On August 26, 1864, having withdrawn from trenches and fortifications outside Atlanta the previous day, U.S. General Sherman sent most of his forces westward around Atlanta and toward the south of the city. Sherman’s forces tore up 12 miles of railroad between Red Oak and Fairburn on August 29, 1864.
On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted. Ratification took place on August 18, 1920, as the Tennessee House of Representatives adopted it, but adoption became official on August 26, when United States Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the Amendment. It 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.
On August 26, 1939, the first televised major league baseball game aired, as the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds split a doubleheader in Ebbets Field.
On August 26, 1961, the 718th Engineer Light Equipment Company of Fort Valley and the 210th Signal Base Depot Company of Augusta were called up to take part in the American response to the crisis in Berlin.
President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for President by the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey on August 26, 1964.
On August 26, 1965, Sonny & Cher were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Got You Babe’, the duo’s only UK No.1. Sonny Bono was inspired to write the song to capitalize on the popularity of the term “babe,” as heard in Bob Dylan’s ‘It Ain’t Me Babe.’
On August 26, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a Welfare Reform bill, called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
How is this a thing? A Paulding County Deputy Sheriff was buried last week after being shot Augusta 17th while serving a warrant, according to the AJC. On Friday, a Carroll County Deputy Sheriff was shot serving a warrant, according to the AJC.
Are significantly higher numbers of high-risk warrants being issued and served? Are criminals becoming more violent? Or is it just a tragic coincidence?
Maybe this will increase the pressure for a fix. Mail delivery issues are affecting tax payments, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., launched an inquiry Wednesday with the Internal Revenue Service after hearing from constituents who are being charged penalties and interest fees on late or missing payments they mailed to the IRS on time.
“These tax filings are not arriving by statutory deadlines due to ongoing USPS (United States Postal Service) performance issues, and some filings even remain unaccounted for,” Ossoff wrote in a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.
“Additionally, many of my constituents continue to experience financial hardships as a result of tax refund processing delays arising from ongoing problems with USPS management in Georgia.”
Ossoff questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a Senate committee hearing in April after receiving reports that only 36% of inbound mail processed by the Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center was being delivered on time.
DeJoy blamed the delays on problems rolling out a USPS restructuring plan aimed at making the postal service financially self-sufficient and better able to compete with private shippers. He moved to address the delays by bringing more than 100 employees from other mail processing centers to the Atlanta-area facility in Palmetto and revising transportation schedules between the regional center and other processing centers to increase local trips.
Ossoff is urging the IRS to waive penalties and interest fees incurred as a direct result of USPS delays, adjust taxpayer accounts in a timely manner so penalties and fees don’t accumulate, and to accelerate the processing of tax refunds for filers affected by the USPS delays.
A federal judge held that the Cobb County School District lacks standing to join the lawsuit over the county’s redistricting plan for the Board of Education, according to the AJC.
The Cobb County School District has no standing to appeal a previous ruling that redrawn school board maps likely violated federal law, federal judges said this month.
The school district has not been named in the ongoing legal battle over which parts of the county school board members will represent, though it has repeatedly intervened in the suit.
In 2022, voting rights groups filed a suit against the Cobb Board of Elections, alleging the school board and state lawmakers drew a map that unlawfully discriminates against communities of color by “packing” them into a small number of districts to dilute minority voting power.
The Board of Elections opted to settle with the plaintiffs almost a year ago, citing its position as a “neutral administrator of elections.” A federal court judge then ordered state lawmakers to draw a new map, but that order was suspended on appeal. Lawmakers went ahead and passed a new map anyway — one very similar to the disputed map — to be used in the 2024 election.
The judge will hear from both sides of the original suit and decide if the case and settlement agreement are now moot, since lawmakers have already approved a different map.
In the first year of the case, the school district spent over $1 million in legal fees to defend the map, despite not being named in the lawsuit, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Greg Bluestein writes in the AJC about how former President Trump and Governor Brian Kemp buried the hatchet.
