Author: Scott D. Yost

After more than a year of operating out of a temporary courthouse location, Guilford County officials say the Family Justice Center is preparing to move back home.

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 22, the Guilford County Family Justice Center Courthouse Pop-Up, located inside the Guilford County Courthouse, will close. The pop-up site will be shut down Thursday and Friday, Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, as staff prepare to relocate services back to the Katie S. Cashion Center at 201 S. Greene St….

Many people who like saying “Let it snow, let it snow,” look like they are about to get their wish.

A significant winter storm expected to move into central North Carolina this weekend could bring snow, ice and dangerous travel conditions across the Piedmont Triad, prompting airport officials and emergency planners to urge residents to prepare now and think twice before heading out….

Wow.

Just wow.

If you thought Guilford County had its hands full overseeing and funding $2 billion in school bond projects, a new Sheriff’s Office headquarters and lots of other ongoing projects – well, at a Thursday, Jan. 15 work session, county staff unveiled plans for another huge undertaking: Demolishing the county-owned Truist Bank building in downtown Greensboro, building a new Guilford County government complex and moving most administrative functions there…

On Friday, Jan. 16, a line of cars was backing up Lawndale Drive traffic as fans of Clutch Coffee Bar stacked up to get one last cup of their favorite coffee – or coffee-adjacent drink – at the Sunset Drive location in Greensboro.

By the end of the day, the lights were off, the drive-thru window was closed, and Clutch Coffee Bar’s Greensboro outpost was officially done.

The Sunset Drive location is now closed, and it won’t be reopening under the Clutch name…

The 36th Annual Greensboro NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade will take place Monday, Jan. 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., continuing a tradition that traces directly back to the renaming of one of Greensboro’s major thoroughfares more than three decades ago.

The parade is sponsored by the Greensboro Branch of the NAACP and will once again travel, of course, along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive – a street whose name, and the parade itself, exist largely because of the persistence of Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston…

Guilford County commissioners are set to approve a one-month extension of the county’s contract with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Center for Housing and Community Studies at their Thursday, Jan. 15 meeting in order to allow the full use of remaining federal pandemic relief funds without committing any new local dollars…

If you have business with the city to handle on Monday, you can forget about conducting it then and you might be wise to go out and enjoy a parade instead.

City of Greensboro offices will be closed Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day – with a wide range of city services operating on holiday or modified schedules…

Greensboro residents – and Verizon customers in many other parts of the country as well – learned on Wednesday, Jan. 14, just how dependent they are on their cell phones and the phone service provided through them.  For many Verizon customers, they may as well have been carrying around a light brick because a cell phone without cell phone services is like sex without, well, without the sex…

Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers has been dreaming of – and working toward – the day when he and his leadership team could finally move out of the dilapidated, flood-prone and, depending on who you ask, possibly haunted Otto Zenke Building, which has served as the Sheriff’s Office headquarters for decades.

That day has arrived…

After more than two decades on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, Kay Cashion has decided not to seek another term – which will end one of the longest and most influential tenures in modern Guilford County government.

The filing period for the 2026 election has closed and Cashion’s name isn’t on the list of candidates…

Guilford County tax officials are beginning a public education push ahead of the countywide 2026 property value reappraisal announcements – an event that’s drawn heightened attention after the sharp increases many homeowners saw during the last revaluation.

The Guilford County Tax Department publicized this week that it will hold a series of Tax Reappraisal Educational Meetings later in January to explain how the upcoming reappraisal will work and to let property owners know what to expect…

By now, everyone knows the definition of insanity, and Guilford County government is once again doing the same thing and expecting different results: The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has instructed county staff to come up with a well thought out and rational policy as to which non-profits should get county tax money and which should not.

It is now almost time again for non-profits that want funding to let the county know. ..

Guilford County health officials have confirmed three cases of animal rabies in the first week of 2026, prompting renewed warnings to residents about avoiding wildlife and ensuring pets are properly vaccinated.

The Guilford County Health and Human Services Department announced earlier this week that a cat on Apple Wyrick Road in Gibsonville tested positive for rabies, marking the county’s first confirmed case of the year. The rabies virus was confirmed on January 5…

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two in-custody deaths at the Greensboro Detention Center that occurred within a span of less than two weeks, according to information released by the sheriff’s office.

Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers reported this week that, on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, detention staff discovered Jimmy Wilkerson – a 65-year-old Black man – in medical distress inside his cell…

You’ll probably want to be sitting down in a few weeks when you open your notice from the county regarding how much the Guilford County Tax Department believes your house or other property is worth.  

According to preliminary numbers, which are said to have held up to the end of the year, on average, property values in the county were up about 48 percent – and housing was a segment said by tax officials to be coming in even higher than that…

The Greensboro Parks Foundation has entered into a new partnership with the Guilford County Veterans Memorial in order to support a major restoration and expansion of the Guilford County Veterans Memorial at Country Park.

Under the agreement, the Veterans Memorial has been designated a “Community Impact Partner” of the Greensboro Parks Foundation – giving the project fiscal sponsorship, fundraising assistance and administrative support as the memorial undertakes a comprehensive capital campaign….

