Pretend Voices Carry

Couple of magical thinking ops for "the public" coming up...

1.) The DNR is solicitous of your thoughts on our state park system. More info here. My only wish is that they reinstate Sally Bethea to the developer-skewed board. But you likely already know that if you read this blog.

2.) Atlanta Press Club wishes to dismiss, excuse me, discuss new media. I'll be there to help facilitate the stoning of -- myself. Or to mangle a line from Life of Brian: "Crucifixion? Excellent! Just ahead on your right."

3.) Neither here nor there, but it needs to be said to Creative Loafing:

I hope you (CL) are happy with your smug, arrogant, snotty-ass, pompous, over-inflated selves and sense of media importance now. You’ve managed to really
hurt and confuse a lot of hard working, indie bloggers by playing favorites, first time out of the cover story gate, with a piece about the Atlanta blogosphere.

You might as well be 17-year old cheerleaders at Wheeler High for all the maturity you’ve shown towards our new media community. We’ve worked so long and so hard and created such amazing bonds and systems of support, only to have you announce to the world that not only do you not understand social media, you want to trample on it at every given opportunity.

I’m so angry right now, I can hardly see straight. I hope I calm down enough by the time we ever cross paths again. You’re no better than Newt Gingrich with your divisive, derisive ways.

So there. Got that off my chest I suppose. It's not yet noon and I need a drink and a smoke. Plenty of that, and hot air too, all around.

Georgia's DNR Board Count Important - To Floridians

From the Jacksonville Times-Union, about our Sonny stacking our DNR board with developers and builders. Sally Bethea was also on WABE this morning too, with an excellent interview in which she said Georgians surely want more diversity on a Natural Resources board than just developers and building interests. Got that right.

The ouster of three of the most pro-environment members of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources board has critics concerned that the department's mission of safeguarding the state's rivers, streams and estuaries will be compromised.

Environmentalists became particularly worried last month when the Senate rejected Gov. Sonny Perdue's reappointment of Sally Bethea, the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and one of their main allies on the Board of Natural Resources.

That move followed the ouster of two members of the panel whom Perdue did not reappoint because a 2005 round of congressional redistricting left them in the same district as another board member, the governor's office said. Thirteen of the board's 18 members are appointed according to their congressional districts.

"The board is just way out of balance," charged Gordon Rogers, executive director of Satilla Riverkeeper. "And it's been systematic."

Sonny's Do To The DNR Board

Governor Perdue appointed Joe Hatfield, chairman of Fieldale Farms Corporation, to the DNR Board in 2006. He was confirmed by Senator Tommie Williams et al in the same action that excluded Sally Bethea of Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

Here's Fieldale’s violations of environmental regulations - about $100,000 in fines for seven different consent orders.

But wait! There's more! Mr. Hatfield was placed on the DNR Board’s Environmental Protection Committee - the most important regulatory committee on the board.

I think we can now safely say... the fox is soooo guarding the hen house.

Executed orders:

Under authority of the Water Quality Control Act (including Surface Water Allocation):

Facility:
Fieldale Farms Corporation, land application system/Toccoa
Location:
Stephens County
Order Number:
EPD-WQ-4674
Date of Issue:
January 29, 2007
Cause of Order:
Sludge spill/fish kill in Big Tom's Creek
Requirement(s) of Order:
Provide interim plan for operation/maintenance of existing pretreatment system to comply with Permit; submit maintenance/replacement schedule for protein conversion cooker; submit spill containment plan
Settlement Amount:
$35808.00

Facility:
Fieldale Farms Corporation
Location:
Habersham County
Order Number:
EPD-WQ-4001
Date of Issue:
June 21, 2002
Cause of Order:
Fish kill at South Fork of Mud Creek
Requirement(s) of Order:
Develop/implement a current and approvable stormwater pollution prevention plan; submit complete, detailed facility evaluation and diagram, by certified engineer; submit written standard operating plan
Settlement Amount:
$10543.00

Facility:
Fieldale Farms Corporation
Location:
Habersham County
Order Number:
EPD-WQ-3732
Date of Issue:
May 30, 2000
Cause of Order:
Violations of Industrial Pretreatment Permit
Requirement(s) of Order:
Submit standard operating procedure for correctly calculating data reported on discharge monitoring reports; develop/submit approvable program for routine calibration and maintenance of flow meters;
Settlement Amount:
$37250.00

Facility:
Fieldale Farms Corporation
Location:
Habersham County
Order Number:
EPD-PCEP-99-120
Date of Issue:
July 09, 1999
Cause of Order:
Pretreatment Permit violation
Requirement(s) of Order:
Correct immediately
Settlement Amount:
$750.00

