On August 11, 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg declared martial law in Atlanta.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the summer commencement address at the University of Georgia on August 11, 1938. Later that day, Roosevelt endorsed Lawrence Camp over incumbent Governor Walter F. George, saying George had not been sufficiently supportive of the New Deal.
The Atlanta Braves signed legendary Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige on August 11, 1968. Here’s a story on what the Braves signing meant to Paige:
In 1968, the right-hander was 158 days shy of the five years’ playing time needed to qualify for the major league pension. He would reach out to 29 teams and 29 teams would turn him down.
The problem was, he was 62.
But Braves president Bill Bartholomay saw an opportunity. While it would help at the box office for a franchise that was in its third season in Atlanta, it was also about something more.
“I jumped all over it, because I just thought it was the right thing to do,” said Bartholomay, currently the team’s chairman emeritus. “I didn’t think of it so much from the standpoint of diversity, I thought it was just the right thing to do.”
After reaching his 158 required days, Paige left the Braves and less than three years later, began drawing that pension. He received $250 a month.
“It was momentous and he did quality for his pension,” Bartholomay said, “but more importantly, the slight recognition for one of the great athletes, maybe one of the .. certainly short list of greatest pitchers of all time.”
“Baseball would have been guilty of negligence should it not assure this legendary figure a place in the pension plan,” the [Braves] owner said at the signing in 1968. Looking back 40 years on, Bartholomay says Satchel justified his faith by performing sensationally as a goodwill ambassador.
“He came to us four months after the King funeral in Atlanta,” says Bartholomay. “Those were pretty tough times for African-Americans and the country in its entirety. Satchel understood that. He helped in a way that went way beyond baseball.”
On August 11, 1984, Ronald Reagan jokingly announced that he had “signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever…we begin bombing in five minutes,” without knowing he was speaking into a live microphone.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Brian Kemp told a Chamber of Commerce lunch that crime is the greatest threat to prosperity in Georgia, according to WRDW.
Gov. Brian Kemp is telling business leaders that crime is the most significant threat to Georgia’s future, keeping up his emphasis on the issue as he seeks re-election in 2022.
He says he’s prioritized going after criminal street gangs with a task force within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and pushed legislation to crack down on street racing. He also cited the launch of a unit to reduce crime in Atlanta.
“Rising crime and violent crime are not just Georgia issues – but that is not an excuse for us to do nothing,” he said. “We all can and should do whatever is necessary to protect our citizens and ensure families are safe. Because by doing so, we can build a safer, stronger Georgia – together.”
“Our capital city is facing a crime and public safety crisis, but it is also a challenge facing many of our communities across Georgia,” Gov. Kemp said.
“Simply put, if crime is rampant on the streets of your local community, businesses will look elsewhere, workforces will leave, and visitors won’t show up and investment will stop,” Kemp explained.
The governor urged local chambers of commerce and business leaders to engage with law enforcement, prosecutors, schools, churches, and community groups to come up with solutions. He suggested job training and mental health programs to help steer people away from criminal activity.
Georgia Chamber President and CEO Chris Clark said it is an issue they have heard a lot about recently.
“For the last several months, our members have been coming to us talking about the impact of public safety, the rising crime rates. So, our policy committee has been working to really take a strong position that public safety matters to economic development and prosperity and economic mobility,” said Clark.
“The business community needs to be there and be at the table, because it impacts us. It impacts our livelihoods,” said Clark. “So, yes, we’re going to stand with the governor, stand with [House Speaker David Ralston]. I know it’s a big issue in our mayoral race in Atlanta too, but it is a statewide issue and that’s why we’re engaging.”
“I believe that chambers of commerce have an important role in working with public health departments at the county or district level to organize vaccination events for their members,” said Gov. Kemp.
The Republican used the Georgia Chamber’s annual congressional luncheon on Tuesday as a platform to urge the corporate community to join his administration’s efforts to crack down on crime.
He warned the executives who gathered in Columbus that “if crime is rampant on the streets of your local community, businesses will look elsewhere, workforces will leave, visitors won’t show up and investment will stop.”
At the luncheon, Kemp pushed corporate leaders to lean on their business experience and civic background to promote new job training and mental health programs on the local level, as well as demand better funding for law enforcement officials.
