After having reviewed Chief Miller's plans for the GPD with respect to proactive policing and reorganization, a few question marks arise. The first is reflected in a question Councilman Danny Thompson asked, as discussed in the Rhino:
Thompson asked if along with the reorganization there would be a change in the shift structure. Miller said he had no intention of changing the shifts. He said, I have heard of no one who wants to change the schedule inside the Police Department."
Miller's response was politically astute, because tinkering with work shifts certainly was one of the factors that caused GPD officers to rebel against David Wray. But the question is whether the late night shifts are going to be adequately covered.
Another factor that raises questions about adequate coverage at night is the fact the downtown will be receiving more police resources. Does this take away from the rest of the city?
Finally, there is no mention of "broken windows" policing in the chief's plan as far as I can tell.
I suppose we should view his plan with guarded optimism.
Barack Obama has once again revealed that he was lying during the 2008 presidential campaign when he strenuously tried to create the appearance that he opposed gay marriage. His refusal to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is the final piece of evidence. He lied to help himself get elected president.
It appears that the US House of Representatives legally can step in and provide legal counsel to defend DOMA since Obama is refusing to do so. Some of the national social conservative groups are urging citizens to contact their members of Congress. Let's hope this is not a done deal, in part premeditated by Obama.
Robinson seems oblivious to the fact that charter schools often provide better educational alternatives for various types of at-risk populations who are poorly served by the traditional public school system.
Another source of irony: she maintains that poor people are being left to attend poor public schools. But wait a minute. I thought the public schools were supposed to be outstanding.
Perhaps her efforts would be better directed at achieving the types of reforms that would truly improve traditional public schools, instead of just throwing money at the problem.
In the world of hip-hop, there is an "artist" named Waka Flocka. He has graced our presence in the city of Greensboro with an appearance at Rocco Scarfone's former "N" Club, and also at Club Touch on High Point Rd. Below you will find a video of his appearance at the "N" Club. It is profane and vulgar, so do not view the video if you will be offended:
You will note that the disturbance spills out onto Elm Street; and you can even see the facade of the International Civil Rights Museum in the video.
Waka Flocka has had his tour bus shot at in Charlotte; and has surrendered to authorities on gun, drug and gang-related charges. This is the type of thing that Rocco Scarfone has brought to Greensboro.
In any event, we have had many media and Melderec voices locally hailing the resuscitation of downtown over the last decade because of the infuence of the downtown clubs; but what you see in the video is the ugly reality that was unleashed.
Downtown is our idol; and now it is our task to contain it.
Greensboro's hip-hop entertainment industry attracts fans from well beyond Greensboro. We draw young men and women from surrounding counties, and even, I am told, from the state of Virginia for these events. The young man who was killed in connection with Superjam at the Greensboro Coliseum, I seem to recall, was from the Mebane area.
Greensboro's hip-hop problem also extends to a small handful of other clubs, and most notably, of course, to Superjam at the coliseum. But if my sources are correct, our city is now one of the top locations in the country for showcasing hip-hop "talent".
That is quite a distinction. Is it not?
In any case, the Melderec crowd and city staff-- in conjunction with Councilman Zack Matheny-- are now advancing an onerous series of regulations on clubs. They want to require not only licensure, but also certain security requirements. Their primary concern is downtown. It is quite telling that no one is saying a word about Superjam at the coliseum, which is the worst of all. But that is a city-sponsored event, so it is getting a pass with the current discussion-- at least, so far.
They are quite happy to place onerous requirements on the many clubs that have not been a major problem; but they are silent about Superjam at the coliseum. What an irony. They don't want merely to go after the bad actors; instead, they want to regulate all the businesses, while leaving the problem at the coliseum unscathed.
Leaders should express unequivocally that they do not want this trash in our community; and that all ethically challenged parties who bring it here will be held accountable if problems ensue. And that should include coliseum staff, and those to whom they report.
We now are going to have an increased police presence downtown, and a new approach to policing. Let the police put pressure on those clubs that are creating problems; and let's assure police have the support of city legal staff to pursue the problem club owners if the need arises.
It had been reported that a number of parties had input into the recent promotions announced by the Greensboro Police Department. These included police executives from other areas; business leaders; GPD command staff; non-police city staff; and representatives of neighborhood associations.
