Author: John Hammer

The Greensboro Zoning Commission in revolt over a bunch of rules is a little hard to imagine. But that’s what Greensboro Planning Administrator Mike Kirkman had on his hands when he tried to explain that the zoning commissioners would have to sign an agreement stating they would comply with all the new rules and regulations in the new City of Greensboro Boards and Commissions Handbook.

Fisher Park isn’t going to have another bed and breakfast, at least not anytime soon after the action of the Zoning Commission on Tuesday, May 20 in the Council Chamber.

The City Council agenda states the meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21 but the meeting actually starts with a closed session at 5 p.m.  Judging from past closed sessions before City Council meetings the smart bet is that the business part of the meeting will start after 5:30 p.m. rather than before.

Beach Music may be more popular today than it was 50 years ago, it certainly doesn’t appear to be any less popular and fortunately you don’t have to go to the beach to enjoy it.

For fans of one of the fastest growing sports in America, Thursday, May 23 is a date you might want to mark on your calendar because that’s the day the six new outdoor pickleball courts at Smith Community Park at 2401 Fairview St. open for business.

The Law Enforcement Memorial Service was held at Phill G. McDonald Plaza on Thursday, May 16 at 10 a.m.The ceremony honors the 23 law enforcement officers in Guilford County who have died in the line of duty dating back to 1913.

Judging by the public response at the “Drop-In” session on the proposed Good Repair Ordinance on Wednesday, May 15 at the Central Library, the people of Greensboro are not in favor of the ordinance by a wide margin.  Of the ten folks who showed up eight were against the ordinance to varying degrees, one was in favor and one was on the fence. 

Sixth District Congressman Mark Walker is taking on an issue most people in North Carolina care more about than taxes, military spending, illegal immigration and climate change combined, at least during March – the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and, in particular, NCAA basketball.

In the legislature down in Raleigh the crossover deadline was last week which means any bill that didn’t already pass in the state House or Senate is dead for the year.  Unless some powerful Republican decides they really want a bill, then they strip the language out of a bill that did pass and replace it with the language for the new bill. 

Driving south toward Greensboro on NC 68, a driver not familiar with the area would never know they were headed straight for Greensboro and an easy route downtown via Bryan Boulevard because the signs tell you you’re headed to High Point.

Greensboro is holding a “drop in public information session” to give people a chance to learn about the proposed “Good Repair Ordinance” on Wednesday, May 15 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the Tannenbaum Room of Greensboro Central Library at 219 N. Church St.

Vice President Mike Pence will be visiting Greensboro on Wednesday, May 22 for a fundraiser for North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis.

North Carolina State Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue (D-Wake) had an ethics complaint filed against him and got some support from an unlikely source state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham).

Encouraging development in East Greensboro is topic that has been on the front burner for years with limited success.

The International Resource Center (IRC), the daytime shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Greensboro celebrated its 10th anniversary with barbecue, beer and music on Friday, May 10. 

If it looks like a committee and acts like a committee, is it a committee?What is being called the Cure Violence Working Group made up of four members of the Greensboro City Council and four members of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, certainly looked and acted like a committee, but was it in fact a committee and subject to the North Carolina Open Meetings Law?

Maybe the City Council was subscribing to the old adage, actions speak louder than words at the monthly town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 7.

The Greensboro City Council town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 7 in the Council Chambers may prove that enforcing the rules actually works.

At least they didn’t discuss the shape of the table, however the longest discussion of the rare joint meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the Greensboro City Council was about how to hold the vote on the Cure Violence program.

The Greensboro City Council often discusses the need to rehabilitate dilapidated housing and provide more low income and working class housing in the city.

The Sunday News & Observer reported that Durham had three murders in the past eight days. Durham had already had 14 murders in 2019 so that raised the 2019 total to 17 about three times higher than the total during the same time period in 2017. 

The Greensboro City Council is breaking with its usual pattern of infrequent meetings and has two special meetings and it’s regular town hall meeting next week.

Downtown Greensboro Inc (DGI) President Zack Matheny had a tough act to follow at the DGI luncheon...

The rumors about Trader Joe’s coming to Greensboro were confirmed by Trader Joe’s National Director of Public Relations Kenya Friend-Daniel according an article in the Triad Business Journal (TBJ).   

Finally, there are some public documents about the proposed Cure Violence program. The Cure Violence program designed to treat violent crime and murders like a disease which the Greensboro City Council and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners have been discussing in private for months, is finally going to be discussed in public and the contracts they are slated to discuss are public documents.

