Bev Perdue Won’t Seek Re-election
By · CommentsNorth Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue (D) is set to announce today that she will not seek reelection in 2012, according to two sources familiar with her plans.
Sources say she has labored over her decision about whether to seek a second term. One source said she plans to announce she will step aside in a statement this afternoon.
Names that are likely to be bandied about as possible Democratic replacements include Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Attorney General Roy Cooper, former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.
Opine.
Eliminate Corporate Personhood
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A resolution calling for a Constitutional Amendment to invalidate the 2010 Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision will be on the February 14th agenda of Asheville City Council. I’d intended to sponsor it onto an agenda using our regular process with Council members Pelly and Bothwell co-sponsoring it. However, during the free-for-all regarding Occupy Asheville at the January 24th meeting, the notion was brought up, and Council agreed to bring the measure forward at the February meeting.
I was approached a couple of months ago by the local chapter of Move To Amend about introducing this resolution. Normally I don’t entertain resolutions that have a national political context. I think national issues can create unnecessary schisms among Council members, when we ought to be focused on working together to solve Asheville’s problems. The more I thought about it, the more I acknowledged that our small community is vulnerable to the issues raised by the Citizens United decision. I think it’s important for Asheville’s elected officials to take a stand against abuses to our electoral system.
Then after seeing the Asheville Grown Business Alliance list it as one of their Big Ideas for 2012, I realized that even our business community is ready to recognize the inherent dangers of unchecked corporate power and money in our political process. Below you’ll find the text of the proposed resolution.
Rabbit Punch
By · CommentsWow! That’s terrific bunny …
New York Times : A Mortgage Investigation
The moment Obama mentioned a panel to investigate banks, I thought: “I hear you. Now show me.” The panel is to include New York AG Eric Schneiderman, a thorn in the side to an administration that seems keen on sweeping the whole thing under the rug. A attempt at co-opting him? The Times thinks so.
There is good reason to be skeptical. To date, federal civil suits over mortgage wrongdoing have been narrowly focused and, at best, ended with settlements and fines that are a fraction of the profits made during the bubble. There have been no criminal prosecutions against major players. Justice Department officials say that it reflects the difficulty of proving fraud — and not a lack of prosecutorial zeal. That is hard to swallow, given the scale of the crisis and the evidence of wrongdoing from private litigation, academic research and other sources.
Fiscal Times :
After the Layoff: Congrats on Your New, Worse Job
The good news is the unemployment rate is slowly ticking down – from 9 percent in October 2011 to 8.5 percent in December. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 200,000 in December, and hiring was up in retail, hospitality, professional services and health care.Yet, for the majority of U.S. workers, average wages have remained stagnant for decades, and median household income dipped during the recession, declining 6.4 percent between 2007 and 2010. According to a study released in December by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, just 7 percent of those who were let go during the recession have matched previous income. A little over half reported taking a pay cut – and of those, 29 percent took a reduction in salary by 30 percent or higher. To top off the bad news, 30 percent of the reemployed percent took a reduction in benefits.
Digby: Zombies are eating election officials brains
Not that this will stop the wingnuts from their crusade but it should. Turns out that the South Carolina zombies weren’t zombies after all.
What Digby said.
Michio Kaku Droppin’ Knowledge
By · CommentsEverything Michio Kaku sees in the newspapers points to our perilous transition from a tribal/nationalist civilization to a planetary civilization. Will we make it?
Wednesday Diversionary Reading
By · CommentsMy friend, the gifted and tall Devin Walsh, has this piece online at the Mountain Xpress. Other than some drawings by the also gifted and talented (but not as tall) Brent Brown it’s the only thing there worth reading. Yes, you read cartoons too.
It’s about beer and life, and other stuff.
2012 Buncombe County Campaign Volunteer/Job Fair
By · CommentsFrom Parker Sloan with the Buncombe County Young Democrats:
If you would like to work or volunteer for a Democratic campaign in 2012 come out to the Bar of Soap on Merrimon Ave. near UNC Asheville on Monday, Jan. 30 at 7pm. This event will focus on State and local races in 2012. We know you’re going to be engaged in the Congressional and Presidential races, but we want to make sure these local candidates get the people they need. We’ve seen how important new leadership is in Raleigh, and the new formation of our County Commission means we’ve got more races to run and win right here in Buncombe County. Click here for the location and more information (FB link).
