Alexander Stephens, who was born in Crawfordville, Taliaferro County, Georgia, was inaugurated as Vice President of the Confederate States of America on February 18, 1861. Stephens graduated from Franklin College, later known as the University of Georgia, and served in the Georgia legislature. Stephens opposed Georgia’s secession. One year later, Georgia’s delegation to the Confederate Congress, numbering ten members, was sworn in.
Ina Dillard was born on February 18, 1868 in Oglethorpe County Georgia. She married Richard Russell, who served on the Georgia Court of Appeals and as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Their son, Richard B. Russell, Jr., would be elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served as Speaker and became the youngest Governor of Georgia in the 20th Century. In 1932 he ran for United States Senate and was elected.
In 1936, Russell was elected to his first full term in the Senate over former Governor Eugene Talmadge. In 1952, Russell ran for the Democratic nomination for President and he was an early mentor for Lyndon B. Johnson, who later served as President. Russell served on the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy.
Russell served as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee for many years. Russell was an acknowledged leader within the Senate, and especially among Southern members, and he led much of the opposition to civil rights legislation and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Les Paul “Goldtop” guitar played by Duane Allman on “Layla” is being sent from its home in Macon to New York for a concert, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Richard Brent, executive director of The Allman Brothers Band Museum said the guitar will travel from its home at The Big House to New York City.
“It’s played on so many great songs, and there’s tons of photos of Duane playing it,” he said. “Getting it out and letting people play it not only promotes the museum but more importantly keeps Duane Allman’s name and legacy out there and alive and well.”
The Brothers — Celebrating 50 Years of the music of The Allman Brothers Band performance will be held March 10 with the current band members: Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson, who was an original member, along with Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge and Marc Quinones, according to The Brothers’ website.
Duane Allman played the guitar, named “Layla,” on the first two Allman Brothers records, self-titled “The Allman Brothers Band” and “Idlewild South.”
The new owner of the guitar made an agreement with the museum so the museum can have the guitar on display for six months out of the year, Brent said.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Under the Gold Dome Today – Legislative Day 13
7:00 AM HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS 341 CAP
8:00 AM SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES- CANCELED 450 CAP
8:30 AM HOUSE AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS 406 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 13) House Chamber
TBD SENATE RULES UPON ADJOURNMENT 450 CAP
1:00 PM SENATE ETHICS 307 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE 406 CLOB
1:30 PM HOUSE Setzler Subcommittee of Judiciary Non-Civil 403 CAP
1:30 PM HOUSE Sales Tax Subcommittee of Ways and Means 133 CAP
2:00 PM SENATE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS 310 CLOB
2:00 PM SENATE REGULATED INDUSTRIES 450 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY 415 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH CARE 606 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE Academic Achievement Subcommittee of Education 605 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE Occupational/Professional Licensing Subcommittee of Regulated Industries 506 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE Ad Valorem Tax Subcommittee of Ways and Means 133 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE RETIREMENT 515 CLOB
3:00 PM SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT- CANCELED 310 CLOB
3:00 PM SENATE BANKING & FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS – CANCELED MEZZ 1
3:00 PM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 403 CAP
4:00 PM SENATE AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER AFFAIRS – CANCELED 450 CAP
4:00 PM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 506 CLOB
4:00 PM SENATE TRANSPORTATION- CANCELED 310 CLOB
Governor Brian Kemp appointed Donald H. Hodges to a vacant seat on the Port Wentworth City Council representing District One, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The seat became vacant when District 1 council member Shari Dyal resigned in January.
The vacancy, along with the death of council member Debbie Johnson left the council with only four members.
Council members Thomas Barbee and Mark Stephens have refused to attend council meetings since December, leaving the council unable to conduct business. A quorum of members are needed to allow voting to take place. In Port Wentworth a quorum of four is needed and can include the mayor.
The governor became involved following requests from city officials for help.
