What's on?

On Greensboro 101 right now:

• Rumors Greensboro City Council person Nancy Hoffman is getting out of the way of a Mike Barber 4th district run, and she'll run at-large.
• "Inflamatory GDP Report"
• Woman shot in her car
• $81.7M investment for S. Elm in Greensboro

The Haversine formula

The haversine formula:

"The haversine formula is an equation important in navigation, giving great-circle distances between two points on a sphere from their longitudes and latitudes"

Why would I be interested in determining the distance between two points on a sphere? Because if you (or your device) tells me where you are, I can use the haversine formula to tell you how many of certain things are near you and even where they are within a specific distance.

You'll see.

Hookers agree, Greensboro not a great destination

GREENSBORO, NC -- In honor of our local news media, can we just go ahead and rename Greensboro Bumpkinville?

A website designed to arrange "travel" between "generous men" and "beautiful women" for whom the the johns, er, men, will pay the hookers, er, women, to travel to hookups announced that Greensboro is the least sexy city in America based on, they say, the frequency of hookups they arrange here. They might as well have announced "Greensboro least popular destination for sex trade." WFMY and the News & Record took the bait though and "reported" the story as if it had some significance and legitimacy deserving of attention.

Here's a ranking for you: The folks at WFMY and the News & Record who regurgitated the press release, er, reported the story, rank in professional sophistication somewhere between Gomer Pyle and granite.

We expect this from WFMY. Has the sinking N&R reached their level? Does anybody know if a date has been set yet for News & Record publisher Robin Saul's departure? Any word on whether he will be taking editor Grits Gauger with him?

[Update, 8:40 A.M.: Add Fox8 and the Triad Business Journal to the list of goobers who covered this.]

How do you spell "PR"?

As seen on Twitter:

"Just bidded on the Wyndham Championship for August! I need 60k large!!!"

Could the N&R get any more lame?

GREENSBORO, NC -- Words escape me. A screenshot (unedited) of a story on the News & Record website today:

Faint praise

As seen on Twitter:

Say what you want bout #greensboro...but i love my city ,it turn me into the man i am today

Idiocracy

I don't know how I made it for so long without getting called to jury duty, but I finally was today. I was excited for a chance to finally participate in an important part of democratic civic life in which I had not yet participated.

As it turns out, we were dismissed just before lunch without making it to a courtroom. But what really caught me off guard was the uproarious cheer that arose when the clerk announced we were being dismissed.

I know people have places to go and things to do, but the celebration was contrary to the serious duty, one might even say privilege, to which we were called. I really wonder what democracy means to people some times. Is jury duty really something people think is best left to others?

Ye shall know them by their fruits

GREENSBORO, NC -- I'm inclined to agree with Rhino Times editor John Hammer when he writes: "Council seems fine with building a huge wall between government and the people."

Why? Because of council's actions—or rather, their inaction. They are taking no action to participate in or make the public partners in the changes underway to the City's public records procedures. It's just not that important to this Council.

Trees are important. Council formed a subcommittee to examine the tree cutting ordinance.

Substandard housing is important. There is a subcommittee for housing. 

There is a subcommittee for economic development and one for downtown entertainment facilities.

Mayor Robbie Perkins now wants to form a subcommittee to accommodate the interest of "young professionals" in influencing downtown. 

When an important issue needs a sustained effort with everybody at the table, council forms a subcommittee.

They will not do so for public records. Transparency and openness—and the accountability they bring—are bedrocks, fundamentals without which everything else is in jeopardy, yet City staff have been behind closed doors for seven weeks crafting new policies that clamp down on access to public records that they only now want to "explain" to the public with a day of meetings. These meetings are not to collaborate, but to give the imprimatur of legitimacy to a one-way, top down, exclusive process.

By their inaction, Council approves.

As the Bible says, "Ye shall know them by their fruits," and lip service on transparency and openness are not going to cut it in the next election.

Fact check: Greensboro Guardian's claims of Guilford County schools

GREENSBORO, NC -- Charles Davenport, Jr. at the Greensboro Guardian:

"In 2009, according to NAEP results, only 32% of the state’s fourth graders were proficient in reading. Among blacks, the figure was 14%. (These are statewide stats, but GCS [Guilford County Schools] results are approximately the same.) Only 29% of eighth-graders were proficient readers (and 12% of blacks)." 

Davenport provides no link to his source. You'd think the editor of an online publication would have that minimal skill—maybe he doesn't want us taking a closer look. But let's anyway.

According to End of Grade (EOG) test results (p. 8) for 2012, 66.9 percent of fourth grade students were proficient in reading as were 69 percent of eight graders in Guilford County Schools.

(Hat tip: Jeff Martin)

City public information response: delay, obfuscate & manipulate

GREENSBORO, NC -- In an insightful piece about the City of Greensboro's plans to add multiple new layers of bureaucratic intervention to public records access, Rhino Times editor John Hammer warns "that public records requests that should take minutes may take months."

Hammer is right to be concerned about additional delay to a process that is already woefully slow and I have a convenient and disturbing recent example.

Two weeks to forward a message from the Chief of Police

In July of last year, I made a request for records documenting access to City surveillance cameras. In recent months, I have been going back and forth with a city public relations employee about why the response to my request only included information about private security guards (no city employees or others). After months of what felt like banging my head against a wall, the employee admitted she did not have an answer for that and said she would forward my question to others, including the Police Department, for an answer.

The next day, on a Saturday, no less, Police Chief Ken Miller responded to the city employee. When did I finally receive the Chief's response? Two weeks later. 

That's right, the Chief of Police jumps to answer a citizen's question on a weekend and the City's handler lets it hibernate in her inbox for two weeks before forwarding it along (and that only after the Chief's reply was misrepresented to me and I asked for his original response—more on that in a minute). Hammer is right to be concerned.

Here is the header from the Chief's original response:

Here it is being forwarded to me:

Get me a rewrite!

As I mentioned, I had to prod the City employee to send me the Chief's email after I received from her what she falsely represented as quotations from the Chief of Police and a police officer. Yes, she took emails sent to her, rewrote them, put them in quotation marks and wrote, "Here is the response I received..." (and sent it 12 days after the Chief's response.) Here is what she sent:

Good evening,

Here is the response that I received from the Police Chief and also from the Officer who supervises Lankford who provides our security for facilities:

“The City hires Lankford to provide security to facilities, which includes monitoring City cameras in the video room. GPD cannot access these cameras from the cars and Police does not yet have a command center, so Lankford would be the City’s eyes/ears on the cameras.”

“Two unarmed Lankford Security Service Officers monitor the cameras in the Camera Room located in the basement of the MMOB. The Camera Room is a secure room with a swipe card access. The only people who have access to the room are the two Security Officers, the Police Lieutenant who supervises facilities security and the three Security Office employees. If a visitor comes to the Security Office to request a video a request form must be completed by the requesting party, reviewed by and approved by Police. Also anyone that comes into the room must fill out a roster form that is kept at the entrance to the room. The Security Guards gain access to the system through a password protected log in. David Hayes (City IT) is the System Administrator.”

Here is the actual email from the Chief. The portions edited by the City employee are in brackets:

The City hires Lankford to provide security to facilities, which includes monitoring City cameras in the video room. [It is cheaper than hiring police officers for the same task and doesn't require the training or authority that police officers require.  While I have not seen the document that the City sent to Roch, I suspect it reflects this monitoring activity, which is why he only sees security access.  I am not aware that] GPD [can] access these cameras from the cars and [we do] not yet have a command center, so Lankford would be our eyes/ears on the cameras.

[I think a meeting with Roch may help him understand things a little better.  We have no conspiracy going on anything, but the PIRT process is not a very good way to address his concerns on this or the DNA issue.  I do not expect him to agree with our position on things, but it may help reduce the constant barrage of PIRTs from him.]

The other reply from the supervising officer was also edited from its original, but you get the point.

Barrage or cascade?

Did you read the last paragraph of the Chief's real response? I find it troubling that the Chief is of the opinion that it is for him to decide what is the best way for the city to "address" my "concerns." The records of the City are the people's records. They are to be provided when requested, no questions asked. That's the law. The Chief should know that. It's not for him or anybody else to determine whether or not providing public records is the best way to respond to a citizen who has asked for public records. If the City wants to try to manipulate a message or manage public perception, they are free to try do so, but not as a substitute for providing public records.

