Privatization of Guilford health services cuts availability of psychiatric medications

GREENSBORO, NC -- From Michele Forrest in the comments at Ed Cone's blog:

"Monarch, which contracted with Sandhills to provide mental health services in Greensboro, is not offering financial assistance with psych meds. Previously, Guilford Center offered meds at lower prices and provided free meds for homeless people (and maybe others, as well -- it was based on income).

Our StreetWatch team is finding that some homeless people are now going without medicine for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, depression and other mental illnesses that can result in them harming themselves or others, and/or engaging in other criminal behavior. This is a serious problem. From a cost/benefit perspective, it's less expensive to subsidize meds than to pay for jail beds. And it's inhumane to allow mentally ill people to suffer because they're poor."

Are our County Commissioners going to wait until someone goes off and hurts somebody before addressing this problem? Probably. 

UPDATE: News & Record's Joe Killian reports, Jail trying to cope with mentally ill

Guilford County's information director leaves fine legacy

GREENSBORO, NC --The Rhino Times reports that Guilford County's Chief Information Officer Barbara Weaver is retiring at the end of this month. You may remember her as presiding over the county's website redesign fiasco a couple of years ago. But congratulations to Ms. Weaver for going out on a high note and leaving behind a wonderful new piece of technology for the residents of Guilford County.

I'm referring to the County's new Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Data Viewer. While it requires the download and installation of Microsoft's proprietary Silverlight, that's done easily enough with a click and the rewards are great.

The Data Viewer is smooth and speedy at its primary function, which is to access property records, but it also adds some interesting tools such as community information, which reports things like the elected representatives for a property as well as nearby parks.

The viewer also has some sophisticated drawing tools that allow for the measurement of distances and area or to get information about all properties within a shape you draw. I used this yesterday to get the length of a circuit on some trails around Lake Brandt

One can also overlay maps from other sources and perform thematic mapping, whereby one selects an area of the map then applies color coding to the properties within based on criteria such as year built, value or property type. One can even export data from the map results.

Thank you, Ms. Weaver (and the other, I'm sure, good staff people who helped) for bringing us this state-of-the-art tool for better understanding our community.

News & Record no longer providing free papers to Guilford County classrooms

As a participant in the Newspapers In Education program, The News & Record has, for years, offered free newspapers to Guilford County public school classrooms. Teachers used these papers in a variety of instructional activities in a variety of subjects and grade levels.

The News & Record's description of the program says:

Classroom papers are sponsored by local businesses at the cost of 14 cents per paper. The News & Record pays the balance of the cost per paper and does not profit from the NIE program. 

Although the News & Record's description still says that the papers are being provided "at no cost," that's out of date and schools are being asked to pay this year.

I'm wondering why. We all know times are tough for newspapers, but what drove this change? Did the business sponsors dry up? Is the N&R trying to develop a new profit center? I've emailed News & Record publisher Robin Saul a link to this post and asked him to comment.

In fairness to Billy Yow

The voters will decide the significance of Guilford County Commissioner and sixth district congressional candidate Billy Yow's t-shirt episode, but, as is my practice here, I find it necessary to comment on yet another local media mistake, this one unfair to Yow.

In yesterday's story about BillyYow.com displaying the repugnant Yow inspired t-shirt, WGHP rolled video of Yow posing with the t-shirt. He is wearing a blue shirt while holding up the t-shirt, seemingly identical to the blue shirt he is wearing when shown speaking on camera. The impression created was that the video of Yow holding up the t-shirt is from the present.

It is not.

Prodded by a reader's comment, I checked with WGHP and they acknowledged that the video of Yow holding up the t-shirt was file footage from the spring of 2004. It was not identified as such in the report and that left this blogger with the impression that Yow was, even to this day, still proudly holding up that insipid t-shirt.

He was not.

I'm a pretty savvy and skeptical consumer of media. If this got past me, it probably created the same false impression with other viewers. The facts of the matter—the who, what and when—can speak for themselves; they don't need to be distorted and the file footage should have been identified as from the past. Not doing so created a false impression that, even if unintentional, was unfair to Yow.

(Thanks to Tony Wilkins who brought the discrepancy to my attention.)

Dispatch from my dark closet

[Update: The picture in this post is a screen capture from WGHP"s story yesterday. The footage was not identified as being file footage from the past. After a question in the comments, I checked with WGHP and the footage in question was from March/April 2004. The caption to the photo has been updated to reflect this new information.]

Guilford County Commissioner and 6th district U.S. congressional candidate Billy Yow on this blogger:

“He’s a coward. He sits in his dark closet. He’s a blogger. If you take a blogger and you look at the validity they offer society today, that speaks volumes as to who it is.”