I requested from the city of Greensboro a list of these individuals, and it has been provided to me. Many of the folks were unknown to me, and I did not find any particular red flag-- with one exception. All three assistant chiefs were consulted, including Ron Rogers. Readers might recall that Rogers had some involvement in an incident last year.
The process included the submission of a resume; a writing exercise; a peer assesssment; a panel interview; feedback from the assistant chiefs; and selected interviews with the chief himself. The performance dimensions included written and oral communication; leadership; problem solving; community engagement; collaboration; work ethic; and decision making.
Specific language I have selected from the document is of interest.
On leadership: "Supports department mission and visibly demonstrates that support in the day to day work environment."
On work ethic: "Candidate demonstrates a stong work ethic through putting in the time necessary to get the job done."
On decision making: "Candidate has an unwavering commitment on ethical issues... Decisions inspire confidence."
The peer assessment required all command staff to rate the applicant based on the "performance dimensions" noted above.
In the case of James Hinson, who was promoted to captain, it is an open question as to how we could believe the peers consistently gave him favorable ratings. It is an open question as to how he could have scored acceptably well on the leadership, work ethic and decision making attributes described above.
We need to remain mindful about what we learned about Hinson in Jerry Bledsoe's series. How could a comprehensive evaluation result in his being promoted to captain?
I have one possible explanation. The process employed, as it was related to me, did not include any systematic evaluation of the applicant's work history.
But there is another possible explanation-- and one for which I have no evidence. Perhaps the process was somehow manipulated.
I am hearing (unconfirmed) that the city of Greensboro has attained a lofty position in the world of entertainment. It seems that our fair city has become one of the top markets in the country with respect to offering hip-hop entertainment.
Of course, we saw all the disorder that accompanied Superjam at the coliseum last year, and institutional Greensboro uttered not a single peep-- even though there was a fatality.
Then we had the infamous incident that spilled out onto Elm Street outside Rocky Scarfone''s "N" Club; and the city's Melderec crowd instantaneously mobilized into action, floating a series of big government proposals under the sponsorship of Councilman Zack Matheny. There had been much celebration in certain circles regarding how the downtown club scene engineered by Joey Medaloni, Keith Holliday and others had resuscitated downtown; and certainly downtown property owners benefited. But now the clubs are less useful, and the downtown forces have decided they must be put on a leash.
As a general rule, it can be an effective strategy for political advancement to seek to represent the downtown area, and then ingratiate oneself with the downtown crowd. But if this political strategy extends to pushing ill-considered policy proposals, it is not necessarily good for the people of Greensboro.
The fact is that our new police chief, Ken Miller, is in the process of unveiling and implementing his new approach for crime-fighting. It includes some reorganization within the GPD; and the adoption of proactive methodologies. On balance, these appear to be very positive steps. The details can be found in this document. According to Fox 8:
(A)mong the most noticeable proposals is putting two 12-officer resource teams full-time downtown.
"We're trying to maintain the order downtown around the clubs and the nightlife and keep downtown safe," Miller said.
So we have a new approach to policing being implemented, and increased police coverage of downtown. The problem has been caused, for the most part, by a few bad actors from among the city's club scene; and is associated especially with one genre-- the hip-hop scene.
But instead of allowing the police to do their work and see the impact, the big-government crowd wants more. We could target and work with the small number of clubs creating most of the problems; but instead we are adopting an approach that will penalize everyone.
Perhaps it is some degree of reluctance or reticence to take on particular problem cases, or certain types of clubs, that has motivated some parties to advocate a more generalized approach.
Governor Beverly Perdue vetoes a Republican bill that proposed some deep spending cuts, ostensibly because it would limit her ability to shower economic incentives on prospective employers. This sets up a showdown with the legislature.
There has been much buzz among Republicans/conservatives about the prospect of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie running for president.
I looked up the governor on Wikipedia, hoping to find information about his background that would explain his extraordinary bluntness when confronting naysayers. His style has made him somewhat of a folk hero on the right.
It turns out Christie was born in Newark, but raised in Livingston, NJ. This must be considered part of the New York tri-state metropolitan area. But his ethnic background is also of interest. He is part Irish, and part... Sicilian.
He was asked about the prospects of running for president last week when he spoke before the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. He essentially said it was not going to happen. He said he does not feel ready; his wife would not approve; and he has not yet served his obligation to the people of New Jersey:
A medical organization to which I belong makes a great point about the "physicians" who have been providing phony work notes to the protesters in Wisconsin.
