Let me began my rant by saying I will be OK regardless of who is elected Governor of Alabama, because I am one of the fortunate few who has achieved inspite of the institutional racism that continues to plague this state. It is not going to effect my life one bit if the next governor is a democrat or a republican, black, white, man, woman, straight or gay, because I will survive.
I'm not worried about me and mine, I'm concerned about the least and the left out. Those who don't have access to a quality education. Those who don't have access to quality health care. Those who can't afford to buy groceries. Those who aren't informed. Those who are marginalized and minimized. By the grace of God goes I.
Ethics reform and constitutional reform are important issues to the haves' like us, but I bet you the average Alabama voter in Perry County isn't sitting around the kitchen table talking about ethics reform or the need for constitution reform. They are probably hoping they don't get sick from the toxic Coal Ash Dump, and if they do get sick how they are going to pay for their medical expenses.
Residents of a poor, predominantly black Alabama county say the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to dump toxic coal ash in a Perry County landfill amounts to environmental racism. The toxic substance is from December's massive coal ash spill in Tennessee.
A lottery to pay for college works great for the haves' like us, but what about the parents who are forced to send their children to failing public schools who will be doing good to graduate with a "certificate of attendence" much less go to college?
Seven schools in Huntsville and six in Madison County received failing marks from the Alabama Department of Education in its latest round of school assessments.
Constitution reform, banning PAC to PAC transfers and an education lottery are important, but eliminating the tax on food is more importantant to the least of these. There are a lot of people in Alabama who can't afford to eat.
In truth, the proposed bill would address a long-standing inequity in the state tax code. Alabama has by far the lowest property taxes in the country. It tries to compensate by charging some of the nation's highest sales taxes, which place an unfair burden on poor people. The lingering tax on groceries is part of this inequity.
So, until the two democratic candidates we have start articulating some solutions to the real problems facing real Alabamians, stop with the petty mudslinging and pandering to the right to the detriment of progressives and liberals, I will remain undecided on democratic primary day and stay my Donkey at home because it really won't matter which one wins. I will vote for the democrat we have in November.
Update - Last night we reported on a train derailing that was carrying coal ash from the Kingston site to the Perry County landfill. We followed up on that story and found out that it was a lot less spectacular than it sounded. Four fully load cars simply came of the tracks before they departed Kingston while switching.
We will stay posted if any new developments occur. There will be a TVA board meeting later this afternoon so I'm sure that the AP desk out of Knoxville will have a report. Our understanding is that in light of the death the cleanup at Kingston would resume today.
in an unrelated incident a truck driver delivering pipes to the site of the spill in Tenn was also killed over the weekend.
Both incidents highlight the danger involved in both the cleanup, the transport and the storage of the toxic coal ash. Will Perry County and State of Alabama officials try and stop the rest of the transport?
Sorry for this being such a short diary, but I think that both of these incidents are very important. I did not want them to just get hidden in my diary about the TVA changing "hazard ratings" that I posted yesterday. Interesting again to note the timing of the decision to self-regulate just last week.
An Iowa truck driver died Monday after being crushed by a load of pipe he was delivering to the cleanup site of a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee, authorities said.
Larry LaCroix, 55, of Fort Madison, Iowa, died at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee Valley Authority spokeswoman Barbara Martocci said.
LaCroix was injured Monday morning while unloading pipe for dredging machines at the TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant, she said.
The cleanup was temporarily halted so safety procedures could be reviewed with the hundreds of workers at the site. More than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled into a river and lakeside homes near the plant on Dec. 22.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified and TVA officials promised a full investigation.
"We need to know what happened and why, as soon as possible, so that everyone touched by this accident can make the necessary changes to prevent a recurrence," Anda Ray, TVA's top environmental executive, said in a statement.
LaCroix was releasing a hold-down strap on his flatbed trailer when the 20-inch-diameter pipe came loose and rolled on top of him, Martocci said.
LaCroix had worked for WW Transport for about seven years, a spokeswoman for the West Burlington, Iowa-based transportation company said.
Meanwhile, rail shipments of coal ash from Kingston to a landfill in Perry Co. in Alabama already had been halted by another incident. Four cars loaded with ash derailed while switching tracks at the site on Saturday. The cars remained upright and no ash was released, but 200 to 300 feet of track had to be repaired by TVA and Norfolk Southern railroad.
Martocci said some work at the site was expected to resume Tuesday and grief counselors were being made available to help workers.
The TVA sent a letter to the EPA last week announcing that it has changed several of their coal ash sites as "high hazard".
On Thursday, the utility sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency saying that "in the interest of taking a conservative, self-critical approach," it had reclassified four of its sites, Bull Run and Cumberland in Tennessee and Colbert and Widows Creek in Alabama, as "high hazard." Most of the others were reclassified as "significant" hazards, which means that dam failure would most likely result in economic loss and environmental damage.
The ranking system is not intended to measure the likelihood of failure, but the potential damage if failure occurs. The authority has hired Stantec, an engineering firm, to inspect all of the disposal sites, and has said that while many need repairs, none are in imminent danger of failure.
"We are doing and have done a lot of work at these sites, millions of dollars of work, with the intent of becoming the industry leader," Mr. Kammeyer said.
The E.P.A. list identifies disposal sites in 10 states, including 12 in North Carolina, 9 in Arizona and 7 in Kentucky.
As this news has been released, criticism of the decision to move coal ash from the spill into Perry County Alabama has intensified .
The same day that the New York Times story ran on the changed ratings, a story running on the Associated Press talks about Perry County accepting this coal ash for economic reasons.
Last week, the EPA approved a plan for the TVA to move coal ash from a spill in Kingston, Tenn to a landfill in Perry County, Alabama. Despite a number of concerns from residents, environmentalists and public officials a public hearing was never scheduled on this matter. Every two days for approximately a year 85 rail cars, containing coal ash containing heavy metals and other hazardous compounds, will trek from Eastern Tennessee through Birmingham all the way to Perry County, Alabama. This is at a minimum a 350 mile distance. While local officials contend that this will produce jobs and economic development in this poor community, others are not so sure of the long term impacts to the health and safety and even economic stability of this decision. Local residents have begun to weigh in with their concerns about the long term effects. Despite these vast objections the EPA issued this statement
Prior to approving the Arrowhead Landfill as the disposal site for the coal ash, EPA visited the landfill and met with local leaders and members of the surrounding community to review the disposal plan and answer questions.
So despite this plan being approved, it appears that this controversy is far from being over and rightfully so based on some legitimate questions about the process. Here's an interesting video clip of residents asking EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to protect them from the coal ash. Notice the diversity in the residents being interviewed.
Updated:Added a video of the Segall/Rogers debate. Josh has some great points about developing rural Alabama. It's on the flip.
"For that kind of payroll, the city fathers would tie a big red bow around City Hall and hand it over."
Addie Pray makes this droll observation in the novel, Paper Moon. Set in depression-era Alabama, it details the activities of two lovable con artists. In this instance, the pair is scamming small towns by promising to build a paper mill with a payroll of 120 people.
In some parts of Alabama - specifically Perry County and other black belt communities - it's like the Depression never ended.
Now, in 2010, the promise of greater prosperity is much worse than a paper mill. It's TVA coal ash, and the city fathers County Commission is actually excited by the possibility of accepting 15,000 tons of toxic coal ash laden with heavy metals into their county every day.
You got it right Turner rules Perry county with a racist attitude,and is a Poverty Pimp if you live in Perry and are Black he has a hold on you unless you are educated and or rich.
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