For the day job I was interviewed for Fox 8's story on the surging apartment market in the Piedmont Triad and got to use up a few more seconds of my 15 minutes of fame. BTW, I'm the one who looks like he needs a few hours of sleep.
I met Steve Cavanaugh several years ago when we were both coaching our daughters' Challenge soccer teams for Twin City. Not long after that he and the boys on the White Lightning made the mistake of letting me join their over-40 soccer team in the PASL, a dubious decision for which they continue to pay. Let's just say I've seen Mr. Cavanaugh on many a green field around Winston-Salem, so it seemed kind of appropriate when I received an email about the recognition his firm received from Google for a green-initiative project they were involved with here in North Carolina. Below is a video about Google's program – the swine farm project in Yadkin County that Cavanaugh & Associates designed starts at about the 2:20 mark – and below that is the text of the press release from Cavanaugh & Associates.
Google Inc., Endorses Bio-Energy System on NC Hog Farm
Winston-Salem, NC -Yesterday on YouTube, Jolanka Nickerman, Google's director of carbon offsets, announced Internet giant, Google, will invest in high-quality carbon offset credits generated from a swine farm that was transformed into a green-energy animal waste treatment facility designed by Cavanaugh & Associates, P. A. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Cavanaugh, in partnership with Duke University and Duke Energy, developed this $1.2 million prototype system at Loyd Ray Farms, a 9,000-head hog finishing operation northwest of Yadkinville, N.C.
In an effort to bolster sustainable agriculture by reducing green house gas (GHG) emissions and creating alternate revenue sources, Cavanaugh was commissioned by Duke University to develop a biomass renewable energy project that generates electricity from the methane gases produced and captured by the innovative swine waste management system. Methane is captured from a digester and used to fuel a microturbine to generate electricity. Methane is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, as a green house gas, and this project is designed to capture and combust all the methane generated by the farm's waste treatment system. In keeping with the innovative approach to managing waste produced on this hog farm, Loyd Ray Farm is the first swine facility in North Carolina to generate REC credits and produce enough electricity to power over 35 homes a year.
Like Duke, who credits the greenhouse gas emission reductions (otherwise known as carbon offsets) toward its voluntary carbon neutrality goal, Google is a proponent of green energy and investing in alternative energy projects like the one found at Loyd Ray Farms. Google announced today that it is purchasing carbon offsets from this project. Both Duke University and Cavanaugh hope this is the first of many swine farm biomass energy projects in the Southeast.
"Loyd Ray Farms is a testament to the importance of creating sustainable agriculture and Cavanaugh's commitment to Stewardship through Innovation when it comes to finding ways to keep North Carolina moving forward," said Cavanaugh's CEO, Steve Cavanaugh. "Because this is our home too, Cavanaugh welcomes creative partnerships with companies like Google who support the idea of using animal "waste" as an alternative fuel source. It's truly a win-win scenario for us and our environment."
For more information on the Loyd Ray Farm project or to obtain a detailed description of the project in PDF form, please contact: Gus Simmons, PE, Principal in Charge/Designer:gus.simmons@cavanaughsolutions.com or 910-392-4462.
I live in Lewisville and I work in Greensboro for a trade association that works with companies throughout the 12 counties of the Piedmont Triad so you could say I live the whole "regionalism" thing. Because I'm paid to stay on top of what's going on throughout the Triad I track the news in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, Burlington, Mebane, etc. and every once in a while I'll notice an interesting contrast between the various municipalities. Today after checking my news feed I came to the startling realization that if you went by the local blogs alone you'd have to believe that Greensboro is a graveyard for restaurants while Winston-Salem is experiencing a veritable renaissance of eateries.
From the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership blog in the last day or two:
Via Ed Cone's blog I found this post on 99 Blocks titled Vanishing Eateries – Can you help us out? about the restaurant closings in Greensboro.
As commenters at Ed's place pointed out the restaurant business is notoriously risky and in any given downtown you're going to see any number of restaurants come and go on a regular basis. My point is that if you were to base your assessment of the health of these two cities' restaurant sectors on what you read online you'd think that the folks in Greensboro are going to all be burning up the travel lanes on westbound I-40 to get a decent meal. I know some folks in Winston-Salem who'd claim that's always been the case, but I'm here to tell you that there are some great places to eat in both cities. If you feel like picking up the tab I'll be happy to take you on a tour.
In case you missed the news, times are tough. Ed posts a press release from Greensboro Urban Ministries. In part it says:
Over the past several months, Greensboro Urban Ministry’s Emergency Assistance Program has seen a dramatic rise in the demand for emergency financial assistance, particularly since the beginning of July when Guilford County Department of Social Services outsourced its county financial assistance program. All of Greensboro Urban Ministry funding for emergency financial assistance comes from private sources such as local congregations, Duke Energy Foundation, Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, other foundations, and concerned individuals. No city, county, state, or federal funds are used.
In April, our Emergency Assistance Program provided $33,447 for 112 families needing help with rent, mortgage, or utility assistance; in May, $40,996 for 153 families; in June, $47,580 for 199 families. So far this month through July 18, $19,745 for 86 families has been spent.
Every morning this month long lines of people have lined up for services with food, clothing, and financial assistance. Emergency assistance funding aims to help families over a short term crisis, but unfortunately, many of the people coming to us are in long term crisis with no income. For these people, the solution is to find a living wage job. Such jobs are in very short supply.
If you polled all of the local food banks, shelters, job assistance agencies, etc. you'd hear a variation on GUM's story. Over the last couple of weeks I've talked with the folks from Second Harvest during PTAA's Fill the Stands With Cans events and they've repeatedly said that they're incredibly busy these days and the demand for their services keeps increasing.
Yes the economy seems to be improving slowly, but here in the Piedmont Triad jobs just aren't coming back at the rate they need to and the social safety nets are getting frayed. It really is very simple – until we get jobs we're going to keep hearing stories like these.
If you happen to be awake from 5:30 – 7:00 tomorrow (Friday, July 8) morning you might want to tune in to watch WXII's morning show. Yours truly will likely be at the Dash stadium with Bolt, some folks from the Dash and Second Harvest, and one of the WXII-ers to promote the 2nd Annual "Fill the Stands with Cans" which is part of Piedmont Triad Apartment Association's annual food drive to benefit Second Harvest. Here are the details for those of you who may not be awake at that crazy hour:
Hope to see you tomorrow night. If you plan on attending the game please do stop by and say hello.
Reading one of Lenslinger's posts I came across some valuable writing advice:
"Ease off the adjectives. Good writing is all about the verb. Forget everything the jackholes with the MFA's and elbow patches have to say. You're a blue collar, Southern writer and they can't teach that shit in schools. Fiction, Memoir, you can write it all – but you CANNOT hold back. Readers will see right through it and you'll be stuck dodgin' lion piss 'til your back finally gives out…"
If I had an ounce of free time I'd also wonder how to score an invite to the next BOOKUP. Sounds like a lot of fun with some very interesting folks.
I've had my share of rough days on the job, but I can honestly say I've never been peed on. That I know of. Longtime blogging brother Stewart Pittman, aka Lenslinger, had a heckuva day on the job yesterday that makes me feel like I've never had a truly bad day on the j-o-b.
News 8 cameraman Chris Weaver had an interesting day on the job while doing a story in Davidson County:
Wachovia/Wells Fargo apparently doesn't require its branches to display Christmas trees and apparently that's a problem for ten people who marched in front of the Wachovia building in Winston-Salem. That was enough to attract some local news folks, but I don't think the "War on Christmas" story they were hoping for materialized. From the story:
Ten people gathered Tuesday in front of Wachovia's offices on West 4 ½ Street to protest a company policy they said doesn't allow branches to recognize the Christmas holiday.
Joyce Krawiec organized the event after she said the company banned the display of Christmas trees in its branches…
It should be noted that the Wachovia offices where the protests were held do display a Christmas tree inside. But, Krawiec said she's checked in branches throughout the area and found very few that were displaying Christmas trees…
Wachovia, acquired by Wells Fargo in 2008, said in a statement that the decision to display poinsettias in branches was to achieve a common look within the markets in which the company operates.
The statement from the company also said that company policy doesn't prohibit Christmas trees from being displayed.
Okay, I think we need to come up with a few news rules here:
If these kind of stories keep showing up I think I'm going to grab four of my friends, a six pack, a couple of hand drawn cardboard signs and head over to the mall to walk around and air our various grievances about saggy drawers, terrible Christmas music, terrible tattoos, nasty body piercings, etcetera, etcetera. See you on the 6 o'clock news.
Befuddled 