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Here's the full agenda for the Guilford County Commissioners meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Old Guilford County Courthouse.

Why 1 p.m.? So the board can catch the next episode of "My Name is Earl"?

No. The time is pushed to the afternoon so that members can attend the GTCC 50th Anniversary Gala (Black tie optional).

Even with the earlier meeting time, the gala kickoff at 6 p.m. means the board still may need to hustle if they plan to get out in time to get gussied up and head over. Though it would be interesting to see a black tie commissioners meeting.

As for the agenda, Southwest Park stands to get $651,484 for some restrooms and picnic shelters, paid for with previously unused bond money. And the board of elections wants the OK to buy 59 more voting machines to beef up its arsenal for the 2008 election.

Does anything on the agenda pop out at you?

Public participation is the cornerstone of democracy. So it is only appropriate that each week the Greensboro city council should dutifully devote at least 30 minutes to listening to the public.

People have been known to say surprising things when they step up to podium for the public comment period. This week alone, a poem was recited, a citizen recounted a sexual assault allegation, and one gentleman sought help for the hundreds of investigators he said have been following him. Across state lines.

Yep, it's never dull. And then, there were the guys with the kazoos.

Christopher Spence of Greensboro got up to talk about the endangered monkey whales.

His impassioned plea for the mammal was interrupted by a chorus of fellows with plastic pipes, humming in support.

Mayor Johnson, always the diplomat, asked them to keep it down so she could hear Spence's argument.

Spence had just enough time left in his three minutes to ask the council and the audience watching from home to visit www.monkeywhale.com and www.artbeatgreensboro.org.

Somewhere around this time, City Manager Mitchell Johnson got the idea that Spence and his crew might be playing an April Fool's day joke. He asked Councilman Robbie Perkins to use his PDA to search for monkey whales on the internet. And Perkins finds an, a-hem, adults-only site.

Word spread. Later, after the council returned from a temporary break, they noted that folks shouldn't take Spence's advice, that those sites just aren't family-friendly. Even further, they asked the city staff to strike his comments from the video record, which is posted online after the meeting.

Thing is, it wasn't exactly a prank. It was a performance art piece staged to help promote ArtBeat Greensboro, a visual and performing art festival to be held at the end of this month.

And the merry pranksters didn't mean to be sending folks to a X-rated web page, at least according to their marketing and public relations folks, who spent the evening trying to clear up the confusion. Last night, monkeywhale.com contained little more than a promotional video and a link to the festival site.

The festival promoter noted that when he put "monkey whale" into Google, he
came up with "N-Terminal Amino Acid Analysis Of Growth Hormones From Human, Monkey, Whale and Beef Pituitary Glands."

It's still unclear exactly what Perkins found on his PDA.

Currently it's up to the Guilford County school board to figure out when and how to build schools, though county commissioners chairman Kirk Perkins is open to the possibility of that changing.

At a regional meeting for the state commissioners association, he heard about what Wake County is considering: taking the responsibility, planning and execution of building schools away from the school board.

"And it hit a bell with me that in Guilford County, (the board of commissioners) could take care of school construction projects," he said. "We could take that from the school board and they could concentrate on educating kids."

In a way, the Board of Commissioners has a say over what the Board of Education can build. The commissioners decide how much county money schools receive each year - which takes about 40 percent of the county's approximately $550 million budget.

The idea is far from fruition in Guilford County. But taking on school construction did intrigue Perkins, he said after the meeting he attended Wednesday in Raleigh for North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.

The NACC represents county boards across the state and advocates on their behalf to the state legislature.

The meeting Perkins attended gives commissioners across the region an idea of what state legislators will be asked to focus on from the counties as the General Assembly goes into another session May 13.

Perkins said that with the presentation on school construction, other topics such as state road funding and Medicaid funding received time.

For folks who are watching and waiting for news about City Manager Mitchell Johnson's job status, here's a brief but unsatisfying update.

For the second meeting in a row, last night the council ran out of time to discuss Johnson's 30-day plan for moving the city forward. Council members asked him to lay out the agenda in February, when there were some folks calling for him to be fired and others who said he was doing a good job.

Last night, with the clock ticking past 11 p.m., council decided they were in no shape to have that kind of important discussion.

The lack of a closed session Tuesday night means the council also did not get an update from the city's legal staff on the on-going attempts to settle several outstanding legal matters.

Next time around -- at the council's April 15 meeting -- they will start out with a closed session at 4 p.m., so they can get the debate out of the way before they get sleepy.