As for the "barrage," my original request for records documenting access to surveillance cameras was a single request—made eight months ago. It is only because the city's response was deficient that I had to make subsequent requests to learn how my request was handled, who saw it, who didn't and what types of records actually exist that should have been provided in response to my original request. This is not a barrage, it is a cascade—a bothersome result of the City's own pathetic actions.

As a result of those additional requests, I've identified at least nine types of records that should have been provided in response to my initial request — records I did not receive. I've made nine new requests for those records specifically. It's not my fault nor my pleasure that the City couldn't simply fill my request when I first asked.

[Updated for clarity]

Council unanimously consents as police circumvent state DNA collections law

GREENSBORO, NC -- At their January 15th meeting, Greensboro City Council unanimously gave their consent to a new program whereby the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) will begin collecting DNA and sharing it with regional law enforcement agencies and a private lab. The resolution passed nine to zero with no discussion and no public hearing.

There was no discussion of why the GPD wants to use a private lab instead of the state lab, why the extra expense of $125,000 is necessary or why the state lab is inadequate.

There was no discussion of the wisdom of a private company storing Greensboro citizens' DNA (on their internet accessible server, no less) or of signing a contract with a private lab that explicitly says in the contract that the company:

"accepts no responsibilities or obligations for [GPD's] compliance with federal or state laws or regulations regarding the collection of DNA samples, or the storage, maintenance, or use of DNA samples, data or profiles."

There are numerous state statutes that apply to the collection, use and storage of DNA samples by the SBI and the state databank that the GPD will escape by creating their own databank. Those include:

• Oversight: State law requires an annual report from the SBI to legislative committees accounting for the handling and use of DNA samples. 
• Proper Use: State law restricts the SBI and state databank to specific legitimate uses, such as crime scene evidence and casework. 
• Restricted Access: State law demands the SBI maintain procedures for "verification of the identity and authority of the requester of a DNA profile."
• Removal and Destruction: State law mandates that "The State Bureau of Investigation shall remove a person's DNA record, and destroy any DNA biological samples that may have been retained, from the State DNA Database and DNA Databank" upon certain conditions, such as dismissal of charges or acquittal.

These legal protections and restrictions apply to the SBI and the state databank. They do not apply to the GPD's private databank. GPD deprives Greensboro citizens of these protections by having a private company create a separate database and it further puts Greensboro's citizens in jeopardy of abuse by signing a contract where the vendor explicitly says they are not responsible for complying with whatever other laws may still apply to the GPD.

Who thought this was a good idea? All of of your City Council members.

Excellence at City Hall

GREENSBORO, NC -- 16 minutes from now, I can catch the #8 bus on Battleground Avenue to the heart of downtown. It will take 33 minutes and will cost $1.50 versus 15 minutes and $2.21 to drive.

How do I know that? It's thanks to a new implementation by the City of Greensboro Transit Authority of Google Maps whereby the City's transit schedules, routes and fares have been incorporated into Google Maps directions.

This is a most excellent example of good government customer service and an admirably sophisticated implementation of data visualization. It's what Google is good at and the folks at the City responsible for this deserve appreciation for recognizing the potential and for following through.

To Get Bus Routes on Google Maps

• GO TO Google Maps
• CLICK "Get directions" [mobile: Tap the directions sign icon]
• CLICK on the transit icon (the little bus)
• TYPE your starting address OR right CLICK it on the map.
• TYPE your ending address OR right CLICK it on the map.

Click the reverse icon and you can check for later routes back. Click the route icons on the map for more route information.

Here, try it yourself:

The status of women in Guilford County

GREENSBORO, NC -- There is a new study on women in Guilford County from the Institute for Women's Policy Research. As with the rest of the country, women make less than men with the same education:

"Median annual earnings for women in Guilford County who are employed full-time, year-round with a high school diploma or the equivalent are only $26,535, whereas for comparable men they are $33,000. In Guilford County, women with some college education or an associate’s degree earn less than men with only a high school diploma ($30,492 compared with $33,000; men with some college education or an associate’s degree earn $40,511).viii Such earnings for women are well below the income a family of one adult and two children needs to cover basic living expenses in Guilford County (Table 3)."

