Author: John Hammer

The Greensboro Science Center (GCS) always has something new, and Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. it will be kicking off ecoEXPLORE, a science program created specifically for children.

The Zoning Commission meeting on Monday, Oct. 21 may not have been unprecedented, but it was highly unusual and, according to some government experts, improper.

In October 2016 the voters of Greensboro approved a $126 million bond package which included $25 million in affordable housing bonds, so it is somewhat appropriate that the ribbon cutting for the first multi-family project funded by those bonds is in October.

This is the week of the North Carolina A&T State University Homecoming, better known as the Greatest Homecoming on Earth. And although events began on Monday, Oct. 21, the biggest and best days of the GHOE are yet to come.

Stray dogs were the first topic of discussion at the town hall meeting held by District 5 City Councilmember Tammi Thurm at the Griffin Recreation Center on Hilltop Road Monday evening, Oct. 21, which seven people attended.

Healthcare continues to be a hot topic across the country and in North Carolina it is a disagreement over Medicaid expansion that has resulted in the state still not having a budget almost one-third of way through the current fiscal year.

The city is currently working on the Murrow Boulevard section of the Downtown Greenway, which is wide sidewalk that will some day loop around downtown Greensboro. In looking for information about this portion of the four-mile-long, 12-foot-wide sidewalk, I found this notification.

The Greensboro History Museum is presenting “Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta in North Carolina” at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 130 Summit Ave.

For the City of Greensboro, awarding routine contracts used to be routine, but not anymore.

The Greensboro Sports Council announced that Clemson University Football Coach Dabo Swinney will be the speaker for the 2020 Fred Barakat Sports Dinner on May 13 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Guilford County Chief District Court Judge Tom Jarrell died from “fentanyl and heroin intoxication,” what most people call a drug overdose, according to the autopsy report released by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released Thursday, Oct. 17.

The Wyndham Championship on Wednesday, Oct. 16 announced Kontoor Brands President and CEO Scott Baxter will be the honorary chairman for the 2020 and 2021 tournaments.

Downtown Greensboro Inc. announced this week it has hired four new employees.

Another unregulated contaminant is causing problems for the Greensboro Water Resources Department.

A rezoning request for a residential development on McConnell Road across the road from Innisbrook Village Apartments hit an unexpected roadblock at the Greensboro City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15 in the Council Chambers.

Greensboro City Manager David Parrish received a 6 percent raise on Tuesday night, Oct. 15, from the Greensboro City Council.

On Thursday, Oct. 17, the City of High Point will host a public information session to discuss the city’s $50-million bond referendum on the ballot in November. That meeting will last from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the High Point Public Library in the Jim Morgan Room on the first floor.

At the Tuesday afternoon work session the City Council heard once again from the Greensboro Transit Agency (GTA) staff that bus fare increases are needed. 

The City Council by an 8-0 vote passed two motions to spend $500,000 to start a Cure Violence program in Greensboro at the meeting Tuesday, Oct. 15 in the Council Chamber.

The Greensboro City Council plans to approve a $500,000 contract to implement a Cure Violence program in two neighborhoods at the Tuesday, Oct. 15 meeting.

Some projects take longer than others. The grand opening of the dog park at Griffin Community Park at 5301 Hilltop Road is Sunday, Oct. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The Guilford County Republican Party held its first monthly meeting in its new headquarters at 5500 Friendly Ave. on Monday, Oct. 14 and unanimously passed a resolution that left no doubt about where the Guilford County GOP stands on President Donald Trump.

It’s not unusual to hear someone say they live in the best neighborhood in Greensboro, but now it’s official: Sunset Hills has been named by Reader’s Digest as the nicest neighborhood in the entire state of North Carolina.

They say two heads are better than one, so it stands to reason that three would be even better. And if the three are wearing “Cat in the Hat” hats, well, how could you beat that?

McConnell Road is the hot spot for development in Greensboro right now – if you use controversial rezoning requests as the measuring stick.

City Council town hall meetings lately have begun with a number of speakers talking about problems with the SCAT paratransit bus service provided by the Greensboro Transit Agency.

The Cure Violence program has been on the Greensboro City Council’s radar screen for over a year and it appears that, at the meeting Tuesday, Oct. 15, the council will agree to spend $500,000 to fund a Cure Violence program in Greensboro.

Halloween will be here before you know it, and Trunk or Treat is a way for children to celebrate the holiday in a safe, supervised environment.

The Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department is playing its part in Greatest Homecoming on Earth – the North Carolina A&T State University homecoming – by hosting Aggie FanFest, Oct. 25 through Oct. 27 at World War Memorial Stadium at 501 Yanceyville St.

Guilford County has been hit with a $425,000 legal bill that the commissioners have reluctantly agreed to pay.

The Greensboro Police Foundation is holding the inaugural fundraising event, The Blue Salute, Saturday, Oct. 12 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Proximity Hotel.

It was hard to believe that it was really October when the high was 90 degrees. But even though the temperature has dropped to more fall like weather it doesn’t look anything like past Octobers in Greensboro.

Two Greensboro city councilmembers have announced up coming meetings with constituents this month.

The North Carolina State Legislature is still in session, and judging from the rhetoric this week between Gov. Roy Cooper and President Pro Tem of the state Senate Phil Berger, there isn’t much love between the two.

The Greensboro Planning Department is bringing Henry Cisneros to Greensboro to speak Tuesday, Oct. 29 and Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Franklin Graham will be bringing his “Decision America Tar Heel State Tour” to the White Oak Amphitheatre at the Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 9 beginning at 7 p.m.

The final forum held on hiring a new Greensboro Police Chief was also the longest, loudest and largest.

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan read new rules for speakers before the public comment period at the City Council town hall meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association building at 23 Oak Branch Dr.

The City of Greensboro wants to know what you think about the electric scooters that are primarily seen in the downtown area and around college campuses.

Monday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 1210 S. Eugene St., the city will hold the final community meeting on hiring a new police chief.

It’s a rare City Council meeting where City Councilmember Sharon Hightower doesn’t get in an argument, often heated, and the town hall meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association building was not one of those rare meetings.

Some neighborhoods have parades, some have block parties, some have unique Christmas decorations and winter runs. Westerwood, aka Lake Daniel, has a walking art tour.

As expected the City Council District 2 town hall meeting on Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Greensboro History Museum, covered a lot of territory, moved at a good pace and included good discussions of issues important to the constituents of the district.

The Greensboro City Council tried out some new rules at its monthly town hall meeting, aka “yellfest,” on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association office at 23 Oak Branch Dr.

The Tuesday, Oct. 2, town hall meeting of the Greensboro City Council at the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association building at 23 Oak Branch Dr. began with a presentation on Carolina Core.

The 2019 session of the North Carolina General Assembly hasn’t lacked surprises, and President Pro Tem of the state Senate Phil Berger made it clear in his press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 2, that he wasn’t looking for any more.

Guilford County District Court Judge Angela Foster has been censured by the North Carolina Supreme Court after having a woman in her court handcuffed and put in a holding cell without a hearing on Jan. 2, 2018.

The community meeting on hiring a new police chief held at the Benjamin Branch Library at 222 Benjamin Pkwy on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at noon was very different from the one held about 18 hours earlier at the Barber Park Event Center.

District 2 City Councilmember Goldie Wells is holding a town hall meeting on Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Greensboro History Museum, 130 Summit Avenue, next door to LeBauer Park.

It appears the battle over redistricting in North Carolina won’t end until after the 2020 census, when new districts are drawn, and then it is likely to start all over again.