Bestselling author and former Rhino Times writer Jerry Bledsoe passed away on New Year’s Eve at the age of 84.

Bledsoe, who was best known for his true crime books such as Bitter Blood, also shed light on misconduct in the Greensboro Police Department in his lengthy series for the Rhino Times, Cops in Black and White.

Bledsoe’s career was defined by a willingness to take on powerful institutions and tell stories that others either wouldn’t or couldn’t tell…

The Humane Society of the Piedmont announced recently that its push into affordable, full-service veterinary care is paying off – both for the pets and the people who love them.

The organization stated in a recent newsletter that its full-service veterinary clinic has now been operating for over a year, and has been providing low-cost medical care to pets across the Piedmont.

The clinic handles routine wellness visits for puppies and kittens as well as treatment for sick animals whose owners might otherwise struggle to afford care…

When Congress approved the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, Guilford County government got a one-time allocation of just over $104 million, an unprecedented one-time infusion of federal money that was intended to help local governments respond to the public health emergency, stabilize essential services and address longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Guilford County’s ARPA tracking dashboard, all $104.34 million has now been formally allocated and obligated to specific projects….

It’s been almost a decade since the Carolina Panthers went to the playoffs; however, this year they have a chance not only to do that but to also be division champions.

And the entire season now may come down to one game.

So far in the 2025-2026 season, the Panthers have displayed promise, frustration and inconsistency – and the game Saturday will likely determine whether the team returns to the playoffs or heads into another long offseason….

Free parking in downtown Greensboro has been shrinking for years, but the latest move by the City of Greensboro makes it worse – much more of what used to be easy, free parking is about to cost you money.

The city, playing the Grinch, announced just before Christmas that several downtown surface parking lots will become paid parking beginning in 2026.  This is in keeping with recommendations from the City of Greensboro’s Downtown Parking Plan that was created in 2024…

The City of Greensboro has rolled out its latest violence-prevention initiative: the Greensboro Collaborative Action Network – or GSO CAN – a new community-based effort that city officials say is designed to move beyond traditional law enforcement responses and focus on collaboration and prevention…

Rep. John Blust – and a lot of other people in Guilford County – have said recently that, with...

The Rhino Times will be taking its annual Christmas break next week.

After working diligently throughout the year – covering county government, city halls, small towns, elections, budgets, zoning battles, development fights, investigations, and all the other things local officials would sometimes probably prefer we ignore – we’re going to step away for a few days, spend time with family, do some Christmas shopping, and recharge a bit.

If Summerfield were an ice cream, it would be Rocky Road, but now it appears as though things are calming down, the town is unlikely to lose its charter, and city leaders are moving forward with a new comprehensive plan that hopefully will be acceptable to most of the town’s residents.

For a town that’s spent the last several years fighting for its very existence, simply moving forward now feels like quite an accomplishment….

The City of Greensboro is playing it safe when it comes to the protection of apartment residents who were living in some very bad and dangerous conditions: It has ordered the evacuation and closure of a multifamily housing complex at 830 W. Market St. after city inspectors found multiple building and fire code violations that city officials say pose a serious risk to public safety…

The situation regarding trash, recycling and yard waste collection in the city of Greensboro has been a major topic of heated discussion for years – with that conversation touching on everything from the fact that the city doesn’t allow streetside recycling of glass bottles, to the way it collects leaves, to the fact that AI cameras are now looking through your recycled materials to find out who’s doing it wrong…

On Thursday, Dec. 18, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to adopt a new three-year agreement that will further expand the county’s use of aerial imaging technology to identify unreported buildings and property improvements for tax purposes.

That way they can figure out who’s been naughty or nice when it comes to informing the Tax Department…

Two billion dollars in school bond money – over three billion when you factor in interest – is certainly not going as far as voters hoped it would when they approved massive school bond referendums in 2020 and 2022.  A lot of projects voters hoped to see with that money aren’t getting done and the commissioners are already talking about putting a new school bond referendum on the ballot in the not too distant future. 

That one is expected to come in at around $550 million…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris – and defeated presidential candidate and perhaps future presidential candidate – is coming back to Greensboro early next year as part of an expanded national tour for her book 107 Days, with a stop scheduled for Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts…

The City of Greensboro has launched a new effort that could shape the future of the Glenwood neighborhood for decades to come, issuing a Request for Interest for the sale and redevelopment of several city-owned properties – including the former Glenwood United Methodist Church site.

The RFI, released Wednesday by the city’s Housing and Neighborhood Development Department, is seeking qualified developers, nonprofit organizations or other interested parties to propose…

Forty years ago, a massive downtown blaze pushed the Greensboro Fire Department to the limits – leaving behind one of the most significant firefighting chapters in the city’s modern history.

