G’boro bid for CFS II?

Reports in the Winston-Salem Journal stated that Greensboro and High Point could compete with W-S for CFS II, and today the N&R reports the G’boro City Council is prepping its bid:

“We really need to send a message to this company and any company that is coming here that we really want them,” Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan said. “I think we have to be extremely aggressive in going after new business.”

…“They are reasonably skilled jobs at a fairly good compensation level,” Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann said. “They’re not at a $60,000 to $65,000 level, but we can’t turn our noses up at jobs that will pay a reasonable wage to that number of people in this city.”

…Hoffmann and Councilman Zack Matheny said The High Point City Council offered $500 per job. They suggested that Greensboro would offer more incentives to bring the business here.

Matheny said the council wants to be “aggressive” to attract this new business.

“Two thousand jobs is a game changer,” he said.

I guess the question is whether or not the city wants to offer up incentives for a company doing the bidding for evil credit card companies.

Spring Garden fatal firestarter seeks clemency

I had a feeling this day would come when Janet Danahey pleaded guilty to to first-degree murder for the fatal fire she started 10 years ago, which resulted in a life sentence with no parole.

Now we learn she’s seeking clemency from Gov. Bev Perdue. Lots going on here, including the statement from her attorney at the time saying there was no offer of a plea bargain:

Attorney Jim Kimel, who represented Danahey at the time, saw no way around the felony murder rule.

“The way I looked at it, we weren’t going to get instructed on a lesser charge,” Kimel said. “She was charged with first-degree murder and the sentence for that is life without parole. This was the best she was going to do. It’s what I thought and what she thought. It’s one of the hardest days I’ve ever had as a lawyer.”

Kimel hopes the petition succeeds.

“She’s made a good record for herself in prison, and I feel that if anybody is worthy of clemency, it’s Janet Danahey,” Kimel said.

Another factor is the favorable political climate, considering the fact that Perdue is not seeking reelection. Last but not least is the fact that “Greensboro leaders Jim Melvin, Mike Weaver and Doug Galyon were also among 36 people listed on the petition” for clemency. Question — what is it to them whether or not Janet Danahey spends the rest of her life jail for starting a fire that killed four innocent people?