Facility:
Fieldale Farms Corporation
Location:
Stephens County
Order Number:
EPD-WQ-3592
Date of Issue:
February 15, 1999
Cause of Order:
Spill/fish kill to Big Tom's Creek
Requirement(s) of Order:
Implement spill prevention and containment plan
Settlement Amount:
$10000.00

Facility:
Fieldale Farms Corporation
Location:
Stephens County
Order Number:
EPD-ERT-WQ-3577
Date of Issue:
January 07, 1999
Cause of Order:
Chemical spill/fish kill
Requirement(s) of Order:
Immediately notify proper authority in the event of future spills or releases
Settlement Amount:
$3000.00

Facility:
Fieldale Farms Corporation
Location:
Habersham County
Order Number:
EPD-PCEP-98-075
Date of Issue:
December 09, 1998
Cause of Order:
Industrial pretreatment permit violations
Requirement(s) of Order:
Comply immediately
Settlement Amount:
$3000.00

Information courtesy of UCR.

Nothing "Natural" on DNR Board

Let's count the envionmentalists on Georgia's DNR board!

If you can't find any here, then try counting the builders and developers instead. You'll find that more fruitful. Heck, there are two more dentists on the board than people who seek to protect our natural resources. What's with that? Might have to have one of my cellular chats with those dudes too, just for grins... and blogging purposes of course.

And of course, being a polite Southern lady, I'll be sure to invite them to the party for Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper on May 10th!


CITIZEN JOURNALISM MOMENT: Help me call some of these fine folks on the DNR board and invite them to River Revival!

A list of contact info for these folk is here. Another citizen journalism bonus point to see if any of these are also lobbyists.


DNR BOARD MEMBERS AND OCCUPATIONS
Per AJC, Oct 2006

William "Bill" Archer III, Lake Burton
Retired Georgia Power executive vice president; working as a consultant for the utility company on a three-year contract through 2009.

Earl Barrs, Cochran
Owner of Knapp-Barrs & Associates Inc., a Macon timberland management and investment company; also owns other land investment companies.

Jenny Lynn Bradley, Savannah
Community volunteer and former vice president of the Garden Club of America.

Warren Budd, Newnan
New York Life insurance agent.

William A. Carruth, Dallas
President of Aiken Grading Co., a land grading operation; also owns land development companies.

Cader Cox, Camilla
CEO of Riverview Plantation Inc., a quail hunting plantation on the Flint River; also owns a vegetable and timber farm.

Walter Hudson, Douglasville
President of Exxell Developers Inc. and Land Sales Inc., real estate development companies.

Mabel C. Jenkins, Millen
Retired.

Phyllis T. Johnson, Hazlehurst
Co-owner of Thompson Hardwoods Inc., lumber and wood products manufacturer.

Bob Rutland, Covington
Chairman and part owner of Allied Holdings Inc., a Decatur car-hauling business.

Loyce W. Turner, Valdosta
Former state senator, retired veterinarian, retired banker, farmer; runs a family foundation.

James W. Tysinger, Atlanta
Former state senator, retired sales industrial engineer from Westinghouse Electric Corp.

James Walters, Gainesville
President and CEO of James A. Walters Management Co. Inc., which provides management services for consumer finance companies. Managing partner of Walters Income Properties, which owns and manages commercial and office buildings, and shopping centers.

Tom Wheeler, Atlanta
Manager and principal owner of Wheeler/Kolb Co., a Duluth company that manages and leases shopping centers and office parks in the Southeast.


NEW MEMBERS SINCE OCTOBER 2006.
The following individuals replaced Sara Clark (Community Volunteer/League of Women Voters), Ralph Callaway (Callaway Gardens) and Jamie Reynolds (Developer):

Dr. David Allen, Atlanta (Oral surgeon)
Chair emeritus and founder, Oral Surgery Associates; Chair, Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Joe Hatfield, Baldwin
Chairman, Fieldale Farms Corporation

Dr. Gene Bishop, Dawsonville (Oral surgeon)
President, Health Service Centers


VACANT POSITION FOR GOVERNOR PERDUE TO FILL.
AT-LARGE BOARD SEAT PREVIOUSLY HELD BY SALLY BETHEA.

Shame, Sonny, shame. (All of the above are Governor appointees.)

Let's Commit Citizen Journalism!

Got a couple of citizen journalism irons in the fire: One being micro... about the ludicrous water bills residents in the NW corridor, Underwood Hills and Berkley Park areas, are receiving from the City of Atlanta water department. Our condo association's has tripled since Dec. of 2006, blowing our entire budget for 2007. We are hardly alone.