If they are truly physicians and are doing these things, they are committing fraud by willfully facilitating the commission of fraud by other people. That is pretty serious business.
I had a chance to chat with Jim Lewis at the last council meeting. It turns out he has held some very responsible positions in corporate America, and used to play the role of a turn-around specialist. Check out his latest presentation:
This handy county web page provides information regarding the sales history of the property housing the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro.
An interesting circumstance jumps off the page. The building was purchased in 1995 for $700,000. But it was sold in 2009 for $13,138,000.
What does this mean? The people who bought the building during 1995 and sold it during 2009 experienced an apparent capital gain of $12,438,000.
But many of us seem to remember that Skip Alston and Earl Jones had previously owned the building. Then, a few years ago, the Melderec crowd decided the museum was going to happen; and I was told getting the museum funded by the city became a political priority for the Simkins PAC for the 2007 city council election season. During the latter part of that year, the Greensboro City Council voted to use community development block grant monies for the museum.
The 2009 sale of the building was intended to enable the use of special federal tax credits for the museum. The ownership of the new entity, Museum Landlord LLC, was not to be limited to Alston and Jones; but would instead include other person(s). The special tax credits were reported to be a critical financial strategy for getting the museum opened. And many of us recall the grand opening of the museum approximately one year ago during early 2010.
We must presume that the new owners of Museum Landlord LLC receive lease monies from the civil rights museum budget or its parent organization, the Sit-In Movement. Mr. Alston is involved in the management of both organizations. It has recently been reported that the museum has had to lay off various staff members.
But am I interpreting this situation correctly? Was there a $12,438,000 profit or capital gain enjoyed by the previous owners of the museum property because of the sale that took place during 2009? And if so, how much of it was plowed back into the new entity-- Museum Landlord LLC; and how much was retained by the previous owners?
My estimation is that the property appreciated by 1,800 percent if it was purchased at $700,000 during 1995, and was sold for $13,138,000 during 2009. Is this a typical rate of property appreciation for essentially unimproved downtown Greensboro properties during that 14-year time span?
It appears there are many unanswered questions about the financial circumstances concerning the civil rights museum and the property in which it is housed.
The situation emerging in Wisconsin is a reflection of the precarious economic situation in which we find ourselves. We no longer have the extraordinarily prosperous society we once had. Whereas the private sector has undergone a traumatic, impactful contraction, the public sector thus far has emerged relatively unscathed.
The emergence of Chris Christie in New Jersey and Scott Walker in Wisconsin has aroused among conservatives a yearning to see that kind of tough leadership among potential Republican presidential candidates. Having the courage to face down public sector unions, and draw a line in the sand, is uncommonly seen in American politics.
Now, the unions in Wisconsin are conducting disorderly demonstrations in the streets in order to force a tax increase. And Barack Obama has expressed solidarity with them, and is even reported to be directing his political troops to try to influence the situation. This should reawaken the American people as to what Obama is all about. He has sided with unions trying to force a tax increase for Wisconsin residents; and has sided against those trying to exercise good stewardship. He has gratuitously interfered in the internal affairs of a state wrestling with budget difficulties.
Every viable organization must be able to have some degree over control over its personnel costs because these typically comprise a huge portion of overall expenses. If you cannot control personnel costs, you are fighting with both arms tied behind your back. That is why I have encouraged the city of Greensboro and Guilford County to look at these issues; and that is why C4GC is specifically studying this matter at the county level.
But the state of North Carolina and the federal government need to do so as well. They are not immune from the effects of these inordinate expenses.
Much rides on what happens in Wisconsin. If Walker does not win this battle, it will make other leaders gunshy. This is a drama that will replay in other states, although the outcome will not necessarily be the same elsewhere. In any case, we need to be rooting for Walker. We cannot keep handling the public sector as if nothing has happened to our economy.
In the interim, we can survey the mess in the public spaces outside the state capitol building in Wisconsin:
We were fortunate enough to attend the Greensboro Symphony Pops event Monday night at Westover Church. Westover is a great venue for these concerts, and has more-than-adequate acoustics.
Franc D'Ambrosio sang with the orchestra for approximately 90 minutes. He has a big voice that fills the room. D'Ambrosio had headlined Phantom of the Opera on Broadway for more than ten years.
