Author: Scott D. Yost

The Guilford Native American Association will hold its 47th annual “Pow Wow” from Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 22 at Country Park in Greensboro. 

You can set your iPhone or other GPS device to 3802 Jaycee Park Dr. to find the fun.

Daily admission for children ages 6 and under is free; however, it’s $7 for children ages 7 thru 12 – as well as for adults 61 and up – and it’s $10 for everyone else, though there are discounted multi-day passes available….

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, the suspect who was arrested for his alleged assassination attempt of presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday afternoon, is from Greensboro; and, according to sources who used to work for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, Routh has been considered a dangerous threat to the public and to law enforcement officers for over two decades.

Yet, on Sunday, Sept. 15, he was a free man in Florida with an assault rifle who got close enough to Trump to potentially shoot him while hiding behind some bushes on one of Trump’s Florida golf courses….

The Democratic-majority NC State Board of Elections and the Republican-majority NC Supreme Court went to war over whether or not former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should be allowed to remove his name from the ballot in the upcoming election – and the losers of that battle are the 100 county elections departments across North Carolina and the employees who work in those departments.

Ever since the United States of America began having presidential elections in 1789, every so often the citizens have called the election “the most important election in the history of the country.”  Although that phrase has been used many times in the last 235 years, this year, the 2024 November general election almost certainly really is the most important in the history of the country.

And North Carolina, it has turned out, has become absolutely central in determining the outcome of that race.  In fact, NC Governor Roy Cooper said publicly many times this week that, if Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris wins the state, she will win the election…

The City of Greensboro has just released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the sale and redevelopment of the property at 817 Summit Ave. – which was formerly known as Summit Executive Center.

Anyone interested in the project has until the day before Halloween to send in their proposal…

An attempted robbery of an armored vehicle carrying valuables that leaves a man dead sounds more like something that would happen in a movie than something that would occur in the small town of Whitsett, North Carolina; however, that is what happened as some people of the small town looked on.

But it gets more bizarre: According to the Greensboro News and Record, the alleged robber who was shot and killed was awaiting trial for another similar charge – planning a previous armed vehicle robbery…

If you want to meet the Republican candidates for Guilford County and statewide offices in the upcoming election and discuss issues with them or just say hello and make small talk, the Guilford County Republican Party has created a highly efficient way for you to do that. ..

Greensboro and Guilford County have been seeing a tremendous amount of economic development success lately, but sometimes a business coming to a city means more than just more jobs and monetary investment.

 And that’s the case with Top Golf, which is celebrating its grand opening in Greensboro this weekend…

For years, Guilford County Manager Mike Halford and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners have been working to raise the pay for county employees to the point where those employees would be making the 50th percentile of workers in other counties across the state in similar positions. Halford has constantly contended that Guilford County employees are underpaid and he wanted to see them being paid at least at the midpoint of the state’s pay scale relative to other county employees in like situations and positions.

In the 2024-2025 fiscal county budget adopted in June, the Board of Commissioners completed that effort across departments with one exception…

Guilford County Parks, as it does each year, is presenting “The Big Pick” at the Guilford County Farm to benefit local food banks.
Parks Department officials are inviting volunteers to come out and join “The Big Pick” – the annual grape-harvesting event at what used to be the Guilford County Prison Farm, but is now just the county farm.
Set your GPS to 7315 Howerton Road in Gibsonville.
Jail inmates used to pick the grapes – and make “Jailhouse Jam” out of it – however, since it’s no longer a prison farm, now each year volunteers come out and pick the grapes for a good cause.
This year’s big grape-picking event will take place on two Saturdays – September 28 and October 5 – from 9 a.m. to noon, offering a chance for people of all ages to come out and support local food banks and shelters.
Last year, more than 150 volunteers came out to help and, collectively, they harvested more than 2,000 pounds of muscadine grapes.
This year, Guilford County Parks staff hope to collect even more to feed the hungry.
“This annual event is a highlight for the community, where people come together to enjoy a day of service. Volunteers will have the unique experience of picking grapes directly from the farm’s vineyards. All harvested grapes are then donated to local food banks, shelters, and community kitchens, helping to provide fresh produce to those who need it most,” stated John Gladstone, Park Supervisor for Guilford County.
Newcomers are welcome: “No prior experience is needed to participate,” the county’s invite notes.
Volunteers should dress comfortably for outdoor activities and wear closed-toe shoes. Sunscreen and hats are also recommended in order to stay safe and comfortable while working outdoors.
You can register for “The Big Pick,” at https://bit.ly/BigPickFarm.
After October 5, the public will have the opportunity to pick grapes from the vineyard for personal use. You can follow Guilford County Parks on social media @guilfordcountyparks for the latest updates and more information….

