Author: Scott D. Yost

Let’s face it, some of the City of Greensboro’s municipal buildings are looking long in the tooth and they could use a facelift or at least a little something to spruce them up. 

Like, for instance, some nice artwork created by local artists.

That’s why Creative Greensboro – the City’s office that promotes the arts and culture – is seeking applications for “Arts in Municipal Spaces,” a new initiative designed “to exhibit the work of local artists in the public corridors of municipal buildings throughout the city.”…

You might do a double take, when, after the Guilford County Tax Department finishes its revaluation of all property in the county, it sends you the new amount. 

Because it’s very likely to be a whole lot more than you expect. In fact, the value of your home is likely to increase by much more than the 32 percent increase publicized earlier this month. 

The 32 percent increase was a dramatic underestimate based on a mathematical miscalculation. The actual amount of the average increase is 47 percent…

For some people, the month of March means great college basketball; for others it’s a chance to drink a lot on Saint Patrick’s Day without being judged. 

However, for the Guilford County Tax Department, it’s the month where tax employees bring public shame on those who didn’t pay their Guilford County property taxes by the deadline, which this year fell on Tuesday, Jan. 7. 

The bills came out in July of 2024, so property owners had plenty of time to pay their bills, but now those who didn’t will be on the Tax Department’s public naughty list that includes those people and organizations that didn’t meet that deadline….

It’s not the first time that Chairman of the Guilford County Board of  Commissioners Skip Alston has been to the governor’s mansion in Raleigh, but this time Alston was invited for a special occasion – to receive an honor from the governor. 

The newly elected Democratic governor had invited Alston to the state capital where Stein held an event to celebrate 40 prominent African-American entrepreneurs around the state who were also leaders in, and had had a widespread positive influence on, their various communities.

The event, which was held in part to honor Black History Month, took place at the Executive Mansion and began at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb.18. …

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at about 5:34 p.m., deputies received an alert regarding a missing 12-year-old girl from Clearwater, Florida.

The young girl was believed to be en route to a Greensboro address where a “known suspect” was living. 

According to a report released on Thursday, Feb. 20,  “The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Pinellas Park Police Department, which advised department deputies that an Amber Alert was entered for the child….

There are discount airlines and then there are deep discount airlines – and Piedmont Triad International Airport just landed a very deep discount airline that, starting in June, will be offering nonstop flights to Orlando, Florida and Hartford, Connecticut.

Breeze Airways announced this week that, beginning on Friday, June 6 this year, the carrier will begin daily nonstop service from Piedmont Triad International Airport to both of those cities.

PTI is constantly trying to add new flights and new airlines – and one slot of air travel it likes to see filled is the discount airline spot.

Therefore, Executive Director of Piedmont Triad Airport Authority Kevin Baker was of course delighted with the addition of a new very low-cost provider. One of the knocks against PTI is that, when compared to the airports in Raleigh and Durham, fares from PTI are higher.
…

A couple of years ago, one of the big stories in the housing world nationally was the way in which institutional investors were gobbling up housing and driving prices, well, through the roof.  That was particularly true in North Carolina, where the housing market was red hot and corporate investors were focused on it.

However, that trend is now slowing down, and institutional housing investment has become a much less significant driver of housing prices.

One reason that’s particularly important in Guilford County is that the county is currently conducting a revaluation of the actual market worth of all real estate in the county – the new values will go on the county’s books in 2026 – and some homeowners feel that institutional buying is significantly artificially inflating the price of area homes…

Both the City of Greensboro and Guilford County government are trying to encourage the growth of housing in the city and the county, and, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Greensboro City Council took another concrete move to help make that happen. 

The Council unanimously adopted a motion meant to make it easier for developers to build much-needed housing. City officials are calling the move a “significant development-friendly zoning change.”

During the City Council’s regular meeting on February 18, the Council voted to amend Greensboro’s zoning regulations designated for Planned Unit Development, which is a group of single-family homes, condos or townhouses where all the homeowners are members of a homeowners association…

The Greensboro Police Department and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office make drug-related arrests all the time, but the Sheriff’s Office has announced that a joint action of the two law enforcement agencies led to the arrest of a middle-aged man speeding along I-40 who was in possession of an extremely large amount of cocaine.

