power plant

Evades question on alternatives,

health consequences, lack of public input;

Calls the Woodfin power plant "a good decision"

{Carol agreed to the interview as part of my "Women in Power" series for BlueNC's Women on Wednesdays. The videos were uploaded Saturday. On Sunday, she called to ask me to "pull" the ones referring to the Progress Energy Woodfin plant. I offered to correct any inaccuracies either in print or by video. She has not responded.}

In her courthouse office last Tuesday, Buncombe County Commission Vice Chair Carol Peterson insisted she and fellow commissioners did not meet secretly with Progress Energy before unanimously approving a $72 million diesel-fired power plant.

Click on the video below the fold to hear her comments.

What?
You did not know it was Sunshine Week? Okay, I did not either. But I am old enough to remember when we fought for, and won, all the laws on the books about open government--laws which are now ignored routinely at all levels of government.
Let us focus on one, right here in Buncombe County, North Carolina, shall we?
It seems our County Commission, or rather, parts of it, decided when they were approached by Progress Energy, we, the people of Buncombe County did not need to know what they were discussing. And even more perverse, they decided to not include other members of the County Commission, either to avoid having to report the meetings, or because they felt those Commissioners would report the secret meetings.