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Here are my most recent posts
Posted by John Hammer | Nov 17, 2016 | Greensboro, Other
The good news is that the Greensboro City Council had four rezoning requests to consider at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Four rezoning requests means development is finally starting to get moving again in Greensboro....
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 17, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News, Other
It appears that the North Carolina General Assembly will decide who is the next governor of North Carolina. When vote counting ended on Wednesday, Nov. 9, the total showed that Attorney General Roy Cooper was ahead by fewer than...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 17, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
The final Rhino Times Schmoozefest of 2016 will be held on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Blue Agave Mexican Bar & Grill at 3900 Battleground Ave. As always, hors d’ouevres, beer and wine are provided to those who...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 17, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
Friday, Nov. 11, New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger didn’t exactly admit that his newspaper had been unfair to Donald Trump during the presidential election – as one of his editors did during the election – but he did...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 10, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
Tuesday was an election night for the record books. The American people, for the first time since Gen.Dwight D. Eisenhower won the presidency in 1952, elected a president who had never held elective office. It was a long night...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 10, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
The final Rhino Times Schmoozefest of 2016 will be held on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Blue Agave Mexican Bar & Grill at 3900 Battleground Ave. As always, hors d’ouevres, beer and wine are provided to those who...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 10, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
He did it. When Donald Trump announced he was running for president in June 2015, it was reported as some kind of joke. Mainstream media pundits predicted he was not seriously running but said it was just to enhance his image...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 3, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
The $25 million for Housing Bonds that is on the ballot on Nov. 8 is according to those in favor of it to help people who live in substandard housing. But the bonds would provide the wrong kind of help and is the wrong direction...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 3, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, the Greensboro City Council cleared up some issues that had been raised in closed session at its Oct. 18 meeting about the internal police investigation of former Greensboro Police Officer Travis Cole. The...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 3, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
Next Tuesday is the election. My prediction is that Donald Trump will win. North Carolina has been listed as a toss-up by the pollsters throughout this election, and I don’t see it. North Carolina has consistently voted for the...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Nov 3, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
The final Rhino Times Schmoozefest of 2016 will be held on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Blue Agave Mexican Bar & Grill at 3900 Battleground Ave. As always, hors d’ouevres, beer and wine are provided to those who...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 27, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
According to emails now released by WikiLeaks, the Clinton campaign thought it was going to be a huge scandal that President Barack Hussein Obama said on television that he found out about Hillary Clinton’s private email server...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 27, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
The North Carolina State Board of Elections office sent out a memo this month instructing the county boards of elections to violate the state law that requires voter registration forms to be signed by the applicant. For some...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 27, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
It is certainly within the realm of possibility that if the $126 million bond passes that the Greensboro City Council will spend the money well to benefit all the citizens of Greensboro. It is possible, but highly unlikely. Past...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 27, 2016 | Archives, News, Other
The Rhino Times usually prints its endorsements on the last Thursday before the election. This year, with so many candidates, we got an early start and decided to run the top of the ticket plus a few others one week early for...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 27, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
The Rhino Times Election 2016 Schmoozefest will be held on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Suite 300 at 212 South Elm St., better known as the Kress Building. This new 10,000-square-foot special events center features a...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 20, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
Early voting starts Oct. 20, and because so many people are voting early, next week we are going to break with tradition and run our first round of endorsements, and then in the final week before the election we’ll run the rest....
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 20, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
Three weeks out from the election and the Hillary Clinton team is already declaring victory because their friends in the media, which largely control the polls, say that Hillary Clinton is winning big. Of course, not all the...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 20, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
In September 2015, the Greensboro City Council held its first City Council committee meetings. Four committees of four councilmembers each were appointed, and the committees, according to the billing, were supposed to allow...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 20, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
Zack Matheny has only been president of Downtown Greensboro Inc. for a little more that a year, but he appears to have taken to the job like a duck to water. Matheny gave his second annual report to the community on Wednesday,...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 20, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
It was another raucous City Council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 18, but one local developer walked away with a contract and he didn’t even have to answer a single question about it. With no discussion the City Council voted...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 20, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan completely lost control of another City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Once again Nelson Johnson and his followers took over. Vaughan can’t say no to Nelson Johnson even when he is yelling at...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 13, 2016 | Archives, News, Other
Compared to the recent presidential debates the North Carolina gubernatorial debate held Tuesday, Oct. 11 was a fairly civil affair. Neither Republican Gov. Pat McCrory or his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper,...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 13, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
There are a host of reasons to vote against the Greensboro bond referendums on the ballot and some reasons to vote for some of the bonds. But according to both those in favor and those opposed to the bonds, if the bonds pass,...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 13, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
Eastern North Carolina got hit hard by Hurricane Matthew. The death toll has risen to 20. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, homes were flooded and on Wednesday some areas were still completely cut off from...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 13, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
