Solomon’s Masonic Lodge, the first in Georgia, was organized on December 10, 1735. Upon his return to the colony, James Oglethorpe would join the group.
On December 11, 1777, during their movement to Valley Forge for the winter, Washington’s colonial forces engaged British troops under General Cornwallis as the Americans were crossing the Schuylkill River.
John Jay was elected President of the Continental Congress on December 10, 1778.
Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the Constitution on December 12, 1787.
Indiana became the 19th State on December 11, 1816.
Emory College was incorporated on December 10, 1836, as Governor William Schley signed legislation chartering the school.
Governor Charles McDonald signed legislation on December 11, 1841 to prevent a person from having his or her testimony excluded in court because of the individual’s religious beliefs.
The first use of nitrous oxide as a dental anesthetic took place on December 11, 1844.
On December 10, 1850, a special convention met in Milledgeville to determine the state’s reaction to the Compromise of 1850, a series of five bills passed in Congress attempting to deal with issues between slave states and free states.
The [Georgia] platform established Georgia’s conditional acceptance of the Compromise of 1850. Much of the document followed a draft written by Charles Jones Jenkins and represented a collaboration between Georgia Whigs and moderate Democrats dedicated to preserving the Union. In effect, the proclamation accepted the measures of the compromise so long as the North complied with the Fugitive Slave Act and would no longer attempt to ban the expansion of slavery into new territories and states. Northern contempt for these conditions, the platform warned, would make secession inevitable.
This qualified endorsement of the Compromise of 1850 essentially undermined the movement for immediate secession throughout the South. Newspapers across the nation credited Georgia with saving the Union.
The Atlanta City Council appointed the first Board of Education on December 10, 1869.
On December 11, 1872, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback took office in Louisiana as the first black Governor in the United States.
A memorial service for Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America, was held in the Georgia State Capitol on December 11, 1889 while his funeral was that day in New Orleans.
The Spanish-American War was ended on December 10, 1898, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
Guglielmo Marconi completed the first transatlantic radio transmission from Cornwall, England to Newfoundland on December 12, 1901.
On December 11, 1941, Germany declared war on the United States.
Dickey Betts, guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, was born on December 12, 1943.
On December 11, 1960, a civil rights demonstration including 8000 African-American citizens was held in Atlanta as part of the movement to boycott stores that remained segregated.
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964 in Oslo, Norway, becoming the youngest recipient of the award.
The Libertarian Party was founded on December 11, 1971 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Jimmy Carter announced he would run for President of the United States on December 12, 1974.
The United States Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore on December 12, 2000, stopping manual recounts of contested ballots in Florida.
Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 2002.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Gov. Brian Kemp took a jab at former Sen. David Perdue on Thursday, saying his his campaign to mount a primary challenge to Kemp is about trying to “regain power again after losing a race to a 33-year-old.”
The governor was referencing Perdue’s loss of his Senate seat after one term in a runoff defeat in January to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
“I’ve been a governor that’s doing something about the problems that exist, not just talking to them and making blowing-in-the-wind promises to regain power again after losing a race to a 33-year-old,” the governor said in remarks to reporters.
“I welcome that challenge,” he said. “I know this is gonna be a tough re-elect but we’ve got a great record to run on. I’ve been in the fight on these issue – to open our economy, get our kids back in the classroom, keep our churches open… standing with our men and women in law enforcement, doing something about violent crime and street racing in the city of Atlanta and cutting taxes for hard-working Georgians, strengthening rural Georgia. And if somebody wants to get in you’d have to ask them why.”
“He might wanna read the law. If he didn’t wanna certify the election, he needs to be running for secretary of state, not governor,” Kemp said, referring to Georgia law that dictates it is the secretary of state’s role to certify election results. “I think we’ve been very clear in the campaign at pushing back against a statement like that – I took an oath to follow the laws and the constitution of this state. If he wants to run for governor by not doing that, and telling people that in advance, certainly he can take that position.”
“I believe you need to give people a reason to vote for you, and I think people are gonna want to vote for me because of the great economy we’ve got, because our kids are back in school, because our churches are open and because I’ve been standing with men and women in law enforcement and really fulfilling the promises that I ran on in 2018,” Kemp said.
[State Rep. Emory] Dunahoo didn’t waver in his support for Kemp.
“Everyday (Kemp) wakes up with this agenda: ‘I’m going to do what’s best for Georgia,’” Dunahoo said. “I’m supporting Gov. Kemp. I think he has done a great job. … I’m behind him 100%, and I will stay there.”
