All I know is Peterson-Buie seemed confused when asked for a legal ruling during last night’s DDO debate and had to be straightened out on Robert’s Rules of Order by council member Trudy Wade.

OK, I understand that the guidelines are voluntary, which doesn’t necessarily please some out there who want the guidelines “mandatory and non-negotiable.”

But a couple of things jumped out me during the discussion. First of all, one of the overlay supporters noted that when a property owner comes before the council for a rezoning, the council will be able to take into consideration whether or not they have adopted or plan to adopt the guidelines. Anybody want to guess how the council would vote if the property owner did not adhere to the guidelines?

Council member Zack Matheny made mention of the Guilford County Schools administration building on the corner of Fisher and Eugene, property which the city has targeted for redevelopment. There is little doubt developers of that property will be under pressure to follow the design guidelines.

Perkins noted that the downtown greenway will run along Fisher Avenue past the properties in question. Evidently Perkins believes all property running along the $26 million strip of asphalt should be nice and purty. This is yet another example of making a greenway more than it is, except in this case it will truly have an impact on private developers.

The investigation stems from allegations made in early May that a teacher at an unidentified school took indecent liberties with students. Although school administrators reported the allegations to Davis, those allegations apparently were not passed on to law-enforcement officials.

“There was a determination not to do that,” Donny Lambeth, the chairman of the school board said after a three-hour closed meeting. “We believe it was bad judgment, as we have seen the allegations by the students.”

Davis was suspended with pay. Note also it does not appear that the Winston-Salem Journal is allowing comments on this morning’s story. Emotions run high when the schools are involved.

Forsyth District Attorney Jim O’Neill is also considering criminal charges that include obstruction of justice and failure to comply with state law requiring timely reporting of potential criminal violations.

Former DA Tom Keith says “prosecutors for years have had difficulty getting information from school officials on incidents involving sexual misconduct,” adding the system conducts their own investigations and decides whether or not to turn information over to prosecutors.

The WSFCS board will hold a special meeting tonight. Stay tuned.

We know the N&R loves the new A&Y greenway ——remember how pissed off they got when some ‘moron’ defaced the Cone Blvd. tunnel. For his part, Johnson does a heck of a job selling it:

There’s so much to like about the greenway:

*Long stretches of shade-covered paths that make afternoon runs more bearable.

*Chances for casual strolling strollers to stop at, say, Herbie’s Diner for breakfast, or Starbuck’s for a cup of coffee along the way.

*Withered vines that grip chainlink fences behind Lawndale Crossing like gnarled fingers reaching from the underbrush.

*An occasional curiosity, such as a tree stump tangled in an overhead power line.

There were a few more, but you get the idea. All this I had to see and experience, so this morning I hopped on my trusty Serotta mountain bike and hopped on the greenway behind Target. OK, the Cone Boulevard is kind of cool, but I’d hardly describe as the ‘work of art’ it’s made out to be. Basically the greenway is what it is —-an asphalt pathway running behind Battleground Avenue, one of Greensboro’s busiest commercial districts. If the back of restaurants and retail stores is your idea of scenery, then you’ll love it. (In fairness, Johnson points out that businesses keep things “surprisingly tidy,” and they do.)

It’s also a perfect example of government and the mainstream media overselling —at inflated cost, mind you —- yet another fad that’s supposed to solve a bunch of society’s ills all at one time.

Watchdog groups such as the Anti-Defamation League have said they do not believe Appleseed is an extremist group. But some have raised concerns about participants with such views.

“On the surface, their giving people an opportunity to shoot is not something we think, in the broadest way, is a problem,” said Bill Nigut, southeast regional director of ADL.

“But the first thing they do is have participants sit through a lecture about the Revolutionary War and the colonists who formed a militia who won the Revolution, and that clearly makes us uncomfortable.”

Heaven forbid there will ever be a congressman —or even a president —–that’s been through the Appleseed program.

Commission chair Skip Alston warns citizens of the inevitable:

Alston said some sort of property tax increase may be inevitable. Even if the quarter-cent sales tax increase is approved, it will bring in an estimated $11.6 million a year.
Voters must decide whether they want to pay for the increased debt themselves through higher property taxes or take the edge of that increase with the higher sales tax.

Alston added he’s “working to form a citizens’ group to promote” the sales tax hike. That will be fun —and painful —-to watch.

With a three-minute meeting at Baptist Medical Center so Commissioner Beaufort Bailey could vote ‘yes.’

I wish Commissioner Bailey well, but you really have to wonder what is so urgent about a library bond given the state of a mortgaged-to-the hilt economy.

At any rate, Hardin weighs in on declining attendance at New Bridge Bank Park, Greensboro’s downtown minor league baseball stadium. I watched the Hoppers get slapped around by the Savannah Sand Gnats last night before a very sparse crowd. Surely tonight’s home finale —–also a Thirsty Thursday —– will draw crowd.

I couldn’t help but notice that the N&R lets out one last cheer before the season wraps:

Even in the best of times, many experts dismiss sports stadiums as drivers of development. “Scholarly evidence would dispute the claim that professional sports contribute much to local economies at the minor league or major league level,” concludes a Brookings Institution study, “Sports, Jobs &Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums.”

Generally speaking, that assessment is probably right.

But it’s harder to quantify inspiration. Developers, including the builder of the Center Pointe tower, Roy Carroll, have cited the ballpark’s presence as a reason they invested in major downtown projects. The notion for the stalled Bellemeade Village development on the old North State Chevrolet site also was sparked by the construction of the stadium.

Meanwhile, the Winston-Salem Dash averages 4500 per game for a season total of just under 300,000 in their new taxpayer-financed downtown stadium.

Last week, Guilford County commissioners held a special last-minute meeting to put a quarter-cent sales tax hike on the November ballot.

If you think that’s dramatic, check this out: Forsyth County commissioners will hold a special meeting at Baptist Medical Center so Commissioner Beaufort Bailey —- still recovering from surgery for an intestinal blockage —- can cast a vote to put a $40 million library bond on the ballot.

As commenter ‘Rednek’ points out, commissioners aren’t going to such extremes so Bailey can vote ‘no.’