“Because when local leaders have difficult conversations about issues that impact the daily lives of everyone around them, and hold people accountable, real change can happen,” he said.
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Clayton News Daily:
The growth in violent crime has become a high-priority issue for Kemp and legislative leaders in recent weeks. The governor announced last month that he would add addressing crime to the agenda of a special session the General Assembly will hold this fall to redraw Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts.
Kemp also has committed up to $7 million from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to help finance the activities of the state Department of Public Safety’s Crime Suppression Unit.
Top legislative leaders also have floated proposals to combat violent crime. House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, has proposed putting $75 million toward boosting law enforcement and mental health services in Georgia.
Hospitals across Georgia are inundated with COVID cases, according to the AJC.
A steep increase in seriously ill COVID-19 patients has pushed hospitals statewide into crisis mode again this week, prompting worries that the new surge may overwhelm facilities already struggling to find enough nurses to adequately staff emergency rooms and intensive care units.
Large hospitals in metro Atlanta frequently went on diversion status this week because they were so full, sending ambulances elsewhere. Some elective procedures started to get pushed back across the state to free up medical staff and hospital beds.
Statewide, the seven-day rolling average for hospitalizations — 3,214 as of Tuesday — exceeded the peak of last summer’s surge. In five of the state’s 14 hospital regions, fewer than 10 ICU beds were open.
“This is an extraordinary point of the pandemic,” said Dr. Dianna Grant, chief medical officer at the Phoebe Putney Health System in Albany, which was the first in Georgia to be hit hard by COVID-19. “Seventeen months ago, when the Albany area was an early hotspot, we were an outlier. Other hospitals that were not dealing with an onslaught of patients had the ability to help. That’s not the case now. All hospitals are operating at capacity.”
Nurses were in short supply even before the pandemic. Now it’s a crisis with every hospital and nursing home trying to make hires from a very limited pool. Already, hospitals in Albany, Macon and Atlanta have been delaying some elective procedures to cope with the problems.
“Our biggest issue in caring for COVID patients is staff,” said Rebecca Sylvester, a spokesperson for the University Health Care System in Augusta, where the number of COVID-19 patients has increased from 26 to 91 in the last two weeks.
Kerry Trapnell, CEO of Elbert Memorial Hospital in Elberton, said the spike at Athens-area hospitals is spilling over to his small rural hospital. “We’re glad to help larger hospitals, but we’re now at near capacity,” Trapnell said.
Monday, the hospital called 20 other Georgia facilities to try to get a patient with presumed COVID transferred. “No one had an available bed,” Trapnell said. “Finally a bed cleared up … but the patient ended up passing there. It’s sad, and I am not going to imply that the delay cost the patient’s life, but you don’t know. That’s the concern of not being able to transfer patients where they need to go.”
The Macon Telegraph reports that Governor Kemp is considering incentives for vaccinations.
Kemp did not mention the matter during a speech he made Tuesday in Columbus at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Congressional Luncheon, but a spokesperson said that the governor is “considering a variety of incentives.”
“Governor Kemp has been consistent in saying that the vaccine is safe and effective and that every Georgian should consider talking to their doctor about getting the life-saving shot,” spokesperson Mallory Blount said in a text message.
Neither Kemp nor Blount said what incentives were being considered. But Blount said the governor wasn’t considering a lottery incentive program like ones seen in other states.
Some local governments in Georgia have offered vaccine incentives. The DeKalb County government gave $50 prepaid debit cards to the first 300 people who received COVID-19 vaccinations during the county’s monthly food distribution on July 24.
The Kemp administration has considered providing COVID-19 vaccine incentives for several months. Blount’s statement Tuesday matches what she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution back in May regarding incentives.
United States Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme Northwest Georgia) has been silenced for a week on Twitter, according to the Rome News Tribune.
Twitter has suspended U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s account for one week after she posted what the company labeled as “misleading” claims in a tweet about COVID-19 and vaccines.
Greene, who represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, tweeted on Monday night: “The FDA should not approve the covid vaccines. There are too many reports of infection & spread of #COVID19 among vaccinated people. These vaccines are failing & do not reduce the spread of the virus & neither do masks. Vaccine mandates & passports violate individual freedoms.”