The Sheriff’s Office announced that, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, deputies with the VICE/Narcotics Unit of the department, in collaboration with the officers from the Greensboro Police Department “conducted a narcotics investigation that resulted in the arrest of 38-year-old Honorio Diaz-Vargas.”…

The City of Greensboro just put out a Request for Proposals from “qualified professionals interested in developing and executing events or programs at various Parks and Recreation or City facilities…

According to that request, city leaders want to see proposals for programs that create “low-barrier, high impact opportunities for community enrichment and engagement.”
            They’re welcoming proposals from either organizations or from individuals who have experience planning and carrying out high-quality community programming…

After a decade of debate, and at times a lot of public outcry, a decision has finally been reached as to how a key spot in Greensboro – land on the northwest corner of Hobbs Road and Friendly Avenue – will be developed…

 The debate began in 2016 when an Atlanta-based property development company purchased the land. Since the land’s purchase six years ago by Greensboro-based Carroll Companies, discussions have continued.

Now the fate of the property has been decided.

On Monday, Feb. 17, The Carroll Companies announced that, after roughly five years of planning, meeting with neighbors, public debate and analyzing the best prospects for the property, owner Roy Carroll now has “the foundation of a plan that’s a really good mix of uses” for that land, which is proximate to the old Friendly Shopping Center as well as to the newer The Shops at Friendly…

Usually, in Greensboro and Guilford County, when weather brings down a bunch of powerlines, it’s because of falling ice; however, on Sunday, Feb. 16, high winds wreaked havoc on the residents of Guilford County and others across North Carolina. 

Though Duke Energy crews were working hard on recovering power all day Sunday – and the weather on Monday was nice – some customers in Greensboro were still being told it would be 8 p.m. on Monday night, Feb. 17, before their power would be restored.

Hank Henning, a former Guilford County commissioner who’s now the local district manager of government and community relations for Duke Energy, said that, while ice is often the main culprit in this area, high winds, such as those that struck on Sunday, can be equally as troublesome…

Though the publication was often unfairly critical of the Rhino Times, the alternative far-left Greensboro publication known as Triad City Beat did have its moments of breaking real news, and, truly, the disappearance of yet one more news publication – even a far-left leaning one that could be unfair at times – is undesirable. 

Over the last decade, local news outlets – and national ones as well – have been dropping like flies, and, recently, Triad City Beat Editor Sayaka Matsuoka announced that, despite a major effort to remain in operation, the newspaper would be folding at the end of February…

Guilford County officials have discovered a major mistake that has left fire departments across the county in a big bind: The departments, which are already struggling financially, do not have $2.3 million in funding that those departments were counting on from Guilford County.

The departments across the county already operate on very thin margins, so the newly discovered deficit could mean some departments are unable to fund planned expenses or buy needed new equipment the firefighters were counting on. 

The shortfall affects larger departments more than small ones, and the funding will need to be made up somehow….

Guilford County should feel delighted that the county is suddenly in recent years the belle of the ball, with major companies opening shop here – at the megasite, at the airport megasite, all over High Point, and in structures in unincorporated Guilford County. 

Of course, there’s a problem with the influx of people to the county – the infrastructure of what used to be a quaint little county is being stressed to the max.  It can be seen, for instance, in the ridiculous amount of traffic on Greensboro roads, and it can also be seen in the current giant housing shortage in Guilford County…

Even though Hurricane Helene ravaged North Carolina in September of last year, now, in mid-February of 2025, the tragedy is still front and center on the minds of North Carolina legislators who are currently banging out relief and recovery plans for the victims whose lives were decimated by the massive rainfall, flash flooding and high winds.

NC Governor Josh Stein and state lawmakers haven’t yet reached an agreement on the amount of money to be spent in a plan to meet immediate needs; however, the governor has proposed a plan that would cost slightly more than $1 billion, while state lawmakers are talking about an amount of roughly half that…

The city of High Point and developers in that city have proven to be very good in recent years when it comes to taking old buildings and property, renovating and repurposing them – and the city is sticking with the same playbook in 2025.

