General Robert E. Lee’s Confederates met General John Pope’s federal forces at the Second Battle of Manassas on August 29, 1862.
Union General William T. Sherman’s forces tore up 12 miles of railroad between Red Oak and Fairburn on August 29, 1864.
August 28, 1929 saw Governor Lamartine Hardman sign a Constitutional Amendment authorizing the levy of a state income tax.
Advertising in the rights of way of state roads and placing signs on private property without the owner’s approval were prohibited in the first Georgia law regulating outdoor advertising, which was signed by Governor Richard Russell on August 27, 1931. Over the years, both practices would become enshrined in Peach State political strategy.
The United States Air Force Academy moved to its permanent home in Colorado Springs on August 29, 1958.
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the “I Have a Dream Speech” on the Mall in Washington, DC.
The Beatles played their final concert at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.
On August 29, 1971, Hank Aaron broke the National League record for most seasons with 100 or more RBI, as he drove in his 100th run to make 11 seasons hitting that mark.
An obscure college professor named Newt Gingrich began his political career on August 28, 1974, as he kicked off his first campaign against Congressman Jack Flynt.
Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox was nominated for President on the American Independent Party ticket on August 27, 1976, making the race probably the only one to ever feature two former Georgia governors. During the campaign, Maddox described Jimmy Carter as “the most dishonest man I ever met.”
On August 29, 1977, Lou Brock stole his 893d base, to surpass the record set by Georgia-born Ty Cobb.
On August 27, 1982, Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases in a season, nabbing number 119 against the Milwaukee Brewers and breaking the record held by Lou Brock.
Georgia Governor Zell Miller addressed the Democratic National Convention on August 27, 1996. In 2004, Miller would address the Republican National Convention, likely becoming the first Georgian to address both major parties’ national conventions. Congressman John Lewis and Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney also addressed the ’96 DNC. That day, President Bill Clinton signed a Welfare Reform bill, called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.
On August 27, 2008, Barack Obama became the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, the first African-American nominee of a major United States political party.
On August 28, 2008, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked the accreditation of the Clayton County Public Schools. Later that day, Governor Sonny Perdue removed four members of the Clayton County Board of Education upon the recommendation of an administrative law judge.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Piedmont Newnan Hospital is asking for National Guard members to be assigned to assist in dealing with the current COVID surge, according to 11Alive.
The hospital said in a statement that it made a formal request for assistance to Gov. Brian Kemp. The hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Miller, told 11Alive Thursday evening that the request has been granted.
“We are at 128 percent of our capacity and the only thing that is preventing us from expanding anymore is truly a lack of nurses,” he said. “We really need medics to help triage the people in the emergency room to help start IVs, check vital signs. We are backed out into the waiting room of our emergency room.”
Earlier this week, the governor said he was deploying 105 National Guard personnel throughout the state to assist hospitals under the strain of the current COVID surge.
“The hospital has asked to receive combat medics, who can assist with the high numbers of COVID-19 patients, largely unvaccinated and requiring a higher level of care,” the hospital’s statement said. ”Piedmont welcomes and appreciates the support of the Georgia National Guard so that its facilities can continue to provide safe, patient-centered care to the community.”
The hospital added that they are seeing more hospitalizations and deaths among the 18-39 age demographic than in previous surges.
Governor Brian Kemp spoke to the University of Georgia College Republicans, according to The Red & Black.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp visited the University of Georgia Wednesday evening, discussing the pandemic, state election integrity and national issues to a group of around 100 attendees, hosted by the UGA College Republicans.
After thanking the group for supporting him, Kemp reflected on the challenges Georgians have faced over the last year with COVID-19 but also defended fully reopening the state. Kemp issued a shelter-in-place mandate in early April 2020, but also began reopening certain establishments less than a month later.
“We’ve been very resilient as a people in a lot of ways, fighting COVID, but also reopening our economy, when many around the country were heckling us and calling it a death experiment,” Kemp said.
