Author: Scott D. Yost

Guilford County is hosting a Mental Health Awareness Festival on Thursday, May 25, and the county, along with its mental health partners, is promising it will be a “fun, informative festival to support mental health.”

Boom Supersonic, which has the goal of building the fastest airline passenger jet in the history of the world – and doing so at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) – announced this week that it has signed a new agreement with Dimensional Energy that will help Boom reach its goal of offering incredibly fast passenger service with a low carbon footprint.

People who’ve been cheering for yet more economic development in Guilford County were elated on Monday, May 22, with news that a cutting-edge medical company seeking to reverse and even cure chronic kidney disease planned to make a $458 million investment into a new facility and bring 330 new jobs to Greensboro.

While cheating spouses get caught all the time because they can’t keep secrets, and even the ultra-tight-lipped Apple once left an unreleased iPhone 4 in a California bar, there’s one group of people who have no problem at all keeping ginormous secrets for very long periods of time – area economic development officials.

If you have anything to say regarding what you do or don’t want funded in the Guilford County budget this year, you’ll have a chance to give the Guilford County Board of Commissioners an earful at the board’s meeting on Thursday, June 1.

Guilford County Manager Mike Halford has spoken as to what he would like to see the 2023-2024 budget look like, but now it’s time for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to reshape and tune up that budget before the board votes to approve a final version next month.

In what would be another gigantic win for the local economy, ProKidney Corp. a publicly traded company based out of Winston-Salem, is seeking incentives of over $15 million from Guilford County government for a $458 million facility in Greensboro that will create 330 new jobs.

Guilford County, like local governments all over the country, is getting a lot of money from a collective lawsuit against opioid makers and distributers, and now county leaders are trying to decide how to spend that money.

Never in the history of Guilford County government has the difference been greater between the Guilford County Schools’ funding request and the amount of money recommended for the schools in the county manager’s budget proposal than it is this year. 

In Greensboro and High Point, there’s been a lot of confusion over the years about how to get rid of trash, recyclables, bulk items and yard waste. 

After a long closed session held by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners at the Thursday, May 18 meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to spend $100,000 to purchase Erwin Montessori School on Bessemer Avenue in Greensboro.

Earlier this year Guilford County Commissioner James Upchurch announced that he was running for the NC State Treasurer seat

A lot of people from all over the country were considered during a nationwide search that High Point officials are calling “competitive.”

Two sayings are “There’s no harm in asking” and, from the Good Book, “Ask and you shall receive.”

The first person who gets a crack at creating a Guilford County budget is County Manager Mike Halford and, at the Board of Commissioners’ Thursday May 18 meeting

Earlier this year, when the Guilford County Board of Commissioners went behind closed doors and then came out and voted unanimously to end a construction contract with Samet Corp. for a $24 million law enforcement demolition and construction project, many people in the room were stunned and the Samet representatives who came to the meeting and sat in the back were none too happy. 

When Guilford County Manager Mike Halford gives his fiscal 2023-2024 budget proposal to the Board of Commissioners and county staff on Thursday, May 18, county residents and staff will learn a whole lot about the coming fiscal year that begins on July 1. 

There’s a lot going on when it comes to signage in High Point these days and some of the signs are causing citizens to do a doubletake while others have been confusing some drivers at intersections.  Anyone who’s travelled around Guilford County has probably noticed quite a few signage snafus in other parts of the county as well.

A whole lot of people on social media, along with readers of the Rhino Times, can rest easier now that a badly emaciated dog that was constantly seen with the owner in and around Friendly Center is in the hands of Guilford County Animal Services.  

Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) has been on an amazing run lately, with its megasite wins, runway and terminal renovations, and high-tech parking enhancements.

The City of High Point Public Services Department is going all out on National Public Works Week – especially on Wednesday, May 24, when it holds its annual Public Works Day.

