On August 18, 1591,the English settlement at Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of what is now North Carolina was found deserted.
James Oglethorpe and the Creek Indians signed the Treaty of Coweta Town, delineating geographic areas open to British settlement, on August 21, 1739.
On August 20, 1781, General George Washington sent Continental troops from New York toward Yorktown, Virginia to engage British troops under Gen. Cornwallis.
On August 18, 1795, President George Washington signed a treaty with Great Britain called the Jay Treaty, after Supreme Court Justice John Jay who negotiated it. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison led opposition to the treaty.
USS Constitution earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” in battle against the British ship Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia on August 19, 1812. Launched in 1797, Constitution is today the oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy. Live oak from St. Simons Island were cut and milled for timber used in the constructions of Constitution. From a 1977 New York Times article:
The Constitution won her way into Americans’ hearts in 1812, when she defeated the British Guerriere off Nova Scotia in an exchange of broadsides. The spirit of the Constitution crew was noted by the Guerriere’s commander, James Dacres, who boarded the Constitution to present his sword in surrender.
“I will not take your sword, Sir,” the captain of the Constitution, Isaac Hull, replied. ”But I will trouble you for your hat.”
In the battle, a sailor — whether British or American is disputed by historians — is said to have cried out, ”Huzzah, her sides are made of iron!” as he watched an English cannonball bounce off the side of the Constitution. It was the birth of her nickname.
Part of the ship’s secret lay in the wood used in the design by Joshua Humphreys. He picked live oak, from St. Simons Island, Ga. The wood has proved so strong and resistant to rot that the original hull is intact, said Anne Grimes Rand, curator of the Constitution Museum in Charlestown, Mass.
On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner led the largest slave rebellion in American history; Turner was later hanged in Jerusalem, VA.
The first of the Lincoln-Douglass series of seven debates was held in Ottawa, Illinois, on August 21, 1858, pitting Democrat Stephen Douglass against Republican Abraham for the United States Senate seat held by Douglass. Expansion of slavery in the United States was the topic for the debates.
On August 18, 1862, Confederate Major General of Cavalry J.E.B. Stuart was nearly captured, losing his distinctive hat and cloak and written copies of Lee’s orders near Verdiersville, Virginia.
On August 20, 1906, Gov. Joseph Terrell signed legislation to build a statue of Georgia founding father James Oglethorpe in Savannah and a bill to build a statue of former Confederate General and Georgia Governor John B. Gordon at the State Capitol.
On August 21, 1907, Georgia Governor Hoke Smith signed legislation to place a Constitutional Amendment designed to disenfranchise African-Americans by requiring passage of a literacy test to vote. A number of exceptions allowed local officials to exempt white voters whom they wished to allow to vote; one exemption was for anyone descended from a U.S. or Confederate wartime veteran – the so-called “grandfather clause.”
On the same day, Gov. Smith also signed legislation prohibiting fishing on Sunday, subject to misdemeanor prosecution.
The Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution urging the creation of a federal Health Department on August 18, 1908.
The Georgia Department of Insurance was created on August 19, 1912 when Governor Joseph Brown signed legislation regulating companies selling policies in the states.
On August 18, 1916, the Cherokee Rose was designated the official state flower of Georgia by a joint resolution of the State House and Senate.
Governor Nathaniel Harris signed the first state law requiring school attendance for children 8-14 years of age on August 19, 1916; on the same day, Harris also signed legislation authorizing women to practice law in Georgia.
The practice of tipping service employees was outlawed by legislation signed on August 18, 1918.
Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey signed legislation regulating the practice of architecture and licensing practitioners on August 18, 1919.
The Georgia Board of Public Welfare was also created on August 18, 1919 when Gov. Dorsey signed legislation establishing that body and a companion bill that created the Community Service Commission.
Tennessee became the 36th state and the final state whose ratification was required to adopt the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920, which reads:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The Georgia Department of Archives and History was created by legislation signed by Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey on August 20, 1918.
The sale of Coca-Cola Company from the Candlers was announced in the Atlanta Constitution on August 22, 1919.
On August 20, 1920, the American Professional Football Association, which would later be renamed the National Football League, was formed in Akron, Ohio.
“Georgia” was designated the official state song on August 19, 1922 with Gov. Thomas Hardwick’s signature on a joint resolution passed by the General Assembly; in 1979, “Georgia On My Mind,” replaced it.
On August 20, 1923, Georgia Governor Clifford Walker signed legislation requiring state schools teach the United States and Georgia Constitutions and students pass an exam on the documents before being allowed to graduate.
