Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

Two veteran Marietta Board of Education members, Jill Mutimer and Randy Weiner, tell Around Town they will seek a third term in the fall election.

Mutimer, 46, a self-employed financial consultant, has two children, one at West Side Elementary and one at Marietta Middle School. With the support of her husband, Jim Mutimer, she was first elected to the board in 2005.

“While I feel like we’ve accomplished a great deal in the last eight years, we still have goals that we are working toward and hope to achieve,” she said.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – Around Town Hankerson staying But the question is for how long.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

RUNNING: Marietta Planning and Zoning Commissioner Jason Waters tells Around Town he plans to run for the Ward 2 seat on the Marietta School Board in this fall’s election. Waters, 37, is former chair of the Marietta Division of the Cobb Chamber and past president of the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association.

A native of Douglasville, he has lived in Marietta since graduating from UGA in 2001 with a finance degree. He is a commercial banker with SunTrust and lives in Lee’s Crossing subdivision with his wife Katie (a former teacher at Hickory Hills and A.L. Burruss elementaries) and their two young children.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – Around Town Cobb School Superintendent  Deep austerity cuts by state are ‘The New Normal’.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

POLITICS: Among those who shelled out at least $10,000 each to serve as “sponsors” at Sunday’s Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser with President Barack Obama were former Gov. Roy Barnes and former U.S. Rep. Buddy Darden of Marietta.

The event took place at the Arthur M. Blank family office on Howell Mill Road in Atlanta. The event invitation suggested contributions of $10,000 per couple or $32,400 per person.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – Around Town Cobb School Superintendent  Deep austerity cuts by state are ‘The New Normal’.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

KENNESAW — Despite objections from six county residents, Mayor Mark Mathews cast the deciding vote Monday night to allow an electronic billboard to go up on Cobb Parkway.

The Kennesaw City Council was unanimous in its desire to bring the Green Roof Inn into the city, but when it came to approving a variance that would allow for an LED billboard on the northeast corner of the property, it split.

The council voted 2-2, with council members Bruce Jenkins and Cris Eaton-Welsh against, to approve the variance with conditions. The mayor cast the deciding vote in favor.

The council voted unanimously to rezone the property from county general commercial to city general commercial and to annex the 1.8 acres from Cobb County into the city.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – Despite resident concerns mayor OKs LED signage.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

It’s the first week of peach-picking and packing for Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley.

Crews of around 16 people start picking fruit before 8 am.

When it comes to picking peaches, workers are looking for a specific size and color.

via It’s Peach-picking and Packing Time in Central Georgia | 13wmaz.com.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

The solar industry in Georgia is pushing a power monopoly to expand its use of solar energy as it plans to meet the state’s electricity needs over the next two decades.

State utility regulators heard testimony Tuesday on the energy plans from Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power, which must submit new plans every three years. Advocates for the state’s solar power industry and tea party leaders fault Georgia Power for not including new forms of solar energy in its planning.

“We think solar is the way to go,” Debbie Dooley, a coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, told the elected members of the Public Service Commission. “The sun is free, it’s there. Understand Georgia Power is not being as aggressive on solar power and solar energy as they should be because they’re trying to protect their monopoly.”

via Solar industry pushes for more use in Georgia | Online Athens.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

NFL owners approved a $200 million loan Tuesday for the Atlanta Falcons to build a new stadium.

The multipurpose stadium could cost as much as $1 billion, with team owner Arthur Blank committed to funding most of it.

Blank, speaking at the NFL’s spring meetings, called the decision by the team owners an “important milestone” in moving the project forward.

“The NFL has supported new stadium construction through various means for decades,” he said. “Our club owners understand that investments … are important to the long-term strength of the league, and we thank them for their support.”

via Falcons get $200 million NFL loan for stadium | savannahnow.com.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

Augusta commissioners won’t be allowed to work as contractors for the city under any circumstances, a subcommittee charged with reviewing the issue decided Tuesday.

The subcommittee of four commissioners had the support of three others who sat in, with the exception of Commissioner Grady Smith, who owns a plumbing company with his brother.

“Y’all are smart. You got in another business besides construction,” Smith said. “You don’t have to lay awake at night thinking about who you may have to lay off.”

Smith and two other commissioners, tile contractor Wayne Guilfoyle and locksmith Joe Jackson, were censured earlier this year by the commission for performing work for the city, prompting a commission review of the ordinance in place for more than a decade. Guilfoyle said he’d never concealed the work he did as a subcontractor while Jackson said he’d quit accepting payment for on-call lock work.

via Committee tells commissioners they shouldn’t do work for city | The Augusta Chronicle.

Georgia Pundit - Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections