North Carolina buys a rock!

North Carolina is spending $24 million to buy a rock! The Chimney Rock landmark, long a destination for mountain sightseers, will be purchased to become part of the new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park and preserve the location. After years of negotiations the state could not get the family that owned the site to agree to the state's price but after the family placed it up for sale for $55 million the state was able to buy it after including a contribution from a third party with state funds.

The following is an exerpt from the News and Observer article...

The Associated Press - News and Observer

RALEIGH -- The state will spend $24 million to buy privately owned Chimney Rock Park, a landmark in western North Carolina that has served as the setting for several major motion pictures, Gov. Mike Easley said today.

"Chimney Rock is one of the most visible images of our state's landscape and giving it an honored place in our state parks system is a conservation success story for all North Carolinians," Easley said.

The state parks system had long been in negotiations with the family that owns the 1,000-acre property in Rutherford County. In July, the owners turned down a state offer of $20 million, then listed the property with Sotheby's for $55 million.

Today's deal was helped by a private donation of $2.35 million, said Charlie Peek, spokesman for the state Division of Parks and Recreation.

The property -- much of which is untouched by humans -- will be used to augment the state's new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park, newly created in one of North Carolina's most biologically diverse areas, Peek said. Read the complete article...

NC Taxpayer dollars at work

A January 27, 2007 News and Observer article provides an interesting insight of some of the outrageous shenanigans that take place in state political circles at taxpayer expense.

Ann Lassiter, an Apex resident, was given a made-up job as house Historian with the state to allow her to do research allegedly about the history of North Carolina and work for nearly two years and be paid some $80,000 from your tax dollars. She had no experience as a historian and according to the article the 23 page report just released is essentially worthless and full of inaccuracies. It was released to the public domain by the new NC House Speaker Joe Hackney over the recommendation to not release it by Jim Black, the former Speaker (Black created the job for Mrs. Lassiter).

Wouldn't it be nice if those of us that don't have jobs could get these plum state jobs that legislators hand out to "friends"? Many such jobs are never advertised so the public cannot compete for them and many are created at the whim of privileged legislators. Surely if these jobs are legitimate and needed this could help provide employment for citizens needing work and could actually lead to good research and release of useful publications that both the legislators and citizens could use.

Read the complete news article and the published report.

News and Observer
January 27, 2007
Dan Kane and David Ingram, Staff Writers, News and Observer

Historian spent 20 months on 23 pages

NC Speaker Joe Hackney released the work commissioned by his predecessor, Jim Black.

After being paid roughly $80,000 for 20 months of work, state House Historian Ann Lassiter produced one completed report -- a 23-page history of the speaker's office that is filled with grammatical errors and makes factual blunders.

The man who commissioned it, former House Speaker Jim Black, declined to release it because he thought it was so poorly done. His successor, House Speaker Joe Hackney, decided Friday that it should be made public. Hackney also released four draft documents Lassiter produced that range from two to 19 pages. They were supposed to be part of a more comprehensive history of the House.

"It looked like it was a product produced with public money and its only possible use, if any, is for the public to read," said Hackney, an Orange County Democrat. "So there you have it." Read more...

Free wireless internet access?

Free wireless access? Some communities are paving the way to let internet users have free access. An interesting idea that may help bring internet access to many that would not otherwise be able to make the connection. Perhaps North Carolina cities and communities should consider this to help state citizens have access to information that could help them have a better life.

The following January 2007 article is about what San Francisco is doing...

Free wireless access in S.F. a step closer
Google, Earthlink sign pact with city to operate network

Saturday, January 6, 2007
Verne Kopytoff, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer - Saturday, January 6, 2007

Mayor Gavin Newsom's high-profile plan to blanket San Francisco with free wireless Internet access moved a step closer to reality Friday, when the city signed a contract with EarthLink and Google to install and operate the system.

The agreement, reached after seven months of negotiations, puts into print an initiative that has generated worldwide attention for both its ambition and for Google's celebrity. It also opens the project's next chapter -- a vote by the Board of Supervisors -- which promises ample debate over issues of ownership and revenue that could delay or derail the plan.

"This agreement to bring free universal wireless Internet access to San Francisco is a critical step in bridging the digital divide that separates too many communities from the enormous benefits of technology," Newsom said in a statement. "Ubiquitous Wi-Fi will change how residents access education, social services and economic opportunities."

As part of the contract, Google, the Web search giant based in Mountain View, would offer free Internet service at 300 kilobits per second, a speed slower than what broadband access provides but fast enough for a user to surf the Web and send e-mail.

EarthLink, the Internet service provider, would own the network and offer a faster service, at 1 megabit per second, for $21.95 per month.

A city panel selected the two companies for the Wi-Fi project in April over five other bidders. Shortly thereafter, the city opened negotiations, which have gone on longer than originally expected and prompted Chris Sacca, who leads Google's special projects, to voice frustration recently at what he called the slow progress.

Over the term of the four-year contract, EarthLink would pay the city a little over $1 million, according to city estimates. That would include $600,000 in guaranteed payments for the city's right of way, $40,000 annually to place antennas on light poles, and 5 percent of all revenue generated from subscriptions, which would be used by the city to buy computers and pay for training for community groups.

The agreement also establishes a minimum standard for privacy and rules for sharing personal data with third parties. Users who don't want EarthLink to track their location based on where they access its network would have to opt out.

Several city supervisors have raised questions about the city's dealings with the EarthLink-Google team and have suggested that residents might be better off with a publicly owned Wi-Fi system. Hearings are likely on the matter.

Jake McGoldrick, a supervisor who represents the Richmond District, criticized the contract, calling the amount the companies must pay the city a pittance. He said the Internet giants should pay more, including Google, whose annual profits are more than $1 billion. Google also plans to make more revenue by offering online advertising on the free San Francisco service.

"They might as well give it away for nothing," McGoldrick said of the fees the companies are expected to pay. "That's not even peanut shells."

In addition to the supervisors, EarthLink and Google must get approval from the Public Utilities Commission and must obtain permits from various departments. The contact can be extended three times, four years each.

There was no word on when the Wi-Fi system will be up and running. Past predictions by the city have come and gone without any progress.

As part of the agreement, EarthLink will set up a test before deploying its Wi-Fi citywide shortly after the deal is approved by the supervisors. The entire network is expected to take less than a year to complete.

Chronicle staff writers Ryan Kim and Charlie Goodyear contributed to this report. E-mail Verne Kopytoff at vkopytoff@sfchronicle.com.

URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/06/MNGOMNE4RM1.DTL


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