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the economic development group Downtown High Point announced that a Virginia-based historic rehab development team has been selected to revitalize Showplace West/One Plaza Center in High Point…

There’s been a change at the top of one of Greensboro’s most influential, well-known and important foundations. 

There are very rarely changes to the Board of Directors of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation of Greater Greensboro; however, now there’s a brand-new board member. Former North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Chancellor Harold Martin is now sitting in the seat on the board that educator and civil rights advocate Shirley Frye had held since the foundation was established in 1986…

The Guilford County Tax Department is currently finishing up a county-wide revaluation of every piece of property in Guilford County and, according to the numbers as they stand right now, on average, the values of homes and businesses are more than 30 percent higher than they were four years ago when the 2022 revaluation was conducted.

Now, a large increase in housing and other property values does not automatically lead to an increase in tax bills because local governments always have the option of lowering the tax rate to a level that would mean the amount of money coming into the county from property taxes remained roughly the same, and it would also mean that the tax bills of property owners would stay at current levels….

Well, the City of High Point just started its big winter event where the city tries to get residents and volunteer groups to go out – while the foliage is minimal – and pick up all the trash they see along roads, streams, intersections and other high trafficked areas.

On the heels of that event in High Point, on Monday, Feb. 10, Greensboro Beautiful announced that it’s hosting a “Winter Wipeout: Coffee and Cleanup program” that will run through the month of February…

Especially with a new president in town and with the team he’s been putting together to handle national health, there’s been a lot of questions flying around regarding vaccines.  However, there has been no such debate within the Guilford County Division of Public Health, which, on Monday, Feb. 10, put out a strongly worded public statement urging all county residents over the age of 6 months to get vaccinated for influenza….

On Thursday, Feb. 6, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners took a major step in battling homelessness in the county. They did so by giving final approval for a project with a total price tag of over $8 million – turning the former nursing home into a place where those recovering from substance abuse can get help.

Until about 6 years ago, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners hardly ever even mentioned the homeless problem – not because they didn’t care, but because it was an issue that was considered to be under the domain of the cities, the collective non-profits and other agencies designed to address the issue…

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the local business community and others interested in seeing the area grow have – in conjunction with the Manufacturing Institute – begun a new program meant to enhance the workforce and bring high-quality people into the city and Guilford County to live and work.

The Manufacturing Institute is a national nonprofit that, among other things, helps veterans transition from military service into the workforce…

As everyone knows, there’s a tremendous problem finding affordable housing in Guilford County – especially in Greensboro and High Point.

This week, High Point University did something about it: The school donated $500,000 to the High Point Community Foundation to help advance a program meant to provide quality, affordable housing for families in High Point…

The City of High Point and Keep High Point Beautiful are hosting the eighth annual “Winter Wipeout” litter cleanup campaign – an annual event that focuses on cleaning up the litter off of roadways, intersections, parks and streams.

The campaign, which kicked off on Monday, Feb. 3, will run through Sunday, March 2 this year.

During this time, volunteers who want to help keep High Point looking good can pick up their supplies from the city and help clean up whenever it works best given their schedule…

A lot of volunteers at the Guilford County animal shelter say the county should have just left well enough alone last year and let the shelter continue to handle donations as it had done for years.  Under that previous system, shelter workers would take in the donations and just use them in the best way they thought could help the shelter, the county and pet owners.

However, about a year ago, county administrators imposed new rules that resulted in huge problems with the shelter’s donation operations. 

At the Board of Commissioners, Thursday, Feb. 6 meeting, the commissioners will unveil and adopt a new plan that will align the animal shelter with the Guilford County Division of Social Services and hopefully cut out much of the red tape that’s been causing all the problems…

Each year, the City of Greensboro gets about $9 million in federal funds in the form of  Community Development Block Grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, better known as HUD.

The money is meant to be used for “housing development, rehabilitation, infrastructure repairs, and community services.”

 Every five years, the city is required to conduct a review of its community and housing needs in order to determine the best use of the money…

Everyone knows the ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.”