One neighbor's absurd story is here on WXIA -- thanks to our e-organizing efforts to get some sunshine on this, uh, draining issue. Many many thanks to Jerry Carnes for paying attention to our issues here in intown Atlanta! You're the best. Keep up the work, 'cause we got lots more where than came from. (I'm shooting video of our condos' saga too, in hopes that some MSM will want some of that to supplement their own hard work.)

In other less micro matters... that marvelous Wilson Smith from What Is Going On in Lyons, Georgia, interviewed Sally Bethea from Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper a couple of days ago on his show/podcasts about her being fired from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board. Sally's interview with Wilson is here.

Sally was on Governor Perdue's Office of Executive Appointments for this year's state boards and commissions, as she has been for the past 8 years.

But Sen. Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), the State Senate Majority Leader and Chairman of the Committee on Assignments, managed to jettison Sally from the list this Legislative session, saying that since she's also a lobbyist, for an environmentally-minded non-profit, she shouldn't be on the Department of NATURAL RESOURCES board, although she's been both since 1999.

So that kinda begs the question... is Tommie Williams now going to purge all state boards and commissions of their lobbyista? He should do unto others as he did to Sally, right? He surely is quite the ethically-minded politician, and obviously feels a burning need to clean house right about now... especially of those pesky environmentalists!

Wilson and I want to get a master list of the 300+ Governor appointees to state boards for 2007, and just run a quick lil 'ole check of names on that list by the list of registered state lobbyists -- just to make sure there are no other conflict-of-interest discrepancies he may have overlooked. If there are any conflicts, Wilson wants to interview them too!

So I called the Governor's Office of Executive Appointments (404-656-1776) yesterday to try to get me that list. A woman named "Celine" (she wouldn't give her last name) refused to give me the list, saying it wasn't "released to the public."

So I then called Josh Willis, a cool guy and very interested in social media, who's the Senate Majority Leader's Chief of Staff, and I proceeded to have a nice chat with him, mostly about high-speed access across Georgia. But he eventually said he didn't have The List, go figure, and referred me instead to the Lt. Governor's office.

At that point, I needed a nap! So I will resume trying to find The List today... so we can just make sure Sally Bethea isn't the only Governor appointee to a board who is also a lobbyist. Call me a silly girl, but I get the nagging feeling she's not the only one.

I think that Senator Tommie Williams, from Wilson's neck of the woods, just needs a little citizen journalism help in getting rid of EVERYONE on a Georgia state board with some of those pesky "conflicts of interest." So I'm so glad we bloggers and podcasters are here to help our Senate Majority Leader with this rather annoying little task, eh!?

Anything you can add to this, uh, effort and conversation, please lemme know.

UPDATE: Thanks to the cache of PP, and not the SGR, as of 1:45pm Friday, I have an UPDATE for ya:

Celine The Intern! Bless her heart. She’s got a great career in politics (or journalism) I must say. Young bulldog & excellent gatekeeper. I’d hire her in a sec.

The Governor’s Office of Executive Appointments, Celine’s boss in other words, almost immediately contacted me (on my cell too) as soon as this post went up on PP. (Thanks Erick!) They are going to fax me the list of names first thing on Monday. I’d get it now from ‘em, but I gotta run go be mom for the rest of this lovely day.

Enough name calling and blogging! Going to go commence weekend of fun.

I’ll get back on this list thingee first thing Monday. If anyone else needs The List sooner, then you’ll have to contact the office of Execu- Appointments (404-651-7735) yourself.

And see folks, Republicans and Democrats can work together! Even in this state.

DNR Board Members

I just had to send this letter to the DNR Board about Sally Bethea from the non-profit environmental dot org, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, being let go from their Board. Write back soon, DNR!

Dear DNR Board:
Are there members of the DNR Board who pressured Senator Tommie Williams’ Committee on Assignments to drop Sally Bethea from the DNR Board? As a blogger-journalist, video producer and taxpayer, I certainly would like to know who felt Sally shouldn’t be on the board alongside them.

And what are the backgrounds of all the DNR members? Where are all the others employed? Who do they answer to? Do you have a list of who they work for on your website?

Please send tons of great information when you can. We Atlanta bloggers alone will be sticking with this situation/story. It’s a good one! Lots of questions abound. And if anyone on the DNR board would like to do an on-camera interview, please let me know.

Sincerely,
Grayson D.
President
WaySouth Media, Inc.

Of course, if Sally Bethea was fired from this particular State office's board for being a paid lobbyist (in her case for a non-profit), as Tommie Williams has claimed was the reason, even though she's been a lobbyist and on the DNR board since 1999, shouldn't all lobbyists sitting on ANY State office board now also be fired? Surely there are others out there. DOT maybe?