A Twitter spokesperson said the tweet “was labeled in line with our COVID-19 misleading information policy. The account will be in read-only mode for a week due to repeated violations of the Twitter Rules,” according to CNN.
This is at least the third time Greene has been suspended from Twitter for false claims, with the most recent temporary ban coming last month.
State Senator Brandon Beach (R-North Fulton) said he’ll introduce legislation banning employer vaccine mandates, according to the Georgia Recorder via the Albany Herald.
Alpharetta Republican Sen. Brandon Beach says he will file a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would prohibit any COVID-19 vaccine mandate or requirement that a so-called vaccine passport can be used as a condition to work, go to school or enter a business.
“It should not be the place of any government or business to institute mandates that their employees or customers receive a COVID-19 vaccine or to provide proof of vaccination in order to receive a service,” Beach said.
Beach frustrated his colleagues last year when he showed up for a special session even though he felt sick. A COVID-19 test later came back positive.
Piedmont Healthcare is set to become the first Georgia health network to mandate a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 1. Delta Air Lines has required all new hires in the U.S. to be vaccinated since May, and Atlanta’s Cox Enterprises has said it will call on employees who enter its headquarters and certain other offices to be vaccinated.
Athens-Clarke County will likely be the first county in the state to impose a vaccination requirement for government employees; its mandate is set to start Sept. 1.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson (D) said the coastal city may have to reimpose more restrictions due to rising COVID numbers, according to WTOC.
During his weekly update, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said as local COVID case numbers go up, the city will look at taking actions beyond the mask mandate and encouraging businesses to require masks indoors. Mayor Johnson was asked what additional actions means, beyond what the city is already doing, and he said if they must start restricting even more than they’ll do it.
“If that means cancelling or restricting the size of public events, we’ll do that. Obviously, we don’t want to do that,” he said.
Mayor Johnson said if the numbers dictate that events need to be scaled back, then they’ll consult with local health leaders and scale them back.
The mayor also mentioned permitting for larger-scale events hosted in public spaces in the coming months might stop altogether, too.
“Most of our employees are probably not vaccinated. It’s probably somewhere near 50/50. And we’re not shutting down again,” Mayor Johnson said.
The mayor was asked if mandating vaccines for city employees is being considered, and he said it’s not on the table today.
The Glynn County Board of Education voted against requiring masks at the county’s schools, according to The Brunswick News.
The United States Senate approved a $1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill that could send billions to Georgia, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald.
The $1 trillion legislation, which cleared the Senate 69-30 and now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives, includes $8.9 billion for highway projects in the Peach State, $1.3 billion for transit expansion, $225 million to repair bridges, $619 million for airport improvements and $135 million to build EV charging stations.
It also contains at least $100 million to expand broadband connectivity in Georgia.
“Today’s historic bipartisan vote to upgrade our infrastructure, promote clean energy, and create good-paying jobs will benefit Georgians for generations to come,” said Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who voted for the bill along with fellow Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
“The investments we make now will set us forward on a path toward sustainability, innovation, and world-class transit and transportation across our state. And we have proven that America’s elected leaders can rise above partisanship to serve the national interest.”
The vast majority of the transit funding earmarked for Georgia — $923 million — would go to transit systems in metro Atlanta. However, 15 other transit agencies across the state would receive allocations ranging from $5.8 million to $33 million, including systems serving Augusta, Savannah, Athens, Macon, Columbus, Brunswick and Rome.
Savannah could receive millions of dollars of federal funding under the infrastructure bill, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The infrastructure bill was passed Tuesday and is one of the largest federal investments in infrastructure in history. The push to fund $1.2 trillion in capital improvement projects nationwide moved one step closer for states and local governments looking to repair and bolster aging infrastructure. The bill must pass the U.S. House before Pres. Joe Biden can sign it into law.
Biden’s definition of “infrastructure” includes everything from roads, bridges and broadband to affordable housing and childcare.
Rep. Buddy Carter, R, added funding for the city’s 16-year plan to improve congestion along DeRenne Ave. and I-516. It’s the only Savannah-area project specifically mentioned in the bill, and would help the project cross the finish line by funding $20 million of Phase III repairs to the busy thoroughfare.
