How to Stimulate Greenville... Tell Us!

Heads up - Greenville wish list for stimulus money said...

Copied from web site shown below: Projects in Greenville, Mississippi. Below are the "shovel-ready" projects for which this city submitted in the 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors report. You can click on a project to read (and add to) its description.

You can also discuss the project and vote on whether you believe it is critical or not. The total cost of all the projects submitted by Greenville is $337,850,000. Copy and paste to go to web site or just click on this link: http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_city/Greenville/MS

Thanks, "Heads up" for the web address. This is a great site for information about how our city funds will be spent, plus you can rate the importance of each project and state why you believe the project is needed or a waste of money! As with the "Scoop", all responses will be anonymous unless you offer your name (which many have done).

Everyone should at least vote on these expenditures. Here's a tip... Click on the up and down arrows in the "vote ratio" column of the page. This will order the project from the least or most important projects. When you click on each project, you can vote "yes" or "no" to its importance and below, you can offer comments as to why you believe as you do.

Here's a great chance to become more informed about our city projects and to let your voice be heard. Your votes may become very useful in future debates about what Greenville residents really want. Check it out.

Forthright

No Easy Answers!

Lincoln was no saint nor hero, just a politician! said...

All this hero worship of Lincoln is quite disconcerting, if you know the facts. An educated man like Obama might want to study his "Hero" a bit closer! Check out the web site and quotes below to learn the facts and not read more myths. http://www.americanstalin.com/

-- Abraham Lincoln in speeches at Peoria, Illinois ....

My first impulse would possibly be to free all slaves and send them to Liberia to their own native land. But a moment's reflection would convince me that this would not be best for them. If they were all landed there in a day they would all perish in the next ten days, and there is not surplus money enough to carry them there in many times ten days. What then? Free them all and keep them among us as underlings. Is it quite certain that this would alter their conditions?

Free them and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this, and if mine would, we well know that those of the great mass of whites will not. We cannot make them our equals.

A system of gradual emancipation might well be adopted, and I will not undertake to judge our Southern friends for tardiness in this matter."

Abraham Lincoln later said, in discussing the options of colonizing them with segregated areas of Texas, Mississippi and South Carolina: "If we turn 200,000 armed Negroes in the South, among their former owners, from whom we have taken their arms, it will inevitably lead to a race war. It cannot be done.

The Negroes must be gotten rid of." Ben Butler responded to this by saying: "Why not send them to Panama to dig the canal?" Lincoln was delighted with this suggestion, and asked Butler to consult Seward at once. Only a few days later, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln and one of his conspirators wounded Seward.

It is fairly common knowledge that Lincoln was not the "great emancipator" as history claims. He had very mixed emotions about slavery, not so much as to its inherent "wrongness", but more with respect to how to correct a problem without creating chaos.

Basically, it was a political hot potato which had to be dealt with very delicately in order to appease two warring segments of our country. Obviously, the immorality of owning another human being was not a difficult position to defend. The quandary was what to do with these "disowned possessions".

Lincoln's strength was in considering the rights of both sides in this debate. It was very difficult to solve a problem that was so morally ill-conceived as slavery, but he knew that to do nothing would perpetuate a war that was very unpopular on both sides.

Lincoln's death came at a time in which history might have been rewritten. For Lincoln, it was the "problem" of the Negros that needed to be "gotten rid of"... and quickly in order to prevent national anarchy.

Presidents Lincoln and Obama share one very astounding similarity in their presidential challenges. No matter what decisions they make, many Americans will suffer and it will take years for this country to recover from some incredibly horrific decisions made by their predecessors.

Forthright

More "Club" Perks...

Care and make an effort said...

The citizens of Greenville who care need to take action when they see someone littering. Call 911 and report the tag number, if it happens driving or while parking. Maybe, if we all did this, some of these jerks would finally get the message...oh wait, these same people leave small children and pets unattended in cars, their children ride in their laps while they drive or the children stand in their moving vehicles and wear NO seat belts...in comparison, litter would be last on the list, but it is a start!

I called the cops one night when leaving Wal Mart. As I approached my car I found 4 small children, all under the age of 10 years old, left unattended at on a hot July evening, mosquitoes out in force. The doors were unlocked, windows down and the baby was crying for momma, while the siblings tried to cope. The mother came out as I stood by waiting for the cops to appear, she denied that the kids were alone as if I was nuts and jumped in her car and took off.

Luckily, I had already made note of her car tag. When the cop got there, I am not kidding now, his response to my story was that there was nothing to be done about it, that was just how Greenville was!!!!! I pushed and made him make out a report, later I called the then Chief with not much better response. As a last resort, I called the welfare office, I heard the cop getting her name from the tag. I reported her for child neglect and they said it would be investigated by one of their Social workers. Who knows if any thing came of it, but at least I tried and did not just walk by that night. More of that needs to happen in this city, people have to care to make it better!

Anonymous said...

Now that brings up a whole other conversation. The Dept. of Human Services around here is so overworked and underpaid that they probably looked at your report and rolled their eyes. You'd be lucky if that parent recieved some training in how to parent, because there surely was no threat to lose her kids for what she did. If we lived in most other states, there would be something to answer for if she left her kids in the car alone on a hot, summer evening!!

Anonymous said...

hot or not no responsible parents should leave children in a car alone. you can bet if something happened to those children they'd be the first to sue wal-mart, call a lawyer or call the police all the while never admitting they did anything wrong. Parent is the wrong word for these people. they are not parents. all they did was give birth and collect welfare and ssi payments. these are not children to them--they are ways to make money. have you heard them "talk" to the kids, it's nothing but screaming and cursing. If you criticize them, you are being racist or insensitive. I feel so sorry for the kids!