He interspersed his performance with anecdotes about growing up Italian in an apartment above his family's bakery in the Bronx. It was a pretty special night:
I had related earlier this week that, based on his speech at CPAC, I thought John Thune might be a good presidential candidate.
No, he is not perfect. None of them are. But some minor buzz is probably beginning to arise after his speech. Robert Costa has a good article about Thune over at NRO.
The South Dakota senator admits his presidential hopes would ride almost entirely on achieving early success in Iowa:
She wants to raise taxes, protect a key party interest group and increase state spending. Carolina Journal does a great job of illustrating why Governor Perdue continues to disappoint state residents:
When some questions were raised by Trudy Wade about funding of the Greenway at the Greensboro City Council meeting Tuesday night, it raised some hackles. She was trying to establish that other earlier transportation/ community development bond projects had not been funded, and that the downtown Greenway had been placed ahead of those.
The Greenway, of course, is a silly, unnecessary project that has been incessantly pushed by the downtown Melderec crowd and city staff.
In any event, Susan Schwartz of the Cemala Foundation responded. This organization is part of Action Greensboro. I was in the audience, and it appeared to me that she was almost storming to the microphone. Various parties, including Schwartz and staff, took great pains to point out all the private funding the Greenway project had attracted. The implication was that the rug would be pulled out from beneath these private backers if the City Council did not proceed.
The city of Greensboro is facing a period of declining revenues, and difficult budget choices have to be made. It would seem sensible to start by making the tough decision to apply the brakes for unnecessary bond projects. But the combination of city staff and the Melderec crowd made it seem impermissible to do so in the case of the Greenway-- a project which is pure fluff.
And BTW, it is my understanding that the failure to secure federal funding means it may not be possible to complete the Greenway anyway.
John Hammer has a good story about the promotion of James Hinson to captain in the Greensboro Police Department. It provides some of the background.
The most disappointing comments came from Chief Ken Miller and Assistant City Manager Mike Speedling. Perhaps the worst example:
Miller said that none of the accusations about Hinson had ever been substantiated. He said he couldn't justify taking action based on accusations that had never been substantiated and that he couldn't go back and relive (t)he past.
I am not sure Miller is right about that. My recollection is that it was demonstrated during 2005 that Hinson had been working off-duty jobs while on duty. Readers can correct me if I am wrong about that. I also have a vague recollection that Hinson's personnel file had been intentionally purged at one point by the previous regime. If that is true, then no one reviewing his personnel file necessarily has ready access to the reports that summarize when he was tracked.
But this is only a small part of all the circumstances reported in the Bledsoe series. I can only wonder what the rank-and-file within the department think about this promotion; and what it makes them think about Miller and Speedling. I wonder what it makes them think about the new, improved promotions process in the GPD.
But ultimately, of course, this promotion is a reflection on Rashad Young, the city manager.
During the council meeting on Tuesday night, Mary Rakestraw asked Young about the promotion. Young indicated that it would be against the law for the city to retaliate against someone who had sued the city. Of course, this begs the question. One is not required to promote everyone to captain.
I have had some suspicion that part of the rationale for the promotion was to place the city in a better position legally to defend against Hinson's lawsuit. But this is the same type of weak-mindedness that we saw in 2006 when David Wray was forced out. We were told back then that forcing out Wray and his command staff would ultimately place the city in a better position to defend against any EEOC action taken by the black officers.
In spite of the new city council, the new city manager and the new police chief, the charade continues.
It has been fascinating to watch the new Republican majorities in the state legislature move along legislation we have previously discussed here. Now, we are seeing a contest between Governor Perdue and the Republican leaders on the matter of the budget cutting legislation being considered. The Republicans are willing to entertain certain reductions in areas that Perdue is trying to protect.
This is one of the lesser known welfare programs. Lower middle class and working class taxpayers essentially receive a tax credit that enables them to get a "tax refund" greater in amount than the taxes for which they might have been liable. It is essentially an unearned welfare check, but it was cleverly devised to effect redistribution without calling it welfare.
A similar Earned Income Tax Credit exists at the federal level as well.
It would be a good idea to eliminate this "tax credit" completely in North Carolina. It merely adds progressivity to a tax system that is already excessively progressive. In fact, the "tax credit" represents hyper-progressivity: as noted above, a form of welfare.
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