Quick Hits

• Over at the Athens Inbox, I posted about an Athenian being considered for an ambassadorship to Germany. As one commenter said, Germany and Athens both have a lot of beer and a lot of bars -- so sending one of our own over there makes a lot of sense. Would be very good news for our region.
  
• Maria Saporta and others are right -- Gena Abraham's ouster just makes Georgia's transportation mess that much worse. I think the odds are high that nothing of significance happens with transportation this year, and that will be terrible news for our state. One bright spot: interim GDOT commissioner Gerald Ross was heavily involved in the Mars Hill widening project in Oconee, so that project may move up the priority ladder, if such a ladder still exists at GDOT.
  
• Love the idea of using sheep to kill privet in the OC. Can they kill bamboo too? If so, sign me up.
• For all my hiking/outdoorsy friends: check out this story from the Athens Banner-Herald. Trail food in the dining hall. Great idea. UGA's food services operation is ridiculously innovative (and good).
  

Stimulus, Rail, and the Fallacy of "Shovel Ready"

Pete McCommons makes the obvious link in his column today between the stimulus plan and commuter rail. Rhetoric aside, I actually agree with about 90% of Pete's column today -- I just wish a whole lot more of the stimulus bill was going towards true infrastructure projects -- the rails, sidewalks, parks, roads, etc. that he describes -- rather than social programs and other things that simply further a social agenda.

The true handicap of the stimulus bill in terms of infrastructure is that it only goes for "shovel ready" projects, which are limited in scope and impact. Why is this the case? First of all, you don't get something "shovel ready" unless there is a good chance it is going to happen quickly. It takes too much time and energy. So, while E.H. Culpepper and others have done enormous leg work the Brain Train rail project from Athens to Atlanta, it is by no means "shovel ready." Nor would a 316 upgrade be "shovel ready." However, give us a year and the promise of significant federal money, and I bet this region could have both projects ready.

The sad fact is, with today's regulatory environment, getting something "shovel ready" can take years. Should the burdens of our own state and federal environmental requirements preclude local communities from making the best use of federal infrastructure dollars?

Was Recent GDOT Election a Reason for Hope for Dems?

Interesting analysis of the recent GDOT board race by Jim Galloway. Says Galloway:

Parham’s election is significant on two levels. First, according to Porter, it creates a 7-6 split on the 13-member DOT board, giving the upper hand to those who favor legislative control of the body over those who think the governor ought to dominate.

His main conclusion: that the election of State Rep. Bobby Parham just might be the first big win state democrats have put together in a while, and could make it much tougher to eviscerate GDOT as the state's leaders plan to do.

It is an interesting theory, and adds another layer to all the drama surrounding transportation funding and planning in Georgia this year. Like my friends at Get Georgia Moving, I'm just hoping that something gets done this year. By the way, great story on the efforts of Get Georgia Moving and its efforts to keep transportation funding front and center here.

Micromanagers at the Gold Dome

Last year, it was Glenn Richardson's GREAT Plan.

This year, it is a cap on property tax increases.

And apparently, this year, we also have a bill that will tell local governments whether or not they can include residency requirements as a condition of hiring key employees.

You know, for a Republican majority, we sure have a bunch of guys in Atlanta who LOVE to spend taxpayer funded time telling local governments how to do their jobs. And it's ridiculous.

The Brunswick News rightfully calls out this waste of time and paper today (see editorial pictured). And I'm glad they found it. Our state legislators need to focus on their own problems and issues rather than trying to manage those of hundreds of local governments (I will allow that the fact that there are hundreds of local governments is part of the problem).

As I often tell my state representative and fellow local elected officials, it is a lot easier for my constituents to throw me out of office if they are dissatisfied than it is to get rid of Bob Smith or Bill Cowsert, or any other state elected official. So guys, let the voters decide -- rather than legislators in Atlanta -- how local government should be run.

Walton Co. and Social Circle Score Major Distribution Center

According to Skyline Views, Walton County is the winner in the sweepstakes for a 1.5 million square foot General Mills distribution center. Good news for our neighbor to the South, as this facility is sure to bring significant temporary and permanent jobs to the area. Get the scoop here.

The project appears to be headed for East Hightower Road, an industrial area located between idyllic downtown Social Circle and Hard Labor Creek State Park, which features some of the best swimming, fishing, golfing, camping, running trails and horseback riding areas in the region.

My Valentine's Present: Georgia Beats Florida Twice on TV

Be forewarned: I'm going way off topic here.