The path to peace — or at least a temporary detente between the two Republicans — involved weeks of back-and-forth between their two camps, pressure from donors and some gentle nudging between their mutual allies.
It also took a timely appearance by Kemp on Fox News, where he repeated the same message he’s delivered for months — that he backed Trump despite their past differences — but at a time calibrated to ensure maximum attention.
It’s still unclear, for instance, whether Kemp will appear at a Trump campaign event or deploy his vaunted political machine, focused now on legislative races, to help the former president win an increasingly competitive battle for Georgia.
Desperate to reset, some of Trump’s top Georgia allies urged him to stick to the issues — gas and groceries — and avoid the infighting.
Loeffler, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and GOP congressional contender Brian Jack, each allies of both Kemp and Trump, pleaded for calm. Jones, in particular, had direct conversations with Trump’s campaign and the governor about turning the page. Wealthy donors close to Kemp also pressed him to reassure Trump he was still in his camp.
A political conference hosted by conservative commentator Erick Erickson a few days after the rally provided Kemp a platform to do just that. On stage, Kemp said his “position has not changed” and that he “was going to support the nominee and we were going to use our political operation to win Georgia.”
The governor would join Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Thursday just before Harris spoke — a time slot when Trump was likely to tune in. He went on air just as Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a potential candidate for governor in 2026, addressed the crowd about gun violence.
He also directly invoked the former president’s name, rather than just mentioning the GOP ticket: “We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House.”
No word on whether the duo sang “Kumbaya” together.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate will campaign in Savannah on Thursday, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The campaign confirmed that Vice President Harris and Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz will hold the rally on Thursday, a day after holding a bus tour in the Savannah area.
Mobilize.us, a Democratic website that organizes events, petitions and volunteer opportunities, has the event listed on its website where those interested can sign up to attend.
The only information for Thursday’s event is that it will be 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a brief saying, “Join VP Harris for a rally in the late afternoon/early evening on the 29th!”
Harris’ planned stop in Savannah during a seven-city battleground state tour wth Walz in early August was canceled because of Tropical Storm Debby.
Building off of the momentum of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz will kick off a bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday.
On the bus tour, the Vice President and Governor Walz will meet directly with voters in their communities.
In Thursday night’s rally, the Vice President will lay out the choice facing voters in the election between Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda verses a vision for a new way forward.
Team Harris-Walz is running the largest in-state operation of any Democratic presidential campaign cycle ever in Georgia, with more than 170 Democratic campaign staffers in 24 coordinated campaign offices across the state.
Campaigning in this part of the Peach State is critical as it represents a diverse coalition of voters, including rural, suburban, and urban Georgians – with a large proportion of Black voters and working-class families.
This campaign swing comes after the Harris-Walz campaign released a new TV ad on Friday, airing across media markets in 8 states including Georgia, focusing on the Vice President’s economic vision and belief in building up the middle class, lowering costs, and creating an opportunity economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead.
With polls showing a tight race between Harris and former President Donald Trump in Georgia, Democrats are ramping up their efforts to recapture the battleground state. The Harris campaign on Friday released a new TV ad in Georgia on her economic agenda.
Trump’s campaign is ceding no ground, pouring more than $20 million into a new volley of TV ads in the state. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, campaigned in Valdosta, hoping to drive up turnout in a deep-red part of the state.
The Harris campaign worked with local Democrats to energize their voting base, according to 13WMAZ.
According to a press release, the campaign is looking to “energize rural black communities across Georgia,” including a health and wellness day focused on Black men. Over 100 people attended
The event, hosted at the Bethel CME Church on Pio Nono Avenue in Macon, focused on topics like prostate, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
The event also looked to bring together the AME and CME churches in Georgia to work together going forward.
Another event later in the day was a community barbecue, which was focused on bringing men of all ages together.
Various pastors and local community members came together in Wilkinson County to celebrate.