On April 13, 1985, a three-alarm fire tore through the 300 block of Davie Street in downtown Greensboro, consuming an entire city block and severely damaging several nearby buildings as well…

One of the youngest, most charismatic, and most well-liked county commissioners isn’t running for reelection to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.  Many assumed Commissioner Frankie Jones would eventually end up as the next Skip Alston of the county – Alston has clearly been grooming him over the years to become a political leader; however, while Jones may run for higher political office at some point, he will not be a Guilford County commissioner after late 2026…

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston is preparing to launch a new county initiative that would put county-operated vans on the road visiting homeless encampments, wooded areas and the scattered pockets of people living behind stores, hotels and industrial buildings from Greensboro to High Point.

The purpose is simple and direct:…

f you need a break from Christmas shopping this month, the Guilford County Soil and Water Conservation District would like to remind everyone that it’s also time to start thinking about trees, shrubs and even birdhouses.

The District has officially kicked off preorders…

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is closing out 2025 with a full slate of events, public outreach efforts and one much-anticipated milestone that’s been years in the making.

On Monday, Dec. 8, Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers will hold a news conference to discuss the long-awaited transition into the new Sheriff’s Office Administrative Building at 401 W. Sycamore St. in downtown Greensboro…

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office announced on Sunday, Dec. 7 that a narcotics investigation ended with a major bust that turned up drugs, cash and guns at a north Greensboro address.

According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday, Nov. 6, the Guilford County Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant at 406 Fairmile Drive in Greensboro.  That is off of North Church Street, north of Woods of Terror…,

Guilford County is holding a public hearing on Thursday, Dec. 18 to take public input on whether or not the county should hand over about $200,000 of taxpayer money to a growing company; however, since the county has recently adopted the practice of refusing to inform county residents of what the company is ahead of time, it’s anybody’s guess whether the company coming here is a good thing or a bad thing…

The Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities is putting out the call for help as it prepares for one of Greensboro’s longest-running – and most heartwarming – holiday traditions.

The 40th-annual Shopper’s Day will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, at Four Seasons Town Centre, 410 Four Seasons Town Centre in Greensboro….

Guilford County commissioners spent a whole lot of time in their Thursday, Dec. 4 work session debating not only how to divide a proposed quarter-cent sales tax, but also how to present that tax to the public.

The board is preparing for a 2026 referendum on what’s formally known as an Article 46 sales tax, and county commissioners said the wording that voters see in the booth could make or break the measure’s chances….

In the past, the Rhino Times has always gotten a fairly humorous article out of a post-election analysis of the write-in votes for fictional characters such as Sherlock Holmes or Wonder Woman.  So, the Rhino was saddened this year when its request for the list of write-in votes returned only votes that were considered “legitimate.” …

In Washington, the hot button issues are the Epstein files, the military attacks on Venezuelan boats and using National Guard troops to police American cities.

 In Greensboro, the thing that really gets residents worked up is leaf and yard waste collection.  Well, this week, now that leaves are falling very freely from the trees, the city has issued a press release reminding people to dispose of leaves and other items in the very particular way city officials want it done….

Atlantic Coast Conference fans and officials are having a massive collective meltdown this week – not because of a scandal, not because of a blowout game and not because of a high-profile coaching change – instead, it’s because a 7-5 Duke football team somehow fell-ass backward into the ACC Championship Game, and a Duke win will almost certainly single-handedly knock the ACC out of the national playoffs….

On Sunday, December 7, the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department will kick off a yearlong celebration at Gillespie Golf Course to honor the “Greensboro Six” – the six Black men whose actions on that date in 1955 helped force the integration of the then whites-only municipal course.

The event begins at 1:30 p.m. at Gillespie, 306 E. Florida St., with a ceremonial tee shot by six individuals to mark the 70th anniversary of what’s now recognized as one of Greensboro’s earliest and most consequential civil-rights moments…

On Thursday, Dec. 4, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston will be voted into that role for another year.

When the board gathers for its annual “organizational meeting,” the Democratic-majority board will do what it’s done year after year – get behind Chairman Skip Alston and hand him another 12 months leading the county’s most powerful governing body.

Alston isn’t just chairman again – he’s running up the score….

It’s never happened before, but Guilford County has now taken the very odd step of holding an economic development incentives hearing without telling the public the name of the company before the hearing takes place.

That means that county residents have no idea whether they should or should not come out on a cold night, find parking near the Old Guilford County Court House…

It’s been a very long time coming and a twisty road to get to this point.

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is finally moving into its new administrative headquarters at 401 W. Sycamore St. in downtown Greensboro.

Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers announced this week that the transition is officially underway and also that – after decades of bouncing between…

At Thanksgiving this year, a lot of families may be arguing about politics – something High Point University polls about quite often – however, at this time of year the university conducts a poll on a thankfully lighter topic: pie preferences.

Pumpkin pie continues to rule the dessert table in North Carolina –and now across the entire country – according to the newest High Point University Poll….

On Monday, Nov. 10, the weather conditions were really bad, unseasonably so:  The temperature was below freezing in the morning and it was windy with gusts of wind up to 14 miles per hour. But that didn’t stop a charity golf tournament from going on and raising a whole lot of money for one of the county’s most recalcitrant problems…