On August 18, 1924 Gov. Clifford Walker signed legislation that would allow a referendum on a Constitutional Amendment to allow Atlanta, Savannah, or Macon to consolidate their respective municipal governments with their county governments. Macon-Bibb County merged in 2014 after voters passed a referendum in July 2012.
Adolf Hitler became President of Germany on August 19, 1934.
On August 21, 1935, Benny Goodman and his orchestra began a seven-night stand at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, beginning the Swing Era.
The United States Central Intelligence Agency supported a coup in Iran that restored the Shah of Iran on August 19, 1953.
Happy 62d birthday to Hawaii, which became the 50th State on August 21, 1959; they’ve undoubtedly been receiving AARP literature in the mail for twelve years.
N/S Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, visited the Port of Savannah on August 22, 1962. Savannah was named after S.S. Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. N/S Savannah is moored at the Port of Baltimore and designated a national historic landmark.
The Beatles played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on August 18, 1965. AtlantaTimeMachine.com has a couple images from the night.
On August 20, 1965, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones was released in the UK.
The 1968 Democratic National Convention began in Chicago on August 21, 1968.
On August 20, 1974, President Gerald Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President of the United States.
On August 19, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford was nominated for President by the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Ford received 1,157 (52.6%) delegates to 1,087 for Ronald Reagan (47.4%). Georgia’s 48 delegates voted for Reagan on the first ballot.
On August 19, 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
On the same day, Dr. Betty Siegel became the first female President of a state college or university in Georgia when she was named President of Kennesaw College on August 19, 1981; under her leadership, it became Kennesaw State University in 1996. Siegel served until 2006. Kennesaw State was recently named the 4th best college for food in the nation.
On August 18, 1991, hardline Commies in the Soviet Union arrested Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev as part of a coup against Gorbachev’s reforms.
On August 18, 2015, Jeb Bush visited The Varsity in Atlanta. Here’s the funniest line from the CBS46 story:
Recently, Bush put a series of “Jeb No Filter” videos on YouTube and some say it’s a way to bring up his popularity.
“We’re going to work hard to earn the support of Georgians in the March 1 primary. It’s the second largest state in the primary, it’s our neighbor to our north, we’re going to be working hard,” Bush said.
While the instinct behind “Jeb No Filter” may have been good, it would take Donald Trump to show what No Filter really means.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
A shortage of bees plagues Southwest Georgia farmers, according to WALB.
Beekeepers across southwest Georgia are experiencing some challenges because of a bee shortage.
Alan Owens is the owner of Odom Apiaries. Owens said the population growth has put a strain on farmers and beekeepers. The bee shortage affects both because bees pollinate food crops.
Pollinators are critical to our food supply. Owens said more than 30% of the world’s food and flowering plants include 130 fruits and vegetable plants — all of which depend on insect pollination.
Owens said inflation is another challenge he and his bee business are facing.
“With the economy the way it is, the cost of everything is going up and it’s going up faster than the cost of our product. It’s been an uphill battle for the last couple of years,” Owens said.
Governor Brian Kemp’s lawyers moved to quash the subpoena issued to compel his testimony before a Fulton County Grand Jury, according to CNN.
Kemp had been scheduled for a voluntary interview in July, his lawyers said in a court filing, but the interview was “unilaterally cancelled” after Kemp’s legal team inquired about its scope. The district attorney’s office then issued a subpoena, Kemp’s lawyers said.
“Governor Kemp has ardently defended the rule of law in this state. Moreover, he welcomes opportunities to explain and defend his actions,” a court filing from Kemp’s lawyers said. “However, the Subpoena ignores – and more importantly, the DA’s Office has refused to account for – the serious privileges it implicates in relation to the testimony of a sitting governor.”
The filing also argues that the subpoena is suspiciously timed to coincide with the “crescendo” in Kemp’s reelection campaign and is not “driven by genuine investigative need for information.”
Kemp’s office tried to schedule the interview and expressed concerns about the upcoming election, the filing says, but found the district attorney’s office to be unresponsive.
Kemp’s office also provided over 1,000 pages of material to investigators through a Freedom of Information Act request and 137,00 pages of materials voluntarily, the filing said.
The 121-page filing also accuses the Fulton County district attorney’s office of being unresponsive to the governor’s efforts to meet over the last 18 months and argues DA Fani Willis was making the probe political ahead of the November election.
“Unfortunately, what began as an investigation into election interference has itself devolved into its own mechanism of election interference,” the filing from attorney Brian McEvoy reads. “This is particularly egregious when directed toward the State’s highest executive, who is not accused of any wrongdoing and is occupied with the business of governing.”
