publisher1

Tundra: What specifically is your problem with commercial passenger service? I know you go into a conniption fit every time an aircraft has been outfitted with commercial seating but why? Is it the foam in the seats? The whiskey they may serve? The fact that they may have stewardesses? These aren't like trains; they don't deposit the waste out of a tube and spread it on the ground. I mean aircraft are aircraft! You say you don't have any problem with aircraft and a general aviation airport which would include, for instance, even larger planes that might carry cargo or possib

Actually, the anti-airport growth folks were shown to have missed a prime opportunity when they spurned the recommended 'compromise' I offered last November when I said that they should bargain acceptance of the status quo on the development in exchange for a requirement that the addition of more than 500-feet of runway would require funding by a publicly financed bond that required a vote by the citizens of the county. That would mean to expand the airport, you'd need a public vote. If you listen to the second speaker, he said that to have the kind of modest traffic - 26 total landings

Thank God for that too! ... Folks in the bootheel were a bunch of bootleggers. Still at 20 miles from the border, I was close enough to say 'show me.' pubby

There you go again, Surepip - jumping to conclusions that aren't in the record. I'd hate to have you on a jury because ... well, let's just say I demand a higher level of proof. I'll give you an example on the bond thing. In one former job thirty years ago, I found myself having as part of my task visiting military bases. The military required on the part of their vendors that they have liability insurance coverage about ten times the minimum that state mandatory insurance laws at the time required. I provided my company a copy of my insurance binder and they in turn, as part of thei

I can't believe you fell for that line back in 2008. It was BS then and now it is too crumbly to even be considered a sailee Gone. pubby

You're right rockysmom ... there are numerous defenses available to those providing bonds that could have been invoked to prevent their being ultimately liable for the surety they issued on these projects. Indeed, the issue of the county having standing to demand performance, as the roads in the subdivision were still in the possession of the developers at the time of the defaults and the timing of the defaults of all parties may have let all those off the hook through a restrictive statute of limitations. All I can say is that it would be instructive to know the precise reasons for defau

Blake didn't tell me anything, Tundra. Richard Grant attended the meeting and did the story. George Patton "Pat" Hughes PS: Who was it that was left off?

Blondiega1: I understand your issue on the quote function. The trick is this: You click on quote in the editor panel: If you're trying to quote a previous post ... you can clik on the quoted post and it will appear. If you want to delete portions of it ... go into the quote box and delete it. Oh, and as far as the reports of radar data from other countries reported by Malaysian officials ... I think that may be more information intended to divert the facts from the truth. Also ask why those countries (undisclosed) didn't respond to a BIG rogue plane invading the

The most under-reported aspect of this story is that it is a hijack of a plane in the home locale of the Petronas Twin Towers - buildings taller than WTC. The 777 was certainly large enough to take down one of the towers and the expectation of that kind of attack with a hijacked aircraft is etched in the minds of everyone. Personally, I think the Thai airforce escorted it out over the ocean and either escorted it to the point it crashed or shot the sucker down and just isn't telling anyone ... because it would be a PR nightmare for the tending toward dictatorship administration of the pow

Absolutely it was right. Consider if the plane was being used by the Chinese as a tool to probe Thailand's air defenses? Their readiness? You know as well as I that if that this is the first real appearance of a hijacked airliner since 911... and the understanding that it was hijacked it the most under-reported angle of this news story I can see. We all know that these aircraft, when hijacked, can be turned into a flying bomb capable of taking down a building. You do know that amongst the world's tallest buildings are Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur ... the origin of this flig

Now Stradial: We're dealing with semantics. I'm saying the state of Georgia has no laws providing for the technial classification of information as secret. Confidential and restricted information, yes, but secret, top secret etc. ... there is no such state classification regime that I'm aware of. The underlying information in this case, however, does involve legally confidential information. This is legal and allowable under current state laws providing confidentiality in the recruitment of business and industry. There was confidentiality in relation to the original meetings an

We always take people at their word. Having done county beats over half the continent Stradial ... I've seen more than my fair share of politicians. Some are looking out for themselves and others actually try to do their jobs. I'd turn on David and those folks if I had the slightest idea that he was dealing himself into the deal. I haven't had the first hint. As far as Blake blowing off Todd ... hey, I understand; Blake blows me off too He's a "BS'er" and a bit on the arrogant side but hey, I ascribe it to his personality. I can say that as a post commissioner, Todd

The people you tried to defeat in the election the summer before (July 2012 was the primary; the first contact with Brett Smith was late July 2012). I know voters (and you Stradial) have short memories but even if you did, you'd understand that the divisions and distrust were at high tide when the first contact on the expansion of the airport was made. Oh, and you do know that the retreat was a retreat of the IBA/AA, not the BOC ... Other people were invited but it was not a BOC retreat. pubby

