Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for September 8, 2016

The Georgia General Assembly appropriated $1 million for construction of a new State Capitol on September 8, 1883.

The Fulton County Courthouse was dedicated on September 8, 1914.

President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974 for“all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.”

On September 8, 1966, viewers of the Star Trek debut first heard the monologue opening, “Space, the final frontier…”

On Sept. 8, one of the most enduring franchises in TV and movie history celebrates its 50th birthday. Star Trek debuted on NBC in 1966, developed by Roddenberry, a former Los Angeles cop who wanted to make a TV series which could sneak past the rampant escapism of most programs back then.

At a time when scripted TV rarely dealt directly with the turbulence of the times, Star Trek set its social messages against a space opera backdrop. Swashbuckling Captain Kirk ran the Enterprise, backed by cerebral first officer Mr. Spock and emotional Southern medical officer Dr. Leonard McCoy.

On the surface, the show’s plots dealt with exotic alien worlds in a future where space travel was commonplace. But Roddenberry and his writers slipped in subtle messages.

One classic story pointed out the absurdity of racism by depicting a war among members of an alien race, where one faction was colored black on the left side of their face and body and white on the right. The other faction had the colors reversed.

And as the end of state-sanctioned segregation rattled America, Roddenberry featured TV’s first interracial kiss: Aliens forced Captain Kirk to smooch his African American communications officer Lt. Uhura.

Beginning Friday with a concert on the Marietta Square, 9/11 Field of Flags will honor those who died on 9/11/2016.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Millennials may be more conservative than commonly thought, according to a research paper published recently.

The young adults, who were born between 1980 and 1994, are currently more politically polarized than Generation Xers and Baby Boomers, according to the paper, which was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin on Wednesday.

Additionally, millennials are more likely to identify as conservative than either Generation Xers or Baby Boomers were at the same age, said Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University and lead author of the paper.

“High school seniors are more likely to identify as political conservatives now compared to 10 years ago. Most surprising, more identify as conservatives now compared to the 1980s, presumably the era of the young conservative, such as the character Alex P. Keaton in the 1980s show ‘Family Ties.’ That goes against the common view of millennials as very liberal,” said Twenge, author of the book about millennials titled “Generation Me.”

“So the current view of millennials as liberals might be due to their age – young people are more likely to be liberal. But if you compare young people now to young people in previous decades, those now are more conservative,” she said.

Twenge said, “We know from other research that millennials are more supportive of LGBT rights, gender equality and racial equality compared to previous generations. Given that, it suggests that millennial conservatives may be focusing on issues other than these, for example, economic issues, gun rights.”

The data showed that, as entering college students, 23% of millennials identified as leaning far right, compared to 17% of Baby Boomers and 22% of Generation Xers.

Lois Salter, Mayor of Berkeley Lake in Gwinnett County was hopsitalized for three days after being bitten by a Copperhead.

According to Salter, “The copperhead, which now recurs in my nightmares, has markings that look like Hershey kisses along its sides. I ran into mine about 10 p.m. in the middle of my driveway right at the edge of the street.”

Salter went on to remind residents that nonvenomous king snakes, coyotes, raccoons and possums are the best defense against copperheads since they eat the snakes. She also noted most people are bitten between 9 and 10 p.m. and encouraged residents to be cautious.

Click here for more information on avoiding copperheads. I’ll be keeping my dogs out of the ivy that they love to roam in. Here’s what to do if you’re bitten.

The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook about an incident where two of their deputies and an accountability court judge worked together to save someone under their supervision.

These are the faces of true dedication. Deputies L. Parnell and D. Saunders are currently assigned to the drug treatment court, an intervention program for adults who have pled guilty to non-violent drug offenses and are having difficulty staying sober.

This past Saturday, they were both off duty enjoying a holiday weekend with their families (and probably some football) when they were contacted by a participant in the drug court program who informed them that a fellow participant just confided that he had been using heroin all night in a hotel room. Concerned for his safety, the particpant forwarded the information to our deputies. They called Superior Court Judge Kathy Schrader, who didn’t hesitate to head to the courthouse on a Saturday to draft an incarceration order in an effort to protect the participant from further drug abuse.

Our deputies contacted their supervisor, Sgt. A. Fleming, and received authorization to serve the pick up order, which was completed without incident. In fact, the participant thanked our deputies for caring enough about him to bring him in to get the help he needed.

While many of us were enjoying a long weekend, these dedicated deputies voluntarily put on their uniform because they knew that someone really needed their help. Their actions, as well as Judge Schrader’s, speak to their level of caring for our community and their commitment to serving others. Great job, guys!

To learn more about drug treatment court, please visit http://www.gwinnettcourts.com/court-programs/treatment-court.

A Trump campaign headquarters has opened in Coweta County, according to the (Newnan) Times-Herald.

Keith Crosby, chairman for the Coweta County Donald Trump for president, cut the ribbon to the office with the help of Drew Ferguson who defeated Mix for the 3rd District Republican nomination. Ferguson, a West Point dentist and former mayor, was the featured speaker at the event.

In his remarks, Ferguson thanked his former opponent for his ongoing support.

“You’ve been a supporter for Trump since the earliest stages,” he said to Mix who endorsed Ferguson in the party runoff. “We appreciate everything you do for promoting conservative values in the 3rd District.”