The motion also argues that the governor should not have to answer the subpoena because of sovereign immunity and says some of the things he could be asked about are protected by attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.
But McEvoy, representing the governor, wrote in the filing that the DA’s office was the one stalling, sharing emails that show several messages left unanswered and a rotating cast of attorneys from the Fulton County office serving as points of contact, culminating with a “troubling phone call” that rejected proposed dates and nullified previous agreements and conversations about the governor’s appearance.
Brian F. McEvoy, Kemp’s lawyer, acknowledged for the first time that a sworn video statement that the governor was scheduled to record late last month was cancelled. He accused the DA’s office of gamesmanship with the grand jury process and deception as it served the governor with a subsequent subpoena for his testimony.
“For more than a year, the Governor’s team has continually expressed his desire to provide a full accounting of his very limited role in the issues being looked at by the special grand jury,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office said in a written statement. “We are now just weeks away from the 2022 general election making it increasingly difficult to dedicate the time necessary to prepare and then appear.”
In the motion to quash, McEvoy accused Fulton prosecutors of slow-walking Kemp’s testimony, and slammed the subpoena as an effort to politicize the governor’s testimony during the final months of his reelection bid. Willis is a Democrat.
“Here, the timing of the Subpoena in connection with the unjustified investigative delay reveals, at best, disregard of an unnecessary risk to the political process, and at worst, an attempt to influence the November 2022 election cycle,” the motion stated.
From the AJC Political Insider:
“If you look at the emails that have been released and, having dealt with the Kemp administration, I would put my faith more in the Fulton County DA’s office,” Abrams said. “I know that this has been a meticulous and very thoughtful investigation and that he is not the only Republican who has tried to skirt his responsibility to provide information.”
She also argued that Kemp’s move now shows that he is a “Trump conservative,” despite the fact that the governor refused the former president’s pressure campaign to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
“Brian Kemp is a dangerous extremist who has tried to hide himself behind one good action … He’s trying to play both moderate and MAGA but he is just extreme. He wants credit for standing up to Trump, but he’s refusing to testify to tell the truth.”
Georgia will subsidize rich people use federal funding to build out electric vehicle recharging stations, according to the Georgia Recorder via the Albany Herald.
Georgia’s multiyear plan to spend $135 million in new federal funding to boost electric vehicle charging will focus on the state’s rural and underserved communities, where fast public charging can be hard to come by.
The money is part of the $5 billion in federal funding that was packed into last year’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill with the purpose of building a national network of a half-million electric vehicle charging stations by 2030.
Jannine Miller, who is the state planning director for the Georgia Department of Transportation, told state transportation board members Wednesday that she sees the national program as a way to help instill confidence in people who may be reluctant to make the switch to electric.
“We want to bring comfort and confidence that as they leave their metro areas, they’ll be able to recharge safely and efficiently in rural parts of Georgia,” Miller said.
The state transportation agency plans to roll out these new stations through public-private partnerships, meaning the state would not own, operate or maintain the locations. Private partners will be found through a competitive solicitation process.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melynee Leftridge will allow a Democratic candidate for Public Service Commission to remain on the ballot despite her not meeting the residency requirement for the office, according to the AJC.
In a 31-page ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melynee Leftridge found that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s decision to reject the findings of an administrative law judge and disqualify Durand before the primary was flawed.
“The Secretary of State’s rejection of those findings is thus clearly erroneous, considering the reliable, probative and substantial evidence contained in the record,” Leftridge wrote.
PSC seats are voted on statewide, but Georgia law requires that candidates live within the boundaries of their district for 12 months prior to an election.
Durand, who is not a plaintiff in that case, previously lived in Gwinnett County, which was in District 2. Then, before candidate qualifying earlier this year, state lawmakers passed redrawn district maps for all five PSC seats and moved Gwinnett County out of District 2.
United States District Court Judge J.P. Boulee found it is too close to the November election for judicial changes to Georgia’s new voting laws, according to the AJC.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee ruled late Thursday against overturning the restriction contained in the election law passed last year. He found in a 74-page order that it was too soon before an election to make a change.
At a recent court hearing, voting organizations argued that Georgia’s ban on handing out snacks and water to fatigued voters should be blocked, telling the judge they have a free-speech right to encourage participation in elections.
Gwinnett County will store drinking water in Lake Lanier under an agreement with the state, according to AccessWDUN.