[State Rep. Matt] Dubnik supported how Kemp handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Somebody up here … asked the question about the divisiveness in politics, and I think that echoes the announcement (of Perdue running for governor),” he said. “When you look at what’s going on across the state of Georgia right now, you look at the economy, you look at how we have responded to and come out of COVID … I look at and support our governor and what he’s doing.”
[State Senator Bo] Hatchett said he hoped Perdue’s bid wouldn’t divide Georgians.
“I think our governor has done a very good job,” he said.
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post:
“We have a divided party,” Perdue said. “I think Brian Kemp is responsible. I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought he could pull us together.”
“I asked the governor to call a special [General Assembly] session, not to change the election in November but to fix it before the runoff election,” Perdue said Thursday.
Perdue finished first in the November election against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff but lost in the runoff in early January.
Kemp spokesman Cody Hall denied that Perdue sought a special session ahead of the runoff.
“His campaign – and Perdue himself – knew that a special session could not overturn the 2020 general election and that changes to election rules for an election already underway are not allowed under state law or court precedent,” Hall posted on Twitter.
Sen. Bo Hatchett said the Republican Party needs to be unified, not divided. He said Kemp did a great job navigating the state through COVID.
“He has kept our economy open,” Hatchett said. “He’s kept our state open, despite a lot of pressure from someone in the White House. I think he has done a fantastic job. I also have the utmost respect for David Perdue. But at this time, you know, I think one of the things that we have to do as a party and as a people and as a state is to unify and I’m worried that this is not going to take us in that direction.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger denied stories of election fraud in the 2020 elections, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
“It was alleged that there was 10,315 dead people that voted in Georgia,” Raffesnperger said. “I wrote a letter to Congress on Jan. 6, and I said there’s two that we found. Since that time we found two more. Only four dead people voted in the state of Georgia. And so those people that assumed those identities will be brought before the state election board for prosecution and sent over to the Attorney General’s Office.”
A new death tracking system, Electronic Registration Information Center — which is used by more than 30 states— has been fully deployed in Georgia this year, he said.
After an audit and two recounts — including a hand recount — of more than 5 million ballots cast during the November 2020 elections, an estimated 28,000 Georgians skipped voting in the Presidential race, but voted in other races on the same ballots, Raffensperger said.
“That audit that we did, the hand recount, on all 5 million ballots proved two things. One is the accuracy of the machine, two is that the machines did not flip the votes and, also the results were what they were, that President Trump did come up short,” Raffesnperger said.
Raffensperger said during the town hall Thursday the law increases the early voting period in all counties to three weeks, adds two mandatory Saturday voting days, mandates absentee ballot drop boxes in all counties and aims to reduce voter wait times to less than an hour.
“And if [the wait is longer than an hour], in the next election you have to bust the precinct in half or add additional equipment,” Raffensperger said. “We also have another accountability measure. The state election board now can really do a review and have a measure that if a county habitually and continually fails like Fulton County has since 1993, we now have the ability to come in and actually replace that election board.”
United States District Court Judge J.P Boulee will continue hearing a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s new election laws, according to the Georgia Recorder via the Albany Herald.
Civil rights organizations applauded U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Boulee’s decision to move ahead with the complaints that argue new absentee ballot ID requirements, provisional ballot restrictions, absentee drop box limitations and other provisions are forms of voter suppression targeting black people and other marginalized groups.
The lawsuits were filed after the spring passage of Senate Bill 202, a sweeping overhaul of Georgia’s election law that Republican officials have defended against accusations of discrimination and that it was a rushed response to the GOP suffering high-profile losses in the presidential and U.S. Senate elections.
The majority of those suits filed in the Atlanta-based district court argue that the law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or language.
Boulee wrote in a filing on the New Georgia Project v. Raffensperger case that he needs more information from both parties about a provision that prohibits distributing food and beverages to voters standing in lines at polling places.
Boulee said that the state has not provided “support for their contention that such activities can be restricted simply because they occur near a polling place.”
The Georgia State Board of Education voted to enhance high school financial education standards, according to WALB.
On Thursday, the State Board of Education approved State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ proposed revisions to the current high school Economics course.
The revised course will be required for all Georgia high school students.
During the course, students will learn about managing and balancing budgets; understanding and building credit; protecting against identity theft and consumer protections; and understanding tax forms, student loan applications, and pay stubs.
“The First Lady and I hear all the time from students and parents about the need for more instruction on personal finance skills that students can apply to their daily lives after high school,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “Sending our soon-to-be adults into the ‘real-world’ better prepared to make good decisions about their finances will serve them, their parents, and our communities. It’s a much-needed, common-sense change that I fully support.”
