Author: John Hammer

US Senate In the US Senate race there is little doubt that former NC Supreme Court Chief Justice...

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners can’t raise the sales tax without it being approved by...

The proposed $1.7 billion school bond is too much money for the schools to spend responsibly in a 10-year period, and that is the maximum amount of time the schools would have to spend the bond money.

The Greensboro City Council will hold the regular first meeting of the month on Tuesday, May 3 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

District 3 City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Justin Outling says he is opposed to any of the three tax rate increase options that will be presented to the City Council at the Tuesday, May 3 meeting.

Rarely do you see city staff defy a direct request from the Greensboro City Council, but according to the agenda for the Tuesday, May 3 City Council meeting, that is city staff’s intent.

On Tuesday, May 3, Americans For Prosperity North Carolina is taking over the Pit Stop Gas Station at 1601 Alamance Church Road in Greensboro and reducing the price of gas to what it was when President Joe Biden took office.

Which pocket should the $9 million come from was the topic of a lengthy discussion at the Greensboro City Council work session on Thursday, April 28.

The first day of early voting, Thursday, April 28, the Greensboro City Council held an illegal closed meeting.

This week North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson “wholeheartedly” endorsed Republican 6th District congressional candidate Lee Haywood.

The NAACP recently released “Greensboro Branch NAACP Greensboro City Council Report Card” and the City Council did not make honor roll.

The Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts continues to surpass expectations. Hamilton wrapped up its run with an attendance of over 65,000, a little less than Wicked, which attracted over 66,000 during its run.  But Hamilton was an add-on and not part of the scheduled Broadway season.

For those who get excited every time they see a butterfly in their yard, the Greensboro Science Center (GSC) has announced two new exhibits designed for you. The Cole Family Monarch Conservation Center and Butterfly House and the Amazing Butterflies traveling exhibit will open to the public on Friday, June 3.

The much delayed City Council election is fast approaching, which is one explanation for why the City Council is holding yet another virtual work session on Thursday, April 28, which happens to be the day that early voting opens.

Early voting for the May 17 primary opens on Thursday, April 28 at 8 a.m. at all early voting locations and will close at 7:30 p.m.

It’s a sign of the times that the Greensboro City Council could vote to put $135 million in bonds on the ballot without discussion.

The Greensboro City Council got an update on the city’s response to the recent shootings at the Blind Tiger on Spring Garden Road at the Tuesday, April 19 meeting.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston contacted the Rhino Times on Thursday, April 21. Alston stated that he was concerned that some senior citizens in the county had gotten the wrong impression from a story that ran one day earlier about the way county government was set to approve a move to shift money around from certain senior services to other senior services.

The Greensboro City Council approved three annexation and original zoning requests for residential development at the Tuesday, April 19 meeting. The three requests total about 229 acres and will allow the addition of over 770 dwelling units to the Greensboro housing market.

Greensboro has had some fairly heated mayoral races with accusations going back and forth, but they have not risen to the level of lawsuits. On Friday, April 8, mayoral candidate Eric Robert filed a lawsuit in North Carolina Superior Court against the City of Greensboro, Mayor Nancy Vaughan and City Manager Tai Jaiyeobo in their official capacities.

A rumor concerning the supply chain for the Toyota Battery Manufacturing plant at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, which would be really bad news for Greensboro, turns out to be just that – a rumor. The rumor going around is that Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina, which is building a $1.2 billion battery plant at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, was going to require its suppliers to be at least 30 miles from the plant.  The reason given was that Toyota did not want to compete with its supply chain for workforce.

City Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter left no doubt that she is back at the Greensboro City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 19. And she didn’t hold back on why Greensboro is losing so many good members of the senior city staff.  Former City Manager David Parrish resigned on June 30 last year, Assistant City Manager Kim Sowell resigned in March, and then, this week, Police Chief Brian James announced he was retiring on May 31 after less than two-and-a-half years as chief.

As you can see from the photo above, the view of the City Council from the media table that has been placed in the balcony is somewhat limited.  It would be incorrect to state that journalists cannot see the City Council from the media table that Jaiyeobo had placed in the balcony because, by looking under the railing, it is possible at times to get a glimpse of Councilmember Yvonne Johnson and, if she leans forward, even Councilmember Goldie Wells.

