Benjamin Franklin became Georgia’s agent in England on June 1, 1768, making him also Georgia’s first lobbyist.
On June 1, 1775, Georgia patriots sent a care package to their brethren in Massachusetts comprising 63 barrels of rice and £122 after the battles at Lexington and Concord.
The court martial of Benedict Arnold convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 1, 1779.
Arnold negotiated his defection to the British and the subversion of West Point over several months. The British already held control of New York City and believed that by taking West Point they could effectively cut off the American’s New England forces from the rest of the fledgling nation.
In August 1780, Sir Henry Clinton offered Arnold £20,000 for delivering West Point and 3,000 troops. Arnold told General Washington that West Point was adequately prepared for an attack even though he was busy making sure that that it really wasn’t. He even tried to set up General Washington’s capture as a bonus. His plan might have been successful but his message was delivered too late and Washington escaped. The West Point surrender was also foiled when an American colonel ignored Arnold’s order not to fire on an approaching British ship.
Arnold’s defection was revealed to the Americans when British officer John André, acting as a messenger, was robbed by AWOL Americans working as pirates in the woods north of New York City. The notes revealing Arnold’s traitorous agreement were stashed in his boots.
On June 1, 1942, a Polish newspaper first published information about the gassing of Jews at Nazi concentration camps in Poland.
The Beatles released Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on June 1, 1967. The album is listed as #1 on the Rolling Stone top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the most important rock & roll album ever made, an unsurpassed adventure in concept, sound, songwriting, cover art and studio technology by the greatest rock & roll group of all time. From the title song’s regal blasts of brass and fuzz guitar to the orchestral seizure and long, dying piano chord at the end of “A Day in the Life,” the 13 tracks on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are the pinnacle of the Beatles’ eight years as recording artists. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were never more fearless and unified in their pursuit of magic and transcendence.
Issued in Britain on June 1st, 1967, and a day later in America, Sgt. Pepper is also rock’s ultimate declaration of change. For the Beatles, it was a decisive goodbye to matching suits, world tours and assembly-line record-making. “We were fed up with being Beatles,” McCartney said decades later, in Many Years From Now, Barry Miles’ McCartney biography. “We were not boys, we were men… artists rather than performers.
“It was a peak,” Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1970, describing both the album and his collaborative relationship with McCartney. “Paul and I were definitely working together,” Lennon said….
Rolling Stone should stick to writing about music.
A summit between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev ended on May 31, 1988. Four years later, in 1992, Gorbachev was dancing for dollars in the United States, including the keynote address at Emory University’s graduation.
The 153d Anniversary of the Battle of Pickett’s Mill will be commemorated this weekend with Civil War reenactors and history hikes.
Pickett’s Mill Battlefield Historic Site is marking the 153rd anniversary of the battle this weekend with history hikes and Civil War re-enactors this weekend.
The 765-acre site is about 34 miles from Rome, at 4432 Mount Tabor Church Road in Dallas. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
On Saturday, Civil War re-enactors will be demonstrating their skills in a living history encampment from 10 a.m. to noon. At 2 p.m., Brad Butkavich — author of “The Battle of Pickett’s Mill: Along The Deadline” — will lead a history hike that goes to a cornfield to see an important area of the battle. The site is normally closed on Sundays but will present a special program on Civil War trench warfare that includes a battlefield tour.
Brothers and Sisters in Macon may find some road closings on Saturday for the funeral procession of Gregg Allman.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Karen Handel and Jon Ossoff will meet in four debates in the Sixth Congressional District Special Runoff Election.
The Karen Handel campaign released its confirmed debate schedule today, agreeing to 4 debates through the runoff election. To reach the largest audience possible, Karen Handel has confirmed 4 debates, 3 of which will be televised.
Karen is looking forward to the opportunity to debate Jon Ossoff and his ever-changing policy positions and inflated expertise. The Handel campaign calls on Jon Ossoff to confirm the debates, as he has promised, and give the voters of the 6th District the opportunity to hear from the candidates. This schedule maximizes that opportunity.
“I look forward to several robust debates on the issues so that the people of the 6th District can be informed about the stark contrast between my record of results, and my opponent’s false claims and flimsy resume,” said Karen Handel.
Confirmed Debates below:
WSB TV: June 6, 2017
WABE/PBA30: June 8, 2017
CNN/Atlanta Press Club: June 13, 2017
WSB Radio: June 15, 2017
More than 8000 newly-registered voters in the 6th district may change the electoral math in the runoff election.
The total includes two types of voter: the newly registered, plus so-called “transfer” applications — voters already registered in Georgia who moved into the district after March 20, when the registration period originally closed.
It comes after a federal judge in early May extended voter registration in the district through May 21, part of an ongoing lawsuit over how Georgia handles voter registration ahead of federal runoff elections.
As a result, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, 7,942 people as of Tuesday afternoon had newly registered or transferred into the 6th District following the reopening of voter registration.
