On July 20, 1864, the Battle of Peachtree Creek took place in Atlanta.
On July 19, 1879, Griffin, Georgia native John Henry “Doc” Holliday killed Mike Gordon after Gordon shot up Holliday’s saloon in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Sir Edmund Hillary was born on July 20, 1919 in Auckland, New Zealand. He and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first to summit Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to set foot on the moon.
When the lunar module lands at 4:18 p.m EDT, only 30 seconds of fuel remain. Armstrong radios “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Mission control erupts in celebration as the tension breaks, and a controller tells the crew “You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we’re breathing again.”
At 10:56 p.m. EDT Armstrong is ready to plant the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Aldrin joins him shortly, and offers a simple but powerful description of the lunar surface: “magnificent desolation.” They explore the surface for two and a half hours, collecting samples and taking photographs.
They leave behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and a plaque on one of Eagle’s legs. It reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton gave the speech nominating Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis for President on July 20, 1988 at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. Dukakis accepted the nomination the next day.
Clinton’s performance was widely panned.
[Clinton] bombed so badly that there was speculation it might spoil his political future.
The prime-time speech would be a perfect opportunity for Clinton to regain some of the ground he’d lost to Gore and to reestablish himself as the one to watch from the party’s moderate/Southern wing.
But he blew it. The speech he delivered was long – 33 minutes, or twice the expected length – and mechanical. It only took a few minutes for convention delegates to tune him out, as the din of their conversations began drowning him out on television. Eventually, the broadcast networks began cutting away from his speech, with commentators noting the crowd’s complete lack of interest. The lowlight came when Clinton uttered the words “In closing,” prompting a spontaneous round of sarcastic cheers from the audience. His home state paper summed it up this way:
ATLANTA Gov. Bill Clinton’s big national moment his prime time speech Wednesday night in nomination of Michael Dukakis was an unmitigated disaster.
The Los Angeles Times has a great contemporaneous take on the speech.
The 1996 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony was held on July 19, 1996 and competition started the next day.
The Georgia State Quarter was released on July 19, 1999.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
First Lady Jill Biden spoke in Augusta, according to WRDW.
Augusta is one of just five communities across the U.S. named a workforce hub city by the Biden administration – and the first lady was in Augusta on Tuesday to talk about it.
She was here along with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona as part of a tour to highlight the Biden administration’s economic programs and policies. On her visit, the first lady also highlighted jobs created under the American Rescue Plan, Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
“The Biden-Harris administration is working with local leaders, colleges and public schools, unions and employers to develop new training pathways to good careers created by those public and private investments,” she said.
The Augusta workforce hub is a partnership with the mayor’s office, Augusta Tech, Aiken Tech and the Richmond County School System.
Joined by Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson and August Tech President Dr. Jermaine Whirl, Biden met students and instructors at a middle school summer camp and a classroom for manufacturing.
FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden came to Augusta Technical College on Tuesday as part of the “Investing in America” tour. She, along with other national and local leaders, shared how they say “Bidenomics” investments are working toward creating pathways to good-paying jobs in the CSRA.
The First Lady spoke about how the Biden-Harris Administration has invested in Augusta, and the nation as a whole.
“That’s why he is strengthening communities like Augusta, fueling a nationwide manufacturing boom, and creating new opportunities for hardworking families,” Dr. Biden said. “This leadership has helped transform our economy with more than thirteen million jobs created.”
“Through this (workforce) initiative, we’re focusing on key cities that have received significant investment from the federal government and private companies,” Biden told a gathering of more than 300 local dignitaries and others after her tour. “Here that means a growing clean energy industry … but in order to keep this progress, employers need more skilled workers.”
“It’s the future of our workforce, and … I know you’ve heard (President Joe Biden) say this a million times, how we build our economy from the bottom up and the middle out,” she told the crowd after running through the administration’s educational policies. “Things like unemployment rates and jobs, they’re not just numbers. They represent people; families trying to make a good life.”
The Biden Administration has pumped billions of dollars into manufacturing and infrastructure initiatives, and the White House touts that companies have committed $33 billion in investments across Georgia since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration. That list includes Solvay Specialty Polymers, which announced in November it will build an EV battery parts plant in Augusta with 100 workers after receiving an $178 million federal grant.