“I strongly believe that education is about preparing students for life,” Superintendent Woods said. “I have continuously heard from parents, students, and industry partners that more instruction in personal finance is needed. This revised course will ensure that every Georgia high school student will learn essential life skills like managing a budget, filing taxes, and using credit responsibly, while also gaining an understanding and appreciation of free-market principles.”
The United States Senate passed the Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act, cosponsored by Sen. Jon Ossoff, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.
The Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act cleared the Senate Wednesday night and now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives.
More than 75,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses between April 2020 and April of last year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“With today’s passage of my bipartisan bill to reduce opioid addiction, overdoses and deaths, the Senate proved Democrats and Republicans can still work together to get things done,” Ossoff said.
The legislation would make federal funds available to local governments and organizations in rural areas to help fill gaps in prevention, treatment and recovery services for victims of opioid abuse.
United States Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) is working to pass legislation against maternity discrimination, according to WTVM.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would prohibit employment practices that discriminate against making reasonable accommodations for qualified employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. The bill would make it unlawful for employers to fail to make the accommodations.
“This is common sense stuff. This is access to water, this is being able to sit instead of to stand. This is being able to take breaks during pregnancy. This is about making sure women who are working while they are pregnancy have access to accommodations and facilities and flexibilities that they deserve,” said Sen. Ossoff.
Senator Ossoff is also working to pass a bipartisan bill he’s co-sponsoring called the Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act, which will hold the VA accountable about their IT systems to ensure they’re providing the highest level of service to veterans.
United States Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Albany) joined colleagues in introducing the Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act, according to WTVM.
Nearly 1 in 7 military families report experiencing food insecurity, but many do not qualify for school meal programs. That’s because service members’ housing allowances are considered income and push them out of eligibility.
The act introduced today would stop counting service members’ basic allowance for housing as part of their income. It would also automatically enroll children of eligible service members into school meal programs.
“We have an obligation to our service members to ensure that their basic needs are met, which includes making sure that their families have access to the nutritious food needed to lead healthy and productive lives. When children in military families go hungry, their school success is put at risk,” said Congressman Bishop.
The Bulloch County Board of Education will vote on whether to support a proposed district plan, according to the Statesboro Herald.
The Bulloch County Board of Education is set to vote on a proposed map with lines redrawn between the members’ electoral districts, based on results of the 2020 Census, during the board’s regular meeting, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9.
Compared with the county commission’s two multi-member districts, the long-established plan for electing the local school board is simple, but requires more lines on the map. The Board of Education has eight members, elected by separate districts, each of which is supposed to have nearly the same population. There are no multi-member districts, and since the members choose a chair from among themselves each year, there is no countywide elected leader.
School district officials drafted the revised map with assistance from the State Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office. The main goal was to bring each of the eight districts within a generally accepted range of variation around an ideal district population of 10,137.
Savannah City Council adopted a 2022 budget, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Savannah City Council unanimously approved what leaders have called a “once-in-a-lifetime budget” on Thursday. The $479 million fiscal year 2022 budget is backed by one-time federal funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The city will receive a total of $55 million in ARPA funds, half of which was distributed earlier this year. The remaining half will be received in May 2022.
“I’m very pleased with the outcome of this budget, it’s a historic budget, I believe, for the City of Savannah,” City Manager Jay Melder said. “We have the ability, unprecedented, to spend $60 million of federal resources all toward efforts and initiatives that improve and enrich the lives of our citizens, which is extremely important.”
On Thursday, the city held its final public budget meeting and voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 dollars per hour, make upgrades to the city’s police and fire departments, and put $7 million toward affordable housing.
“If the housing cost more then their rents are more, and that pushes people out, and so it’s why I’m so excited about passing today’s budget and what that represents for us. $7 million into our affordable housing fund, the adoption of our Housing Savannah plan to create 15,000 units of affordable housing each year,” said Mayor Van Johnson. “This is my 18th year in council the most inward facing, community faced, community based budget that I have had to be able to serve on.”
Statesboro continues its $50 gift card vaccine campaign, according to the Statesboro Herald.
The city of Statesboro has now distributed $18,400, budgeted from a previous award of COVID-related special federal funding, in the form of $50 gift cards as incentives for COVID vaccine shots.
Now 50 more gift cards are being purchased. Another free, public vaccination clinic will be held at City Hall, 50 East Main St., this Saturday, Dec. 11, from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
As at all of the previous city-sponsored clinics, the shots will be administered by professionals from the Bulloch County Health Department. The gift cards will again be available for people getting their first COVID vaccination or a required second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, but not for those getting a booster.
