News & Record lets big fish off hook

Click on this image to read both news stories!

By asking the right questions reporter Lehmert could have led Director Williams to admit the real reason--the truth--about why numerous water rate hikes are needed.

Here’s how Erin Brockovich would have hooked Williams….. Brockovich:

“EXCUSE ME DIRECTOR WILLIAMS, but isn’t it true that water use is down 3 million gallons a day (mgd) from last year and water use is down 4 mgd from 1995?”

Williams:

“Well, ahhh, that’s somewhat true but….”

Brockovich:

“SO IF YOU ARE SELLING MUCH LESS WATER THESE DAYS, doesn’t that mean you need to charge more for it to pay for operations and system improvements?”

Williams:

"Ummm..well"

Brockovich:

“DID GREENSBORO BUY TOO MUCH DAM DOWN THERE IN RANDLEMAN? How will Greensboro ever use its 25.5 mgd Randleman water allocation when Greensboro only uses 31 mgd now?”

Brockovich:

“ISN’T IT TRUE THAT YOU HAVE LOST YOUR BEST WATER CUSTOMERS—big textile mills—and now you must raise residential rates to make up for all the lost revenue from departing industry?”

Brockovich:

“AND ISN’T IT TRUE THAT THE MORE YOU GO UP ON WATER RATES the less water people will use?....and the reduction in water use will continue?”

Brockovich:

"And isn't it true that you closed the Water Conservation Office, ended the Water Conservation program, eliminated two Water Conservation staff positions and now you list a phony Water Conservation phone number on your website that is really a general phone number? Who do you think you are fooling Mr. Williams?

Brockovich:

"Your honor, Greensboro water use is declining---and not just a little---and not just recently---but for 15 years now! Mr. Williams and his dam scamming partners are concealing this FACT from the people they were hired to serve. Please instruct the witness to answer the questions.

Director Williams is deliberately hiding the truth

The dam scammers are in a very tight spot these days. They must justify these big water rate hikes because they need cash. Yet they must be very careful not to let the #1 reason for being cash poor slip out—very low water sales.

If they introduce low water sales as the reason then people will want to know how low are the sales…and for how long (See my CHART)

Once that cat’s out of the bag, the finger-pointing will start and the dam could blow up in their faces. Eventually everyone catches on that Greensboro never needed the Randleman Dam and that citizens were led astray—scammed--and now they must pay forever for a water project and 25.5mgd of Randleman water Greensboro never needed.

A genius whistleblower...

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) paid no attention to Harry Markopolos, the financial expert who spent 9 years urging it to investigate Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion ponzi scheme. Suddenly the SEC are the fools for not listening and Markopolos is a genius whistleblower. And those who lost their fortunes are screaming, “WHY DIDN’T THE SEC LISTEN TO HIM?" Greensboro lied about its future water needs (See Chart) and it lied about its operations to justify the Randleman Dam and Reservoir. The scammers lowered the reservoirs every summer to win the public support. Their ends justified their means, so they thought.

Now the dam scammers are involved in a cover-up. The concealment of facts is obvious in this Jan. 23 N&R story. Williams must be careful not to say one word about declining water use and Lehmert was careful not to ask about it. I warned the News & Record for many years about this scam and like the SEC it paid no attention to me.

The Randleman propaganda continues because the project has a few more years until completion. And with a newspaper like this one that reports only what the City wants its citizens to believe, the dam scammers will never be exposed while the cover-up benefits from a huge cloak of secrecy.

Investigation Warranted

I have been urging the media and the government to investigate the Randleman Dam Scam for 9 years. I have provided a wealth of evidence and commentary—far more than should be necessary to get local reporters asking questions. Yet the local news continues to ignore the facts surrounding declining water use just like the SEC ignored Harry Markopolos’ warnings about Bernard Madoff.

Sooner or later the truth will come out. Many are waiting for just one courageous reporter to begin asking the right questions.

###

My CHART showing the history of water sales since 1995 has never appeared in any Greensboro newspaper. I will gladly grant anyone permission to publish it free of charge providing the publisher agrees to my terms.

Until then, please direct others to this story so they can see for themselves that Greensboro water use has significantly declined.

Tell others to simply Google two words--dam scam--so they can find the CHART and the story. Thank you!