Whitey: Missed this part: To borrow from Ronald Reagan again ... There you go again, Whitey ... First it was commercial passenger traffic at all, then it was 300,000 passengers a year, then 1 million and now 2 million a year ... which is almost double what the pros in Atlanta figured would come through Atlanta's second airport after spending $3 billion ... If we can do that for a mere $48 million, think how much efficient (and more money) we'd generate than them. thanks ... that was my point. There is no secrecy, there was at most some semblence of confidentia

I'm not voting on Obamacare as a post commissioner. If you knew how 'frugal' I am, you'd also understand that I'm more about making the money we have go further than concentrating on collecting more. I don't complain about taxes but I don't like paying them anymore than anyone else. Again, Satellite ... you make my point. Being diverted by the "FBO" line is exactly what I'm talking about. ... Todd said he attended the meeting, saw the passage of that terminal lease in the closing minutes after the executive session and said he asked Blake about it ... and the FBO line was Bla

I think your last line deserves special recognition, LPPT ... as the understatement of the year. Speaking of understatement, I understand that Todd Pownall did ask Blake Swafford about Silver Comet Partners back in November 2012 when the lease was signed and reported to the public. Todd Pownall said that Swafford told him it was something to do with the FBO situation that was an undercurrent at the airport at the time (apparently there were some issues that were not publicized.) That statement might be the understatement of the year 2012 but that Todd accepted it with out additio

Actually I thought I had responded to Rockster on the Movie Studio project. I appreciate you folks thinking I have some sort of omniscent powers of perception - I am pretty perceptive - but that doesn't mean that I have any inside knowledge. No one has spoken to me about the studio in months and frankly, I'm disappointed that it is not getting more traction in the industry. I'd like to know more about why the projects that have been pitched have fallen through. Without that kind of information it is difficult to make a judgment. Is it, as some have suggested, just too close to t

Whitey: No, they were going to have to do most of those things (water extension, water tank, sewerage, fire station) to make it attractive for industrial development. That those attributes also makes it attractive for commercial passenger airline traffic is just the fact. These things were in the works long before the effort to entice Brett Smith and Propeller to the site. The widening of the taxiway would enhance the value of the airport could have been delayed a bit longer probably but its presence adds value to the airport for industrial development. Where you're missing the

Tundra: The whole board voted to do the agreement. They have the authority, established by law, to do exactly what they did. Since you are not a party to the suit, your authority is limited to complaining about it. Those who sued, had the standing to file suit and challenge the authority and did so. George Patton "Pat" Hughes (aka: pubby)

I see, the fact that it has four interstate highways, numerous federal highways, numerous state roads and experienced a dramatic change in demographics since 1980 is due simply to the airport. That change didn't happen until the City of Atlanta expanded dramatically the airport, destroying some neighborhoods. I remember the Interstate's were still under construction in the early 1980s and the fact that the Interstate Highways opened up suburban development further away from Atlanta on the south side had no impact on the issue. It was all, 100 percent the airport. Heck it didn't have anythi

The threat to the proponents posed by the suits is simply based on the time value of money ... you know as in "Time is money." And FYI: the FAA in making its determination on the work associated with the project did not bar completion of the work on the widening of the runway. I think the big environmental question was whether the land disturbance surrounding the construction of the fire station but probably even moreso, the required fencing of the airport's impact on the wildlife surrounding the airport were issues that need to be clarified. The airport represents an investment of $4

I'll point out that every revenue bond issue let by the IBA or PCAA, to have the full backing of the county must have approval by the sitting commission. You also have to take this in the context of reason. For instance the IBA is not going to let bonds for the construction of a 21st century tower of Babel - you know a two-trillion dollar facility that is a stairway to heaven or some such. We're talking, at least in the context of today, about the airport and lets say the Movie Studio. My position on the airport is that any extension of runway lenght greater than 500-feet in any f

Danamb79: You are perceptive. I would ask regarding the 'boom' ... was it followed by the sound of sirens and emergency personnel? pubby PS: If there are tunnels being built to the airport is this another Big Project our current post commissioner is totally unaware of? I'm not big on making promises, but If elected commissioner for Post 2, I promise that no one will be building any tunnels to the airport, to the Frog, to any of the quarries that are in the district and especially to any Draketown bars. There will be no more tunnel building in Post 2!

I see what you said. I did misinterpret the nature of it. I think that 'forgiveness thing' certainly informed their decision to do it the way they do but I really don't think they did it because it makes the system prone to abuse. Maybe some of those who encouraged it - possibly elected but more likely not - had that in mind but I prefer not to think the worst about people. It makes appealing to their better instincts more difficult. And recognize that the rough and tumble, back-stabbing, you're a wus if you don't call your opponent or this or that a scum sucker or the devil incarnat

Hell Whitey, I haven't changed my position. It just when you see a snail, I see an escargot. pubby