Some rumors turn out to be true – like the one that Roy Carroll, the owner of the Carroll Companies was going to announce a $140 million mixed-use project in downtown Greensboro. 

The neighbors call it “Mount Latham” and it’s not a compliment.City Councilmember Justin Outling who lives a few blocks away in Fisher Park said he was surprised at how visible it was from Wendover Avenue.

All indications are the plan to have a Cure Violence program in Greensboro run by City Councilmember Yvonne Johnson is moving toward approval. 

North Carolina is the 10th fastest growing state in the nation which means we have lots of new folks moving here every year and one of the curiosities about the Old North State that many have to come to terms with are the laws governing alcohol sales.

If you were planning a quiet afternoon stroll around the downtown on Sunday, April 28, you might want to reschedule. 

A true Greensboro summer tradition Music for a Sunday Evening in the Park (MUSEP) will kick off it’s 40thseason at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 2 at the White Oak Amphitheatre in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex with the Gate City Divas and David Childers & the Serpents

The city parking deck planned for North Eugene Street passed a significant milestone at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 16 when the City Council passed a resolution approving a complicated real estate transaction that should allow construction on that deck to begin.  

The Greensboro City Council is in for a long day on Monday, April 29.The City Council is holding a special meeting Monday beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers.

Greensboro’s Recycle Rodeo being held Saturday, April 27 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church on Horse Pen Creek Road, doesn’t involve bucking aluminum cans or lassoing plastic bottles, but it does involve recycling and it’s free.

The Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) which is in charge of running the bus system in Greensboro had a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 23, but the meeting had to be canceled.

Thursday, April 25 you have an opportunity to ride one of Greensboro’s 10 electric buses for free. Actually you can ride any bus in the Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) system for free that includes HEAT and SCAT, although SCAT buses are for people with disabilities that prevent them from riding the fixed route buses.  And not just that but the PART buses are free as are the buses in Winston-Salem and High Point.

City Council District 5 is interested in traffic and City Councilmember Tammi Thurm was prepared for a lot of traffic questions at the “Community Conversation” at the Leonard Recreation Center on Ballinger Road on Monday, April 22.

Mayor Nancy Vaughan announced Thursday, April 18 that the Greensboro City Council and the Guilford County Commissioners would likely hold a joint meeting to discuss Cure Violence during a City Council work session on Tuesday, May 7.

What happens if you find you’re spending more money than your bringing in.  Some people start spending less.  Some go bankrupt.

State Rep. John Faircloth who represents portions of High Point and Greensboro in the state legislature has introduced a bill to revise the law on the release of police body warn camera videos.

The Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) that oversees the city bus system was abolished by a unanimous vote of the Greensboro City Council at the Tuesday, April 16 meeting.

On May 21 the Greensboro City Council plans to pass a “Good Repair Ordinance” that would set minimum standards for all nonresidential buildings in the city.

Mayor Nancy Vaughan quickly took control of the meeting, had four people removed by security guards and six to eight people left with them.  After that the City Council had a long productive and relatively uneventful meeting.

The hottest topic on the agenda for the Tuesday, April 16 City Council meeting will be tabled according to a press release from the City of Greensboro.

The Guilford County Republican Party held its annual Lincoln Reagan dinner at the Embassy Suites on Saturday, April 13.It was the first major event for the Chairman David Gleeson and the new Guilford County Republican Party leadership team that was elected at the Republican county convention in March.

An out of town attorney said that he’d learned the Zoning Commission meeting was the place to be in Greensboro on Monday nights. And on Monday, April 15 it was if you wanted to skip dinner and stay up late.

The last meeting of the Greensboro City Council on Monday, April 1 was loud.The next meeting on Tuesday, April 16 is going to be long, but hopefully not as loud.With 72 items on the agenda, even if the City Council flies through the meeting, it’s going to take some time to handle everything.

We have a really big show for you tonight.” Nobody actually used the quote from Ed Sullivan but they could have as long as they replaced tonight with next year.The Broadway Season for the inaugural year of the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Greensboro was announced at an event on Thursday, April 11 in front of what is now the Tanger construction site.  And it is a really big show that will kick off with Beautiful – The Carole King MusicalMay 26-31, 2020.

May will be here before you know it and Sunday May, 5 the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market at 501 Yanceyville St. will be holding the MADE 4 Market Local Makers Show from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.