William Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564 and died April 23, 1616.
Lucius D. Clay was born in Marietta, Georgia on April 23, 1898, the son of Georgia U.S. Senator Alexander Stephens Clay, who served in the Senate from 1896 until his death in 1910. Clay graduated West Point in 1915 and eventually rose to serve as Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Deputy for Military Government. During the Berlin Airlift, Clay helped keep Allied-occupied West Berlin supplied with food for almost a year after Soviet forces blockaded all land routes into the city.
Hank Aaron hit his first home run in major league baseball on April 23, 1954, playing for the Milwaukee Braves against the St. Louis Cardinals.
On April 23, 1971, former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower visited Augusta to attend the groundbreaking for the Dwight D. Eisenhower U.S. Army Hospital at Fort Gordon, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
“Ike would have been proud,” a tearful Mamie Eisenhower said after the ceremony.
“My heart is filled with gratefulness,” said Eisenhower, who was surprised at plans for the 760-bed, $31 million facility. “You know, I’m proud. And I know this would have meant a great deal to him.”
New Coke was announced on April 23, 1985.
From the AJC on the 40th Anniversary of the new Coke announcement:
It’s been 40 years since Atlanta-based Coca-Cola launched a new formula for its famed namesake cola, called it New Coke and prompted a national outcry — forcing the company to walk back the decision on its biggest blunder ever.
The company has never been able to live it down, and the flub became a case study in what not to do in business.
When the company announced the reformulated Coke in New York on April 23, 1985, then-Chairman and CEO Roberto Goizueta called it “the surest move ever made because the new taste of Coke was shaped by the taste of the consumer.”
He said “we found something that tasted better,” and “it wouldn’t be fair to keep a better product away from the consumer,” as reported in The Atlanta Journal.
But “all their instincts were overridden by market research,” said Thomas Oliver, a former reporter and editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution who wrote a book about New Coke in the aftermath, “The Real Coke: The Real Story.” “You see all these taste tests, and you see all these numbers, you’re going, ‘How can we be wrong?’”
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #04.22.25.01, lowering flags on state buildings and properties to half-staff through sunset on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in honor of the late Pope Francis.
Republican State Senator Bill Cowsert (Athens) announced he is running for Attorney General in 2026, according to the AJC.
Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert will launch his campaign for attorney general today with a message echoing President Donald Trump by accusing Democratic prosecutors of political bias.
Cowsert is highlighting his role leading a state Senate committee that scrutinized Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ decision to charge Trump and his allies with election interference.
He said Willis and “other partisan prosecutors have undermined public confidence in the fairness of our criminal justice system.”
“Their abuse of power is a threat to the rule of law,” he said, “and it’s time to put an end to the weaponization of our justice system.”
He joins a growing Republican field vying to succeed Attorney General Chris Carr, who is running for governor. State Sen. Brian Strickland has already filed paperwork to run, and more contenders could soon follow.
Glynn County Commissioner Walter Rafolski has turned around on the idea of hiring a lobbying firm to represent the county, according to The Brunswick News.
He thought it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars to hire Joe Tanner & Associates at $5,000 a month to represent the county in the state capital. Former state Rep. Jerry Keen of St. Simons Island is president and CEO of the agency.
“I didn’t think it was necessary,” he said.
It didn’t take long for Rafolski, now commission chairman, to reconsider his opposition. He said the county hadn’t even sent the first monthly payment when the firm got a grant that wasn’t even on the radar.
“Right away, we got a $78,000 grant for something we didn’t even consider,” he said.
Rafolski said he learned the importance of having a voice in Atlanta, especially when Glynn County is such a long distance geographically from Atlanta.
“If we need something done, we go through Jerry,” he said. “Once I saw how well it works, I realized you have to be connected.”
Commissioner Sammy Tostensen is the one who initially proposed hiring a lobbyist to represent the county because of the length of time it took to get state approval for different projects.
“We were always trying to deal with state agencies at the local level,” he said. “We needed someone advocating for us in the state capital.”
Chatham County Tax Commissioner Sonya L. Jackson is hosting five public meetings for residents to learn more about their property taxes, according to the Savannah Morning News.
April 23 marks the first of five sessions taking place throughout the rest of this year. The public education initiative is known as the Tax Commissioner University. A press release from the commissioner’s office stated the program is “designed to inform and engage residents on important Chatham County tax matters.” Tools, resources and information will be shared so residents can “better navigate the tax process.”
Wednesday’s session is entitled “Understanding Your Property Tax Bill.”
Upcoming 2025 sessions are as follows:
June 11 | Understanding Your Assessment Notice & Filing an Appeal
Aug. 27 | Learning About Property Tax Sales
Oct. 22 | Understanding Your Property Tax Bill
Dec. 10 | Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning
The City of Savannah is hosting meetings to discuss a proposed stormwater fee, according to WTOC.
The city said Savannah faces challenges related to stormwater drainage including aging infrastructure.
In the past, the city has used a combination of funding sources including federal grants, Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds, and general fund appropriations to address drainage issues.
Now, city staff are exploring the creation of a dedicated funding mechanism through a new utility to help alleviate the long-term financial burden of future stormwater management.
City leaders are discussing options that could increase fees based on how much your property contributes to stormwater runoff.
Meetings are happening in each city district nightly from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Floyd County Commissioners adopted a property tax millage rate rollback, according to WRGA News.
The Floyd County Commission has approved the certification of the estimated rollback millage rate for 2025, in accordance with House Bill 581.
The rollback rate is calculated using an estimated millage rate minus the millage equivalent of the total net assessed value added by reassessments.
If the adopted millage rate exceeds the estimated roll-back rate, then a disclaimer is included on the tax bill stating the name of the governing authority that exceeded the estimated roll-back rate and that this will result in an increase of taxes owed.