Kemp said he has been consulting with other members of the state government, such as Adjutant General Thomas Carden and DPH Commissioner Kathleen Toomey, to determine how the state can do more to fight the disease. Tuesday, Kemp sent 105 National Guard members with medical training to hospitals around the state to assist health care workers as the pandemic overwhelms them.
When discussing election security, Kemp touted the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which he said makes it “easy to vote but hard to cheat” in Georgia.
“We had a lot of things that happened mechanically in the election that we needed to address,” Kemp said. “We had a lot of people that had lost confidence in the election process last year … so it was time for us to put all these things to bed … and that’s what we did.”
When an audience member asked Kemp if he believed that President Joe Biden won a fair and honest election, Kemp replied, “I believe Joe Biden is the president of the United States. The election got certified. There’s nothing anybody can do about that.”
Governor Kemp also spoke at Lockheed in Marietta, according to WABE.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed and the Republican governor signed a law that would expand the tax breaks available to “high-impact aerospace defense” projects in hopes of aiding a bid for new defense projects at the Marietta plant operated by Lockheed Martin Corp.
Kemp said future Lockheed projects could add as many as 3,000 jobs and $1.6 billion in investment.
The law allows Lockheed Martin to claim up to $100 million in state income tax credits against investments, as long as it invests at least $800 million, as well as to claim Georgia’s job tax credits for any new jobs it creates. Before Kemp signed the law, Lockheed would have been limited to either $50 million in investment tax credits or the job tax credits.
“It helps us to compete to win those contracts and the economic impact that comes back and the residuals that you get off of that, with other manufacturing and residual jobs, is just incredible,” Kemp told reporters afterward.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is seeking a court order , according to the AJC.
The secretary of state’s office confirmed this week that it is seeking court orders to retrieve absentee ballot envelopes in at least 17 counties. Other counties have disclosed election materials without requiring a judge’s approval.
The absentee ballot envelopes will be used for a statewide study evaluating the effectiveness of the signature verification process, which compared voters’ signatures to verify their identities. The Georgia General Assembly has since eliminated signature verification, replacing it with new ID requirements.
Though election officials no longer use signature matching for absentee ballots, the study will evaluate verification methods employed in November’s election, said Trey Hood, a University of Georgia political science professor hired by the secretary of state’s office to conduct the research.
“It’s not an audit. I don’t want anyone to get that idea in mind,” Hood said. “We’re not relitigating the 2020 election.”
The study will gather a random sample of 5,000 absentee ballot envelopes from across the state, then train students to verify them using the same comparison practices as election officials, Hood said.
State Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson) held a fundraiser for his campaign to be the next Lieutenant Governor, according to the AJC.
AJC reporter Maya T. Prabhu drove down for the event, where about 800 people filled the Idlewild Event Center just miles away from Jones’ hometown of Jackson.
The kickoff also doubled as a fundraiser and campaign staff said they temporarily ran out of the pledge cards that attendees could fill out as they entered the celebration.
Framing himself as an underdog, he relayed stories of going from a walk-on football player at the University of Georgia to graduating on scholarship and as co-captain of the team and defeating an eight-year state Senate incumbent in the 2012 Republican primary.
Several fellow state senators showed up at the Butts County bash, which featured barbecue and live music, and Jones said he expected the Republican caucus to split in its support.
“I mean there’ll be some with me and some with, you know, other folks, and that’s fine,” Jones said. “It is what it is, with no hard feelings here. So we’ll just move on and then maybe get where we’ll all be on the same team at the end of the day.”
Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue headlined the Jones’ event.
“Burt loves his country, he loves his family, he loves God,” Perdue said as he brought Jones up to the stage. “This is a godly man, a business guy, he’s an outsider to the big political structure in Washington and somebody that we can trust.”
But Perdue also headlined Miller’s campaign kickoff in Gainesville earlier this summer. When asked, Perdue declined to say if his appearance at Jones’ event was an endorsement.
The Georgia Board of Education approved new standards for math, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.