A new Water Storage Agreement will let Gwinnett County store its water supply in Lake Lanier for an annual fee. On Tuesday the county reached an agreement with the state. Gwinnett County, and others, have used water in the lake for many years, but for the first time, this grants long-term storage rights to meet Gwinnett County’s water supply needs.
In exchange, Gwinnett County has agreed to pay an annual storage fee to the State. It will cost roughly $1.5 million, in addition to yearly assessment fees. The county will have to pay their percentage of lake repairs, rehabilitation and replacement, as well as operation and maintenance.
The new agreement goes into effect as soon as Gwinnett County pays its first storage fee. The contract remains in effect for a minimum of thirty years.
The Capitol Beat News Service compares the candidates for State School Superintendent, via the Albany Herald.
Incumbent Republican Richard Woods, who is seeking a third term in November, described his achievements as state superintendent over the past eight years.
His administration reduced the number of high-stakes tests students have to take each year and the number of observations their teachers have to undergo, Woods said.
“I think the best thing we could do to address mental health in the state is giving our teachers time to build relationships with their kids,” he said. “If you put a great teacher who was nurturing in front of each and every child, that means that they have hours of therapy each day.”
Woods’ competitor, Democrat Alisha Thomas Searcy of Marietta, said her past experiences as a school superintendent, a state legislator who served on the House Education Committee and the mother of three school-age children qualify her for the position.
Searcy said that she envisions a Georgia where every school has a mental health professional on staff.
“Yes, that’s expensive. Yes, that’s a big goal. But, darn it, don’t our kids and our teachers and educators deserve that?” she asked.
Georgia State Senator and Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones says he would support a law to allow same-sex marriage, according to the AJC.
Burt Jones, a state senator from Jackson, told Axios this week that he has always supported Georgians being “with who you want to love.” His campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Georgia residents in 2004 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that established marriage as “only the union of man and woman.” Were the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell, Georgia’s constitution could require that the state not recognize same-sex marriages.
Asked whether he would support repealing the language in the state constitution, Jones told Axios he would “if we needed to.”
Social media is being blamed for rising car thefts in Savannah, according to WTOC.
A national TikTok trend has made its way to the Coastal Empire and it’s putting a strain on local police officers.
Savannah Police report a 50% uptick in auto thefts, but criminals are doing it in a different way.
People are still leaving keys in cars. The victims are 80% local and 20% tourists.
The trend shows criminals how to hot wire cars, using different methods than what’s been used in the past.
“There are specific ways it has to be done, but we have seen this uptick and it’s concerning.”
“They’re not trying to smash windows. They’re not trying to pry doors open. They’re trying to find unlocked cars and use this new method to take them.”
“Some are stolen because they’re left running idly. People go into the store because it’s hot outside and they want the AC to be cold when they come to the car, but it only takes a few seconds for someone to get in your car and drive off.”
Opioid overdoses have risen in Dougherty County, according to WALB.
Health department officials said Dougherty County is expected to have more drug overdose deaths than last year.
Dr. Charles Ruis, director of public health services, said last year, there were 38 overdose deaths in Dougherty County. This year, through July, there have already been 29.
“Between 2019 and 2021, the number of overdose deaths in Georgia has gone up 70%. From 1,390 to 2,390,” Ruis said.
The law provides limited liability for small amounts of drugs or alcohol. But does not protect those breaching parole, restraining orders, probations or other violations.
People can get free Naloxone or Narcan at the Dougherty County Health Department on Wednesdays from 1-5p.m.
File Under Unintended Consequences: the Georgia Department of Public Health is working on providing contraception to teens, according to WRDW.
[The] Georgia Department of Health says Georgia’s teen pregnancy rate is one of the highest in the country.
DPH wants to make birth control and contraceptives available to everyone.
Right now, they’re mainly focusing on young females since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. They want women to know what resources there are to help and how safe they are.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, health officials in our area say it’s important for every person to understand the resources available, especially birth control and contraception.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, health officials in our area say it’s important for every person to understand the resources available, especially birth control and contraception.
In Georgia, DPH says teenage pregnancy typically leads to a cycle of poverty and high dropout rates for school.
Henry County Commissioners are considering restricting short term vacation rentals, according to the AJC.
The south metro Atlanta community is looking at making it illegal to hold parties at short-term rentals, to have more than one-car per bedroom in houses dedicated to the sector and to implement licenses and fees.
In an effort to avoid large corporations buying multiple houses to turn into short-term rentals, the county also is considering limiting how many houses a homeowner can put on the short-term rental market.
A growing number of municipalities in the metro area have created ordinances to oversee short-term rentals, including Atlanta, East Point, Smyrna, Stockbridge and Hall County. Their numbers have grown as residents in communities with large numbers of short-term properties have complained about noise, parties and parking issues.
