Dick Barron of the News & Record reported yesterday that “Greensboro ranks second least-expensive for homeowners in the state.” That’s not true and, despite the error being brought to the attention of the reporter and publisher yesterday morning, the article remains uncorrected.
These questions are fundamental. Without honest and accurate answers, any efforts by leaders to proceed with policy or personnel decisions would be half-baked.
GREENSBORO, NC — After two previous attempts to award a contract to operate the City of Greensboro buses were sunk by improprieties in the process, a third attempt may meet the same fate. A letter to the City from an attorney representing a company that bid on but did not win the contract asserts that the Greensboro Transit Authority illegally held two closed meetings to discuss the selection committee. At one of those meetings, GTA Board members and attorneys conspired to conceal the Board’s actions from public scrutiny, hatching a scheme they acknowledged would intentionally mislead the public.
GREENSBORO, NC — The City of Greensboro released today its final report of the investigation into the cause of the fire on May 13, 2018 at 3100 Summit Avenue from which five children died. The report confirms investigators’ initial assessment that the fire was caused by a cooking pot left on a hot stove but leaves some questions unanswered about operability of smoke detectors.
City council hoodwinked people by turning to the very reliable technique of abusing the trust and goodwill of the people of Greensboro. Donald Trump said about misleading people: “People will just believe you. You just tell them and they believe you.” City Council took a page from Trump’s playbook and deceived us by saying the funds donated to Gun Stoppers will come from the gun and knife show when, in truth, they will come from some other source in the taxpayers’ coffers.
GREENSBORO, NC — Greensboro City Manager Jim Westmoreland cited a 2016 parking analysis in a guest column published in the News & Record justifying $80 million for new parking decks downtown. Despite nearly three months of requests for the analysis, neither Westmoreland nor city staff have been able to produce it.
The News & Record’s editorial Stacking the Deck chastises the Greensboro city council for imperiling the public trust with the city’s mishandling of the downtown parking deck projects. Unfortunately, the editorial elides the specific bad acts that are causing a loss of public trust and, instead, blames city council only for failing to manage public skepticism. It’s a gutless diversion that attempts to right the ship without rocking the boat.
Three candidates have thrown their hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional district. They are Adam Coker, Kathy Manning and Beniah McMiller. How are they doing so far?