Author: John Hammer

Former 6th District Congressman and US Senate candidate Mark Walker made it clear at a campaign rally Thursday, Jan. 27 that he’s not changing course. Walker is going to continue his run for the Senate seat that he announced in December 2020.

Compared to the booming agenda for the Wednesday, Jan. 26 Greensboro City Council meeting, the agenda for the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1 meeting is kind of boring.

The Boom Technologies Inc. announcement at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) on Wednesday, Jan. 26 is another example of the huge success of regional cooperation in economic development.

At 9:03 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, the City of Greensboro added the name Boom Technology Inc. to the agenda for the 10 a.m. meeting, ending any speculation about what company was coming to the Piedmont Triad International Airport megasite.

The Greensboro City Council is holding a special in-person meeting on at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in order to award an economic incentive to an unnamed (Boom Supersonic) entity.

This week the Greensboro Science Center (GSC) is installing a 70-foot-long, 32-foot-high sculpture that will arch over the circular driveway in front of the building.

The big question for months in the Republican US Senate primary is whether on Tuesday, May 17 there will be three major candidates on the ballot or two. Former 6th District Congressman Mark Walker has announced that on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Greensboro Auto Auction at 3907 W. Wendover Ave., he is going to answer that question.

“GreensBooming!” Don’t be surprised if the mayor and city councilmembers show up for the Wednesday, Jan. 26 special City Council meeting in “GreensBooming!” T-shirts. If not at the City Council meeting, it would be surprising if there were not some “GreensBooming!” T-shirts, hats or signs at the 2 p.m. press conference at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) on Jan. 26.

The annual Growth & Development Trends report from the Greensboro Planning Department indicates that while the area is growing in several key categories, it isn’t keeping up with its neighbors. In fact, wages in Guilford County remain below the national average and the state average according to the Trends report.

The Discoverer Blog recently rated Piedmont Triad International Airport as one of the 10 best small airports in the country. It recommends that instead of Charlotte Douglas International or Raleigh-Durham International, air travelers give PTIA a try.

The “Growth and Development Trends” report was released this week by the Greensboro Planning Department.  The Growth Trends report is about the past, not the future, and there is data in the report that indicates Greensboro before the megasite announcement was headed in the right direction and data indicating areas that need work.

Last week there was a fire in the Miller Furniture Building at 314 S. Elm St. Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) President Zack Matheny took the opportunity to point out that something needs to be done about the 300 block of South Elm.

The Greensboro City Council was an annexing and zoning machine at the Tuesday, Jan. 18 virtual meeting.

In a major shift, at the Tuesday, Jan. 18 City Council meeting, Councilmember Yvonne Johnson was recused from the discussion as well as the vote on funding One Step Further with an additional $400,000 to oversee the Cure Violence program in Greensboro.

The Greensboro City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 18 may have set a record for city manager participation. Interim City Manager Chris Wilson, future City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba and former City Manager Jim Westmoreland all spoke during the meeting.

A request for Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning at the northwest corner of Pisgah Church Road and Church Street on the agenda for the Tuesday, Jan. 18 City Council meeting is strikingly similar to a rezoning request the City Council denied in September.

Greensboro will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 18, or at least the City of Greensboro offices and facilities will be.

The North Carolina Senate is set to vote on Wednesday, Jan. 19 on further delaying the statewide primaries to Tuesday, June 7. 

The Greensboro City Council has a total of four different annexation and original zoning requests on McConnell Road on the agenda for the Tuesday, Jan. 18 virtual meeting at 5 p.m.

The City of Greensboro has announced that the 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18 Greensboro City Council meeting will be a virtual meeting.

Guilford County School Superintendent Sharon Contreras announced in a letter to school employees on Friday, Jan. 14 that she would be leaving at the end of the school year.

The race for the North Carolina Senate seat in 2022 is projected to be one of the most expensive in the country’s history.

