Is Paying For The Drinks

I don't know where Councilman Robbie Perkins lived before coming to Greensboro in 1974 but in these parts it's customary to furnish drinks when you invite the town to your party. I'm not sure of the occasion and can only assume the assumed 2009 Greensboro mayoral candidate is hoping to secure a few votes.

Yeah, Robbie, I know the housing market is down right now but if you plan to win you've got to get us liquored up.

Like David, I prefer my whisky brown-- George Dickle please.

Greensboro News & Record Intentionally Publishes Lies

It's pretty obvious what JR and company are doing. Rather than vet facts they simply publish anything that will stir a fight from the left or the right in hopes of driving traffic and advertising dollars from the Blogosphere.

Yes, that's my opinion but the facts seem to support my beliefs.

As Roch Smith Jr of We101.com points out, he has continually caught the N&R publishing lies under the guise of opinion. Opinion or not, publishing lies is simply wrong and while this may or may not increase online revenues it continues to eat away at their print revenues as folks like myself refuse to buy lies.

A note to newspapers everywhere: If you want to sell newspapers you need to write fair, balanced and well-researched news articles-- lots of them. And leave the blogging to the bloggers. Every cutback you make in your news and editorial departments will cause you a loss in sales. It's not about online verses print and it's not about not pissing off local advertisers, the key to profits for newspapers lies in good reporting and editing-- 2 things the N&R sorely lacks.

If oversight of letters to the editor does not allow for vetting and checking for truth then eliminating LTEs altogether would seem like the proper step to take.

Far too many people base their beliefs on LTEs and to continue to allow this practice to go unabated simply isn't in the interest of journalistic integrity.

Greensboro Police: Billy Jones Was Right All Along

It appears the Greensboro Officers' Association and I share the same point of view concerning crime in Greensboro.

My view: Hire more police officers. (I've been saying this for years.)

Their view: Hire more police officers.

They also echo my long time concern that the highest crime neighborhoods have the least number of patrol officers.

Could it be I'm right on maters of economic development as well? Stay tuned.

How To Save Greensboro: Step 2

In Step 1, I explained how making Greensboro the safest city in America will attract and retain industry and the creative class. In Step 2, I explain how Greensboro can begin the process of home built industries without the need to offer incentives (bribes) to billionaire multinational corporations.

W2EPC (Waste To Energy Plasma Conversion) is a proven technology that will revolutionize the waste and energy industries and is the greenest technology available today.

A W2EPC plant should be built at the White Street Landfill ASAP. The White street entrance should be permanently replaced with a brick wall built by local minority contractors and never opened again with the entrance moved to East Cone Blvd. (Most brick masons in Greensboro are minorities because Dudley High School-- formerly an all minority high school-- once had one of the most successful masonry classes in Greensboro's history so the minority contractors shouldn't be a problem to find. As for moving the entrance, we're talking about extending the existing road 1200 feet and the rough grading has already been done.)

W2EPC will generate high tech, high paying jobs, energy, construction materials and cottage industries that service and maintain the W2EPC plant.

W2EPC will generate energy that Greensboro can use and sell at a profit.

As I currently buy and sell scrap metals for a living I can honestly say the scrap metals buried in our landfill are worth millions and will only go up in value. And all the garbage we dig up while looking for metals can be processed into energy and construction materials in the W2EPC plant I'm proposing.

W2EPC will save Greensboro over $130,000,000.oo in garbage hauling fees in the first ten years of operation and that figure doesn't take into account rising fuel costs.

The first city in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina to build W2EPC will see windfall profits from other communities who didn't have the means or foresight to be the first to build W2EPC plants of their own.

In Step 3 I'll tell you how Greensboro's current recycling program is a complete waste of money and how to make recycling profitable for Greensboro.

The Secret To Successfully Growing Greensboro: Step 1

Downtown greenways won't save a dying city. Neither will forced annexation or downtown development. In fill development and more shopping centers won't help. Kowtowing to Jessie Jackson wannabes like the "good Reverend Norman Johnson" and gangsters won't do the trick either. And while you can talk about incentives to the creative class-- code for giving tax dollars to multinational corporations-- that won't save Greensboro either. All that stuff has been tried time and time again and hasn't worked once.

Remember: The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistakes while expecting different results.

Step 1 is to make Greensboro the safest city in America. Make Greensboro the safest city in America and people everywhere will want to live here. Double the number of police officers on patrol now! No excuses, no bullshit! Step 2 will be coming in future posts.

 Update: Greensboro's police officers agree with me.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Looking for a low cost home in Greensboro? Would you be willing to live two doors down from a poet? I won't keep you up nights and to date none of my neighbors have complained about my rooster. The house at 2603 Textile Drive (map) is for sale and I'd like to see it sold to someone other than a slum lord.

The house is well built, 3 bedrooms, 1200 square feet give or take a few and has a shady, fenced-in back yard. I haven't seen inside of it in many years but I'm sure the original oak hardwood floors remain under most of the house. The neighbor living in 2601 is a friend and neighbor I've known since 1969 and the neighbors at 2605 are def mute grandparents who never bother anyone. Even their dogs are quiet.

The neighborhood has its share of problems but with the help of a few more homeowners it could again become a great neighborhood. There's lots of great kids around here and we could use a few more.

And if you see a guy driving an airplane down the street-- don't worry, I won't crash into you.