Author Archives: Jon Lowder

The City’s Eyesore is a Man’s Treasure

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The city leader's of Winston-Salem would like to have the ability to use eminent domain to take at "fair market value" properties that they consider eyesores and then either raze it or rehab it as affordable housing.  I have real problems with eminent domain being used in this way because there have been cases in some cities where people have lost homes that they were living in because the city took them using eminent domain because they wanted the land for an office building or some other use.  To me this is plain un-American.

Another problem is that city governments are made up of people, civil servants, who are as apt to make mistakes as any other group of people.  When they have the power to tear property down, well, at some point they might tear down the wrong property as highlighted in this story from Detroit.  

Sure there are eyesores and negligent owners out there, but they should be dealt with using the already existing channels that the city government has at its disposal, like fines or condemnation.  I don't think we should punish owners who keep their properties in a habitable state, but that we or our government finds not so attractive state.  Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

What Should the Kids Do?

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Last night the youth leader at our church asked us, the parents, for some ideas for activities for the kids.  This was a good idea for a couple of reasons; first, I'm a firm believer that you get better ideas from muliple people than from one, and second when people offer their own ideas they're more likely to get involved themselves.  That said, we were all pretty fragged last night and it was tough getting the creative juices flowing so I thought I'd put out an RFP for ideas for our church's youth group.  Here are the basics about the group:

  • Small, but powerful.  There are about 15 kids in the group and they range in age from 6th graders to 12th graders.
  • The activities should have some kind of tie to what you'd expect a church youth group to be involved with, but it need not be overtly spiritual.  For instance one of the most powerful things they do every year is a week at mission camp in Laurel Ridge.  While there they spend their days doing projects in the local community that are geared to helping people: fixing a shut-in's deck, painting a fence at a local school that doesn't have the budget for it, building a wheel chair ramp at a local home, etc.  At night they do a lot of singing and church related activities, but the main purpose of the week is to teach them service to others.  You can see where I'm going with this. 
  • The group gets together almost every Sunday night for two hours during the school year.  Many of the activities will need to fit this time frame, but they do sometimes step out and do longer activities at different times. 
  • One activity already planned is the Souper Bowl of Caring on Feb. 1, but outside of that we're pretty open over the next couple of months. 

Please feel free to share any ideas you might have, or activities you've seen other groups engage in.   

New Local Media Hierarchy

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As I last posted the Winston-Salem Journal showed me a little love on Saturday by printing an excerpt from one of my blog posts in their "Bits & Pieces" section of their editorial page on Saturday.  A commenter noted that I should see a spike in traffic to my site, which I assumed as well.  Here's the thing: my traffic went up this last Saturday and Sunday compared to the previous weekend, but only a little and it was still lower than the traffic I had on Friday.  In other words there was a little more traffic, but not enough that I'd say that the Journal's love had a real impact.  

On the other hand when Esbee links to me I see my traffic double, minimum.  I'm not trying to slam the paper here, after all I'd assume that Esbee's readers are more likely to follow a link to another blog than people who read the paper or visit the paper's website are to actively go and find my blog.  Still I think it shows that in the evolving world of online media the media hierarchy is different than in the offline world.  I hope local advertisers and marketers are paying attention.

Oh, and a word of advice to the Journal: there are these little things called hyperlinks that have been used online as long as there's been an online.  You might want to consider using them in your stories seeing as it's considered good manners in the online realm AND the search engines give you credit for it.

Greensboro Notorious

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A 32 year old man was shot at a showing of the movie Notorious at the Grand Theater at Four Seasons in Greensboro last night.  The movie's about slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. and the strange part of the story is that the actor who played Notorious B.I.G. in the movie was in the theater in Greensboro.  Nothing against Greensboro, but why would the guy spend opening night for the movie in Greensboro and not New York?  Weird.

H/T to Ed Cone.

So Who’d You Vote for In the Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor Race?

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One of the adjustments you have to make when you move to North Carolina is dealing with a ballot that seems like it's 100 pages long when you vote.  I mean we vote for positions that are appointed in most other states, and to think that we citizens actually know who every joker on the ballot is is just plain ludicrous.

That's why it's not entirely shocking that a guy who ran for and won a Guilford County Soil and Conservation District Supervisor seat used a false name on the ballot and was actually a transient. The Rhino Times has the full story here.  

If you read the story you'll find that the alleged election fraudster had a landlord/roommate who was also his campaign manager until the two had a falling out.  Where'd the two meet?  Why at the Forsyth County Central Library in Winston-Salem.  I knew there was something fishy about that place, what with all those books.

Thanks to Ed Cone for the tip.  I'd also like to say that I agree with him that we have entirely too many positions on the ballot.  

North Carolina Gets $52.3 Million from HUD. Good News for Winston-Salem Officials’ Eminent Domain Dreams?

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Today I received a press release from Senator Burr's office announcing that North Carolina had received $52,303,004 from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Neighborhood Stabilization Program.  According to the release "North Carolina may use this grant to assist individuals in purchasing foreclosed homes, acquiring and rehabilitating abandoned homes, establishing land banks for foreclosed homes, demolition of blighted properties, or redevelopment of vacant or demolished structures.  All NSP funds are required to benefit individuals or families at or below 120 percent of area median income (AMI) and at least 25 percent must be targeted at those living below 50 percent of AMI.  Funds awarded under this grant must be used within 18 months." 

You may recall that Winston-Salem officials recently met with our local delegates to the statehouse because they want to be able to use eminent domain to buy blighted properties and refurbish them to provide affordable housing, and they are asking our delegates to push for laws that will allow the city to do just that.  Now that the state has this grant money in hand I'm wondering if that push for a new law will gain even more traction?