Bo recently passed his American Kennel Club Good Citizen Test, certifying that he’s an awesome dog. Bo is available for adoption through Operation Second Chance, also known as “Jail Dogs.”
Operation Second Chance is a program run by Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway (R) to save dogs that would otherwise be euthanized while teaching inmates marketable skills. It is supported by the Society of Humane Friends of Georgia and run at no cost to taxpayers.
You may also sponsor a dog at Operation Second Chance or donate online. The Gwinnett Daily Post has produced a video about the program that you may view online.
Senator Don Balfour Reimbuses Questioned Expenses
Having been questioned on the propriety of accepting reimbursement for dates that he appears to have been out-of-town, Sen. Don Balfour decided to return the questioned funds first, and determine what happened second.
“The idea was to take care of it and then later on we can look and see whether it was done right or wrong,” Balfour said.
Georgia Conservatives in Action South Georgia Economic Development Summit
Pat Tippett, a good friend and great political organizer, runs Georgia Conservatives in Action with Kay Godwin. Arguably the two ladies run much of Georgia Republican politics in South Georgia. Their organization will host a South Georgia Economic Development Summit on Saturday, April 28th at the Waycross Middle School Auditorium.
Confirmed speakers include Governor Nathan Deal with the Keynote, Public Service Commissioner Chuck Eaton, Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, SOS Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Attorney General Sam Olens. You won’t want to miss this premier public policy event.
Listing of Bills Signed by Governor Deal
From the press release:
Gov. Nathan Deal now is going through the bill review process. Because of the high volume of bills under consideration, please reference the governor’s website for a complete list of signed legislation. There will not be a press release for every bill that has either been signed or vetoed.
“This is a great resource for all to stay informed on which bills Gov. Deal has signed,” said Brian Robinson, Deal’s communications director. “Our office will update this site frequently, keeping all Georgians up to date. The Governor’s Office will withhold comment on all legislation – except for bills that were part of his legislative agenda – until they are signed or vetoed.”
The list of signed bills is available here and will be updated daily at 10 AM.
Campaigns and Elections
Fred Richards came from behind to win the runoff election for Flowery Branch City Council, with 122 votes to Jason Covert’s 119 votes, highlighting the importance of every vote, especially in low-turnout elections.
James Grogan was elevated to Acting Mayor of Dawsonville from City Council and Mayor Pro Tem as the City Council voted to appoint him where he will serve until July 31st. Grogan previously served as the sole county commissioner for Dawson County and as Probate Judge. The Council also passed a resolution calling for a special election to fill the term of the late Mayor Joe Lane Cox, to be held July 31, with qualifying running May 23-25.
Peachtree Corners voters filled the remaining four city council seats in runoff elections, electing Alex Wright, Jeanne Aulbach, Lorri Christopher and Weare Gratwick to the first city council for the new city. Fewer than 12 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.
Lawyer John Strauss will run for District 1 on the Newton County Board of Commissioners on a platform of fiscal responsibility, smart growth and long-term planning, water resource protection, consensus building, involvement from citizens and supporting education.
“The people with whom I have consulted have convinced me that there is a need for a candidate/commissioner who is not only a person of integrity, but who is truly dedicated, on a long-term basis, to the well-being of the citizens of Newton County generally and the citizens of District 1 specifically,” Strauss said in a press release. “Having grown up in Newton County (in District 1), and having chosen Newton County as my permanent home, I hope to meet those expectations.”
Former Senator John Douglas also is running for the open seat.
Larry Stanley made official his campaign for Henry County Board of Education, proving that by pre-announcing before your announcement, you can get more publicity from gullible editors.
Floyd County Police Sergeant Cary Cooper will run for Sheriff as a Republican against incumbent Democrat Tim Burkhalter.
The City of Rome is accepting applications for appointment to a city council seat made vacant when Duane Reid resigned in February. Eight citizens have applied so far and applications will be accepted through 5 PM tomorrow. A public forum for the candidates will be held beginning at 6:30 PM on April 18th at the Civic Center on Jackson Hill.
The City of Cornelia has a new Mayor-elect, as James C. “J.C.” Irby, Jr. received 208 votes against Ernie Garrett with 197 to win the runoff election.
State and Local News
Municipalities in Gwinnett County are engaged in a border dispute before one of the cities even begins operations. Norcross and Duluth annexed territory that may compete with the boundaries established by the legislature in the bill allowing the incorporation of Peachtree Corners. Because the two older cities completed their annexation before Peachtree Corners legally existed, the outcome is a legal gray area.
Our Inaugural Golden Skeez Award
A poster in the comments to Creative Loafing’s “Golden Sleaze Awards” noted that Rep. Elena Parent (D-Ashford Park) had a well-written summary of bills passed on the last day of the legislature.
State Rep from the Chamblee area did a nice quick hit summary of bills that passed and didn’t. http://www.elenaparent.com/news/view_news.…
Interesting she got this done but I don’t see anything like it at the AJC website.
It is indeed a nice summary, but if you didn’t see it at the AJC, you weren’t looking. That’s because except for some additional language about the Brookhaven incorporation bill, which Parent opposed, it’s cut-and-pasted from the AJC without any attribution.
Interesting enough, the University of Virginia, Rep. Parent’s alma mater has an honor code under which the following definitions of plaigirism and paraphrasing are given:
Plagiarism is representing someone else’s ideas or work as your own original ideas or work.
Plagiarism encompasses many things, and is by far the most common manifestation of academic fraud. For example, copying a passage straight from a book, a website, or any other source into a paper without using quotation marks and explicitly citing the source is plagiarism. Additionally, paraphrasing is plagiarism where you fail to cite your original source and, in some cases, where you fail to use quotation marks as well.
I’m not going to convict anyone here, but the correlation between the uncited language on Rep. Parent’s website and the copyrighted AJC text for which no citation or link is provided would not meet this website’s understanding of ethical behavior.
While we’re on the topic, let me be clear that our policy here is to cite sources for information that is not generally available from multiple sources. We cite by providing a link to the original publication, and occasionally explicitly state the author or publication in the text referring to it. We believe this is consistent with best practices on the web. As information ages, links may break.
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