It’s been six years since a case of measles was discovered in the state, but a new one has just occurred and now state health officials are asking everyone to make sure they are vaccinated against the disease.

On Monday, Sept. 9, the  North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) announced a confirmed case of measles – also known as rubeola – in a child in Mecklenburg County….

It’s the nature of law enforcement work that officers never quite know what to expect when they go out on a call. That was certainly the case over the weekend when Guilford County sheriff’s deputies got a call and drove out to quiet a loud party disturbing the peace in the middle of the night.

They received a very serious update while on the way: Someone reported that there had been a shooting at the party…

The last time Vice President Kamala Harris came to Greensboro she spoke at Dudley High School and she did so on behalf of then Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. However, on Sunday, July 21, Biden dropped out of the race, and, by the next day, it was clear Harris would be the new contender.

 Now Harris is returning to Greensboro – and other parts of North Carolina – on Thursday, Sept. 12, in an effort to tip the scales to her side in what is now a battleground state….

The Guilford County Board of Elections Office is one of the hardest working departments in Guilford County government, and, for the last few weeks, elections staff has been working like dogs to prepare ballots and send them out, which they were set to do on Friday, Sept. 6.  However, the NC Court of Appeals slammed the breaks on that fast-moving train right before ballots were to be sent out. 

Now all the work, time and money that’s gone into that effort may have been for nothing…

The City of Greensboro’s Communications and Marketing Department does what it can to get the word out about city programs, events, program benefits and news – but one problem in getting the word out about such things is that there are quite a few county residents who don’t speak English or don’t speak it well.

 That’s why the city has just added its first Spanish-language podcast – “Talk City Greensboro En Español” – to its list of informational programs….

According to the Guilford County Division of Public Health, every day, about 12 people in North Carolina die from a drug overdose. Guilford County has introduced a multitude of programs to address the problem – and much of the money funding those programs comes from federal American Rescue Act Plan funds and from the national multi-billion dollar lawsuit settlement of the suit that local governments brought against opioid makers and distributors.

As part of the effort to battle drug abuse and reduce overdoses, coinciding with National Recovery Month, Guilford County’s Public Health’s Drug and Injury Prevention Program will host a free Naloxone and Overdose Awareness Training event on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m…

“This has never happened before,” Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said on Friday, Sept. 6. 

He was speaking about the first-ever massive collective effort by Black political action committees in North Carolina to work together in a very aggressive grassroots campaign to elect a slate of candidates that those black PACs across the state have endorsed collectively. 

Two top priorities of the group are to see that Kamala Harris is elected president and Josh Stein becomes the next governor of the state of North Carolina….

On October 8, 2020, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office reported that, just before 8 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a call regarding a possible assault victim on the 3600 block of Cannan Forest Road in Greensboro,

Upon arriving at the scene, deputies found a male victim who was deceased from “obvious traumatic injuries to indicate he was the victim of a homicide.”…

It came four months later than many wanted, and at a county commissioners’ work session that ran way overtime on Thursday, Sept 5; however, in the end, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners arrived at an agreement that will significantly up the pay of patrol officers and detention officers in the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.

The board unanimously agreed to a plan that would, starting with the county’s first pay period in October, raise the salaries of deputies and detention officers to the 60th percentile of what other counties pay across the state for those jobs…

In a USA Today Readers’ Choice Poll, readers have nominated Piedmont Triad International Airport as one of the 20 Best Small Airports in the country, and, while that’s a nice honor, PTI airport officials want to be known as the flat-out number 1 best in the country.

 And PTI staff have come up with a plan to make that happen: They’re asking everyone in the community to go online and vote PTI as the best small airport….

People who live in, work in, or just frequent South Greensboro are being invited by City of Greensboro staff to get involved with the formation of the brand new South Greensboro Plan.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., city staff will conduct South Greensboro’s “Vision Workshop” at TMSA Triad Elementary School at 600 Industrial Ave….

Guilford County’s business community likes it when a new business comes to the area but business leaders also enjoy it quite a bit when an existing company in the area has a large expansion. 

That’s the situation for Banknote Corporation of America, which has chosen northeast Guilford County for its large expansion that will create 50 new jobs and bring a new investment of $28 million to the county. The 20,000-square-foot expansion will take place off of 6109 Corporate Park Drive….

There are a whole lot of benefits government employees get that private sector employees don’t – but those benefits don’t usually include free drinks at exclusive parties. 