Governor Kemp also appointed Joseph Cushner as a Bulloch County State Court Judge, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Joseph Cushner, who has served as Bulloch County’s state court solicitor general since 2017, was appointed Friday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to fill the position of Bulloch County’s state court judge.
“I am very excited about it, and I thank Gov. Kemp for the appointment,” Cushner told the Statesboro Herald Monday. ”It has been an honor serving as state court solicitor-general and I am looking forward to serving as state court judge.”
In September 2019, former state court judge Gary Mikell retired from his position of 19 years. Since then, Senior Judge John R. Turner, retired from the Bulloch County Superior Court, has served in the capacity of state court judge and is expected to do so until Cushner is sworn into office. Cushner said the governor told him that he expects to hold the ceremony “by the end of the month.”
Legislators return to Session today after a week of budget hearings, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.
The governor’s proposed cuts – rounding out to $557 million through the 2021 fiscal year – inspired the General Assembly to set aside bill-wrangling for 10 days and focus almost exclusively on the budget.
Changes to the governor’s budget began Thursday, when members of the House Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee voted to restore funding for nearly half of 13 vacant food-safety inspector positions slated to remain unfilled because of the cuts.
More budget tweaks likely ahead could set up head-butting between lawmakers and Kemp, who has veto power over spending items that the legislature passes.
The House version of the amended $27.4-billion budget for the current fiscal year is headed for a floor vote Wednesday that will likely see more cuts rolled back, said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn.
“You’ll probably see more restorations,” England said, declining to elaborate further Thursday. “That’s the way this process is supposed to work.”
Elsewhere in the budget, Kemp has taken especially fierce heat for proposed cuts to county health boards and physician training programs in rural areas – a key voter base for the governor and many lawmakers from both parties.
“We do not want to see a greater burden placed on our rural hospitals because of budget cuts,” said Damien Scott, CEO of Emanuel Medical Center in Swainsboro. “When you’re barely making ends meet, even $15,000 to $20,000 can be significant.”
Rep. Clay Pirkle agreed, noting many underserved health boards in rural counties might be in a serious bind without full state funding.
“If we are cutting in an area, the unintended consequence is we are cramming down to the local level,” said Pirkle, R-Ashburn. “And a lot of them can’t afford it.”
Kemp is proposing more than $200 million in midyear reductions in state spending, citing a shortfall in state revenues. House subcommittees on Thursday recommended putting back more than $2.8 million of Kemp’s proposed reductions.
The full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on amendments to the current spending plan.
House members on Thursday kept money for five food safety inspectors and two animal industry inspectors in the state Department of Agriculture.
The House budget committee will vote Tuesday on Kemp’s plan to cut $200 million from this year’s budget, rewriting it to include funding for its priorities and likely reducing some of the governor’s. The full House is expected to follow with a vote the next day, sending it on to the Senate.
The House vote on the midyear budget will mark the first major legislative move to rewrite Kemp’s proposal, which cuts spending from select areas to both respond to slow tax collections last year and provide enough money for the governor’s priorities, including a $2,000 teacher pay raise and his effort to attack gangs.
Considering the tension between Kemp and the House for much of the session, some of the governor’s priorities could also be cut. He will find out Tuesday, when the House releases its budget rewrite.
Increasing tax credits for foster care could further complicate budget issues, according to The Center Square.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $12.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers.
Kemp wants the General Assembly to increase the annual tax incentive from $2,000 to $6,000 to promote more adoptions from the state’s foster care system. Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, has considered drafting a proposal of the bill, according to a fiscal note from the Department of Audits and Accounts.
Georgia State University’s Fiscal Center projected that the proposal could decrease state tax revenues by $1.4 million in 2020 and grow up to $3.6 million by 2025.
Researchers said the current foster care adoption credit already surpasses most of the tax liabilities for parents who have applied for it. Therefore, it has accumulated into millions of dollars in carryover credits.