 Well, the residents in Summerfield are living in extremely interesting times and, now, after the Summerfield Town Council recently called for an investigation of the actions of former Town Manager Scott Whitaker and other former town staff, a professional association based out of Wichita, Kansas meant to help city and town managers do their jobs professionally and efficiently is calling for an investigation of the investigators – claiming it is the current Summerfield town manager and most of the Town Council members who are actually the ones that have been acting unethically and have violated North Carolina law…

As President Donald Trump’s massive deportation effort of illegal aliens in the country intensifies – and those who stand in his way are being targeted for retribution – a recent lengthy press release from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office makes it crystal clear that the Office is in no way a “sanctuary agency.”

 That is, it’s not a place like certain cities, such as New York or Chicago, where law enforcement officers don’t communicate and cooperate with ICE officials.

Jim Secor, a deputy county attorney and legal advisor to the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, said this week a recent news report about Trump’s crackdown on illegal aliens mistakenly named Guilford County as a sanctuary area and, Secor said, the Sheriff’s Office felt compelled to clear up the misconception…

 On Monday, Feb. 3 Greensboro Attorney Adam Marshall – a lifelong resident of the city – declared his candidacy for the District 4 seat on the Greensboro City Council.

According to his campaign announcement, he’s a “dedicated family man… committed to further enriching the community he calls home.”…

The last time a countywide revaluation of houses, business property and other real property was conducted and implemented in Guilford County, most property owners saw their tax bills shoot up somewhere between 25 to 30 percent. 

Since 2022 – the last countywide reappraisal – almost every home and property owner in the county has been paying much more each year in property taxes, and they’re still reeling from that event three years ago.

Guilford County is currently on a five-year reevaluation cycle; however, since the assessed property values in the last reval in 2022 came in at less than 85 percent of actual sales prices conducted after the reappraisal, the county is required by state law to hold a new revaluation sooner than planned which means that 2026 could be a very ugly year for taxpayers in Guilford County…

Some members of the Summerfield Town Council have called a special meeting for Tuesday, Feb. 4 to discuss the matter that has been dominating the town’s news since mid-January, when former NC Auditor Beth Wood, who had been hired by the town, presented a report at the Council meeting at which she said she had found evidence of financial mismanagement of staff pay, the deletion of a great deal of data from the town’s computer system, and a myriad of other misdeeds such as part-time employees getting full-time benefits and at least one town staff member who allegedly used town property to further his private business….

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office put out new notice on Thursday, Jan. 30 that it needs the public’s help in its search for David Sylvester Mobley – a missing person who was last seen in either February or March of 2024.

In a brief statement released by the department on Thursday, law enforcement officials state, “We appreciate the continued support of the community and ask for your help in spreading the word. If you have any information regarding Mr. Mobley’s whereabouts, please contact Detective J. M. Allen at 336-641-2799 or Guilford County Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000.”…

Now that things are getting very real for Boom Supersonic – the ultra-fast jet maker that chose to locate its manufacturing plant in Guilford County – something can be said that could not be said before. 

It’s this: While local leaders, economic development officials and regular residents were thrilled to see Boom Supersonic decide to locate its $500 million manufacturing plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI), a whole lot of people thought the project might be a bust in the end…

The City of Greensboro puts a whole lot of thought into where city residents can and should put their waste – and often city leaders have very specific ways for them to do so.  Now, the same people who took away curbside loose-leaf pickup – and brought you nice new yard waste bins and told you where you can buy giant paper bags – are offering you a deal on backyard compost bins and rain barrels.

It’s another way the city is trying to put the “green” in Greensboro…

Tuesday, Jan. 28, the former IT network administrator for the Town of Summerfield issued a statement saying that he, not former Town Manager Scott Whitaker, was responsible for discarding data on the town’s servers. 

Earlier this month, the Summerfield Town Council voted to launch an investigation of this and other matters after auditor Beth Wood cited a host of issues she found regarding the town’s finances and what she said appeared to be a large amount of missing data from the town’s computer system. 

After she gave a presentation at a Town Council meeting earlier this month, the Council voted unanimously to pay for an investigation by an outside party….

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and its community are preparing to commemorate the 65th anniversary of when four A&T freshmen jump-started the civil rights movement on  February 1, 1960, with a single act: sitting in at the lunch counter at the downtown Greensboro Woolworth’s and waiting for service.