There was also a campaign “She’s Focused” luncheon in Washington County. Many people, like McIntyre Mayor Vicki HOrne, Tennille Mayor Eartha T. Cummings, Clarkston Council Member YT ell, Reverend Bo Barber II and others spoke at both the luncheon and the barbecue.
The Savannah NAACP hosted an election forum, according to WTOC.
We’re 71 days away from the 2024 Presidential Election. Sunday, the Savannah NAACP hosted a forum to inform people about the voting process and how it will look this year.
The Savannah NAACP said their goal was to inform the community ahead of the November Presidential Election. The most important part-getting people to the polls.
“You make your selection on the touch screen, you print the ballot, take the ballot to the scanner and scan it into the ballot box,” said Chatham County Board of Elections Board of Elections Supervisor, Billy Wooten.
“If you can possible early vote, go on and early vote. There’s also going to be two Saturdays and then there’s some optional Sundays,” said Chatham County Board of Elections Supervisor, Glynda Jones.
Glynda Jones, a member of the Chatham County Board of Elections said, she’s confident the voting process will run smoothly this year.
“Coming out and speaking to the constituents here, it kind of helps them understand that nothing is intentionally done in an election. Staff try to do the best we can in these elections. They want to see a safe, accurate, fair election. They work hard to make it a safe, accurate, fair election,” said Jones.
Wooten said sample ballots could be available within the next week or two, so make sure to make your voice heard.
The Trump Campaign and local Republicans promoted the former President’s “No Tax on Tips” policy, according to 13WMAZ.
Trump’s campaign hosted a news conference Saturday ahead of the 8th District Republican Party’s annual fish fry at the Perry fairgrounds to discuss the policy. Georgia State Senate President Pro Tempore John Kennedy took the podium first, highlighting recent efforts to reduce the effects of inflation on Georgia families.
Kennedy, who represents Macon, says Georgians often ask him what legislators are doing to help.
“I hear from folks that are struggling, not only at the gas pump but also at the grocery line,” Kennedy said.
The state senator says Trump’s policy eliminating taxes on tips will help Georgians.
“Even though they’re taxes, we still believe that it belongs to the people and not the government,” he said.
[Moultrie-based caterer Sam] Gay elaborated on how it would help his employees and his business as a whole.
“President Trump’s initiative to reduce the tax burdens on small businesses like my own would reduce my requirement to track those tips and to tax those tips for the government,” he said.
Congressman Austin Scott spoke next, echoing Kennedy’s statements. Scott represents the 8th District, an area stretching from Macon to the state’s southern border, in Congress. He told a story about a recent trip to Waffle House with his children.
“I gave the $5 tip to the lady who’s done a great job for us, serving us. I didn’t give that money to the government,” he said. “I gave it to the lady who got up early that morning and came to work in the service industry.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has also embraced a similar policy, pledging to end federal taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers. While both presidential candidates support the policy, whoever is elected must convince Congress, as lawmakers have the final say.
Hundreds of GOP supporters flocked to Georgia National Fairgrounds for the annual 8th Congressional District Fish Fry.
The event brought a mixed crowd of elected officials, candidates vying for ballot spots, volunteers and guests.
The gathering comes a day after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp formally stamped his endorsement on former president Donald Trump’s campaign.
One of those officials is Senator John F. Kennedy who represents Senate District 18. Kennedy said that while the majority of Georgia votes red, because it’s a battle state, republicans have got bigger fish to fry.
“You’ve seen some very close elections and we may have a close election this time, which just makes it all the more important for people to understand it is important to go vote,” Kennedy said.
Both men said they are rooting for former president Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance to be in the White House.
“This is an incredibly important election and we need Donald Trump back in the White House,” Kennedy said.
State Senator Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) urged the State Senate Safe Firearm Storage Study Committee to consider gun safety legislation, according to WSAV.
Jones told the first meeting of the Senate Safe Firearm Storage Study Committee that his aim “is not a gun bill,” but instead he wants to build bipartisan support for improved gun safety. The committee heard ideas about tax credits for gun owners who install safety devices; educational campaigns; and safe storage measures.