(Hat tip: Triad Business Journal)

ACLU asks Greensboro police for SWAT/technology info

GREENSBORO, NC -- The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina has requested records from the Greensboro Police Department "regarding Special Weapons and Tactics ("SWAT") teams, as well as your acquisition and use of cutting-edge technology."

Here is the letter:

ACLU request of Greensboro Police Department by Roch101

Clueless

From Jeff Martin at his Second Sun blog regarding Greensboro's entrenched old school and downtown:

"These are men used to relying on secretaries to achieve public communication and often falter when left to themselves. They don’t read blogs, text or do Facebook. In short, they don’t really have a clue anymore."

He has a little something for City Council too:

"Here’s an example of the downtown mindset from the city: It wasn’t enough to simply allow street musicians to busk at leisure. No, they had to be treated like homeless people: forced to purchase a license from the city. The last time I was in Seattle, musicians were paid by the city to show up at a pre-ordained place and time to perform for the throngs of people.

"So, shake up DGI, but let’s not forget that city staff and council have behaved like a bunch of jerks."

UPDATE: A commenter asks if an ordinance was passed requiring street musicians to get a permit. It was. It requires a fee and a background check. Here's an excerpt from the minutes of the council meeting:

Police Attorney Jim Clark summarized the ordinance amendment; and made the following PowerPoint presentation:

• Limited to certain locations within City
– Elm Street- from Lee Street to W. Lindsay Street
– Greene Street- from Smothers Place to W. Lindsay Street
– Davie Street- from Washington Street to W. Lindsay Street
– Church Street- from Washington Street to W. Lindsay Street
– Washington Street- from Edgeworth Street to Church Street
– Commerce Place
• Listing will be available in the Clerk’s Office and online
• Require a permit and background check
• Payment of an annual $10.00 tax- privilege license
• Licenses are available for individuals or groups
• Limit the number of performers to no more than 5 performers at one location
• Must stay at least 100 feet from outdoor seating or dining areas and at least 75 feet from all other street performers
• Not allow for performance on residential property, or private property without the owner’s consent
• Not remain at one location for a total duration of no more than four hours during a single day
• Limit the hours between 11am and 11pm
• Special Events are exempted from this ordinance
• Provide regulations for
– No blocking of sidewalks or entrances
– No selling of goods or other services
– No use of fire, sharp instruments, aerosols, firearms, dangerous weapons or harmful chemicals
– Adhere to City’s noise ordinance
– May use small self-powered amplifier
– No obscene language or gestures
– Cannot incite a riot
– Cannot interfere with special events
– Cannot connect to electrical or water for performance
– Incorporates focus group changes from public

And here is how the vote went down:

Councilmember Vaughan made a motion to adopt the ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Kee; the ordinance was adopted on the following roll call vote: Ayes: Abuzuaiter, Bellamy-Small, Hoffmann, Johnson, Kee, Matheny, Perkins and Vaughan. Noes: Wilkins.

Berger supports penalties for public records refusal

GREENSBORO, NC -- N.C. State Senator Phil Berger (R, NC 26) supports SB125, a bill that would make it a misdemeanor to withhold public records or not abide by North Carolina's open meetings law.

Here is the email I received from Berger's liaison.

Dear Mr. Smith,

Thank you for your email. Senator Berger sincerely appreciates your taking the time to write and express your support for SB125. Like you, Senator Berger supports this bill. It currently resides in the Senate's Judiciary I Committee. 

Once again, thank you for writing Senator Berger. 

On Senator Berger's behalf,


Kolt D. Ulm
Constituent Liaison
Office of the Senate President Pro Tempore

kolt.ulm@ncleg.net

Citizenboro

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Snewz & Record II

Greensboro, NC -- The News & Record's Joe Gamm has an article online today that is an embarrassment for its lack of journalistic standards. Writing about the Greensboro Police Department's new effort to equip its officers with always-on cameras, Gamm offers these gems.