The Web site for the Guilford County Sheriff's Office has a county leader asking questions about whether it crosses a line with regards to the upcoming vote on bonds for a new jail.

The site contains a link to another site, asaferguilfordcounty.com, which makes a case for a new jail. It cites a report that concluded additional jail space is necessary, shows photos of "overcrowding" in the current jail and photos, some grisly, of injured officers and inmates, and notes that the state has warned the county it must address jail overcrowding.

Government employees are restricted in what they can and can't do when it comes to bond issues.

When acting as a private citizen, they are free to advocate however they wish. In an official capacity, however, the standard is different.

For Guilford County commissioner Skip Alston, an opponent of the jail bond, Sheriff BJ Barnes crossed the line.

"He's doing it in the name of the Guilford County Sheriff," Alston said. "In my opinion, it is advocating."

Alston's fellow commissioner Billy Yow, who along with Barnes is among the members of the "Jail Bond Committee," said Alston's attack is off base.

"All the "T's" have been crossed and all the "I's" have been dotted," Yow said during a meeting of the board of commissioners.

Barnes couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Gary Bartlett, the executive director of the N.C. Board of Elections, said elected officials can engage in education and even "issue advocacy" when it comes to bonds. Basically, that means they can talk about the issue, but must stop short of saying "vote for the bonds."

The Web site doesn't appear to state its support for the bond quite so clearly. In fact, much of the information is explicity couched in terms of education. "We at the Guilford County Sheriff's Office would like to assist you in making an informed decision about the up-coming Jail Bond," Barnes stated in a letter on the Web site's front page.

Ultimately, Bartlett said, if someone makes a formal complaint, the board will investigate. If that happens, the fact that the information is linked from the sheriff's office Web site could add another wrinkle.

"It would put it into a gray area," he said.

The $115 million jail bonds will be on the May 6 ballot, along with several hundred million dollars worth of bonds for schools and parks and recreation.

It's my job to ask people tough questions:

Is the water making people sick? When did you start using the church's funds to redecorate your house? Will the director keep his job?

Now it's your turn.

The Greensboro Neighborhood Congress, a collection of neighborhood groups from across the city, will host City Manager Mitchell Johnson Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Greensboro Historical Museum. The discussion will be moderated by congress members. They ask that you submit questions to them in writing as early as possible. You can email them to bdnewt@yahoo.com.

I know what kinds of things I have been asking Johnson lately. How much does it cost to run a landfill? What is going on with the various equal employment opportunity complaints facing city departments? How many people will you have to lay off?

But what about you? What kinds of things do you want to ask the city manager?

Billy Yow might have you think that.

Yow, the Republican two-term District 5 Guilford County Commissioner, is using a touch of the boardroom friction he gives District 8 Democratic Commissioner Melvin "Skip" Alston to help introduce his campaign website. A profile photo of Yow in apparent disbelief gazes across the site's banner to a shot of Commissioner Skip Alston, who has a raised eyebrow.

Scoop called Yow today to ask what he's trying to say with the image.

"When you look you see Skip (Alston) sitting over there. And without me, you see, he's a loose cannon," Yow said. Yow added that voters in his district should vote for him at least to keep Alston under control.

So we called Alston to see what he thinks about that.

"I have heated exchanges with all of them," Alston said about the board. "It’s not just Billy that I vent my frustration out with, and I can't say that anything is specifically aimed at Billy (Yow)."

Disagreements between the two have been noted before as the board sparred over budgeting, the jail and other issues. But the Board of Commissioners has 11-members, and most votes are decided by a greater margin than the two votes that Alston and Yow might use to cancel each other out.

Three reasonably-sized projects have been approved since February for an intersection near Forest Oaks.

We ran a story today about that and a community group involved on the ground level in the planning process - and how they got a bit of what they wanted out of the deal.

It reminds me of my hometown and how grocery stores soon pooped up on every corner in a bunch of expansion (that seems unending). Where there were farms there are now shopping centers and residential developments.

And it's happened around the Triad, too. Though what hit Raleigh and Charlotte in past years is beginning to show up here.

So development is coming, like it not. If you had a developer buy 60 acres across from your backyard fence, what would you like to see them do with it? How would you make that known?

Want to meet your Greensboro City Council? Wonder what the city's original 1808 deed looks like? Or maybe you've got something to say to a county commissioner.