The incentives and grants have come under fire from prominent Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp. Kemp argues the EV wave started before Biden took office. Kemp credits his own administration’s work with Georgia’s EV success, pointing to the state’s workforce and billions of dollars in tax abatements and various incentives. Since 2020, EV makers and their suppliers have announced more than 40 projects in Georgia totaling more than 28,400 announced jobs and $22.7 billion in anticipated investment, according to Kemp’s office.
Kemp also accused Democrats of putting “their thumb on the scale” by picking which companies to support.
Governor Brian Kemp announced his appointment of two Solicitors General, according to a Press Release.
Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced his appointments of Cindy Delgado as the Solicitor General of Emanuel County and Thomas Peterson as the Solicitor General of Toombs County.
Cindy C. Delgado is a general practitioner for J. Kendall Gross, P.C. with a predominate focus on criminal defense and family law. Her practice experience also includes general civil litigation, local government representation, real estate transactions, and estate planning. She has brought cases before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia as well as the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District. Delgado earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and her J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.
Thomas Alexander Peterson IV works as a sole practitioner at the Law Firm of Tom A. Peterson IV, LLC. His practice includes criminal defense, civil litigation, real estate transactions, and workers compensation. Peterson currently serves as the city attorney for Lyons, Georgia and the county attorney for neighboring Tattnall County. He has served on the Advisory Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia since 2013. Peterson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He and his wife, Dr. Letty Revell Peterson, live in Vidalia and attend Cornerstone Church.
United States District Court Judge Steve C. Jones will allow three federal lawsuits over redistricting in Georgia to move forward, according to the Georgia Recorder.
The potential effect of last month’s Supreme Court decision on Georgia’s maps remains to be seen, but if the still-pending challenges here are successful, it could potentially send lawmakers back to the Gold Dome to draw new maps.
Federal Judge Steve C. Jones has allowed three separate but similar lawsuits in Georgia to proceed to trial together on Sept. 5.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is a defendant in all three cases, had tried to have the challenges dismissed. The state’s attorneys argued in a briefing last month that the Supreme Court’s ruling on Alabama’s maps provided little direction for what to do with Georgia’s cases.
Jones wrote in his order Monday that there are “material disputes of fact and credibility determinations” that warrant examination.
“Additionally, given the gravity and importance of the right to an equal vote for all American citizens, the Court will engage in a thorough and sifting review of the evidence that the Parties will present in this case at a trial,” Jones said.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s lawsuit challenges the state House and Senate district maps and argues that there should have been more than a half dozen new Black-majority districts drawn to reflect Georgia’s growing Black population.
Another lawsuit in the trio challenges the congressional map, which gave Republicans another seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats, Republicans now represent nine of them, up from eight last year.
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune:
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU’s Georgia chapter are arguing that the maps deny Black voters an equal opportunity to participate in the political process. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones has set a Sept. 5 hearing date in the case.
“Georgia’s state legislative maps dilute the voting strength of Black Georgians in violation of the Voting Rights Act,” said Sophia Lin Lakin, co-director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “The maps rob Black voters of the right to engage in politics with equal dignity and equal opportunity. This ruling is a victory, and we look forward to proving our case at trial.”
Much of Georgia’s population growth in the last decade has come from an increase in the number of Black residents. Yet, the suit alleges, the legislature failed to draw district boundaries that reflect those demographic changes.
The Georgia Department of Transportation wants public feedback on plans for the Talmadge Bridge in Savanah, according to WSAV.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is putting the finishing touches on plans to improve the bridge. One possibility that’s getting attention is the plan to raise the structure, so larger ships can sail through the Savannah River.
This involves replacing the cables that pull it together to lift the bridge. GDOT said the project will not have a big impact on traffic. While officials don’t have a price tag, GDOT is inching closer to putting on hard hats and starting the project.
“We always want to hear from the public and it can have an impact on what that final product and plan is. So maybe we learn something that we didn’t already know,” Collins said. “We try to be as thorough as possible to make sure we know everything but no one’s perfect. So any feedback we can get from the general public about the high-level plan or anything they see as positives and negatives is very important to us.”