“One of the things that I thought about in creating this study committee is, what can we do to save as many children as possible from an untimely death associated with a weapon in someone’s home that’s not stored safely,” Jones said.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s loud stance on gun rights helped him win his election and propelled him into the national spotlight. In 2022, Kemp signed a law allowing people to carry a handgun without a state-issued permit.
Democrats have tried to propose restrictive legislation, but resistance from Republicans has prevented bolder proposals from gaining traction.
This year, a bipartisan group of Georgia lawmakers attempted to pass firearm safety legislation. The bill would have offered a $300 tax credit for gun owners who have secure storage devices — including gun safes and locks — and complete firearm safety courses.
The bill passed 162-3 in the House, but failed in the Senate.
Republican Sen. Frank Ginn of Danielsville, who said he is a long-time member of the National Rifle Association, said he wants to ensure Georgia doesn’t jeopardize the rights of gun owners.
“I think about guns being like a parachute; You only need one when you need one, and if you need one and you don’t have one, it’s not doing you any good,” Ginn said.
Sen. Marty Harbin, a Tyrone Republican and committee member, said locking up firearms doesn’t necessarily prevent children from shooting themselves or others.
“The lock was not going to stop what they made up their minds to do,” Harbin said.
Harbin said parents aren’t doing enough to supervise their children, declaring “families are in crisis.” He suggested chaplains could be placed in schools to help address difficulties in the home.
Compounding the issue of firearm security: Atlanta had the second highest number of gun theft from cars in 2022 compared with cities nationwide, according to Everytown.
In May, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr reprimanded officials in Savannah for an ordinance that made it illegal for residents to store firearms in unlocked cars. Carr, a Republican, said the measure overstepped Georgia law. But this month, Savannah police began to enforce the ordinance, The Savannah Morning News reported.
Several states, including Rhode Island, Michigan, and North Carolina have enacted gun safety measures, and Atlanta officials recently hosted an event where they gave away gun lock boxes for cars.
Maybe someone can explain it to me, but I don’t understand how making lock boxes more widely used is a bad thing.
I’m not sure that’s true. The Augusta Chronicle writes that the Jefferson County Commission voted “to lower 2024 tax millage rate.”
Jefferson County residents are getting some good news as the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners voted to lower its millage rate to 14.954 for the 2024 Property Tax Millage. The FY 2023 the millage rate was 15.454.
“I believe that we have the ability to be able to reduce the millage rate by .5 for the 2024 Tax Digest,” Jefferson County Administrator Jerry Coalson said. “This also includes rollbacks on property that may be up for reassessment which will not have added monies. I would like to have a goal going forth to be able to decrease the millage rate by .5 each year.”
District 2 Commissioner Johnny Davis reiterated Coalson’s goal in the form of a motion and the board unanimously adopted the measure to lower the 2024 milage rate.
This document published by the county shows that real and personal property valuations grew nearly $200 million from 2023 to 2024 without breaking out the net valuation of real property. If property values increased enough that the government will generate more revenue, even if it’s done at a lower millage rate, that would constitute a property tax increase under state law. I haven’t been able to locate an announcement of the required three public hearing before a property tax increase is adopted, so this may or may not be a tax cut. I don’t know for sure, and it’s not clear the writer does either.
Georgia will receive more than $1 million in federal funding to reduce lead contamination in water, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Tifton Gazette.
Georgia will receive $1.15 million in federal funds to help schools and child-care centers reduce lead in drinking water.
The Georgia funding is part of a $26 million allocation nationwide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which will be used by 55 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.
The EPA also is investing $15 billion to remove lead pipes and is helping local communities develop and put in place lead pipe replacement projects.
The Savannah-Chatham County school system has upgraded their security, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) and its Board of Education Police Department (BOEPD) have increased safety and security measures at its schools, including through purchasing and implementing a weapons detection system and taking part in more active-shooter trainings.