Billy Yow, 2004

Mr. Yow, you are entitled to your opinion, sir. Personally, as a new district 6 voter, I would rather have heard you refute the message of the t-shirt and your association with it than see you posing with it, confederate flag and all, while calling me names. But that's your call. It's important for voters to understand how candidates respond to criticism and ad hominems are certainly not unheard of.

I am confused, however, about why you chose the accusation of cowardliness. You see, I don't think it was cowardly to put my name on the public record of the registration for BillyYow.com so that anybody and everybody could see who was responsible for it; I don't think it was cowardly to explain my actions in interviews with the News & Record (print version) and WGHP. I don't think it was cowardly to put myself in the line of your fire for the sake of public awareness.

Regarding the "validity [bloggers] offer society," as far as sweeping generalizations go, I think the issue has been pretty well decided in contradiction to the opinion you have. (See: Red State, Crooks & Liars, Zero Hedge, and Think Progress for some well known examples; Greensboro 101 for a local view.)

As for this blogger specifically, I humbly believe that I have offered some substantial validity to local society—if I can interpret your use of "validity" to mean consistent, thoughtful and substantiated commentary and information. Some examples:

• You will find me in agreement with you and Conservatives 4 Guilford County on the objectionable policies limiting speech at Guilford County Commissioners' meetings and acting to encourage the North Carolina American Civil Liberties Union to intervene.
• You will find me defending you, Mr. Yow, against unfounded accusations of impropriety in cow-gate, as well as noting when you, in your official capacity, make unfounded accusations.
• You will find me writing honestly and conscientiously on a variety of subjects neglected or mishandled by local media, including fact checking, Guilford County government, Greensboro government, and elections.

While it is true that I sometimes blog in the dark, my work product is out here in the light for all to see. So I really don't understand what makes you think I'm a coward. Will you explain it to me? Comments are open.

Skip Alston's mind-numbing misunderstanding of the U.S. Constitution

County Commission chairman Skip Alston on Guilford County's policy of restricting media presentations by citizens at public meetings, via Yes Weekly!:

“You can’t yell fire in crowded movie theater"

Yes, you can—if there is a fire. Which is what Jodi Riddleberger was trying to do when the Chairman—the mousy commissioners having already voted to prohibited media presentations during speakers from the floor—refused to put her on the agenda. 

Despite his superfluous misrememberance of fifth grade civics, Alston reveals precisely why he is on the wrong side of the issue and why the North Carolina ACLU has sided with Riddleberger: In the United States of America, government officials cannot exercise prior restraint of speech. Without a dire compelling public interest, the government or its agents, no matter how arrogantly ignorant or self righteous, may not decide in advance that what someone may be about to say is to be prohibited. 

For Alston to think that what Riddlerberger wanted to say was equivelant to FALSELY yelling fire in a crowded theater, is an admission that he is engaging in the very prior evaluation of her message the Constitution prohibits. Heck, he even says as much:

“As far as content, I think there should be some kind of restrictions on freedom of speech.”

Whether Riddleberger's message is true or false, annoying or flattering, the Chairman has no right to intervene and those who can stop the Chairman's misbehavior should do so. If it's not going to be the other commissioners, it's going to be a judge—to Guilford County's unnecessary expense and embarrassment. 

ACLU sides with C4GC against Guilford County Commissioners

Yes Weekly! is reporting:

ACLU of North Carolina Legal Director Katherine Lewis Parker expresses concerns about the constitutionality of the Guilford County Commission's proposed citizen multi-media presentation policy in a letter to the board today:

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation ("ACLU-NCLF")was contacted last week by Guilford County resident Jodi Riddleberger ("C4gc"). Ms. Riddleberger has requested our assistance in connection with a recent decision by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners ("the Board") to ban any and all multimedia presentations during prescribed public comment periods of Board meetings. After conducting an initial investigation, we have concerns that your Board is violating Ms. Riddleberger's rights under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

It appears that the county's actions with regard to Ms. Riddleberger, as well as the passage of the ban on multimedia presentations during public comment period constitute violations of the First Amendment. First, we believe that the general requirement that individuals can show videos only if approved and placed on the agenda is an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech. [Roch: That's what I thought too] Further, Chairman Alston's specific comments and actions against Ms. Riddleberger suggest that these new rules, while they appear to be content neutral, are a thinly-veiled disguise for impermissible content discrimination, or even viewpoint discrimination....

[more]

My email to the ACLU of North Carolina

I sent this to the ACLU of North Carolina today. You can send them your opinion too.