The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office is working on voter list maintenance, according to WRDW.
State and federal laws require Georgia election officials to properly maintain voter registration records, which commonly includes proactive measures when a lawful voter has died or moved to a different address.
Georgia law specifically provides for the removal of voter registration records that have been in an “inactive” status for two general elections and have failed to update their records within that time.
191,473 voter records previously placed into “inactive status” based on returned mail or from the national change of address list will now be removed from the voter rolls if no response is received to a mailed notice.
Voters who receive these notices and wish to remain on Georgia’s voter rolls should contact their county voter registration office within 30 days of receipt of the mailed notice to update their voter registration information and remain on the voter rolls.
Georgians can check their voter registration status at any time at mvp.sos.ga.gov, where they can submit a change to their registration or update their contact information. Georgians can also register to vote in person, by mail, at the Department of Driver Services, or through Online Voter Registration.
The Effingham County Commission is expected to vote to privatize some probation functions, according to WSAV.
Meaning, instead of the county collecting probation fees, an independent firm will handle the process with the oversight of a judge.
It’s been met with some backlash in the community, though. Some residents, like John Schwarzkopf, tell News 3 they still fear the independent firm will put money before the people and exploit the probationers, even with a judge’s oversite.
“Essentially these companies are just as bad as the Title Loan and Payday loan companies, but with those, people have the choice not to use them,” says Schwarzkopf.
Chairman of the Effingham County Board of Commissioners, Wesley Corbitt, tells News 3 that passing vote means the contract with the independent firm will be ratified.
He adds comes at the request of Judge Stephen Yekel, and will not increase the county’s budget for probation services.
If this finalizes Tuesday night, County Manager Tim Callanan says the new model will take effect Aug. 1.
Glynn County Commissioners will vote on an agreement for the Board of Elections to run municipal elections, according to The Brunswick News.
The agreement includes the use of Howard Coffin Park for all city and county elections. It also calls for the board of elections to handle city campaign finance filing requirements and establishing the invoicing and payment process for the payment of city election costs to the county.
The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus meets in Savannah, according to WSAV.
The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) is gearing up for its annual Legislative Conference, an opportunity to bring together industry experts, community leaders, elected officials and others across the state.
The event is taking place Friday through Sunday at the Enmarket Arena (620 Stiles Ave.).
Organizers say there will be breakout sessions, public forums and network opportunities focused on challenges affecting African Americans, other people of color and disenfranchised Georgians.
United States District Court Judge Christopher Ray ordered Chatham County to release some jail records, according to the Savannah Morning News.
In a court order filed on July 6, Southern District Judge Christopher Ray ruled for the release of inspection reports that spotlight lapses in policies and procedures as well as staffing shortages by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and Correct Health, the private contractor that provides health care services to county jail inmates.
Despite the ruling, Chatham County attorneys are trying to keep the reports sealed from public view.
The reports are not attorney-client privilege, the judge wrote in the court order, because “they are not confidential communications between an attorney and his client relating to a legal matter for which the client has sought professional advice.”
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme Northwest Georgia) led Georgia’s Congressional Delegation in fundraising in the past quarter, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
The conservative firebrand raised $1.7 million toward her bid for a third term in the House during the first half of this year, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission. That dwarfs the $604,158 raised during the first six months of 2023 by Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-West Point, the closest total to Greene’s haul. Greene represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties.
Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Savannah, raised $597,518 during the first half of this year to finish third in fundraising among Georgia’s 14 House members. He was followed by freshman Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, who raised $565,941 from January through June.
Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, was the top fundraiser during the same period among Georgia’s Democratic House members, bringing in $403,172. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, the longest serving lawmaker in the Georgia delegation, raised $385,830.
Bibb County Board of Education members are considering raising the property tax millage rate to stave off school closings, according to the Macon Telegraph.
The Bibb County Board of Education is set to decide whether it will maintain the current millage rate and raise taxes to postpone looming school closures or rollback the millage rate and close one or two schools over the next five years.
Bibb Schools CFO Sharon Roberts presented options to the school board Monday evening at a called meeting at Howard High School. The board is set to vote on a tentative millage rage Thursday at its regular monthly meeting.