Statesboro city council is moving toward a partial rollback of the property tax millage rate, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Statesboro’s city government, with property tax increase hearings on Aug. 30 and Sept. 6 approaching, is no longer pursuing an increase in its millage rate. But it must hold the hearings anyway, since the city is still not proposing a rollback to offset inflation, averaging about 6.4%, in assessed property values.
That amount of inflationary growth, within Statesboro’s city limits, was actually lower than the inflation in Bulloch County’s overall property values, where it was 9.4% from Jan. 1, 2021, to Jan. 1, 2022. Those percentages do not include real growth from construction and development, which makes the local governments’ gain in revenue higher in each case. Inflation in home prices was also significantly higher than the average for all types of real estate.
Both the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education also held three tax increase hearings each as required under the state law known as the Property Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, since the county boards adopted only partial rollback rates, not the full amount required to offset the average inflation.
Valdosta will likely keep its property tax millage rate static and reap higher revenues due to rising assessments, according to WALB.
A millage rate is the tax rate used to determine local property taxes. And instead of using the rollback rate from previous years, the City of Valdosta is proposing a rate of 7.796 mills from last year.
The rollback rate they were using in previous years was 7.543 mills. If they use the adopted millage rate and you have a $200,000 home, the difference you’ll be paying is $18.79 a year.
“Because we had significant growth in our overall property tax digest and all we’re simply asking council is to let us use our growth from the digest and apply the same millage rate that we had in the prior year in order to continue the quality services that our citizens have grown custom to,” Mark Barber, city manager, said.
“The best way to speak to the millage rate increase that we’re talking about again it’s not a millage rate increase. We’re asking for the same millage rate applied to this year’s digest. So what that would mean is if we maintain the same millage rate as we had in the previous year, a $50,000 piece a property, their property tax would increase by $3.55 maximum. Depending on their exemption status, it would be lower than that of course. So that’s, again $3.55. About a penny a day for those who want to put it down per day.”
City leaders said the proposed millage rate is good for homeowners. The property tax increase won’t be dramatic.
“Majority of the funds were talking about stays within the city. Again, to provide fire services, police services, public work services, things of that nature,” said Barber. “And for the majority of people if the council does decide to maintain our current millage rate, if you had no growth, if you didn’t do anything new at your home or property nor were you reassessed, your tax bill will be exactly what it was the prior year.”
Troup County is considering adding metal detectors to middle and high schools, according to WTVM.
The potential safety measure was bought up during Monday’s work session after guns were confiscated from an employee and a student last Friday.
School officials say a loaded gun was found in a 17-year-old female’s purse at LaGrange High School. LaGrange police arrested two students as a result of the incident.
Once school ended Friday, a custodian was arrested at Ethel Kight Elementary School for allegedly bringing a firearm to work in his car.
“They have no place. Unless they’re a resource officer or someone like that who has education and training in handling a gun, I don’t believe they need to have guns in school with children,” said another Troup Co. Resident Valerie West, who went to a school where metal detectors were used.
Crisp County is banning large bags from high school football games, according to WALB.
If going to the game, purses must be 4.5x 6.5 or smaller. You can still bring a blanket, a stadium seat, binoculars, cameras and medical bags. You are not permitted to bring any other types of bags.
School Board Chairman Scott Forehand said they’ve been working with the school and law enforcement.
The policy is just for the game on Friday, which is a big rivalry for the school.
“We’ll take additional games as the season progresses but we haven’t made a decision on that,” Forehand said.
Five candidates qualified for Macon Water Authority District 2, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Voters of Macon Water Authority District 2 will have five candidates on the ballot during the special election Nov. 8, including the man who resigned the seat to qualify for a failed bid for MWA chairman.
Desmond D. Brown leads the ballot by alphabetical order ahead of Lindsay Holliday, Jeffery Howell, Michele Parks and Marshall Talley to fill Brown’s unexpired term. All have run for prior offices, except Howell, whose brother Bill represents the Macon-Bibb County Commission on the authority board.
Four candidates qualified for Rome Board of Education with qualifying closing today, according to the Rome News Tribune.
As of Thursday afternoon, Douglas Whatley Jr., Jennifer Carpenter, Ron Roach and board appointee Toni Blanchard have qualified for the post.
Qualifying will continue through 4:30 p.m. Friday at City Hall, 601 Broad St.
The Nov. 2, 2021, election saw nine candidates vying for the seats. The top seven vote-getters started new terms in January.
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