The New Year is almost hear – the new local government fiscal year that is, the one that runs each year from July 1 to June 30

A county jail – even in a relatively new jail like the one Guilford County opened in downtown Greensboro a decade ago – is not a place you ever want to be.

The Thursday, May 18 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is one of the most important meetings of the year for county residents

Each year at this time, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and Guilford County Board of Education discuss, cajole, bicker, horse trade and engage in other activities along those lines to arrive at a magical and all-important number.

This week Guilford County government is closing its books on five major construction and renovation projects that were, in some cases, a long time coming.

Guilford County owns a lot more land and buildings than you probably think it does, however, it’s doing its best to put more of it to good use.

In recent years, Guilford County government – along with plenty of other local governments and private establishments – has had a great deal of trouble hiring lifeguards to watch over pools.

Greensboro has sometimes taken on the name “Tournament Town” in March due to the men’s and women’s Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournaments as well as NCAA tournament games in some years.

On Thursday, May 11, the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency officially came to an end, and, in response Guilford County Government is making changes in the way it handles COVID.

The City of High Point Human Relations Division has joined forces with the Washington Terrace Park & Pool to provide free swim passes at the pool for eligible children.

Hundreds of users of Facebook have banded together in an attempt to get Guilford County Animal...

It’s very difficult at Hallmark card shops and grocery stores to find thank you cards expressing your appreciation for economic developers.

About a decade and a half ago, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners held a work session to discuss the complex nature of mental health care services in the county.

The Guilford County Parks Department has been working hard in recent years – doing everything from updating trails, turning tennis courts into pickleball courts, adding park features and holding special events.

As everyone now knows, whatever it is that you need – there’s an app for that. 

If new companies keep coming to Guilford County the way they have lately, and area companies keep expanding as they have, Guilford County government will have to do something to slow things down.

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce likes to keep a good thing going when it can, and, on Monday, May 1, Other Voices – a long-standing chamber program – celebrated its 30th class at a graduation celebration at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro.

In recent years when Guilford County commissioners have met with other county commissioners about what’s needed in the state to ensure its continued economic success, one of the things that always comes up near the top of the list is a need for better and more widespread broadband service.

It’s virtually impossible to argue that in the past few years Guilford County government hasn’t done all it can to fund Guilford County Schools. 

The headline stealing Guilford County contract snafu of all time is the stunning and total collapse of the contract Guilford County had with Samet Construction to build a new Sheriff’s Department headquarters. 

No matter what it is, as everyone knows, there’s always an app for that. That’s also true of the desktop and mobile app called “Piedmont Discovery,” which helps hikers find, negotiate and enjoy the county’s vast network of local parks trails and greenways.  

This week, as the former local political leader was laid to rest, former Guilford County leaders and other local leaders were sharing their remembrances of former Republican Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold who just passed away at 61.

On Thursday, May 4, at the Guilford County Board of Commissioners meeting, the board will proclaim May 2023 as “Mental Health Awareness Month” and plans to use the month as a time to highlight the vast challenges, changes and successes in recent years in Guilford County in its battle against mental health problems.

You only get one chance in life to make a first impression, but one good thing about life is that you do eventually get to make a second impression as well.

Piedmont Triad International Airport has been making it easy for people to get their TSA PreCheck credentials lately by holding a series of events – like one coming up in mid-May that offers one-stop shopping to get that service. 

Former Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold has passed away. 

Coy Williard – a former chairman of the High Point Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and a member of many other local committees and groups – will be honored on Saturday night, April 29 at the High Point Rockers baseball game at an event in the city that’s been designated as “Coy Williard Night.”

The most powerful Guilford County leader, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston, who almost always gets his way, told the Rhino Times this week that there’s absolutely no way he will support a property tax increase this year. 

With recent announcements of major aeronautics companies choosing to come to Piedmont Triad International Airport’s (PTIA’s) megasite – and several more prospects thought to be in the pipeline – the airport is really living up to its promise of becoming a huge economic development hub and job creator for Guilford County.