I know that the first author has the best intentions, but if I called 911 and reported someone littering, they would probably come and arrest me. Sure there are laws against littering; just as there are laws regarding seat belt use and child restraints, but they are generally overlooked (for certain citizens).

There are numerous laws on the books for which people get a "pass" in Greenville. How many times have you been behind a vehicle bilging smoke, has no tail lights or muffler, crushed windshield, parts dragging underneath... but a brand new inspection sticker on (what's left of) the windshield? I find myself having to change lanes every 500 feet in Greenville to keep from being asphyxiated from the vehicle in front of me.

In most cities, the police don't care if you drive a $200 "hooptie" or a $50K Hummer, the laws apply the same. Not in Greenville! It's another "club" perk where if you can't afford a car that is "legal", it's okay to pollute the environment and endanger other drivers.

My daughter was pulled over last week for "following too close". There was nothing wrong with her vehicle, she wasn't speeding and in her estimation, she was four car lengths behind the car in front of her. She was informed by the officer that it was at his discretion as to what constitutes "tail-gating" and that she best not argue with him. She didn't get a ticket because she shut her mouth. I guess I have taught her something in 19 years.

The point being, when were the police charged with interpreting the law? Probably 40% of the cars in Greenville should be removed from the road for blatant motor vehicle safety violations, and yet... it ain't gonna happen to club members!

Once again, we have two standards. If you can afford to abide by the laws, then you must; but if you are "doing the best you can", you get a pass... and that is at the individual officer's discretion! Democracy in action?

Forthright

Premium Parking?

GREENVILLE - “It can't be done.”

That's what Mayor Heather McTeer Hudson says to the question: “Why can't we have diagonal parking on Washington Avenue?”

A memo to the mayor from Lorenzo Anderson, interim city engineer, explained the city's position on the issue of parallel vs. diagonal parking.

“As previously discussed concerning the diagonal parking on Washington Avenue from Walnut Street to Delesseps Street, the MDOT's (Mississippi Department of Transportation) Roadway Design Manual requires 27 feet for diagonal parking maneuver.

“In order to have only two lanes of traffic with diagonal parking on both sides,” Anderson wrote, “we will need a total of 80 feet from curb to curb. Currently the width of the street is 67 feet from curb to curb. The current width of the street is not adequate to safely accommodate diagonal parking on both sides of the street.

”The city must comply with state and federal regulations when it uses state and federal funding, Hudson said. The fact that some cities still have diagonal parking in tight spots doesn't matter, she said, because if such situations arose now, where a city was basically reconstructing a street using federal dollars, that entity would have to abide by the new standards.

“The street is only 67 feet wide,” Hudson said. “The numbers just don't add up. Basically, you need 80 feet across to have diagonal parking, we only have 67.”

Where did the space go? There was diagonal parking on alternating sides of the street. Considering there are only about ten businesses left on Washington Avenue, this shouldn't be rocket science.

In as much as we are the "fattest" state in the nation, it might do us well to have to walk half a block!

Forthright

Aahhh... Paris in Spring!

Delta Democrat Times reports:

A request for funding to replace a heating and air conditioning unit in a building owned by the city sparked debate about where the money will come from at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Brad Jones, public works director, asked for $3,800 for a HVAC replacement for Brent Neighborhood Facility. The money had not been budgeted, Jones said.“Take it out of the travel/advertising budget,” said Councilman Kenny Gines.

However, Mayor Heather McTeer Hudson urged the council not to deplete that portion of the budget.“Please do not sacrifice your entire (travel/training) budget,” she said, adding that she would be asking council members to accompany her on some trips as the city pursues federal funding for numerous projects.

Councilwoman Ann Hollowell asked if the city had reduced the rent for the daycare in exchange for the renter's making some repairs themselves. Councilman Carl McGee said no, saying it was still the city's responsibility to take care of the building.

“We're going to find this money,” Hudson said.

Councilman Errick Simmons made a motion to approve the request for funding, which Jones and Hudson said they will find. McGee seconded the motion, which passed.

The question of funding for a travel/training request for $245.09 that was turned down last month by the council came up again, but this time Hudson was present to explain the request. She said her trip to the Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus in Little Rock, hosted by the Delta Regional Authority Thursday and Friday, is not merely a speaking engagement, but an opportunity to lobby for funds for the port city.

“The city of Greenville requested to make a presentation to this organization about a lot of our infrastructure projects, but also transportation,” Hudson said. “This is the organization that has given us the most recent funding for the Washington Avenue project, the second half of that project.”

However, she said she was not going to ask for travel expenses again for the trip. She said a third party has agreed to pay for it. The council turned down the request at the Jan. 20 meeting because some members said they did not believe the city should pay expenses for the mayor's speaking engagements. Hudson was in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration during that meeting.

"Save the travel budget!" is the latest cry from our globe trotting mayor. This was our mayor's response to a recent request to replace an HVAC system at a city owned child care facility.

Hudson promised to "find" the money elsewhere rather than deplete our (her) travel and training budget. In the same meeting, the council voted not to reimburse the mayor for a recent two day trip to Little Rock which she claimed was an opportunity to lobby for funds for the port city. The mayor stated that she had found a "third party" to pay for the trip.

As for Hudson's Washington DC trip, just how much "work" do you think actually occurred on the days before and after Obama's inauguration? With the entire country's economy headed toward a depression, I doubt that the Mississippi Delta's woes were on anyone's short list.

Everyone needs to take advantage of Mayor Hudson's "open mic" Wednesdays. Ask questions and demand answers to our city's plight. You had better hurry though... I hear Paris in spring is quite beautiful!

Forthright