News in the presidential campaign is breaking so fast it’s hard to keep up. What the recent emails released by WikiLeaks prove is that the collusion between the Clinton campaign, the mainstream media, the White House, the...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 13, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
I enjoyed the Hillary Clinton for president rally held by President Barack Obama at the White Oak Amphitheatre at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex on Tuesday, Oct. 11. I didn’t know that I would, but President Obama was clearly...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 6, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
The regular meeting of the Greensboro City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 4 went the way that so many regular meetings go. The only interesting part was the speakers from the floor, who fell into two completely different camps. One...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 6, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
The JDRF One Walk to raise money for a world without Type 1 diabetes is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 beginning at NewBridge Bank Park. Registration for the walk begins at 8 a.m. and the walk begins at 9. You get to choose...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 6, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
It appears the presidential election, one of the most unusual anyone can remember, has taken all the air away from local races. On Nov. 8, lots of people are going to walk into the polls, look at the ballot and wonder who all...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Oct 6, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
It appears the presidential election, one of the most unusual anyone can remember, has taken all the air away from local races. On Nov. 8, lots of people are going to walk into the polls, look at the ballot and wonder who all...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 29, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
Donald Trump left a lot on the table at the first presidential debate. Hillary Clinton was classic Hillary Clinton: When she was asked a question, she looked through her mental Rolodex to find the answer that best responded to...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 29, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
Last Thursday I did something I don’t think I’ve done in 20 years: I delivered papers for the Rhino Times. I have taken papers to stops that were missed over the years, but I really don’t think I’ve done a full route since I had...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 29, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
The next Rhino Times Schmoozefest is Thursday, Sept. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The W on Elm in downtown Greensboro, 324 S. Elm St. Business professionals who sign in and wear a name tag are invited to enjoy free beer, wine and hors...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 29, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
The special called meeting of the Greensboro City Council on Monday, Sept. 26 revealed that, without the benefit of an election, Greensboro has a new mayor – Rev. Nelson Johnson. The event appeared to be orchestrated by Johnson,...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 22, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News, Other
Hillary Clinton gave an uninspiring speech at a campaign rally in the old student recreation center at UNC-Greensboro on Thursday, Sept. 15. The speech lasted about 20 minutes, she received one standing ovation from the crowd...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 22, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News, Other
The Donald Trump rally at High Point University on Tuesday, Sept. 20 was by Trump standards a fairly inauspicious event. Earlier in the campaign you could have expected Trump to make at least one statement that would have the...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 22, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
It’s always a mistake to bet on a short City Council meeting. The meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20 had the Lake Brandt and Trosper Road rezoning on the agenda that was going to take some time, but that was postponed for 30 days,...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 22, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
The next Rhino Times Schmoozefest is Thursday, Sept. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The W on Elm in downtown Greensboro, 324 S. Elm St. Business professionals who sign in and wear a name tag are invited to enjoy free beer, wine and hors...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 22, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
The presidential election is less than 50 days away and Hillary Clinton has cancelled another event, this one a fundraiser in Chapel Hill. She admitted that she cancelled the events in California last week because she needed to...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 22, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
I attended the Hillary Clinton for president rally at UNCG on Thursday, Sept. 15 and the Donald Trump for president rally at High Point University on Tuesday, Sept. 20, so I thought a little compare and contrast might be fun. I...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 15, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
The Greensboro City Council decided to put $126 million in four bonds on the ballot for Nov. 8 with little discussion, and for millions of dollars in bonds there are no plans on how the money will be spent. The $25 million of...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 15, 2016 | Archives, Shorts
If you really enjoy Greek food, music, dancing and Old World hospitality, you have two choices this weekend: You can fly to Athens for a quick trip or, if that doesn’t fit in your schedule, you can go to the Greek Festival at...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 15, 2016 | Archives, Under the Hammer
So much disinformation about House Bill 2 (HB2) is being promulgated by the liberal news media and liberal politicians, it’s hard to know where to start with the news that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 15, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
So much disinformation about House Bill 2 (HB2) is being promulgated by the liberal news media and liberal politicians, it’s hard to know where to start with the news that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 15, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
It saddens me that the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) decided to pull its championship games out of North Carolina because of House Bill 2 (HB2), better known as the bathroom bill. It’s incredible that a bill that says males...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 8, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
Some folks are saying that the new $105 million nursing school building at the University of North Carolina Greensboro should be named the Wade Nursing & STEM Building, for State Sen. Trudy Wade, because without Wade’s...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 8, 2016 | Archives, Greensboro, News
Garbage has been a particularly contentious issue in Greensboro since before the City Council voted to close the White Street Landfill in 2001. The landfill was closed to garbage in 2007 at a cost to the city estimated to be as...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 8, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
I was afraid my best friend, who has a penchant for squirrels, had lost her mind. We have a squirrel feeder – her version of a good internet connection – on a tree in our backyard. It’s the kind where you stick an ear of dried...
Read MorePosted by John Hammer | Sep 8, 2016 | Archives, Weekly Hammer
It appears the push for the passage of the proposed Greensboro $126 million bond referendum has started. But hasn’t started with the usual campaign signs, balloons and brochures. It has started with a series of articles in the...
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