The annual Sit-In Anniversary Breakfast and Wreath Laying is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 31, beginning at the North Carolina A&T Alumni-Foundation Event Center at 200 N. Benbow Road…

The holiday season has come and gone and now it’s beginning to look a lot like the time to count all of the homeless in Guilford County. 

In fact, that count, which is mandated by the US Department and  Housing and Urban Development in order for local governments to receive funds, will start on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

The point-in-time count will be conducted with the aid of volunteers, community partners, local governments, police officers and sheriff’s deputies and area service providers under the direction of the Guilford County Continuum of Care – the local collective that takes the lead role in addressing the problem and administering services to the unhoused in Guilford County…

The Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau announced on Monday, Jan. 27 that its longtime President and CEO, Henri Fourrier is retiring after nearly 30 years in the job.  For many local leaders and those who’ve worked with Fourrier over the years, it’s difficult to imagine anyone else in that position since he has been so deeply embedded for so long.

Fourrier took the job in December 1996 and, in that capacity, he has worked to try to make Greensboro a premier destination for sports and travel…

Yes, it’s true: The practically brand new county animal shelter in Guilford County does indeed have rats; however, they are the nice, adorable, friendly kind of rats that many people love to have as pets. 

This week, Guilford County Animal Services Director Jorge Ortega asked the Rhino Times: “Would you like a rat?”

“A what?” came the response.

“A rat.”

It took a little more conversation to clear up the matter, but Ortega explained why the shelter is now pushing rats….

On Tuesday, Jan. 14, at a Summerfield Town Council meeting, former NC Auditor Beth Wood – who had been hired by the town – gave her preliminary findings regarding a large number of allegations of financial wrongdoing by former town staff.  Claims to be investigated included that some former town employees were given more pay than they were legally entitled to, that someone had manipulated the town’s computer system and destroyed records – and there was a host of other allegations as well, such as one that an employee had been using town resources for the employee’s personal business…

The Joint Capital/Facilities Committee – a body consisting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and Guilford County Board of Education – has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, Jan. 28, and it should be a very interesting one indeed…

What was formerly the City of Greensboro’s Office of Community Safety, led by Latisha McNeil, is now a city department: the Community Safety Department.

According to a statement from city officials regarding the new department, “This endeavor to create a community-centered and safe Greensboro for all residents and visitors, will continue to convene police, community partners, and City leadership to discuss crime, mental health and the root causes of violence.”

The department will be part of the City Manager’s Office, under the guidance of Assistant City Manager Andrea Harrell…

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners will be earning their salaries on Thursday, Jan. 23 and Friday, Jan. 24.

That’s because the county’s commissioners – along with other key county staff – will take part in the first of two retreats, where the board spends almost two full days doing a deep dive into issues affecting the county and hearing reports from county department heads…

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said this week that, even though the county has passed bond referendums totaling $2 billion for Guilford County Schools’ capital projects and repairs in the last four years, it’s highly likely that a new round of school bonds will be needed “within the next two or three years.”

Alston made his remarks to the Rhino Times when he was being asked about the disappointed Page High School students, parents and alumni who expected to get a new high school after the passage of the $1.7 billion school bond referendum in 2022 – but instead the old school is continuing to limp along with heating and air system repairs and facing other issues….

The City of High Point is very lucky to have High Point University – which educates a lot of youngsters, draws worldwide attention to the city and, oh yeah, is also known for its year-round charitable and service work that helps the city, the county and the region.

In another big gift that helps the city out, High Point University is donating $250,000 to Business High Point in order to support local minority entrepreneurs and to help develop the Washington Street Historic District in the city….

The National Weather Service is warning everyone in Guilford County and central North Carolina to remain very aware of how cold it will be this week – and, combined with the wind, wind chills as low as 1 degree Fahrenheit can be expected in parts of central North Carolina. 

The cold weather advisory will be in effect until at least Wednesday, Jan. 22, with those who spend too much time outdoors without enough protection in danger of frostbite and hypothermia.

At noon on Tuesday, Jan. 21, it was 19 degrees at the Bryan Park weather station, which, combined with the wind, made it feel like 13 degrees….