The funding will be finalized when the House passes its version of the bill, which probably won’t happen until next month, according to USA Today.
Increasingly regarded as a public utility, 20% of Savannah households do not have Wi-Fi or internet access, according to a 2020 Census survey.
The infrastructure package would seed $65 billion into widening broadband access, specifically to the country’s rural communities. Some Georgia communities, like Miller County near the Florida border, are widely without internet access. Only 4% of Miller County residents, a rural community near the Alabama border, have access to internet, according to the Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs.
According to Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock’s offices, the bill includes $1.36 billion for public transportation across Georgia, including $25 million for Augusta-Richmond County, $24 million for Athens-Clarke and $30.7 million for Savannah.
Warnock also introduced an amendment with Sen. Ted Cruz to give official designation to a federal highway project, Interstate 14, which would begin near Augusta and end in West Texas, connecting military bases and rural communities across five states.
Some of Georgia’s Republican House representatives disagreed.
Republican Rep. Jody Hice from the 10th Congressional District, who is running for Georgia Secretary of State, Tweeted “How in the world did that $1.2 trillion bill pass in the Senate 69 to 30? Two words. RINO Republicans!!!” using an acronym for “Republicans in name only.”
Staff for House Representative Rick Allen, R-Augusta, did not say Allen outright opposes the bill, but did say he is concerned that the bill does not currently provide the needed investments in infrastructure and thinks that the new spending may cause rising inflation.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office declined to comment on the legislation until it is signed into law.
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents adopted an FY 2023 budget request of $2.57 billion, up $110 million from the previous year, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald.
Although Gov. Brian Kemp has asked state agencies not to ask for more money next year, the system’s budget represents a $108.1 million increase over the current $2.46 billion spending plan.
The additional spending covers items that were exempted from the governor’s order, Tracey Cook, the system’s executive vice chancellor for strategy & fiscal affairs, told the regents Tuesday.
Those items include $99.4 million to account for growth in student enrollment, nearly $9 million for changes in employee and retiree health insurance plans and $460,569 for a slight increase in square footage at the system’s colleges and universities.
The regents also approved a capital budget request of $278.8 million.
Cobb County Commissioners are considering reducing public comment, according to the AJC.
Cobb County is considering a move that would cut the amount of time residents can speak at meetings in half and only allow comments after commissioners have voted.
The county currently allows up to 12 speakers to address the board of commissioners during two public comment sections at each meeting. One of the time slots comes at the beginning of meeting before the commission takes any votes. The second segment is toward the end of meetings just after all matters have been voted upon.
Up to six people can speak during both public comment sections, and all speakers are allotted up to five minutes apiece.
A resolution included on Tuesday’s agenda would’ve changed the rules of procedure for public meetings, limiting public comment to the time slot at the end of each meeting after the board votes.
Macon-Bibb County is considering changes to the alcohol ordinance, according to 13WMAZ.
Mayor Lester Miller and assistant county attorney Michael McNeill read the new changes to the alcohol codes for the county.
The new codes revolve around increasing security measures.
It says businesses need cameras that are 1080p high definition, and must be able to capture the face and clothing of people in and around the business.
These cameras must be approved and inspected by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office to pass.
“What we had run into in or previous instances in convenience stores and other places is you’ll have not very good images, so we’ll make sure we have the best technology available and we’ll have a clear vision and a camera,” Miller says.
It also sets a focus on armed security, which is required for nightclubs.
It says anyone hired for armed security must be licensed by an outside authority before being able to carry a weapon while working.
The Glynn County Board of Elections voted to approve a new polling place and for changes in election administration, according to The Brunswick News.
Plans to relocate the board of elections offices to the old CVS pharmacy building on Gloucester Street remain ongoing. Elections officials are working with the county to develop a floor plan. The move is needed because of the lack of space in the current location and a state mandate to add more voting machines next year.
Elections officials plan to destroy hard copies of voter registration cards that are now electronically copied and backed up on computer every 48 hours. According to state law, elections officials only need to hold the hard copies for three days after they are electronically scanned.
Qualifying for upcoming city elections will run 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 16-20 at the Board of Elections Office in the Office Park Building, 1815 Gloucester St. The cost to qualify to run for Brunswick mayor is $469.