Well, you can do any of those things at one of several open houses being held this weekend by Greensboro City Council and the Guilford County commissioners during the Heritage Festival in downtown Greensboro.

Greensboro will hold its open house 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the city hall, 300 West Washington St.

Guilford County's open house is noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Old Guilford County Courthouse, 301 West Market St.

The 'Scoop would lobby for a good ol' fashioned dunking booth somewhere in the area, but we also bet that most of our local politicians would be reluctant to climb in one of those.

If you are reading some accounts, Greensboro City Manager Mitchell Johnson should be handing in his resignation papers any day now. At least that's what some folks are hoping.

But that assessment -- that Johnson has royally mussed things up in the city -- seems to a minority viewpoint, at least if you consider Thursday's Greensboro Neighborhood Congress Forum.

Sure, guest of honor Johnson did get harangued for his treatment of former police chief David Wray. At least one person asked if he would leave his job and let Greensboro heal.

But if there was a tidal wave of sentiment that he should quit, seems like more people would have showed up and thrown rocks. Or at least shown up.

The crowd at the Greensboro Historical Museum numbered about 30 people -- approximately half of whom were bloggers, journalists and city employees. Not a single rock in sight.

It's something worth considering as the city council meets with Johnson in closed session Tuesday night, to consider his 30-plan to turn around the city.

Via the GSO Clean Elections list, There is a screening in Greensboro Thursday of "Uncounted," a movie that purports to show how electronic voting machines are eating votes and changing elections. (I haven't seen it and don't know if it makes the case effectively or not.)

David Earnhardt, one of the producers, grew up in Greensboro. Screening info for North Carolina:

GREENSBORO, NC Carousel Cinemas - Battleground at Wendover Thursday, April 17, 2008 7:30 PM Hosted by Common Cause of North Carolina, North Carolina Coalition for Verified Voting, and the Progressive Democrats of America. Post film discussion with David Earnhardt.

BURLINGTON, NC
Paramount Theatre
Friday, April 18, 2008
7:00pm
Hosted by Common Cause of North Carolina, North Carolina Coalition for Verified Voting, and the Progressive Democrats of America.
Post film discussion with David Earnhardt.

We're doing a story on the $671.6 million in Guilford County bonds that people will vote on in the May 6 primary.

So as we report this story, what kinds of things would you like to know about the bonds? Do you wonder if this a good time for bonds, considering the economy? Do you think that the schools, parks, jail and college are needed now - no matter what?

What questions and answers would help you make a better choice on the bonds? E-mail us or post a comment below, and we'll try to get to them along the way.

Do you carry a briefcase to work? Do you wear shiny shoes and a suit at least five days a week?

Then this town hall meeting is for you!

Mayor Yvonne Johnson's second town hall meeting of the year will focus on the interests of the business community and Greensboro's economic future.

It will be held May 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Greensboro Historical Museum. Seating is limited to the first 150 people, so you must RSVP to Roberta Frush at rfrush@greensboro.org.

When you're on a board that is as divisive as the Greensboro city council, sticking to strict rules of parlimentary procedure might just save you from total choas.

This week council had a debate about debate. Or, more specifically, how to end debate.

About 25 minutes into a dicussion about City Manager Mitchell Johnson, Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small "called the question." In other words, she moved that the board vote on her motion to take the discussion back into council's closed session.

Debate continued anyhow. City attorney Becky Jo Peterson-Buie interrupted to remind council that a call for the question ends debate. She told them it was time to vote.

Councilman Mike Barber objected to her objection, arguing that a call for the question is just like any other motion. It must have a second and a vote before it is adopted to end the debate.

The city attorney persisted, and eventually council voteed and moved on with the meeting.

But the question still lingered. The city attorney promised to research the issue.

Apparently, the belief that calling the question immediately ends debate is "a fairly common misconception," according to the Robert's Rules of Order Web site.

According to the site's FAQs:
"This is simply not the case. Any member who wishes to force an end to debate must first obtain the floor by being duly recognized to speak by the chair, and must then move the Previous Question. Such a motion must be seconded, and then adopted by a two-thirds vote, or by unanimous consent. It is not in order to interrupt a speaker with cries of "Question" or "Call the Question," and even if no one is speaking, it is still necessary to seek recognition."

It should be duly noted that any local rules of procedure would supersede Roger's Rules. So we'll see what the city attorney turns up in her research.

This could become a situation similar to the kid caught chewing gum in class, when the teacher asks if there's enough for everybody.