On Sept. 6, 2023, BOEPD requested approval to purchase 46 OpenGate metal detectors from Point Security, Inc., according to board documents obtained by the Savannah Morning News. The cost of the equipment and installation was estimated at a little more than $816,177. BOEPD funded it through both the ESPLOST IV Safety/Security funds and a Governor’s Safety/Security grant.
The metal detectors were ready for use Aug. 1, the first day of school, at all SCCPSS school campuses and athletic events, according to an email from SCCPSS Executive Director of Communications Stacy Jennings. All campuses have a weapons detector in addition to the metal detector they already had in place, added Jennings.
“We wanted people to feel safer in their learning environments and know that we’re doing everything that we can do to create a safe environment so that they feel safe,” [Chief of Campus Police Terry] Enoch said in an interview in the BOEPD office in Port Wentworth, 507 S. Coastal Hwy.
Since 2018, Enoch estimated, BOEPD has spent around $10 million from grants and ESPLOST to enhance security throughout SCCPSS schools. “As new threats present themselves, we have to reinvent ourselves. So, we’re constantly looking at and coordinating with Homeland Security. We work with the FBI, we do threat assessments and work with collaborative partners to identify those threats. So, it’s quite a bit.”
In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BOEPD participated in one active-shooter training. In 2022, BOEPD participated in three active-shooter trainings, in addition to one active-shooter training with the Savannah Police Department (SPD). In 2023, BOEPD participated in two active-shooter trainings, one of which included the After-Action Report that addressed the Nov. 30, 2022, Savannah Early College High School shooting hoax.
In 2024, BOEPD participated in five active-shooter trainings and 15 combined active-shooter trainings, including those with SPD, Georgia Ports Police Department, among other law enforcement agencies ― more than double the amount of active shooter trainings than the three years prior.
SCCPSS also joins 14,000 other schools to apply Critical Response Group’s (CRG’s) military-grade mapping technology to all 55 of its schools, according to an email sent by a Fusion PR representative. Born from U.S. special operations forces, military-grade mapping technology provides a “single, labeled, gridded, and easy-to-read map to navigate unfamiliar locations,” and is compatible with every security platform, the press release states. The implementation of the technology addresses outdated or inaccurate floor maps, according to the press release.
Bulloch County Commissioners reduced the property tax millage rate below the “rollback rate,” according to the Statesboro Herald.
Since the Bulloch County commissioners rolled back the property tax millage rate for county government operations by more than the amount required to offset inflation in assessed property values, they didn’t have to declare a tax increase or hold tax increase hearings.
But the Board of Education, meanwhile, held a series of three tax increase hearings and adopted only a partial rollback of its millage rate, not completely offsetting the revenue gain from inflation. After holding its third such hearing at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, the school board during its regular 6:30 p.m. regular “work session” meeting adopted its previously advertised rate of 7.932 mills, down from 8.478 mills last year and now the lowest rate in more than a decade. But this was still considered a 4.95% tax increase in comparison to the 7.558-mill “rollback rate” required to avoid the hearings.
Brunswick Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Roger Lane ordered people who fail to appear for jury duty to show cause for their absence, according to The Brunswick News.
Brunswick Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Roger Lane signed two orders Tuesday — one for people who failed to show up for Monday’s jury duty, and another for people who failed to show up for Tuesday’s — that requires people who were absent to show cause.
“Having failed to report for jury duty on Monday, August 19, 2024, you are hereby ordered to be and appear before the undersigned at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, Courtroom 2, on Wednesday, the 28th day of August, 2024, at 9 a.m. to show cause why you should not be held in contempt of court for your failure to report as directed,” the order pertaining to Monday’s group said.
Court officials have said failure to appear for jury duty is an ongoing issue and that doing so is part of their civic duty.
Savannah Alderwoman Dr. Estella Shabazz will host a community meeting Wednesday night, according to WTOC.
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