Re: The greenway deception

Guarino’s all over the Greensboro Partnership’s ‘greenway deception.’ Bubba nails it when he asks ‘why are we surprised’ that the Partnership would estimate that properties along the greenway would increase in value 10-20 times their current value when they’re constantly pushing greenways as the cure for pretty much all of society’s ills?

Note that the properties on the list have are the sites of big projects that have never materialized, an indication that the Partnership is indulging in the typical ‘build it and they will come’ mentality.

Turns out JLF has studied greenways and has found no evidence that greenways increase property values. I realize the study focuses on greenways running through the backyards of single-family homes, but is it a stretch to draw the same conclusions from the properties on the Partnership’s list?

Oak Hill goes under the knife

The Guilford County Board of Education last night voted unanimously to force all employees at Oak Hill Elementary to reapply for their jobs. The action makes Oak Hill eligible for a $2 million federal grant that would fund improvements. Yeah right.

Interestingly, Oak Hill principal Sara Roberts’ name was not mentioned in this morning’s N&R article, but one would assume that she will be removed, since that supposedly was part of the overhaul.

Bowles’ cure for cancer

Donna Martinez down at sister blog Right Angles notes the irony of Erskine Bowles’ comment that the ever-increasing national debt is “just like a cancer” right after fellow Democrats piled on with their healthcare “reform” law.

Speculation among several talking heads is the deficit reduction commission —headed by Bowles and and former Sen. Alan Simpson will recommend a value-added tax (VAT.)