Broadcasts of the meetings of the Greensboro City Council are, somewhat surprisingly, popular. Those who have become regular viewers of the Greensboro City Council meetings may notice that the Tuesday, April 19 meeting is a little different in the number of city councilmembers recused from votes.

The surprising announcement that Greensboro Police Chief Brian James was retiring at the end of next month has reverberated throughout the community.

Greensboro Police Chief Brian James has announced his plans to retire at the end of next month. According to a press release from the City of Greensboro, James will retire on May 31.

The Greensboro City Council will hold its one business meeting of the month on Tuesday, April 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Katie Dorsett Council Chamber. Greensboro, like many other cities across the country, is in the midst of a serious housing shortage and this agenda, which includes three requests for annexation and original residential zoning, could be a step toward providing some relief.

The bills are starting to come in for the development of Greensboro-Randolph Megasite.

on Tuesday, April 12, the Summerfield Town Council, on a  4-to-1 vote, shot down a proposed text amendment to the town’s ordinances that would have allowed local farmer and developer David Couch to proceed with a large residential development that has seen a great deal of opposition from town residents ever since it was officially announced in 2020.

Tuesday, April 13, that group of health officials in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) put out a new report of some things state residents need to know for the pandemic that’s still lingering around.

The former home office of the Pilot Life Insurance Company at 5300 High Point Road has been nominated to be included on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Greensboro City Council virtual work session scheduled for Thursday, April 14 has been cancelled.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, will be in Greensboro on Thursday, April 14, but so far the White House has not released to the public information about exactly where in Greensboro POTUS will spend his time. According to the News & Observer, Biden will be speaking at North Carolina A&T State University, the largest Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the country.

The Greensboro City Council currently has a virtual work session scheduled for Thursday, April 14 beginning at 2 p.m. However, according to Mayor Nancy Vaughan, the work session will most likely be postponed because President Joe Biden is coming to Greensboro on Thursday and several councilmembers have said that a presidential visit takes precedence over a City Council work session.

Greensboro Police Chief Brian James has launched the 2022 Chief’s Summer Youth Employment Initiative (CSYEI) for 2022.

City of Greensboro offices and many facilities will be closed on Friday, April 15 in observation of Good Friday.

The Greensboro City Council has a huge problem that it spent much of the Thursday, April 7 work session discussing. The problem is that the city has $59.4 million in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds that it has to have obligated by 2024 and spent by 2026.  If the money is not spent by 2026, then it goes back to the federal government.

The most recent polls show that 13th District Congressman Ted Budd has leaped out to a commanding lead in the Republican North Carolina Senate primary.

North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell wants to sue Russia. Folwell has joined with state treasurers from around the country in requesting that Congress provide the necessary tools for state pension funds to file lawsuits that could lead to the seizure of Russian assets to cover losses from investments in Russia.

“Hitting it out of the Park” was the theme of the annual State of the Downtown event held by Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) at Elm + Bain on Thursday, April 7.

A city councilmember rarely gets an enthusiastic round of applause for simply attending a meeting. But Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter received that warm welcome when she appeared on the screens in the Katie Dorsett Council Chamber at the Tuesday, April 5 meeting.

With Easter right around the corner, Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) has announced the second annual Eggstravaganza egg hunt on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16. Visitors will be able to find hidden “eggs” at the 20 participating downtown businesses.

City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba, whose first day of work was Feb. 1, is bringing some changes to city government. One that has become evident is the return of the City Council work session.

The Tuesday, April 5 City Council meeting agenda originally had no public hearing or general business items.  However, the budget ordinance making the adjustments necessary to allocate $1 million to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum (ICRCM) was removed from the consent agenda and placed on the general business agenda before the meeting.

The Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau revealed new branding for the city – “Greensboro, North Carolina: You’re Welcome” on Monday, April 4.

The budget ordinance concerning the International Civil Rights Center and Museum on the April 5 City Council agenda is no longer on the consent agenda. The ordinance facilitating the transfer of $1 million in the City of Greensboro budget to make the payment to the ICRCM has been moved from the consent agenda to the general business agenda.

Sunday, April 3 at UNCG, a debate for the mayoral candidates was held for the four mayoral candidates on the ballot.

At-large City Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter plans to participate in the Tuesday, April 5 City Council meeting.