Last May, as the fiscal year 2023 budget was being ironed out, former Superintendent Curtis Jones urged the board to consider cost-cutting measures to demonstrate good stewardship and efficient use of taxpayer money. School closures and reducing staff were among options presented to the board again Monday.
The board is considering proposals that include maintaining the current mileage rate, adopting a partial rollback or adopting a full rollback.
The first proposal, entitled “Option A,” increases property taxes and keeps the current millage rate at 16.72 mills. The district would take in an estimated $10.4 million, revenue that would allow it to delay closing any schools for at least the next five years, according to Roberts’ presentation.
The district also would be in a position to afford the $6 million it will cost to implement recommendations from a salary study for employees including bus drivers, cafeteria workers and campus police, Roberts said.
Should the board choose this option, Roberts said it is unlikely an increase to the millage rate will be needed in the next five years.
Maintaining the millage rate would equate to an annual property tax increase of $124.29 to a taxpayer who owns a $150,000 house. If the homeowner has homestead exemption, the tax increase would amount to $109.71.
The second proposal, entitled “Option B,” is a partial rollback of the millage rate from 16.72 to 15.68 mills.
Roberts’ presentation indicated the district would have to close at least one school and possibly two over the next five years should it choose this option. Though a partial rollback results in a property tax increase for residents, it would mean only $4.9 million in revenue for the district.
Oakwood City Council is considering raising property taxes by not rolling back the millage rate, according to AccessWDUN.
On Tuesday, a release from Oakwood City Manager B.R. White’s office said the city intends to increase the property taxes it will levy this year by 10.69% over the rollback millage rate.
They noted that when the trend of prices on recently sold properties in Hall County indicates that there has been an increase in the fair market value of property, the tax assessors’ board is required by law to create a reassessment.
When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced if no reassessments occurred.
Public hearings are required in Oakwood over the rates, before Mayor Lamar Scroggs and the Oakwood City Council can finalize a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate.
Albany and Dougherty County appear headed toward an agreement to put a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Transportation (T-SPLOST) on the ballot, according to the Albany Herald.
“I think our agreement is a 67-33 (in favor of the city) split,” Albany City Manager Steven Carter told city commissioners during a Tuesday-morning work session. “(That’s) $59 million for the city. We’ve proposed a list of projects we think is the right allocation for the money.”
In 2022, the two governments disagreed sharply over the division of funds raised through separate SPLOST and LOST (local-option sales tax) collections. The two sides engaged in a lengthy series of negotiations, with proposals and counter proposals, with the county at one point threatening to seek a referendum without an agreement.
To place the T-SPLOST question on the ballot for the approval of voters, both governments must ratify the agreement laying out the division of proceeds and listing the projects for which the funds will be used.
For the T-SPLOST, there does not seem to be any appetite so far to dispute the 67-33 split.
Barring any changes, the question of extending the transportation sales tax for an additional five years could be on the ballot in the fall.
Savannah hosted a public meeting to discuss changes made earlier this year to the alcohol ordinance, according to WTOC.
During his most recent news conference, Savannah mayor Van Johnson said these changes could be impactful for many businesses which is why there will be multiple meetings.
“We want to make sure that we’re communicating well and efficiently with our interests and stakeholders, particularly our owners and management about what those changes mean, how do you comply, and make sure they understand the implications of what was passed,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said.
Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards was named District Attorney of the Year by the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia, according to WALB.
“I am very appreciative of the award and recognition by my peers. It’s the highest honor that can be bestowed upon fellow prosecutors in the state,” Edwards said while accepting the award. “I will continue to try to do what I can to seek justice. We will never surrender in our efforts to seek justice for the citizens of Georgia.”
Democratic member of the Chatham County Board of Elections Malinda Hodge resigned and announced she will run for County Commission District 2 in a September Special Election, according to WTOC.
Hodge, a Democrat, was elected three times to the elections board and was serving as the vice chairperson.
Hodge’s vacancy will be filled by appointment. The executive committee of the Chatham County Democratic Party will recommend a replacement.
Ni’Aisha Banks has also announced her candidacy for the District 2 seat.
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