"The Greensboro Police Department has lagged behind other departments’ advances in technology."

Says who? By what comparison? Gamm doesn't say.

"Greensboro will be the first city to equip all its patrol officers with on-body cameras, Chief Ken Miller said."

One of the most important jobs of a reporter is to check the claims of authorities. If that isn't an instinct burnished in your bones, you have no business calling yourself a reporter. So, was what the chief said true? No (Salt Lake City, Coeur d’Alene, ID, Campbell, CA, Gasden, AL, Branford, CT). But there is Gamm giving his reporter's imprimatur of authenticity to the Chief's inaccurate claims. Good lap dog.

The rest of the article is a depressing recitation by self-interested parties explaining how great this all is. It's regurgitation. Cheer leading. It's not journalism.

The reporter undertakes no exploration of the privacy implications, the implications for individual officers, conflicts with City policy on recording people or how having the recordings stored by a third party will comport with North Carolina public records law and the public's right to access. But, as far as one-sided stenography goes, it's great!

Snewz & Record

GREENSBORO, NC -- The News & Record's Richard Barron writes has an article online today that is an embarrassment for it's lack of journalistic standards. Writing about property just south of the Guilford and Randolph County line that "State agencies, railroads and Duke Energy" think would be a good spot for an automotive manufacturing plant, Barron offers these gems:

"State agencies, railroads and Duke Energy have been meeting to draw up a plan.

"That’s evidence that a company may be looking at the site already."

It is? An indication, perhaps, but a journalist should have a higher bar for "evidence." Furthermore, this "evidence" is contradicted a few sentences later when a railroad representative is quoted as saying, "But it’s only a concept for a generic plant."

"Experts said rail service is the No. 1 requirement for an auto plant"

Ha ha hardee har har. Experts! Did you get that, folks? Experts? Never mind who — and Barron doesn't say—but, you know, experts!

"State environmental officials have made preliminary studies of the site to check for such development barriers as wetlands."

And...? The results of those studies might be of interest, but Barron has to get back to cheerleader, no time for reporting.

"Sales are at record highs and plants are operating at full capacity."

Both of those assertions are just flat wrong. Where did they come from? Barron himself, apparently, as he cites no source, but neither are true. Sales are not at record highs and plants are not operating at full capacity, some are even reducing capacity. But, facts, shmacts, Barron has a drum to beat.

"Even a smaller tract — 1,200 acres — might be enough for an auto plant, a variety of experts said." 

Ha ha hardee har har. Experts! Did you get that, folks? Experts? Never mind who — and Barron doesn't say but, you know, experts! 

What I found on my walk: A ripple with no logical end

GREENSBORO, NC -- Every day. Every single day without relent, Huck insists that we go for a walk. Rain is no excuse. Freezing rain is no excuse. If the weather is bad, I'm expected to don my Long Johns, coat, poncho -- whatever is necessary for a hearty walk with my good dog.

Neighborhood walks will suffice, but usually the car ride, on the blanketed back seat, is part of the excursion—anxious on the way out, napping on the way back—as we head to one of a number of great forested trails in Greensboro. Yesterday was no exception and we found ourselves emersed in the winter serenity of Price park.

We had the place nearly to ourselves. We passed a man with two friendly dogs as we started—he on the phone. It might have been him, but he seemed worlds away. It doesn't matter who did it, really.

Hiking up a rooted slope, head down, watching each footfall, I nearly missed it. As we approached a small clearing, I saw something out of place: man-made shapes of color hanging low from a tree trunk.

A bell.

A bell with decoration.

And a note. "You have found a Ben's Bell," it said. "Take it home and remember to spread kindness throughout the world." No sales pitch. No religion. No politics. Just a simple kindness.

"Thank you, Ben." I said aloud.

It turns out Ben was a little boy who died. His mother started making these bells in his memory and hanging them around Tuscon. I'm not sure how one came to be in Greensboro—I don't think I want  to know. The anonymity and mystery give the gift its power, but thank you, whoever hung that bell. I did take it home. I will hang it up. I will remember to spread kindness throughout the world.

This quotation was on the note:

"Remember, there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."

 — Scott Adams