There will be District maps, lists of races (with declared candidates), and lots of room to discuss how to help folks find the work they want in the various campaigns this season. All of our local candidates are invited to attend as well and will hopefully be there to talk with you.
Thank You to City Councilman Gordon Smith and Party Chairman Emmet Carney for putting this event together.
We’ve got a lot of work to do to ensure that our County Commission and local legislative delegation have quality folks serving the people of Buncombe County. There are too many who would have Raleigh ride roughshod over our best interests or who would turn the clock backwards on County Government. We’re going to have to take a stand and win some elections this May and this November.
Come out, meet the candidates, and get on board.
Three-Laning Charlotte Street?
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Thanks to the YMCA’s Pioneering Healthier Communities for spreading the word about a community meeting coming up Feb. 6. City Planners are looking at moving forward on the 2002 Charlotte St. Corridor Plan. The plan includes three-laning a part of Charlotte St. to allow for broader sidewalks and added bike lanes. Attend this meeting to get the facts and share your input.
Below is information regarding a public input meeting to discuss potential changes to the traffic patterns on Charlotte Street. We encourage you to attend the meeting if you live in the area to hear about the potential changes and share your voice!
ASHEVILLE – A community meeting to discuss the Charlotte Street corridor, originally scheduled for Mon. Jan. 23, has been rescheduled for Mon. Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Jewish Community Center at 236 Charlotte Street. Members of the community will have an opportunity to hear from City of Asheville transportation department staff concerning concepts for changing the traffic pattern for the Charlotte Street corridor between the I-240 bridge and the intersection with Edwin Place.
The meeting was organized in response to a request by a group of neighborhood and business representatives that the city revisit the 2002 Charlotte Street Transportation Enhancement Study.
City staff will present data from recent traffic studies and information about potential elements that could be included in the design if the project is developed for implementation. Input from neighborhood residents and area businesses is an essential next step before a project proposal is developed.
For more information about the meeting, contact Jeff Moore, City of Asheville Traffic Engineer at 232-4586 or jmoore@ashevillenc.gov.
Kelly Ingram
Pioneering Healthier Communities Office Assistant
YMCA OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
Water System: Decision Makers and Perspective
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Agenda for today's 2pm Study Committee
You can listen to the audio broadcast of today’s meeting here.
There are lots of reasons for everyone to keep an eye on this process, and I hope that folks get very engaged. In order to most effectively advocate for your position, it’s important to recognize who holds the decision-making power and to tailor one’s advocacy to persuade those holding the reins.
Who’s calling the shots?
Rep. Moffitt started this entire process on his own, and he’s Chairing this Study Committee.
The other members are:
Rep. William Brawley
Rep. William D. Brisson
Rep. Chuck McGrady
Rep. Tom Murry
List of members’ email addresses: Tim.Moffitt@ncleg.net, Bill.Brawley@ncleg.net, William.Brisson@ncleg.net, Tom.Murry@ncleg.net, Chuck.McGrady@ncleg.net
The Study Committee will meet four times and then recommend something. Today’s 2pm meeting will be audio broadcasted here. A meeting will be held in Asheville in late February, and the public will reportedly be invited to offer comments.
The SC Republican Primary: Eyes Wide Shut
By · CommentsPrimary voters just gave former Speaker Newt Gingrich the win in the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, “America’s most conservative state.” Reddest of the red. Buckle of the Bible Belt. CNN welcomed viewers to the Charleston debate this week with “Welcome to the South,” a place “where values matter.”
More there than anywhere else? What values mattered most to South Carolinians who gave Gingrich his win?
Not trust. Why should they trust Newt Gingrich? His three wives can’t.
Not “family values.” Gingrich is on his third marriage and committed adultery with his last two wives. In the soft-focused 1950s of conservative nostalgia, South Carolina Republicans would have dismissed Gingrich as a serial philanderer, and his third wife as a loose woman running for First Homewrecker. But not today. For the modern conservative, values compress to suit the flawed candidate most likely to win (with apologies to Cyril Northcote Parkinson).