There are also two city commission seats, one for the North Ward and one for the South Ward, that will be contested. Qualifying to run for city commission is $342.
The two commissioners up for reelection are South Ward Commissioner Felicia Harris, who has indicated she will seek another four-year term, and North Ward Commissioner Vincent Williams, who announced earlier his intention to run for mayor.
Mayor Cornell Harvey will have served two terms at the end of this year. The city charter prohibits him from running for a third term.
The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners is holding hearings on a “tax increase” that are required because adopting a lower millage rate as last year will result in higher revenues due to rising property values, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Tuesday at 6 p.m. the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners holds the first in a series of three legally required public hearings for a 2% “increase” in property taxes, despite rolling back the millage rate by a fraction of a mill.
A law called the Georgia Taxpayer Bill of Rights requires that local governments either roll back their millage rates to compensate for rising property values or announce the revenue gain as a tax increase. This year’s situation is somewhat unusual because the commissioners are proposing a rollback, but not enough of one to avoid the requirement for hearings.
“It’s not a gigantic rollback, but we’re proud to be able to say we’re able to do something,” county commissioners Chairman Roy Thompson said last week. “We wish we could have rolled back more, but we’re doing everything we can within the confines of the money that we have and the services that we need to provide.”
“In (fiscal year) 2021, we had a very restricted budget because of the pandemic,” [County Manager Tom Couch] stated in an email reply last week. “The F.Y. 2022 budget is very personnel-driven in an effort to restore services to a pre-pandemic level. It is driven primarily by needs in public safety and the court system.”
Suwanee is considering retaining the same property tax millage rate for the ninth consecutive year, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Former Albany City Commissioner Bobby Coleman will run for a seat representing Ward II, according to the Albany Herald.
Bobby Coleman is the second candidate to announce his intention to run for the Ward II seat currently held by Matt Fuller.
Jalen Johnson announced he will be seeking the position earlier, and Fuller has not said whether he will seek a second term. There has been speculation that community activist Amna Farooqi would seek a commission seat, but she has denied that speculation.
Qualifying begins Monday for that seat and for two others, according to the Albany Herald.
Qualifying for commission Wards II, III and V will run Monday through Friday in seats held, respectively, by Commissioners Matt Fuller, B.J. Fletcher and Bob Langstaff.
The qualifying fee is $450. If only one candidate qualifies for a seat, no election will be necessary in that ward.
“If there is no opposition, that candidate is assumed to vote for themself, so the precincts in that ward would not be required to be open (on Election Day),” Nickerson said.
Oconee County Board of Education Chairman Tom Odom announced he will retire from his position due to health issues, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
A new chairman will be elected by school board members this year as allowed by local law, according to a statement from the school district.
Forsyth County Parks and Recreation will host remote e-sports leagues, according to AccessWDUN.
Following the establishment of esports programs in Forsyth County’s high schools, Forsyth County Parks and Recreation is now launching similar programs this fall.
“We got a green light to go ahead and start creating a program within the county because Forsyth County was the first county in Georgia that required the esports program amongst the high schools,” [Old Atlanta Recreation Center recreation coordinator Jake] Grindle said.
Grindle said, for now, the leagues will be held remotely in four games: Fortnite, Rocket League, Madden NFL 21 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A gaming lounge and local gaming space are planned for the Old Atlanta Recreation Center in the near future to offer in-person leagues.
The current leagues are offered for those ages eight and up, something which Grindle said is atypical for a parks and rec program.
“Neptune” the Sea Turtle was released after rehabilitation, according to WTOC.
After a few years of nurturing sea turtle “Neptune,” the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium released her back into open waters this week.
“You have watched them grow from where they fit in the palm of your hand with plenty of room to spare to barely lift them out of the aquarium,” said Lisa Kovalanchik, Assistant Curator at UGA Aquarium.
Neptune was found as a straggler, meaning she made it out of the egg but did not leave the nest with her siblings.
During her three years at the UGA aquarium, almost 75,000 people in person and virtually were able to interact with Neptune.
“Being able to showcase these animals and have people learn from them and really remember the animal they are seeing in the tank of the aquarium and thinking about that next time they are at the beach,” said Kovalanchik.
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