County Commissioner Bob Blackburn is the 3rd District manager for the Trump campaign, and said a strong demand for a Trump location made it impossible not to have one.

“Local supporters came together to make this happen,” he said. “Though it’s not an official headquarters, it’s important and independent due to the massive local support.”

Kennesaw State officials are warning about unauthorized voter registration drives, according to the AJC.

A university spokeswoman said she could not confirm that black students and other minorities were being targeted in the effort, although the alert said particular student populations appeared to be receiving the most attention from some of the individuals.

“We have had students in the past not be able to vote on Election Day because they completed a form with an unauthorized person and were never properly registered,” Sanseviro said in the alert. “We are committed to ensuring all eligible KSU students have the proper access and opportunity to participate in the democratic process.”

He added that the university has authorized voter registration drives on Sept. 21 and Sept. 27 that would focus on online voter registration with the state. Georgia has an Oct. 11 registration deadline ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election.

Governor Deal will speak to superintendents and other education bureaucrats at the Georgia Education Leadership Institute today, presumably discussing the Opportunity School District Constitutional Amendment.

Atlanta Board of Education members oppose the Opportunity School District, but not enough to commit to voting for a resolution opposing the OSD Constitutional Amendment.

The board backed away Tuesday night from taking a public position on Deal’s proposal to empower the state to take control of schools deemed to be failing and shut them down, run them itself, or convert them to charter schools.

“We don’t believe the OSD is the right solution for Atlanta because we don’t believe anyone can turn around our lowest-performing schools better or faster” than the district can, board chairman Courtney English said Wednesday. But he said he did not expect the board to consider a resolution opposing it. That would be “wading into a political fight that’s not focused on kids,” he said.

Nineteen Atlanta schools are at risk of state takeover if voters approve in November a constitutional amendment to set up the Opportunity School District.

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Harris Hines will take the gavel as Chief Judge in January, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.

Hines will assume the position on Jan. 6, when he takes over from retiring Chief Justice Hugh Thompson.

A graduate of Emory University’s School of Law, Hines served as a Cobb Superior Court judge for more than 12 years before being appointed to the state Supreme Court by Gov. Zell Miller in 1995. Prior to his time in Superior Court, he was a State Court judge in Cobb for eight years.

As chief justice, Hines [will preside] over the state’s judicial branch, serves as the main spokesperson for the high court and the judiciary at large, presides over oral arguments and chairs the Georgia Judicial Council, a policy-making body for the judicial branch made up of 26 judges.

Today, Attorney General Sam Olens will kickoff the third “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video contest for Georgia high school students to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse.

Georgia high school students are being challenged to create a 30 second video explaining why they have chosen to live a healthy lifestyle and reject prescription drug abuse. The contest will take place from September 12 – October 28, 2016. Prizes will be awarded to the winner, runner-up and people’s choice winner.

Students can enter the contest at www.law.ga.gov/videocontest.

In Floyd County, most voters are over 50 years of age, and those citizens vote more frequently than their younger counterparts.

More than half the registered Floyd County voters are at least 50 years old, and they show up at the polls more reliably than younger voters.

Counting today, there are 35 days left before the Oct. 11 deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 8 election.

There were 43,336 registered voters in Floyd County as of Thursday, according to the Georgia secretary of state’s latest monthly reports. Of that number, 22,876 are age 50 and above — and 10,860 of those are 65 and older.

[Floyd County Elections Supervisor Willie] Green said the county’s voter demographics falls in line with historical norms.

“In looking at political science literature, the older — and more educated and wealthy — voters have higher registration and turnout rates,” he said.

A total of 70 percent of the county’s voters participated in the 2012 presidential election, but the SOS reports show dedication to casting a ballot rose with age. Turnout rates ranged from 44 percent in the 18-to-24 age group to a high of 82 percent in the 60-to-64 demographic.

Floyd County will offer pets and owners vaccinations at the same time, according to the Rome News-Tribune.

“Protect your pets from rabies and yourself and your loved ones from influenza at the same time at the same place,” said Nurse Manager Alison Watson.

The clinic will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at the health department, 16 E. 12th St.

Cost for the rabies vaccination is $10. The flu shot is $35, with high-dose vaccine for people age 65 and up available at $55.

Uninsured and underinsured children ages 18 and under will receive flu vaccine free of charge.

Congratulations to Robert Highsmith, who will now serve as outside General Counsel to MARTA.

With a practice that focuses on government and governmental entities, Robert Highsmith was a strong candidate for the position of outside general counsel to MARTA. And the fact that he’s a lifelong Georgian who cares deeply about the future of Atlanta and the metro transit system’s role in shaping it just sealed the deal.

“It’s a very exciting time for MARTA and a very exciting thing to be a part of,” Highsmith says. “It’s an extremely fulfilling role to be able to support [the board] as MARTA undertakes this historic expansion.”

“Robert has a wealth of experience in the public policy setting. He has been involved in Georgia and Atlanta politics for a long time, and we thought that was valuable to us as we look to the next decade or two of MARTA’s existence,” MARTA board chairman Robbie Ashe says of the body’s decision to name Highsmith to the outside GC post.