Author: John Hammer

In a scathing order, a federal judge made it clear that the North Carolina State Board of Elections does not make the laws for the state of North Carolina. The Sept. 30 order by federal District Court Judge William Osteen in Greensboro is about a recent decision by the State Board of Elections to allow absentee ballots that have not been signed by a witness to be counted.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday, Sept. 30 that the state would be moving into Phase 3 of his slow, slower, slowest reopening plan at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. Under the original slow reopening plan Cooper had said Phase 3 would begin on June 26.

The Greensboro City Council has been intensely interested in the Police Department this year. City staff has responded with a number of initiatives to make Greensboro Police Department (GPD) data more available and the GPD more responsive to the community.

The Parks and Recreation Department is giving away $800 worth of prizes in its Discover Your Park contest.

Beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 6, Parks and Recreation staff will hide a Piedmont Discovery logo, (like the one above) in two different neighborhood parks each week for four weeks.

The City Council decided that there was not enough geographic diversity on the boards and commissions and began making an effort to appoint an equal number from each City Council district. Since most boards and commissions have nine members and there are five council districts it is a mathematical impossibility to ever reach this goal.

Land owner and developer David Couch’s presentation to the Summerfield Town Council has been somewhat misconstrued. The presentation he gave on Sept. 22 included a site plan of his property with something over 400 lots laid out. For anyone watching the video of the meeting, it appeared the site plan is what Couch was proposing to develop on his property, which stretches from Pleasant Ridge Road to I-73. It was particularly confusing because the sound quality of the video made it nearly impossible to understand more than a few words out of each sentence.

North Carolina State House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) announced that a federal lawsuit had been filed to challenge the settlement agreement made by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Former state Sen. Dr. Trudy Wade has been nominated by the North Carolina Republican Party for one of the two vacant seats on the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Thursday, Sept. 24, by a 5-4 vote, the Guilford County Board of Education approved a reopening plan for Guilford County Schools (GCS).

Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) announced this week that it had distributed $112,500 in Retail Revitalization Grants to downtown businesses. The money came from DGI, the Guilford Merchants Association and the Greensboro Virus Relief Fund, and grants of $1,500 were awarded to 75 retail establishments.

The candidates for North Carolina lieutenant governor, Republican Mark Robinson and Democrat state Rep. Yvonne Holly, could not be more different from a political standpoint. The two candidates held a debate Sunday, Sept. 19, broadcast on Spectrum News and available on the Spectrum News website.

The rumors that the Greensboro Police Department is losing an unusual number of police officers through resignation and retirement are not true.

The treatment of public speakers during the COVID-19 restrictions by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the Greensboro City Council reveals a lot about the true nature of the elected bodies.

The number of active confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state is below 15,000 according to figures provided by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

The request to rezone the 23.3 acres to Conditional District Residential Multifamily-26 (RM-26) was postponed to Monday, Oct. 20 by a unanimous vote of the Greensboro Zoning Commission on Monday, Sept. 21.

Following action of the Greensboro City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 15, it appears that at this moment in time the Police Community Review Board (PCRB) doesn’t exist. Or to be more precise, the PCRB does exist but doesn’t have any members.

The annual JDRF One Walk, to raise funds for research both for a cure and to improve the lives of those with type 1 diabetes, will be a little different this year. Instead of gathering in a large group and walking, this year because of COVID-19 restrictions there will be a Triad Fall Walk Drive-In Celebration in the parking lot of the Greensboro Coliseum at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.

The rezoning request for 23.3 acres along West Cone Boulevard by the Koury Corporation on the agenda for the Monday, Sept. 21 meeting of the Zoning Commission is almost certain to be continued to October.

DGI has announced that Open Streets would be extended through Saturday, Oct. 3. Open Streets – “We’re closing it down to open it up” – closes South Elm Street to vehicular traffic from Market Street to Lewis Street on Saturdays from 5 to 11 p.m.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has been ruling the state since March by executive order, announced Thursday, Sept. 17 that he would allow elementary students to go back to school under plan A starting Oct. 5.

Greensboro City Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter is finally going to get a long time request granted. For months Abuzuaiter has been pushing for a mini-police academy course for members of the City Council.

The News & Record and Winston-Salem Journal had more blood letting Tuesday, Sept. 16. The N&R reportedly laid off five journalists.

The City Council once again discussed “8 Can’t Wait” at the virtual work session on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Police Chief Brian James at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 14 was finally allowed to talk about the racial disparities in police traffic stops.

The Greensboro City Council voted down a resolution that would have required police officers to have a consent-to-search form signed before conducting a consent search.

renaming the Human Relations Commission moved to the top of the list of major concerns by the City Council, which has stated as two of its top goals economic development and jobs. Fortunately, no one suggested that changing the name of the Human Relations Department would bring more jobs to Greensboro.

The Guilford County Republican Party held an actual meeting on Monday, Sept. 14 at the Guilford County GOP headquarters. A political party holding a meeting in an election year – where people get together in a room and discuss the upcoming election – in a normal year wouldn’t be news, but it is 2020.

The number of people in North Carolina who have COVID-19 continues to drop.

the presentation for the GDOT update includes the news that the City of Greensboro is not issuing tickets for parking violations.

The annual “Big Sweep” to clean up Greensboro starts Saturday, Sept. 20 and runs through Saturday, Sept. 26, so you have plenty of time to participate.

Despite intense opposition by the Greensboro Police Officers Association (GPOA), the Greensboro City Council is set to approve a new policy on consent searches by police officers at its virtual meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m.

The Greensboro City Council will hold a virtual work session on Tuesday, Sept. 15 beginning at 3 p.m. with two items focusing on the Human Relations Department.

A bipartisan group of senators and representatives have introduced legislation in Congress to name the new air traffic control tower at Piedmont Triad International Airport for the late Sen. Kay Hagan from Greensboro.

Over 23 acres along West Cone Boulevard is coming up for rezoning at the Monday, Sept. 21 meeting of the Greensboro Zoning Commission. The land owned by the Koury Corporation is on the south side of Cone Boulevard generally between Cleburne Street and Lafayette Avenue adjacent to the Kirkwood neighborhood and is currently vacant.

District 2 Greensboro City Councilmember Goldie Wells held her quarterly community forum, via Zoom, on Thursday, Sept. 10.

US Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced Wednesday, Sept. 9 that North Carolina would be receiving $46.9 million from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for affordable housing.

The Greensboro Transit Agency will be offering free rides to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3 to help people vote.

The NC Folk Festival is being held Friday, Sept. 11, Saturday, Sept. 12 and Sunday, Sept. 13 beginning at 6 p.m. each day and, as expected, it is being held virtually.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports that there are 7,322 cases of COVID-19 in Guilford County. What that actually means is that since March a total of 7,322 people in Guilford County have tested positive for COVID-19, which is entirely different.

President Donald J. Trump gave the crowd at the Smith-Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem what they came to hear, speaking over an hour at the outdoor event on Tuesday evening, Sept. 8.

President Donald J. Trump will be making a campaign appearance at the Smith-Reynolds Airport at 3821 N. Liberty St. in Winston-Salem on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper released a statement Friday, Sept. 4, saying that he would sign the Coronavirus Relief Act passed by the North Carolina legislature earlier in the week.

National Night Out has been officially cancelled by the Greensboro Police Department.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order No.163, which he calls Phase 2.5 of the reopening process that began in May with Phase 1, with executive order No. 138, will result in many of the Greensboro Parks and Recreation facilities that have been closed since March reopening on a limited basis.

This week Gov. Roy Cooper slightly relaxed the shutdown of the state’s economy because of COVID-19 with Phase 2.5. On Friday, Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. gyms, fitness centers, museums, bowling alleys, skating rinks and similar businesses were allowed to open at 30 percent capacity.

Moving to Phase 2.5 of the reopening process from Gov. Roy Cooper’s shutdown of the state’s economy means that the City of Greensboro will be reopening some of its long closed facilities.

Twice the Greensboro City Council has heard the same report on leaving the Guilford County Continuum of Care (CoC) and forming a Greensboro CoC.

The North Carolina legislature with Republican majorities in both houses doesn’t always agree, but it could hardly have been more united in its support of $1 billion COVID-19 relief package it passed this week. The North Carolina state Senate passed the bill by a 44-to-5 margin on Wednesday, Sept. 2 and the state House on Thursday, Sept. 3 passed it 104-to-10.

The Greensboro City Council is supposed to vote on Tuesday, Sept. 15 on a policy requiring police officers have a form signed before conducting a consent search.