The Greensboro City Council is scheduled to hand over another $400,000 to a fellow councilmember at the Tuesday, Jan. 18 meeting. This $400,000 will be in addition to the nearly $900,000 the City Council has already paid for the Cure Violence program run by City Councilmember Yvonne Johnson in her role as executive director of One Step Further.

The Greensboro Police Department (GPD) recently received its 11th national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

The four-year terms of the Greensboro City Council expired in December 2021. Here in the middle of January 2022, nobody knows how long the current City Council will be serving their extended terms.

A decision by a three-judge panel to uphold the redistricting maps approved by the North Carolina General Assembly may move the state closer to actually holding an election in 2022. Or maybe not.

Monday, Jan. 17 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and City of Greensboro offices and most facilities are closed. Once again, on a holiday when schools are closed, many of the city facilities that kids might use are closed.

The Guilford County Republican Party held a candidates forum for Republican candidates for the Greensboro City Council and only one candidate, Katie Rossabi, who has filed to run in the at-large race, attended.  Two candidates who have filed, District 5 City Council candidate Tony Wilkins and District 2 City Council candidate Latoya Gathers, both were unable to attend because of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.  District 3 City Council candidate Zack Matheny had a scheduling conflict.

A surprise announcement was made at the Guilford County Republican Party candidates forum on Monday, Jan. 10.

Guilford County Schools announced that because of a shortage of school bus drivers, school bus service would not be provided to eight high schools.

The sudden closing of North Eugene Street for waterline replacement and streetscaping was so controversial that the Greensboro City Council asked that the street be reopened until accommodations could be made for the businesses in the two-block area.

Despite the fact that the Greensboro Police Department currently has 119 vacancies, overall crime was down in 2021 compared to 2022.

It is extremely unusual for the Greensboro City Council to cut off a city department head in the middle of a report. However, the City Council cut off Greensboro Department of Transportation (GDOT) Director Hanna Cockburn at the Jan. 4 meeting when she was attempting to explain why the concerns of the business owners on North Eugene Street had not been recognized or addressed by GDOT before North Eugene Street was closed between Smith and Bellemeade streets.

The North Eugene Street closure debacle gets more confusing, convoluted and distressing as more information emerges.

The City of Greensboro announced on Wednesday, Jan. 5 that masks would be required in all city facilities beginning on Monday, Jan. 10.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers have a new owner, Temerity Baseball.

North Eugene Street was closed on Monday, Jan. 3, but it is supposed to be open again on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at the request of the Greensboro City Council.

It appears Guilford County will impose a mask mandate of some kind in the near future.

In 2021, the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) operated most of the year about 100 officers short of its full authorization of 691.

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said that she would not support a mask mandate for the City of Greensboro.  Vaughan said, “At this point we don’t have the personnel to support it.  We have people out sick.  We have people out with sick children and yesterday we had a big weather event that we will be dealing with for a couple of days.  We don’t have the personnel to enforce even a temporary mandate.”

Unlike many cities in the country, Greensboro did not have a record breaking year for homicides in 2021. According to the Greensboro Police Department there were 53 homicides in Greensboro during 2021, which is down from 62 in 2020, but is still the second highest total on record for the City of Greensboro. 

It appears the Greensboro City Council is taking up right where it left off with the first City Council meeting of 2022 on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. The agenda for the Jan. 4 meeting was posted at 1:53 on Wednesday, Dec. 29.  The agenda was then amended and reposted a few hours later at 8:08 p.m.

Beginning on Monday, Jan. 3, North Eugene Street between Smith Street and Bellemeade Street will be closed to vehicular traffic.

The City of Greensboro Emergency Rental Assistance program funding dashboard is posted on the City of Greensboro website and can be accessed here: GERAP Dashboard.

Taking a look back at 2021, the biggest story of the year was not what the City Council did, but what it didn’t do. Members of the City Council didn’t run for reelection. 

Bars and restaurants were the subject of two new ordinances and one new policy passed by the Greensboro City Council at the Tuesday, Dec. 21 meeting.

If enjoying Winter Wonderlights at the Greensboro Science Center (GSC) is on your to-do list for the holidays, it’s not too late.