The Georgia Board of Education adopted new mathematics standards Thursday that move away from the multistate Common Core standards conservatives have opposed as a federal takeover of education.
The new K-12 standards were developed with input from Georgia teachers, school administrators, parents, students and business leaders. They will take a full year to implement, with the new school year dedicated to retraining math teachers.
“To ensure every Georgian is given the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed, [State School] Superintendent [Richard] Woods, the state school board and I are committed to developing quality academic standards,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday.
“I am confident the final math standards eliminate the remnants of Common Core, will provide an excellent education for our students and are based on an unprecedented level of collaboration from across the state.”
Gwinnett County Public Schools said supply chain issues may affect lunch service, according to the AJC.
Gwinnett County Public Schools is warning families that school meals might not reflect planned menus as nationwide shortages in food supply chains hit home.
“We will always offer delicious and quality meals to our students,” the district said. “We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this scenario.”
Clayton County Schools also began limiting food options recently due to the supply chain disruption.
I would be surprised if any other single entity in Georgia serves more meals each day than the Gwinnett County school system
COVID restrictions from the City of Savannah led the Savannah Bananas to cancel the rest of their season, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Bananas exhibition games are canceled against the Macon Bacon on Saturday, Aug. 28, to conclude the Breakfast Bowl Series, and on Saturday, Oct. 2, for a matchup between the Bananas and the Party Animals in the Banana Ball Beer Fest.
Team president Jared Orton said Thursday that the franchise had conversations with city officials following Savannah Mayor Van Johnson’s announcement Tuesday of a moratorium on issuing permits for events in public spaces and revoking permits for events planned through Sept. 30. These orders were among the restrictions issued as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to surge across Chatham County. The city already had reinstated its mask mandate.
Orton said the decision was made to cancel the game Saturday, and the next “Banana Ball” game, with a special format and rules, in October.
“As we were talking to the city, it doesn’t seem that much is going to change in the next couple of weeks that would give us an opportunity to get that (October) game going,” Orton said. “Instead of trying to push through with it and hope things turn around very quickly, and then disappoint more fans, I think it was best put a halt to it before it got too far down the tracks.”
Rising gang violence across the Southeast is hitting Georgia, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
Areas like the central Georgia, in the Milledgeville corridor, and southwest Georgia, the Albany area, are just some of the pockets of Georgia that are starting to see more and more gang-related crimes, according GBI Director Vic Reynolds, who oversees Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s two-year-old Gang Task Force.
“It’s not just in city environments. It’s in rural areas as well. I’ve had sheriffs in deep southwest Georgia needing assistance…Valdosta…Coffee County,” Reynolds explained, noting that the driving force behind most gangs is to make money, typically by way of robbery, and drug, human and labor trafficking. “I don’t know a generalized area in Georgia that we haven’t seen any form of gang activity.”
According to GBI data, during FY 2020, the GBI, through either the gang task force or regional offices, was involved in 343 gang related or gang motivated investigations, and 541 gang related or gang motivated investigations in FY 2021, which ended June 30. The investigations involved close to 70 separate criminal street gangs, including the Gangster Disciples, Bloods, Crips, Ghostface Gangsters, Aryan Brotherhood and MS-13, according to the GBI.
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk in south Georgia said gang activity became a real issue the county during the late 90s and has seen an increase in involvements with murder, robberies and thefts in recent years.
“Most all of the shootings and homicides and major crimes we have are gang related and drug related at the same time,” Paulk said. “In our jail where we have roughly 650 inmates, we have to be very cognizant of the fact that we have the gangs, and we have to segregate them or otherwise we would have more problems in our jail.”
Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Major Brad King said the Milledgeville, Georgia area has seen much of its violent crime include gang-related drive-by shootings over the last four years, in addition to other gun and narcotics crimes.
Valdosta set an all-time record for low unemployment in July, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
In July, Valdosta saw its all-time lowest unemployment level, the Georgia Department of Labor said Thursday.