“This is more of an estimated millage rate, and it is an estimate on an incomplete digest that we do not currently have,” said Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord. “I want to emphasize that it is an estimate. We are not setting the millage rate, we are setting an estimated millage rate. This is based on a 5 percent digest growth and was approved at that percentage as part of the 2025 budget in December of 2024. I am also recommending 9.664 for that estimated rollback number.”
The estimated roll-back rate is required to be included on the assessment notice.
It must be certified to the tax commissioner and tax assessor no less than 15 days prior to the postmark of assessment notices.
Assessment notices are expected to be mailed on May 15.
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller delivered his “State of the Community” address, according to WTVM.
Miller says that fresh off celebrating Macon-Bibb County’s bicentennial, he made the tricentennial a throughline of his speech: how people will view this time in Macon’s history 100 years from now?
“We are here today at the start of the next 100 years,” Miller said. ”This is a moment in time that the future mayor, future commissions and community will study and reference for years to come.”
He says that the county is undergoing a “transformational change” — and the efforts are happening fast. It’s why he walked out to the song “Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles.
“We are at a crossroads in time,” Miller said. “It’s not just one moment, but it’s many moments, and every decision we make is setting the directions of our community for the next two, four, eight, 25, 50, 100 years.”
In the same way that downtown Macon has fundamentally changed — from the neglect of over 10 years ago to its vibrancy today — Miller forecasts that Atrium Health Amphitheater and other institutions such as Middle Georgia State University will help revitalize west Macon-Bibb County.
Brunswick Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Anthony Harrison will preside over the trial of former Long County Commission Chair Robert Parker and his alleged accomplice, according to WTOC.
Judges of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, who would normally oversee a case in Long County, have voluntarily recused themselves from the case.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation raided the Long County Board of Commissioners office in September for the alleged misappropriation of county funds.
Parker faces several charges, including aggravated assault, violating Georgia’s racketeering act, three counts of theft by taking, and violation of oath of office.
Parker is also accused of putting a gun in the mouth of a county employee back in 2023.
A survey by United States Senator Jon Ossoff and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reveals confusion among some Georgia OB/GYNs about the state’s abortion law, according to WALB.
The survey reveals that Georgia physicians are often unsure when they are legally allowed to intervene in medical emergencies during pregnancy, resulting in delayed care that could cost lives.
Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, or LIFE Act. bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks of pregnancy.
According to the ACOG, which contributed to the survey, clinicians question, “How sick is sick enough to intervene?”
Georgia doctors reportedly hesitate to determine whether intervention is legally justified.
One of the doctors cited in the report, Athens-based OB-GYN Dr. Lara Hart, recalled a disturbing case involving a pregnant woman carrying twins. The fetuses had no chance of survival, but doctors before her waited for a life-threatening infection to develop before acting.
“Is it when she just runs a fever,” Hart said. “Is it when she has obvious signs of infection? Is it when she’s on a ventilator in the ICU? Is it when she actually codes? In this situation, you can save the mother, or you can save nobody.”
She described the patient as deteriorating rapidly.
“No one did anything, and she continued to get sicker and sicker. When I came on call, she was on a ventilator in the ICU on the verge of death.”
The state’s abortion restrictions have come under increased scrutiny following a report by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, which cited leaked findings from Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee. The report revealed that the deaths of two women from abortion-related complications were determined to be preventable.
Augusta Commissioners are investigating why the city had to reimburse the federal government more than $6 million dollars, according to WJBF.
It was a long legal session behind closed doors, but city leaders are taking no new action on suspended Housing and Development Director Hawthorne Welcher.
“I got to wait until we get all the information back from the audit etcetera and so we’ll take it and make a decision at that time,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Wayne Guilfoyle.
Welcher was placed on leave earlier this month, after commissioners approved reimbursing the federal government $6.5 million dollars.
The feds contracted the city back in November, saying that federal rental assistance funds that were not used needed to be returned.
“This is money that we’re having to pay back. It’s not just going to be$6.5 million we have to pay back, you know, that it’s going be more and that money could be used elsewhere,” said Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice.
“It’s not a full $6 and a half million dollars that are missing, we do have the majority of that but we do not have all of it. But a penny missing is a problem,” said Commissioner Alvin Mason.
City leaders are waiting on the results of an audit before deciding the next step on Welcher. The timeline on getting the audit done is still up in the air.
Habersham County Commissioners announced Interim County Manager Tim Sims will serve as County Manager, according to AccessWDUN.
Habersham County officials said Sims has been serving as Interim County Manager since December, when previous manager Alicia Vaughn left the role.
“After carefully reviewing over 60 applicants and then narrowing it down to three very good men who are all highly qualified, we chose to stay the course with Mr. Tim Sims since he has worked for our county now for several years as Chief Financial Officer and as Interim County Manager. Mr. Sims is very aware of the needs of our employees in our County, and he knows our vision for the future,” Commission Vice Chairman Bruce Harness said. “I’m not taking anything away from all the other applicants. I believe that Mr. Sims will do a great job for our county, and I’m looking forward to working with him. I think he clearly understands that Habersham County is a little slice of heaven that we must preserve and protect and that we must control and manage future growth so that our beautiful and wonderful county is not destroyed by runaway and rampant growth.”
Sims has been with Habersham County for four years, serving as the Chief Financial Officer.
Before serving in Habersham, he worked for Hall County, where he progressed from a Staff Accountant to a Financial Administrator.
Sims has served in local government for twenty-six years.
“I am humbled that the Board of Commissioners entrusted me to lead the county,” Sims said. “I am excited to lead Habersham in a positive way, making this great county shine.”
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