House Bill 113 by State Rep. John Carson (R-Cobb) would increase fines for distracted driving, according to the AJC.
State troopers have issued tens of thousands of tickets since Georgia’s latest distracted driving law took effect in 2018, and traffic fatalities have inched down.
House Bill 113 would raise the maximum fine for a first offense from $50 to $100. The top fine for a second offense would double to $200, and a third offense to $300. For those caught in school or highway construction zones, the fines would double again.
Safety advocates say stiffer fines are needed to discourage a behavior that experts say contributed to a spike in traffic deaths in Georgia and across the country.
Others say the fines are already too high and shouldn’t be raised. State Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, said compliance with the law will improve over time without steep fines that can become a burden to low-income people.
“The bill we passed a couple of years ago was overkill,” Powell said. “Now we’re coming back with another one that’s overkill.”
Traffic safety experts say the law has made a difference.
Traffic fatalities fell 2.2% to 1,515 in 2018. And though 2019 statistics are incomplete, preliminary data indicates fatalities fell again last year. Traffic accidents involving injuries and the frequency of collision insurance claims also have fallen under the law.
An ad featuring Senator Kelly Loeffler has her taking fire, according to the AJC.
U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler recently posted a picture of herself in a camo blouse and orange safety vest, with a shotgun over one shoulder. One of her critics quickly discovered she couldn’t have been using the weaponry to hunt.
The Republican incumbent doesn’t have a Georgia hunting license, according to an Open Records Act request obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Washington Post covers GOP infighting over the seat held by Sen. Loeffler.
The fight pitted the political lieutenants of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) against top political advisers to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Ostensibly, the fight concerned McConnell’s explicit support for Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who was appointed to fill the vacancy left when Johnny Isakson (R) resigned in early January due to health problems. McConnell’s team has tried to suffocate any Republican opposition to Loeffler, part of his long-standing policy to blacklist any political firms that work for candidates challenging a GOP incumbent.
“With this emotional, ill-informed decision, Doug Collins has united conservatives in opposition to his candidacy, and Senator Loeffler has quickly assembled more Republican support in Georgia than Collins ever knew existed,” said NRSC spokesman Jesse Hunt, calling the four-term congressman “a swamp creature.”
McConnell does not want to risk a divided GOP field in the initial Nov. 3 ballot, which under special election rules would force the top two finishers into an unpredictable Jan. 5 runoff if no candidate clears a 50 percent majority. He wants Loeffler to win on the first ballot in the jungle primary rather than Democrats pushing one candidate toward an outright victory while the Republican vote splits. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams are united behind the candidacy of the Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.
“Kelly Loeffler and her allies have spent over $8 million on ads and haven’t moved the needle. Georgia voters know that Doug is the president’s foremost defender. They are just not buying Loeffler,” said Dan McLagan, Collins’s campaign spokesman, dubbing it the “Potomac panic polka.”
“I’ve always believed that elections have a purpose. You put out ideas and you do so on the basis of your experience,” Collins told the Georgia Recorder in a brief interview on Capitol Hill. As for the swamp creature snub, Collins laughed and shot back, “Are you talking about the incumbent senator? Well, she’s the incumbent senator.”
As the GOP infighting has intensified, President Donald Trump last week hinted at a potential compromise among the candidates.
Collins said Wednesday that the comments weren’t indicative of a potential compromise between the two candidates. “He’s not getting in this race,” Collins said of Trump. The president “respects the senator and her position and he knows me intimately,” from their work together, Collins added. He was one of Trump’s leading defenders throughout the House impeachment inquiry.
“I respect the fact that he’s staying out of it,” Collins said of the president.
Collins is confident about his chances.
“In November, we’re going to win our side and we’ll probably go into a runoff and next January you’ll visit me over on the Senate side,” he said.
Republican Tricia Hise is running for the Senate District 50 seat being vacated by State Sen. John Wilkinson (R-Toccoa), according to the Gainesville Times.