In Valdosta in July, the unemployment rate was down one and six-tenths percentage points to 3% over the month, an all-time high for the area, according to a statement from the labor department. A year ago, the rate was 7.3%.
“We are seeing positive labor market data across the state. The unemployment rate is down in every region, county, and metropolitan statistical area, reflecting the strength of our state’s economy,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement.
The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Improving Access to Healthy Foods and Ending Food Deserts met in Augusta, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
The committee, created by legislation introduced by State Senator Harold Jones II of Augusta is trying to explore state policies that can help reduce food insecurity. Food deserts are defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as low income areas without a grocery store within a mile in urban areas or ten miles in rural areas. These cross Augusta and parts of metro Atlanta as well as dotting rural areas.
The two other Senators at the hearing – Sens. Russ Goodman and Billy Hickman – are both from rural districts, but shared similar concerns about the distance and difficulties their constituents face in reaching grocery stores.
Kathy Kuzava, president of the Georgia Food Industry Association, which lobbies for grocery stores in the state, laid out some of economics of the industry. She said grocery stores may have a hard time turning a profit, even if politicians and residents want one.
“Supermarket industry, as a whole, now this is pre-pandemic, averages about 1 percent profit margin,” Kuzava told the legislators. “For someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing in the industry, it is a very, very hard business to be in.”
Kuzava said that politicians could help new grocery stores by streamlining permitting processes, easing access for stores to become WIC certified, and creating programs for workforce development and nutritional education.
United States Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) spoke about federal infrastructure funds that could come to middle Georgia, according to the Macon Telegraph.
A masked Sen. Jon Ossoff climbed aboard a new electric Macon Transit Authority bus Tuesday evening with local officials, gripping rubber handholds as he discussed millions of potential federal infrastructure dollars earmarked for Bibb County.
The money would pay for more electric buses and other infrastructure needs, as determined by Macon-Bibb County leaders, Ossoff said. The $16 million, delivered over the next five years, is part of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the Senate earlier this month that still needs House approval.
“This money is for public transportation in Macon-Bibb County, for the MTA here and local elected officials to use as they see fit in consultation with the community to improve access and mobility for all people in the community,” Ossoff said. “Resources to expand, transit, transportation and mobility… It’s a win-win for this community and communities across the state.”
Eight candidates qualified for Mayor of Brunswick, according to The Brunswick News.
City commissioner Vincent Williams will not seek another four-year term representing the North Ward. He is among eight people who qualified to seek the mayor’s seat currently held by Cornell Harvey, who cannot run again because of term limits.
Other challengers in the mayor’s race are Ann M. Senior, Cosby Johnson, Helen Rachel Ladson, Ivan D. Figuroa, John D. Perry II, Robbie Tucker and Travis Slim Riddle.
Four candidates qualified to seek the North Ward city commission seat held by Williams. Earnest Peewee Culbreath, Gary B. Cook, Sr., Kendra Leola Rolle and Neil R. Foster will face each other for the seat.
In both contested races, if one person doesn’t get more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election, the top two vote getters will face each other in a runoff on Nov. 30.
Tybee Island City Council passed a moratorium on new short term rental registrations, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Tybee Island City Council voted Thursday to approve a short-term vacation rental (STVR) moratorium that will restrict owners from registering their property as an STVR for 90 days. The moratorium, which passed 3 to 2, marks a major step in a long discussion about regulating STVRs on the island.
The transfer of an STVR permit from the original property owner to a new owner will be allowed during the period.
New owners acquiring an unpermitted property will not be able to register as an STVR during the moratorium. An earlier version of the resolution allowed such registration, but that language was struck out of the measure approved Thursday.
Savannah City Council passed an amendment to the yearly budget to provide a 3% pay raise for more than 2000 employees, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Mayor Van Johnson said council’s recent vote to maintain the current millage rate helped the city to move forward with the cost-of-living increase.
“The council agreed to maintain the current millage rate that will give us the funds that we will need to be able to ensure we’re able to give a cost-of-living increase that is deserved to our employees,” Johnson said.
