The State Highway Department was created on August 16, 1916 to comply with federal funding requirements, when Georgia Governor Nathaniel Harris signed legislation by the General Assembly.
Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey signed legislation creating the State Department of Banking on August 16, 1919.
Georgia Governor Clifford Walker signed legislation changing the method of execution in Georgia from hanging to the electric chair on August 16, 1924.
On August 16, 1974, The Ramones played their first public show at CBGB in New York.
Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Brian Kemp and Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey will speak this afternoon about COVID and Georgia’s hospitals, according to WSB-TV.
More than 87% of the state’s ICU beds were in use. More than 40 hospitals statewide were turning away all patients, emergency patients or intensive care patients.
In Southeast Georgia Health System’s hospitals in Glynn and Camden counties, more than half of the patients are suffering from the virus. Officials say 95% of those affected are unvaccinated.
The state is already surging its testing program, asking people who need to get tested to go to the health department or private sites.
“Don’t go to the emergency departments who right now are overwhelmed with really sick individuals,” Toomey said.
The governor is also going to unveil new incentives to encourage state workers to get vaccinated, but officials say Georgians should not expect Kemp to call for a vaccine mandate.
Twelve Georgia county school systems have temporarily closed or delayed opening due to COVID:
Crisp County (High School only at this time)
Ware County (11 schools)
Larger county school systems have seen limited closures:
Clayton County – Kendrick Middle School and Church Street Elementary temporarily closed
Cobb County – East Side Elementary Fifth Grade temporarily closed
Whitfield and Murray County municipalities will open qualifying for local elections, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
Dalton: Qualifying will take place Monday, Aug. 16, to Friday, Aug. 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the city clerk’s office in City Hall.
Up for election on the City Council are Ward 2, held by Annalee Harlan, and Ward 4, held by Gary Crews. Both have said they are running for reelection.
There will also be a special election to fill the unexpired term of Derek Waugh for the Ward 1 seat. Waugh stepped down in July after taking a job in the Atlanta area. The term runs through Dec. 31, 2023. Former mayor Dennis Mock has said he will run for that position.
Elections will also be held for Dalton City Board of Education, Tunnel Hill City Council (where a City Council member serves as Mayor), Varnell Mayor and Council, Chatsworth City Council, and Eton Council and Mayor.
State Representative Mickey Stephens (D-Savannah) has died, according to WTOC.
Stephens was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives for one term in 2002-2003. He was reelected in 2009 and served on the Health & Human Services, Insurance, Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, Regulated Industries and Ways & Means committees. He also previously served on the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Public Education and the Savannah Zoning Board of Appeals.
Stephens was married to his wife Gloria for 47 years. They had two children, Edward Jr. and Karlis, and three grandchildren, Kyrin, Lauren and Raven.
Georgia House of Representatives Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) released the following statement Saturday night:
“The passing of Mickey Stephens takes from us one of Georgia’s most solid leaders. A man of quiet strength, Mickey was a pillar in the Georgia House and he was my dear friend. Mickey’s utmost priority was the well-being of his constituents and no one fought harder for their community. Our prayers are with Gloria and his family during this time.”
From the Savannah Morning News:
Stephens, born on April 4, 1944, served on the House’s Health and Human Services Committee, the Insurance Committee, the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee, the Regulated Industries Committee and the Ways and Means Committee in the 2019 and 2020 session.
Stephens’ illness had sidelined him since 2019. He was hospitalized for three months in 2019, and hadn’t cast a vote on legislation since the 2018 session. In recent years, he’d been homebound, but ran unopposed for re-election in November, winning 63% of the vote.
Fellow Savannah legislator and friend Ron Stephens said his legislative colleague was often “the glue” that held the Savannah delegation together. Despite being from opposing parties, Ron Stephens said his “brother from a different mother” was unfazed by partisan politics, and was quick to remind the Savannah delegation of their purpose.
“He made sure that we were always focused on the coast and Savannah-Chatham,” Ron Stephens said.
Ron Stephens said he believes the Savannah representatives were, per capita, the strongest of any city in Georgia — there were a couple of times he put out campaign signs for Mickey Stephens.
Ron Stephens said out of all the issues that came across his colleague’s desk, those involving education were the most important.
The National Park Service calls the licensing of the proposed Camden Spaceport an “unacceptable risk,” to Cumberland Island, according to The Brunswick News.
The National Park Service is pushing back after a U.S. government report recommended approval of a launch pad for commercial rockets on the Georgia coast, saying a chance of explosive misfires over a federally protected island popular with tourists and campers poses an “unacceptable risk.”
The proposed Spaceport Camden took a big step forward in June, when the Federal Aviation Administration issued a final environmental impact study that concluded building the spaceport would be its “preferred alternative.”
Now the Park Service and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior, are disputing the FAA’s conclusion that the spaceport poses minimal risks or adverse impacts to Cumberland Island, a federally protected wilderness. The island, known for wild horses and nesting sea turtles, is managed by the Park Service and draws about 60,000 visitors each year.
“The FAA is the subject matter expert on launch vehicle safety,” Gary Blount, chairman of the Camden County Board of Commissioners, said in a statement, “and we believe the FAA and the Department of Interior will develop an acceptable path forward just as they have done in other launch site applications.”
Harris County schools will require masks starting today, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
The Harris County School District will require all students to wear masks beginning Monday after announcing 389 students are in quarantine after they were potentially exposed to COVID-19.
Previously, the school district required all faculty, staff and visitors to wear masks, but the face coverings were optional for students.
Albany Ward II Commissioner Matt Fuller will not run for reelection, according to the Albany Herald.
Fuller, who was elected in 2017, said he will endorse Jalen Johnson, who is one of two candidates who have announced intentions to run for the Ward II seat. Former commission member Bobby Coleman is the other candidate who has announced.
The Fulton County Board of Education adopted a slight rollback in the property tax millage rate, according to the AJC.
The board recently set the tax rate at 17.59 mills, slightly lower than the previous rate of 17.796 mils.
For the owner of a $300,000 house, the difference between the two rates is $24 a year.
Although the rate is lower, it is legally considered a 3.12% tax increase because the district didn’t lower the rate far enough to offset tax increases from higher property valuations.
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