Hise, a Republican, serves on the board of the Habersham Chamber of Commerce and chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee. She has held state board positions on the Georgia State Property Commission and the Georgia Building Authority. She formerly served as assistant district attorney for the Mountain Judicial Circuit and is a POST-certified law enforcement officer. She also chairs Women for Trump in Habersham.
“I am a Christian conservative, dedicated to the principles of the Constitution, including our guaranteed right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment. I believe in protecting all life and will work tirelessly to defend our Constitution, to protect the unborn, to promote businesses, including our number one business — agriculture,” Hise said in a statement. I thank my friend and statesman Sen. John Wilkinson for his tireless work for our district and I wish him the best in his run for Congress. I am known as the ‘Bulldog in the Courtroom’ and I look forward to serving you as your Bulldog in the Senate as I earn your vote.”
Another local lawyer has also declared for the seat.
The Savannah Riverkeeper is seeking to join a lawsuit over plans to replace a dam on the river near Augusta, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
The Savannah Riverkeeper organization filed documents Friday seeking to join the legal battle over the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam.
The state of South Carolina started the lawsuit Nov. 4 in U.S. District Court against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to try to stop the federal government from tearing down the nearly 90-year-old lock and dam and replacing it with a rock weir.
Residents on both sides of the river were horrified last year when the Corps drew down the level of the river to reveal how it might look after the dam is removed. The corps’ February drawdown to simulate its preferred alternative created mud, grounded docks and boats and in some instances caused property damage.
According to the motion to intervene, the modified approach would maintain water levels and ensure safe passage for fish, including endangered sturgeon.
The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, according to the Riverkeeper’s motion, is predicted to harm the sturgeon. That is why the National Marine Fisheries Service issued opinions that the Corps must install a fish ladder to offset some of the harm caused by the harbor expansion.
Fort Benning will not host a new headquarters, but will receive a new infantry unit, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
The Maneuver Center of Excellence is reactivating the 197th Infantry Brigade to meet the Army’s increased demand for infantry soldiers, the post adjacent to Columbus announced in a news release Friday.
More than 500 personnel are expected to be added at Fort Benning when the 197th Infantry Brigade is reactivated this summer.
The Dalton City Council tabled discussion of an intergovernmental agreement with Whitfield County on fire services, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
The Dalton City Council voted 4-0 on Monday to table a proposed intergovernmental agreement between the city and Whitfield County that would create an automatic aid agreement between their fire departments.
Fire Chief Todd Pangle said there has been no such agreement between the fire departments but the proposed agreement would largely codify what has been common practice between the departments.
The agreement said that for single-unit responses, such as medical calls, dispatch would send the closest station only, regardless of department, unless that unit isn’t available. Then dispatch would send a unit from the department covering that area based on the regular alarm assignments. Currently, units from both departments might be sent on such calls.
Pythons are not yet established in Georgia, according to The Brunswick News.
“As far as we know there are no established populations of pythons in or near Georgia, although occasionally an individual released or escaped pet does turn up,” said Daniel Sollenberger, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. “There is still quite some distance between us and the South Florida population of Burmese pythons so immigration into Georgia is not occurring without human assistance.
“Of course, we encourage people to photograph and report anything that looks unusual just in case.”
Over the years there have been concerns about pythons slithering into North Florida and from there into neighboring states, but such progress appears to be slow. The oft-told explanation of the python population is Hurricane Andrew. It destroyed python breeding facilities in 1992, and between those and pets set out to live in the wild, the snakes made a home for themselves in South Florida.
When Georgians see pythons moseying through the area, it’s as Sollenberger said — someone released the snake into the wild. Take, for example, a 2016 story out of Hephzibah, near Augusta. Someone — not the owner of the snakes — opened up the cages that housed 14 ball pythons and let them loose.
There are an estimated 100,000 pythons roaming South Florida, and females can lay up to 100 eggs.
The rest of the story is a horror show.
Comments ( 0 )