Statesboro City Council will hold three public meetings ahead of voting to retain the property tax millage rate, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Statesboro City Council will hold a series of three “tax increase” hearings on the next two Tuesdays because the city government proposes to keep a 2.2% rise in property tax revenue that resulted from inflation in assessed values.
The city is not increasing the rate, which is proposed to remain at 7.308 mills for the fifth year in a row. But under the state law known as the Property Taxpayers Bill of Rights, a local governing board must roll its millage back to compensate for inflation in property values or announce a tax increase and hold three hearings.
A mill is $1 tax on each $1,000 assessed value, and property in Georgia is generally assessed at 40% of “fair market value.”
Statesboro’s rollback rate, to avoid the tax increase hearings, would have been 7.151 mills, or 0.157 mills less than the current and proposed rate.
Lilburn will join the surveillance state that eventually leads to SkyNet, by installing new safety cameras. From the Gwinnett Daily Post:
The city has installed Flock Safety cameras that use automatic license plate recognition technology at key locations around the city to help deter crime. The cameras record license plates of vehicles that pass by them, and images from that video is uploaded and stored in a secure cloud for 30 days.
“This tag information is incredibly valuable in solving crimes by providing vehicle location at the investigator’s fingertips,” Capt. Scott H. Bennett said. “Important points of ingress and egress around the city are already covered by the cameras, which have been funded by fines generated from the RedSpeed school zone safety cameras.”
Lilburn’s announcement about the installation of the cameras in its city limits comes on the heels of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District’s recent announcement that it was working with Gwinnett County police to expand the number of Flock Safety cameras used around that CID.
School Closures
Crisp County (High School only at this time)
Ware County (11 schools)
Clayton County – at least nine schools
Cobb County – East Side Elementary Fifth Grade temporarily closed
Jeff Davis County – going to alternating days A/B/ schedule
Richmond County – Belair K-8 School temporarily virtual
McDuffie County – Thomson-McDuffie Middle School
Henry County – at least six schools
Bryan County – Closed September 3d for cleaning
Bibb County – Ingram-Pye Elementary and Westside High
Catoosa County – closed one week, then hybrid for two weeks
Dade County – some virtual, some hybrid
Walker County – hybrid schedule two weeks
Paulding County – Shelton Elementary
Jackson County – Jackson County High School and East Jackson Comprehensive High School
Meanwhile, some Columbia County parents took to the streets in protesting mask mandates, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Before the sun could set on its first day of enforcement, Columbia County’s mask mandate was being protested.
More than 50 men, women and children met outside the board of education’s office on Hereford Farm Road in Evans to line both sides of the street and urge supporters to honk for their cause. Hand-made and professionally printed signs were sprinkled through the crowd, with messages like “This is Child Abuse” and “Stop Covid Close the Border” and “Tyranny BOE Complicit with Nazi/Communism.”
“It basically comes down to parents’ choice,” [organizer Joe Turner] said. “If you wanna wear a mask, you wear a mask. If we don’t wanna wear a mask, we shouldn’t have to, and it shouldn’t be enforced.”
Superintendent Steven Flynt announced the mask mandate during Tuesday’s board of education meeting. Face coverings are required for all students and staff in all grade levels, regardless of vaccination status. Individuals may be exempted from the mandate if they have a documented medical condition of why they cannot wear a face covering or an Individualized Education Plan that prohibits one.
In LaGrange, protesters criticized mask mandates and vaccine mandates, according to WTVM.
People in the community gathering downtown holding signs and marching to protest masks and vaccines mandates in workplaces. Protesters feeling as if they have a right to make their own choice when it comes to their health. Some previous retirement home workers attending this event say they have been pushed out for saying no to the vaccine.
An army mom protesting for her son serving in the military who has been mandated to take the vaccine says she feels as if they are taking away her rights which is what her son is fighting for.
“We just want to have freedom of choice you know it’s not about vaccinated or unvaccinated to me my choice i choose to live a natural life,” said protester, Denise Stewart.
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