Last night I was watching Tivo and caught the end of the Tyson Invitational, a track meet that was held on Valentine's Day. Now those of you who aren't old friends might not know I used to be a big time runner and track and field junkie. I still record track meets and watch the events that interest me. In fact, I believe that Tivo is God's gift to televised track and field.

Anyway, as I fast forwarded through, I caught the familiar Red and Black of the Georgia Bulldogs. I tuned in and saw a remarkable performance. Georgia's Torrin Lawrence, fresh off a world leading 46.18 in the individual race, ran a 45.1 split to make up a 10 meter gap and crush Florida's Calvin Smith, a U.S. Olympian, on the anchor leg of the race. Georgia's vaunted sports information department may just need to give a little media training to that relay team, as they might be getting some more air time on TV if they keep running nation-leading times. Keep in mind that this was the same day the Dawgs beat the Gators at home in hoops. A double dose of victory to be savored.

Anyway, track and field doesn't get nearly enough coverage, and from time to time we have some remarkable track athletes at Georgia. Torrin looks to be the latest. Kudos to Chip Towers for writing a story for the AJC, and check out the You Tube video of his anchor leg below -- even if you don't like track, seeing UGA beat Florida at anything right now is a big positive. Especially in the most exciting race in track and field, the 4 x 400 meter relay (and no, the Gator track was not handicapped by competing in jean shorts).

P.S. And in a thinly-veiled effort to further "localize" this post and not just write about a favorite sport, I will report that former Oconee County pole vaulter Jordan Scott continues to re-write the record books at the University of Kansas, vaulting over 18 feet this season.

My Dad and Tom Friedman on GM: No Bailout

It's not often that my Dad and Tom Friedman focus on the same topics, but it happened this weekend. While riding to the Oconee County Landfill to haul off some brush (it's time to prune for all you gardeners out there!), Dad and I talked about the waste of trying to bailout American automakers, who have been making worse products that the competition for the better part of 30 years.

Friedman tackled the same issue and cuts to the core in his latest column.

Reading the news that General Motors and Chrysler are now lining up for another $20 billion or so in government aid — on top of the billions they’ve already received or requested — leaves me with the sick feeling that we are subsidizing the losers and for only one reason: because they claim that their funerals would cost more than keeping them on life support. Sorry, friends, but this is not the American way. Bailing out the losers is not how we got rich as a country, and it is not how we’ll get out of this crisis.

Friedman continues on to characterize GM as a wealth destruction machine, and proposes that instead of giving another $20 billion to automakers, that we invest it in companies that might actually help prepare our nation for the future. He's absolutely right, you know. Not only would the returns would be much higher, but the cathartic process for America's automakers could move ahead, and this is a positive.

Friedman's column also made me think about our state's investments in science and technology. Some of the programs we run in Georgia are easy targets for axe wielding budget writers, particularly those programs not easily understood by legislators or with long pay-off horizons. They shouldn't be.

In conversations with State Rep. Bob Smith (R - Watkinsville), he expressed that he has plans to staunchly defend any Georgia investments in research and technology. Since he is the chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education Appropriations in the House, this carries some weight. I absolutely applaud him for that.

As I told him, I think investments in higher education at all levels are critical in Georgia, and should be prioritized over most other needs in state government. We are working to fix our secondary education schools, we cannot risk damaging our higher education system through silly cuts to core programs or failing to invest in our most promising areas of research and technology.

While locally, our investments focus on agriculture, biotechnology, infectious diseases and various related disciplines, Friedman makes a strong case for investments in alternative energy, where apparently the financing has locked up along with the financial markets.

That is how taxpayer money should be used to stimulate: limited financing, for a limited time, targeted on an industry bristling with new technology start-ups that, with a little push from Uncle Sam, won’t just survive this crisis but help us thrive when it is over. We need, and the world needs, an America that is thriving not just surviving.

Wherever our dollars go, they need to go somewhere that has strong potential for moving our country forward, not keeping us tied to the hidebound, oil dependent ways of the past. Given our research expertise in Athens and statewide, Georgia can make a similar contribution by continuing to improve agricultural production and discovering new ways to fight disease and improve the lives of the world's citizens.

P.S. For all the readers who were no doubt wondering, Dad and I had a successful trip to the Oconee Landfill, where he seems to be on a first name basis with the guy who manages the scales. For a mere $5, our overstuffed family pick-up full of Crepe Myrtle and Water Oak branches was deposited and will be either buried and recycled or mulched and given away. The OC landfill is best deal in town, unless you live in the city. If you live in the city, the minimal taxes you pay to cover your trash pick up, safety, and curbside leaf and limb pick-up are the best deal in town.