Author: John Hammer

They say every black cloud has a silver lining, and City Councilmember Justin Outling has found one in the $8 million revenue shortfall city staff has projected for the city’s 2020-2021 fiscal year budget.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) overspent its own budget by $742 million in state fiscal year (SFY) 2019 according to an audit released this week by the North Carolina state auditor’s office.

Members of the Greensboro City Council immediately questioned some of the budget cuts proposed by staff at its Tuesday, May 5 virtual meeting, but, facing an $8 million deficit in the general fund alone, cuts will have to be made.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest asks Gov. Roy Cooper to give North Carolinians their freedoms back.

If you have complaints about your postal service, soon you’ll have someone to call, Greensboro businessman Louis DeJoy has been named the new postmaster general by the Postal Service Board of Governors.

At the press conference to announce the signing of the COVID-19 bills held by Gov. Roy Cooper and legislative leaders on Monday, May 4, it appeared the folks in Raleigh were getting along.

The Greensboro City Council is facing a projected $7 million deficit in the preliminary budget figures for the general fund for fiscal year 2020-2021, which beings July 1.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who drove or walked around the area where garbage is picked up on Mondays, but there was more yard waste out there than the city anticipated.

The statewide stay-at-home restrictions will be eased on Friday, May 8 at 5 p.m. according to an executive order signed by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday, May 5.

The COVID-19 Recovery Act establishes the 2020-2021 school year and makes a number of exceptions to regulations for the current school year.

At a press conference on Monday, May 4, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said that on Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest he would announce the details for Phase 1 of lifting the current statewide stay-at-home order that is set to expire on Friday, May 8.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed two coronavirus relief bills into law on Monday, May 4.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper moved the goal posts for reopening the state’s economy, again, at his press conference on Thursday, April 30.

The Greensboro City Council will hold its third virtual meeting on Tuesday, May 5 at 2 p.m. The meeting was originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The North Carolina state House passed the Pandemic Response Act Thursday, April 30 by a vote of 116-1.

The North Carolina legislature is dealing with some issues crucial to the future of the state, which has caused some issues deemed not quite as important to be put on hold.

Finally, an announcement about an event that is not being canceled.

The Greensboro City Council will be discussing some of the budget ramifications of the coronavirus shutdown at its meeting on Tuesday, May 5.

The Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) announced Wednesday, April 29 that because of a driver walkout, buses were not operating.

One of restrictions placed on people by the Greensboro’s response to the coronavirus that has resulted in a plethora of complaints is ending.

The Greensboro Transit Agency (GTA) announced Wednesday, April 29 that it had stopped the regular or fixed route bus service, but was providing limited SCAT paratransit service.

The North Carolina legislature went back into session on Tuesday, April 29.

The original stay-at-home executive order by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper would have ended on Wednesday, April 29.

The City of Greensboro has announced the next meeting of the Greensboro City Council will begin at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5 in cyberspace, instead of the scheduled time of 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber.

During the coronavirus crisis with a statewide stay-at-home order in place, one of the chief ways the City of Greensboro has to communicate with the people of Greensboro is its website at https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/home.

Good news, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men’s Basketball Tournament will be coming back to Greensboro in 2023.

The government response to the COVID-19 crisis has been somewhat confusing.

The Greensboro Sports Council announced Thursday, April 23 that the 2020 Fred Barakat Sports Dinner presented by The Carroll Companies scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 has been postponed for a year.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper revealed Thursday, April 23 how he plans to start relaxing his statewide stay-at-home order once the metrics for COVID-19 testing and trends he has established are met.

North Carolina will be locked down at least until Friday, May 8, according to a new executive order issued by Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday, April 23.

Connections 2025, the Comprehensive Plan – along with its graphic representation, the Generalized Future Land Use Map (GFLUM) – has been confusing people since it was passed by the City Council in 2003.

Starting with the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, which was cancelled in progress in March, just about every event where more than two people might gather has been canceled this spring.

For some reason, information from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services about people who have died from COVID-19 has been difficult to obtain.

All 29 Republican North Carolina state senators signed a letter sent to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday, April 21 asking for more information about COVID-19 and Cooper’s plan moving forward.

The Greensboro City Council held eight virtual public hearings at the meeting on Tuesday, April 21 in cyberspace.

In keeping with its goal to build more affordable housing, the Greensboro City Council voted 8-0 with one recusal to rezone the old Sedgefield Show Grounds at the corner of Groometown Road and Vandalia Road for affordable housing.

The overwhelming majority of the Greensboro City Council has pledged support for mandating that masks be worn in Greensboro.

Canceling the Eastern Music Festival is an indication that at least some experts believe North Carolina has a long way to go before things return to normal, whatever the new normal will be.

As it turned out the fourth time was the charm and the City Council voted 6-3 to rezone 2.3 acres at the intersection of Lawndale Drive and Lake Jeanette Road despite strong neighborhood opposition.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 are reported daily by Guilford County, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Greensboro City Council is scheduled to hold a virtual public hearing and make a decision on the rezoning request for 2.3 acres at the intersection of Lawndale Drive and Lake Jeanette Road at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21.

The Greensboro Zoning Commission held its first virtual meeting on Monday, April 20.

The Guilford County stay-at-home order expired at midnight on Thursday, April 16, which means Guilford County is now fully under the stay-at-home order for the state of North Carolina, which is set to expire on April 29 but could be extended.

State Senate President Pro Tem Sen. Phil Berger has been pushing for random sample testing to get a clearer idea of the prevalence of COVID-19 in the general population.

The Greensboro City Council will hold its second virtual meeting on Tuesday, April 21 beginning at 5:30 p.m. and it will be another historic first for the City Council.

Three Republican state senators questioned the restrictions in the stay-at-home orders on churches compared to commercial establishments.

The City of Greensboro will not issue a stay-at-home order specific to the city when the Guilford County stay-at-home order expires at midnight, Thursday, April 16.

From President Donald Trump on down, everyone it seems is talking about reopening the economy. When and how it will be done are the big questions.

Both the City of Greensboro and Guilford County are being sued for the continued arrests and threats of arrests of pro-life advocates by the Greensboro Police Department.

The first virtual Greensboro City Council meeting in history held on Tuesday, April 14 had a lot in common with a pre-season game.