Earlier this fall, the council authorized expenditures of some of the city’s federal award under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act of 2020 for advance purchases of set amounts of gift cards. Last month the council extended the program by authorizing the city manager to buy additional small amounts of gift cards at his discretion.
Athens-Clarke County is also upping their investment in vaccine campaign, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
Another $500,000 is being allocated to the Athens-Clarke County’s COVID-19 incentive program, totaling more than million in funding since the program began.
The funding from the American Rescue Plan was unanimously approved by commissioners on Tuesday. Of the half-million approved, $240,000 will go to the Athens Development Corporation and $100,000 is for the Athens Neighborhood Health Center.
The incentive program offers $100 gift cards per dose to newly vaccinated individuals who live, work or attend school in Athens-Clarke County.
Manager Blaine William told commissioners Tuesday that not everyone who received their first dose came back for their second dose and there were 300 gift cards left at the local health department. Rather than sitting on those funds, the departments has intentions to hold pop-up events to attract new participants or get former patients to receive their second dose.
Gwinnett County will also offer gift cards to vaccine recipients, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Gwinnett County government, Piedmont Health Care, Emergent Testing, COVID Care Georgia and the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale Health Departments are teaming up for a vaccine incentive event from Friday until Sunday. Officials will hand out $100 gift cards, while supplies last, to people who get vaccinated at four clinic sites from Friday until Sunday through a program called Finish Strong Together.
Most of the sites will administer vaccines for free to anyone who is 5 or older, although one site will only administer vaccines to people ages 12 and older.
County spokesman Joe Sorenson said 5,000 $100 gift cards will be handed out between the four sites during the vaccination incentive effort. Federal funding from the America Rescue Plan was used to purchase the gift cards.
The vaccine incentive event comes at a time when just 55% of Gwinnettians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. State officials reported that 60% of Gwinnett County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, however.
Brunswick City Commission will consider a short term vacation rental ordinance, according to The Brunswick News.
The ordinance, mirrored after one enacted by Glynn County earlier this year, uses a third-party vendor to identify rental homes in the city and collect excise taxes.
The ordinance will place limits on occupancy and the number of vehicles allowed. It also will require a local point of contact who’s available 24 hours a day.
Augusta‘s economic recovery may be lagging, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
The Augusta area’s economic outlook for 2022 will be at the mercy of a sluggish overall job market and difficult-to-predict factors such as inflation and COVID-19.
“We’ve got to get people into work,” said Simon Medcalfe, an economics professor at Augusta University’s Hull College of Business. “We’ve seen other cities in the state be able to do that but we’ve not been able to do that, whether that’s because we’re not paying high-enough wages or whether it’s some other issue that’s more long term.”
Medcalfe presented Hull’s 14th Annual Economic Forecast on Thursday morning.
He also estimated Augusta’s inflation rate at about 6.5%. With local earnings falling 2% in the last year, the average Augusta-area resident saw a real pay cut of about 8.5%.
One bright spot in the local economy is that retail employment “really bounced back very quickly” to beyond pre-pandemic levels. Medcalfe said a sharp increase “in the past month or so” boosted the number of retail workers to more than 29,000.
In the leisure and hospitality sector, the Augusta area lost about 11,000 workers almost immediately during March 2020. Currently there are 23,000 workers – still about 3,000 lower than pre-pandemic.
The Port of Savannah set new records last month, according to WSAV.
Officials says the Savannah facility handled 495,750 twenty-foot equivalent container units in November, a 6.7 percent increase over the previous year. They say that’s a new monthly record for the Georgia Ports Authority.
“I would like to acknowledge the incredible teamwork on and off our terminals that have made these results possible,” said Griff Lynch, GPA’s executive director. “Our employees along with Savannah’s stevedores, ILA members, truckers, river captains and many other transportation professionals have pulled together to handle record cargo volumes for an incredible 16 consecutive months.”
The Port says that by next month, it will add capacity for an additional 500,000 TEUs.
GPA announced previously it is expediting the completion of its Berth 1 expansion which will add
1 million TEUs of new berth capacity and eight ship-to-shore cranes at its docks. The project is now 30 percent complete and will come online sometime in 2023.On other sites, GPA has activated four flexible “pop-up” container yards near manufacturing and distribution centers. The sites in Atlanta, Savannah, Statesboro, and Murray County in Northwest Georgia are expected to bring cargo closer to customers and reduce the length of container storage time at the Port of Savannah.
“Off terminal, the willingness of our customers, two class one railroads and stakeholders in state and federal government, have allowed us to put into place innovative and effective supply chain solutions,” said Lynch.
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