However, for all of you who chose to work in the private sector, or, say, run a newspaper, there’s a new benefit to be jealous of: An exclusive party with a DJ, adult beverages and fun activities for government employees and their families.

The City of Greensboro and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce are jointly hosting a first for the area – a “Public Service Appreciation Night” on Friday, Sept. 6, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cadillac Service Garage event space at 304 E. Market St. in Greensboro…

Guilford County government puts out press releases all the time; however, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston almost never does. But, over the Labor Day Weekend, Alston did send one out – one regarding the Black vote in the state in the upcoming election.

“In an unprecedented action,” the release states, “several of the largest and most influential African-American political action committees (PACs) in North Carolina will jointly announce support for candidates in the upcoming 2024 elections, including the races for President of the United States, Governor of North Carolina, and other statewide offices. The announcement will take place at a news conference in Raleigh, NC Wednesday, September 4th at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Legislative building located at 16 W. Jones St.”..

Guilford County has been without a public relations director for almost all of 2024; however, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, the county announced that the position finally has a new occupant. Linda McElroy, who has more than two decades of experience in communications and marketing, will be the county’s new communications and public relations director…

If you’re planning to visit downtown Greensboro from Friday, Sept. 6 to Sunday, Sept. 8, you can expect a lot of commotion, great music and street closures. That’s because many streets and parking areas in downtown will be closed for the 10th Anniversary of the North Carolina Folk Festival, which once again, this year, will bring a lot of terrific music and other attractions to the city’s center…

The High Point Theater is a very active institution and one that’s in the center circle of cultural activities for the county’s second-largest city.

Now, that important institution has a new director calling the shots.

On Friday, August 30, High Point City Manager Tasha Logan Ford announced that Dr. Dan Barnard has been appointed the High Point Theatre director.  …

Roy Carroll, the former owner of the Rhino Times, has just announced some extremely big plans to enhance a large swath of downtown Greensboro.

The new multi-use development – “Carroll at Parkside” – will be built at the intersection of Eugene and Bellemeade and will feature a nine-story AC Marriot hotel with 159 rooms.

When Carroll makes a real estate move, it’s usually a big one – and the coming Carroll at Parkside will include a stylish lobby bar as well as a rooftop restaurant – “The Bristol.”…

Sometime soon after the Fourth of July, if you own property in Guilford County, you no doubt received an official-looking letter from the Guilford County Tax Department reminding you that you owe the county thousands of dollars to help pay for all the wonderful services the county provides.

In addition, to encourage you to send the money in right away, the county will give you a 1 percent discount on that bill if you pay early.  Guilford County Tax Director Ben Chavis likes to see as much of that money as possible come in by the end of the summer, and collection rates indicate that that 1 percent discount really does entice a lot of property owners in Guilford County…

Time flies.

It seems like only yesterday that Joe Biden was running for president, an assassin tried to shoot Donald Trump, and Robert Kennedy Jr. was running for president as an independent and solving an eight-year-old mystery of a dead bear carcass found next to a bicycle in Central Park…

NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler isn’t usually involved in national defense matters, but necessity makes strange bedfellows and recently those bedfellows were the US military, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the NC National Guard, and leaders from the African Republics of Malawi and Zambia.

Those countries have been very challenged in recent years by drought and other agricultural hurdles.

A delegation of about 50 government leaders visited the university to learn some of the latest agricultural techniques and strategies – but the visit had a secondary mission as well: to strengthen civilian and military ties between the US and the African nations it considers to be military partners…

North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, and current Republican gubernatorial candidate, was on a whirlwind restaurant tour of the Triad this week with stops in and near his home turf of Guilford County – shaking hands, meeting diners, posing for selfies, and doing all the other things that politicians do when they’re trying to win an election.   

But recent polls conducted by High Point University, Elon University, and other polls by national news outlets and polling organizations suggest Robinson has some catching up to do if he is indeed going to win the governor’s seat….

The City of Greensboro has big plans for improving the 2.3-mile stretch of Randleman Road between I-40 and I-85 and other sections of the road – by making a vast number of changes.

And, if you want to offer your input on the best ways to upgrade the corridor, you have two final chances to do so….

Three cases of rabies found in animals in Guilford County in one week is rare if not unheard of – but that’s what’s happened this year, and the rapidity of cases is raising some alarm among public health officials since animal rabies can be transmitted to humans, and it’s a very unpleasant disease to get.