I am a resident of Greensboro, NC. I am not a member of the group Concerned Citizens for Guildford County Conservatives for Guilford County (C4GC), in fact I do not often find myself in agreement with their opinions and objectives. Nonetheless, I share their concerns regarding the recent actions of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to limit what may be presented at public meetings, actions which I think, in my layman's opinion, constitute unconstitutional prior restraint of speech based on its content (and in the specifics of C4GC's complaint, speech that would be constitutionally allowable in any case).

Although the County attorney is quoted in the News & Record as saying the prohibitions are legal because they only control time and manner, the policy actually demands that content be reviewed by a small committee for approval. Therefore, I am encouraging you to give serious consideration to representing C4GC on this matter. Indeed, from my perspective, were the ACLU of NC to challenge this policy, it would be to the benefit of all the residents of Guilford County.

If I can be of assistance to you in further evaluating the possibility of your involvement with this matter, do not hesitate to let me know.

"Heavy handed abuse of power"

This is not a partisan issue and Jodie Riddleberger is very much right on:

Guilford County: hick backwater

Thanks to our County Commissioners, specifically, Chairman Skip Alston, I am embarrassed to call myself a resident of Guilford County.

What kind of hick backwater outlaws multimedia presentations by speakers from the floor at public meetings in this day and age? Guilford County, sad to say.

In fact, no multimedia will be allowed during any portion of County Commissioners' meetings unless it is first reviewed by an "agenda committee" for "appropriateness."

Only with our approval, comrade.

This sounds an awful lot like it oversteps the Constitutional prohibitions against prior restraint of speech. Maybe someone will take it to court and we'll spin our wheels on another unnecessary issue while the world moves on.

Speak freely

GREENSBORO, NC -- At last night's Guilford County Commissioner's meeting, Chairman Skip Alston cut off the microphone as George Hartzam was speaking from the floor after previously interrupting Hartzman to ask him to keep his comments on the agenda topic. Prior to the regular public meeting, the commissioners held a special meeting, where they voted to prohibit the showing of video by speakers form the floor. (A motion to outlaw dancing was continued to the next meeting.)


[Hartzman begins at the 2:25 mark, but the the preceding oration is eloquent and worth hearing.]

These clampdowns on free speech are concerning. I wrote to County Attorney Mark Payne and asked what was going on. Regarding Chairman Alston limiting Hartzman, Payne told me (entire answer below):

"The legal standards for public hearing comments is that they are to be on topic and comments outside the scope of the hearing or redundant can be limited."

Apparently, the mayor also gaveled down Hartzman at a city council meeting earlier this week for the same reason, not speaking to the topic. I don't know what Hartzman's motives are for making his presentations, verbal and written, so obtuse; but even if one might have thought Hartzman was eventually going to make a point on topic, the Chairman did not and he exercised his prerogative. 

Here's the important thing though. There is a safeguard against an arbitrary or tyrannical abuse of this prerogative by the Chair.  A speaker who finds himself in this situation can make an appeal to any other commissioner to make a motion to allow the speaker to continue. With a second and a majority vote, the Chair will be overruled and the speaker will be allowed to continue. The Chair doesn't need a vote to cut a speaker off, but an affirmative vote will allow the speaker to continue. 

If the Chair (or mayor) is trying to cut you off in a way you think is unfair, don't appeal to the county attorney, as Hartzman did, or other staff, see if you can get some friendly help from a representative on the dais. If the Chair is reaching for the microphone kill switch, you won't have much time, so have something quick at the ready. Like:

"Is there a commissioner who will move that I be allowed to continue?" 

Mark Payne's reply (in majority):

"As to the limitations on the comments of Mr. Hartzman, as you know, those comments were made as part of a public hearing on the county's proposed schedules of value, which provides the guidelines for tax evaluation procedures.  The legal standards for public hearing comments is that they are to be on topic and comments outside the scope of the hearing or redundant can be limited.  The chair has the authority to call the comments of a speaker out of order; minus a motion, second and vote on the question otherwise, the chair's decision stands. A vote is not required. Finally, i do believe that the comments were, in fact, well outside the topics of the revaluation methodologies being proposed by the tax department.  George's comments began as a general statement of the need for a revaluation and the housing market in general; then he stated his opinion that adjusting real property taxes upward to the revenue neutral position was preferable to using sales tax as an option.  While these comments were more to taxation decisions not to be made until the budget is adopted and a tax rate is established before July rather than the schedule of values, they were arguably related to the topic.  The next comments went to the parties were had advocated the 1/4 cent sales tax in the past and their possible motivations for doing so. Past decisions by other parties on the 1/4 cent sales tax, in my opinion, is clearly not related to the schedule of values.