A few weeks ago, Guilford County Commissioner Carolyn Coleman asked for an estimate on quarterly mileage reimbursements for volunteers on the county's nursing home advisory committee and the adult care committee.

Apparently the committemembers put a bunch of miles on their cars in the duty of running around and checking up on nursing homes and adult care facilities. They don't receive any per-mile reimbursement, and gas isn't getting cheaper, she noted.

County Manager David McNeill gave a cost estimate today: $10,000 a year.

The conversation is expected to continue next week in the county commissioners meeting.

But if those boards receive reimbursements, who else should? Is this an all-or-nothing deal for the other advisory boards and commissions? And where would the money come from?

Those were a few questions that Vice Chairwoman Kay Cashion and others had.

Questions that, McNeill said, only the board can answer.

Of the 60-plus advisory boards and commissions the county uses to run its business, just a few receive money. Planning board members receive $10 per meeting, for example. Here
are the others.

Could this kind of money be spread to all the boards, or is it fair to help those people putting miles on their cars to do the business of making sure our elderly are being treated well? Or is that simply the sacrifice someone makes to be a volunteer?

What if every volunteer was compensated for thier time on a board? What would change? What if nobody was?

Scoop found Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold by phone Thursday, who said he might be ready to talk sometime about the bankruptcy proceedings and other things he’s facing lately.

Arnold used words like “politically fatal” to describe how he’s handled talking about the case so far. Which is to say that Arnold hasn’t spoken much on it at all.

When Scoop asked Arnold if he’d be available soon — he does have another court date May 8 — he said that he may get back to us sometime around then.

We're looking forward to the conversation. Arnold said that he's got some factual information that he wants out there, and that our reports were a little off.

"I can point out all kinds of mistakes and various issues that were wrong," he said.

Well, that can happen when we don't get someone's side of the story, or they don't want to talk.

Inside Scoop is always open.

Guilford County's health department saw its initial request to improve access to healthcare in the 27406 ZIP code reduced by half to $250,000 in preparing the 2008-09 budget, according to Merle Green, director of public health.

That reduction could be a harbinger of more lean times for other county departments as County Manager David McNeill works on his recommended 2008-09 budget. The Board of Commissioners will review the budget in May and approve it in June.

This year's budget season could be especially difficult, considering that voters may approve up to $671 million in bonds, and the board already asked McNeill to make a budget with no property tax rate increase in addition to the one he'll recommend.

Any new bond will likely cause the county's property tax rate to rise.

Along with the county department requests, several community groups traditionally receiving funding were cut from the current 2007-08 budget and hope to get back on the books in 2008-09.

And one more thing could hold sway for some board members. The election itself.

The May 6 primary will settle the bonds decision and three races for commissioner. But two At Large commissioners and the District 4 race will be settled in November, after the budget is approved.

Oh, and everything seems to be getting more expensive.

In all those factors, are there any issues that you hope are covered in our work on the 2008-09 budget? List them in comments, or e-mail me.

Of late, the Greensboro city council has been inundated with folks who'd like their three minutes at the public podium.

At the council's public comment session at the beginning of each meeting, there are citizen groups asking for help or promoting an event. Then there are folks who have less important things to do with their designated public comment time ("City council, you've been Punk'd").

With that in mind, Councilman Zack Matheny floated a plan to limit the 30 minutes of public comment to city-related issues only. Folks who want to talk about anything else can wait for the second public comment period at the end of the council meeting.

Matheny said some people were taking advantage of the council.

"We need to set policy for the city of Greensboro. Let's focus on city business," Matheny said.

His request was met by all the right questions from his fellow council members. How could they implement this new rule fairly? How can they do it without violating constitutional rights of free speech? What about issues that don't concern the city, but might be interesting to hear?

They didn't vote on his proposal, but instead asked for the city legal staff to do a little research first.

Looks like most candidates for office in Guilford County have been keeping their nose clean.

A background check of those involved in contested primaries next Tuesday found very few who have had brushes with the law, not counting minor traffic violations.

Those who have include two candidates for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.

Incumbent Billy Yow, who faces two Republican primary opponents in his bid to keep the District 5 seat, was convicted in 1981 of driving while impaired.

E.H. Hennis, who is in the Republican primary for two at-large seats up for grabs, was convicted in 2000 of creating a bomb hoax during a commissioners meeting in 1998.

Apart from those candidates, you've got some speeding tickets, but that's about it.