Author: John Hammer

The Greensboro City Council rarely misses an opportunity to recognize special months, weeks and days, but it did miss National Coffee Day, which most jurisdictions in the US celebrated on Sunday, Sept. 29. Traditionally it is celebrated on Oct. 1 and is being celebrated by the Greensboro Police Department on Wed. Oct. 2.

“The most important thing is for him to know the Lord.”It was the last comment made at a community meeting on hiring a new Greensboro police chief and received unqualified approval from the 14 people at the meeting.

The city has added more opportunities for people to weigh in on what they think the city should be looking for in a new police chief.

The new city parking deck on North Eugene Street across from the First National Bank Stadium, the home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers, is under construction.

When people think of beer and music, it’s not usually classical music that comes to mind, which is what makes the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra (GSO) HOPS series stand out.

On Sept. 3, Greensboro City Council Mayor Nancy Vaughan said that the City Council would discuss watching the police body worn camera videos of an incident downtown on Sept. 10, 2016 at the Sept. 17 City Council meeting.

Downtown Greensboro Inc. president Zack Matheny pleased a lot of attendees at the annual Downtown Greensboro Inc. Annual Celebration at the Cadillac Service Garage at 304 E. Market St Thursday night, with his speech.

For one weekend a year the corner of Friendly Avenue and Westridge Road is transformed into a Greek village for the Greensboro Greek Festival.  That weekend is Friday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Sept. 29 and you are invited.

As the photo above shows, there is no mount left to Mount Latham at 1107 and 1109 Latham Road.

Greensboro moved a step closer to getting another interstate highway at the Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (GUAMPO) meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

There’s nothing like being there to learn how the process actually works.

The two members of Congress who represent Greensboro in Washington, DC, released statements today following the announcement by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that the House was going to start an official impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump over what is being referred to as the Ukrainian scandal.

The contract between Elm Street Hotel LLC and the City of Greensboro to build the February One Place Parking Deck-Westin Hotel complex was signed Monday, Sept. 23.

With the ribbon cutting for the fourth pool on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, the Greensboro Aquatic Center (GAC) became the largest indoor aquatic center in the country.

Some meetings have themes, and the theme of the Greensboro Board of Adjustment meeting on Monday, Sept. 23, was “granny flats.”

Greensboro announced Tuesday that Ryan Deal has been hired as the first chief creative economy officer in the city’s history.

Smith Street Diner on the corner of Battleground Avenue and Smith Street is looking for a new sticker design and a new T-shirt slogan and they want your help. Whether you are a designer or slogan writer or not, you can participate.

The Greensboro City Council turned down a second rezoning request at its Sept. 17 meeting.

This is the September report on the February One Place Parking Deck-Westin Hotel Complex and there is not much to report.

After 17 years, Kersey Valley Attractions has found a way to make its Maize Adventure, which opens on Saturday, Sept. 21, not only better but more environmentally friendly as well.

The City Council at the Tuesday, Sept. 17 work session once again discussed the funding for nonprofit organizations.

Two items pulled from the Consent Agenda at the Greensboro City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 17 indicate a huge problem with the city awarding routine contracts not too far down the road.

Beer, music and foodtrucks – doesn’t sound like an event at the Greensboro History Museum, but it is.

Shortly after unanimously passing the New Garden Road Strategic Plan at its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Greensboro City Council voted to deny a controversial rezoning request at 1302 New Garden Road.

It looks like Greensboro is going to get a Cure Violence program after all.

The lawsuit filed by Black Network Television against the City of Greensboro and six city councilmembers in 2014 has been thrown out of court.

Greensboro Police Chief Wayne Scott has announced he will retire Jan. 31, 2020, which means the city will be hiring  a new police chief and is asking for your input.

For the second year in a row, a Guilford Metro 911 employee has been NC Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Telecommunicator of the Year.

The intent of the New Garden Road Strategic Plan was to control development in the New Garden Road Corridor, but following action of the Greensboro City Council at its Tuesday, Sept. 17 meeting the result will be to create another hoop for developers to jump through all over Greensboro.

The sides in a rezoning request are usually pretty clearly drawn between those in favor and those opposed, but a speaker at the Zoning Commission meeting on Monday, Sept. 16 took speaking for and against to a new level.

The City Council talks about the need for development in East Greensboro at every meeting, but rezoning requests for property in East Greensboro are routinely voted down.

The redistricting process may nearly be over, and then again maybe not.

The meeting of the Greensboro City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 17 might be dubbed the New Garden Road Council meeting.

The American Hebrew Academy which suddenly closed on June 11 has announced that it is reopening for the 2020-2021 school year.

Next week, Monday Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 22 is a great week to dine downtown because it’s Downtown Restaurant Week.

The Greensboro City Council decided to appeal the gag order imposed by North Carolina Superior Court Judge Susan Bray to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Deputy Police Chief James Hinson will retire Friday, Sept. 13 according to a press release sent out by the City of Greensboro.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and the Democrats sound like sore losers crying foul over the way the state House passed the state budget overriding Cooper’s veto.

Could Greensboro become less dependent on the federal government?

The North Carolina state House passed the 2019-2020 budget on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 11, overriding Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto with a little more than half the representatives in the chamber.

A former employee at a group home co-owned by Deputy Police Chief James Hinson has been charged with one count of a sex assault on a minor and two counts of indecent liberties with children by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department.

Greensboro police body worn camera videos seem to be a constant issue for the City Council and it will according to Mayor Nancy Vaughan be an issue once again at the Tuesday, Sept. 17 City Council meeting.

Saturday morning is usually prime time for the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market at 501 Yanceyville Street, but on Saturday, Sept. 21 the big event of the day will be in the afternoon.

The Greensboro City Council will hold a special public forum on the recent increase in violent crime on Wed. Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at Windsor Community Center at 1601 E. Gate City Blvd.

Greensboro is going through the process of becoming LEED certified and the City Council is captivated with the prospect.

It’s hard to believe that Sept. 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center Towers were destroyed by a terrorist attack was almost 20 years ago.

Piedmont Hall, the newest venue at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, was officially opened with the ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, Sept 5.

The Greensboro Police Officers Association sent out a press release on Thursday, Sept. 5, noting that police officers under investigation were not being treated uniformly.

There was quite a bit of cheering when it was announced that Publix was going to build a major distribution center and bring over 1,000 jobs to East Greensboro.

Crime was the main topic at the work session on Tuesday, Sept. 3, appropriately enough in the Public Safety Training Facility.