In fact, it still kills tens of thousands of people worldwide each year…

Last week, there was an extremely interesting announcement made by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce: PartnerHero – a consulting firm that provides businesses with outsourced services – is locating in Greensboro and plans to hire 200 people and invest nearly $7 million in a new operation at 7900 McCloud Road.

Now, these types of multimillion-dollar economic development wins for the area, with hundreds of new jobs, are quite commonplace in Greensboro and Guilford County these days, but this case is extremely unusual.

Can you guess why?…

A Greensboro businessman once, when asked by the Rhino Times “How’s Business?” responded, “Oh, business is very good!” and then he added, “Business is always good.”  

When questioned about that last statement, he said that, if you were a businessman, and somebody asks you “How’s business?” you’re always supposed to say excitedly, “Oh, business is very good!” – no matter how business actually is….

One might say that High Point University is growing like weeds; however, weeds are very unattractive and High Point University is anything but that. 

Still, the concept of very rapid growth is quite applicable: The university has been growing at a staggering rate over the years in terms of programs added, student body enrollment, impact on the community, and the number of buildings – you name it…

The City of Greensboro Planning Department’s latest quarterly GSO2040 Comprehensive Plan report on the progress toward reaching its goals is now up on the web for anyone who would like to see it.

Many area local governments are currently working on strategic and comprehensive plans meant to guide them well into the future. Sometimes those plans are implemented and, sometimes, they just sit on a shelf and gather dust.  The City of Greensboro, in order to help avoid that latter outcome is providing frequent updates on the implementation of the plan that reaches a decade and a half into Greensboro’s future…

Greensboro, High Point, Guilford County and many other areas across the state have a noted shortage of affordable housing, and, while that affects just about everyone, it has an especially dramatic effect on people with disabilities.  However, a new housing program developed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) is looking to help solve that problem….

Guilford County is becoming a state leader in drawing business to the area, but it’s also, in recent years, becoming known for something else not quite as positive.

In the State of North Carolina’s final numbers for rabies cases in animals for the year 2022, for instance, Guilford County had a lot more than its fair share of rabid animals.

This year it looks like the problem will be even worse…

Like Guilford County government, the City of High Point and Guilford County Schools, whenever there’s a large construction project, the City of Greensboro wants to use as many Minority- and Women-Business Enterprises (MWBE) as possible.  

That means that, currently, city staff is actively seeking out those businesses to take part in the Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex…

Downtown Greensboro has taken some public relations hits in recent years due to shootings in the streets, noise issues, pervasive panhandling, problems created by a large homeless population, a lack of parking in key spots and other concerns that have gotten a lot of publicity…

They say be careful what you wish for, and Greensboro, High Point and Guilford County might have to start thinking a little about that advice because yet another company has decided to locate in the area – bringing lots of new investment and creating yet more jobs.

PartnerHero – a consulting firm that provides businesses with outsourced services such as customer support, quality assurance, software development, the implementation of artificial intelligence tools…

Going through the experience of taking public transportation, being drug-tested and meeting with a probation officer might not seem like something anyone would volunteer to do; however, the City of Greensboro is looking for 100 people who would like to do so as a learning exercise….

Ever since Saturday, Aug. 3, Guilford County Animal Services hasn’t been taking in dogs at the animal shelter due to cases of canine parvovirus; however, in some very welcome news, the shelter has announced that it will begin taking dogs again.

The early August suspension of the intake of dogs, which was meant to help contain the spread of the virus, included all strays and owner surrenders…

Unfortunately, there have been several missing persons cases in Guilford County this year – some under mysterious circumstances with few leads for authorities to go on. 

On Monday, Aug. 19, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office reissued a request for county residents to be on the lookout for David Sylvester Mobley (pictured above), who was last seen in either February or March of this year…

You may be able to get better ticket prices from some other airports in the state and across the country; however, a new study that correlated data on flight delays from airports around the country found that Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) was an airport you want to use in order to avoid departure delays…

The worst Airbnb experience anyone ever had was portrayed in the fictional movie Barbarian, which came out in 2022; however, in Greensboro in 2024, there are a lot of people who have some horror stories of their own thanks to the fact that their neighbors rent their house out to short-term Airbnb clients who sometimes are noisy, cause commotion in the neighborhood, throw large parties, or otherwise make themselves a nuisance….

Just one month ago, the two main presidential candidates – Donald Trump and Joe Biden – didn’t really have much interest in the state of North Carolina because there wasn’t any reason to. By all indications, Trump had the state wrapped up with a bow on it, and there was little worry inside the Republican camp that the state would pose a problem. 

Likewise, there was little to no hope among the Democrats that, by some miracle, Biden could win the state and its 16 Electoral Votes…