"As you may have notice George asked me as to the legality of the ruling; it is not appropriate  for me to engage any speaker, i should only speak to and on behalf on the board.  The board had no question for me and so i was not in a position to speak. If is had been asked i would have said roughly what is in this email."

.

Election reports not online days before election

UPDATE: The Board of Elections office tells me the reports will be online sometime today.

GREENSBORO, NC -- By this time, candidates for city council and mayor will have filed their last campaign finance reports before next Tuesday's elections (due on October 31st). They are not online at the Guilford County Board of Elections website though. The online reports have not been updated in a month. I am told that the key person responsible for this has been away for a family situation.

These pre-election reports are vital. They are the public's last chance to evaluate the money influences on campaigns and candidates, a factor in voting decisions. Surely there is more than one person at the Board of Elections who knows how to put these reports online and can do so pronto.

Guiflord County Schools safety and discipline stats

Morgan Josey Glover has a document rich post about new information from the Guilford County Schools regarding suspensions and disciplinary actions.

News & Record fails to report expert's financial interests in Honda Jet story

GREENSBORO, NC -- News & Record reporters Donald Patterson, Amanda Lehmert and Joe Killian wrote a story about Honda Jet seeking incentives from Greensboro and Guilford County for an expansion. The article featured a number of quotes in favor of the incentives from Richard Beard of commercial real estate firm, Simpson, Schulman and Beard.

In an unconscionable omission, the reporters fail to report that Beard's company represents property for sale and lease in the immediate vicinity of the Honda Jet facility, including 18,000 square feet of warehouse space mere yards away.

Interactive map.

The property listing from Simpson, Schulman and Beard's webstite:

Guilford County commission proposed redistricting maps

Hat tip, Keith Brown: Guilford County Commission redistricting proposals, maps and spreadsheets. Thanks to the county GOP for putting these online, I could not find them on the County website.

Register of Deeds Thigpen #1 story on AOL now

I cruised to the home page of AOL just now and saw that the top story was from the Huffington Post, about Guilford County's Register of Deeds: Robo-Signing Continues On Key Land Records In North Carolina 

Thigpen takes on secret deeds

(Hat tip: Ed Cone)

GUILFORD COUNTY, NC -- Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen stands up for the people.

“To me these issues with MERS are simple. Are major banking conglomerates going to tell the truth or not; and are we going choose to have two standards of justice in America: one for Big Money and the other for the rest of us?

Read more.

XMG Guilford County website files released

GREENSBORO, NC -- I received a response to my public records request from Guilford County. I had requested the website files as provide by XMG to the county in their effort to produce a new website for the County. Those files were provided to me on CD today. The website was built for a Microsoft web server. I use a different server environment, so I am unable to offer a true end-user view of what was provided to the County. Nonetheless, if you are interested, you can see the files here.* Please be advised, these are the files delivered to me by the County, I do not know if XMG would agree that they constitute the entirety of their work.

If someone has access to an ASP server (which would properly display all of these files) I will gladly share the CD or you can request them from the county. And speaking of getting files from the County, although their response was not particularly speedy, I do want to thank County staff for eventually providing these files. There was some confusion about whether or not these files were public or confidential and I appreciate the legal staff's willingness to learn a little about the nature of websites and coming to understand why files like these do constitute a public record.

* [These files may be removed in the future.]

Hicksville

GREENSBORO, NC -- Why has Guilford County not put the minutes of Guilford County Commissioners' meetings online since October, 21, 2010? Joe Guarino is right to ask what in the world are we getting from the six County web developers at a cost of $647,200 per year.

Learning curve

GREENSBORO, NC -- I received a denial from the Guilford County attorney today for my request to receive the files delivered to the County by XMG in the attempt to build a new county web site. The reason given was that software is not publicly releasable.

I don't mind being patient with County staff on this one--I'm told mine is the first request of this kind--but two things:

1. There is a difference between software and files. Requests for documents in Microsoft Word format are not denied because they require software to be read. Web site files are documents, read by server software and web browser software. They require software to be used, but they are not software.*
   
2. Guilford County is already releasing web site files publicly. Our web browsers download and display them every time we visit www.co.guilford.nc.us. So of course web site files are publicly releasable, it's happening as you read this. If web site files were not publicly releasable, there would be no current County web site. 

(* For my geek friends, I recognize there are exceptions, but I think you will agree the vast bulk, if not the totality, of most web sites will be composed of files, not software.)