Governor Nathan Deal issued an Executive Order creating the Local Government 9-1-1 Authority under the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.
Former Governor Sonny Perdue has endorsed John Watson for Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.
I will state unequivocally that without the strategic thinking and planning of John Watson there would have been no Sonny Perdue Governorship. Then, more than likely, the Senate and House would not be Republican, nor all the statewide office holders, and possibly no Senator David Perdue.
After 15 years, we are no longer the rag-tag revolutionary army. John and I both believe that elections are won by passionate supporters supporting the right candidate, but it also takes resources, strategy, and leadership who can bring people together to achieve incredible victories.
I assure you that John is not an “insider”. He’s just an experienced, grimy, war-hardened field general who knows how to beat the Democrats, and I’m excited to watch John lead that charge.
Former Atlanta lawyer Chris Wray may be a candidate for Director of the FBI.
Northwest Georgia could face economic losses if increased tariffs are placed on imports.
President Donald Trump promises to bring back factory jobs by cracking down on imported products from Mexico and China. But many worry he will trigger a trade war—and end up wiping out jobs, not creating them.
Beneath the “Buy American” roadside signs here, a globalist heart beats in this mostly rural corner of Northwest Georgia.
While most of the flooring made here is sold domestically, for housing and commercial space, carpet can also end up installed in vehicles, ships and aircraft bound for export. The Dalton area also directly exports more carpeting than anywhere else in the United States, primarily to Canada and Mexico. There’s no doubt that global trade helps grease the wheels of the economy here.
But if Trump were to squeeze Mexico and China as hard as he’s threatened, the resulting disruption in cross-border trade would have an impact all over the country, even for businesses that don’t export themselves. In fact, Northwest Georgia would get hit with some of the worst job losses in the nation, from manufacturing to retail, according to a complex data analysis based on Trump’s threats by the Peterson Institute of International Economics, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., think tank.
Savannah City Council voted to censure Alderman Tony Thomas.
The council’s vote to censure Thomas has no impact on his ability to vote or participate in meeting discussions. But the move was a way to show their disapproval of the alderman’s actions, which Alderman Julian Miller described as despicable and Mayor Pro Tem Carol Bell said deserved the “highest level of condemnation.”
The resolution calling for the censure was initially opposed by Alderman Van Johnson, who said the comments by Thomas were “dead wrong,” but he insisted that two paragraphs be eliminated before the council would get his support. One paragraph referred to the St. Patrick’s Day incident, which Johnson said the council had agreed to move past. Johnson also opposed a paragraph that stated that Thomas had refused to apologize to the reporter, after Thomas said during the meeting that he regretted the language he had used.
“He apologized publicly,” Johnson said. “That needs to be addressed.”
Democrat Jason Carter ruled out running for Governor in 2018.
Carter, a former state senator who was the party’s nominee in 2014, said he was focused on “prime dad time” for his two sons, who are 8 and 10. And he said he was charting a future for the Atlanta-based Carter Center, the human rights group his grandfather founded and whose board he now heads as chairman.
“It’s not bittersweet. I’m excited as a Democrat and for Georgia. I’m excited as a Georgian over the fact that we’re going to have an incredibly robust discourse,” he said, emphasizing that the race for the 6th Congressional District and President Donald Trump’s struggles in Atlanta’s suburbs have energized Democrats.
“Georgia is firmly planted in the national discourse in a really compelling way,” he said. “And I think that bodes well in the state and for the other Democrats running for governor.”
Carter, 41, did not rule out a run in the future, likely for statewide rather than federal office. He also declined to endorse either of the Democratic candidates — state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and state Rep. Stacey Evans — saying only he would be “very engaged” in the 2018 campaign.
“I am very impressed with both Staceys. Both of the candidates are top-flight candidates for our state. Both will make excellent governors,” Carter said. “The key for Democrats is to present a candidate who can bring the state together in effective ways — that can be a governor for the entire state. And both have that potential. Democrats should be excited about having a primary.”
Sue Hammler Lee will run for reelection to Rome City Commission in the November election.
The Port of Savannah will break its own record today for the largest container ship to call in-port.
The OOCL France, now the largest ship ever to call on the East Coast, snatched that title from the COSCO Development less than a month after she claimed it.
Only slightly larger than the Development, the France is 1,203 feet long and 159 feet wide. She is capable of carrying 13,208 TEUs, some 200 more than the Development.
According to Ship Operations at Georgia Ports Authority, the France should begin transit from the channel entrance at 1 p.m. Thursday, passing River Street between 3 and 3:30 p.m. and docking at Garden City Terminal between 4:30 and 5 p.m.
Middle Georgia Regional Airport and Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex signed an agreement to explore economic development opportunities.
Ann Levett was sworn in as the new Superintendent of the Savannah-Chatham County public schools.
Harlem and Columbia County cut the ribbon to open a new library branch.
The Metro Atlanta American Heart Association released a poll purporting to show that a majority of Columbus residents favor a public smoking ban.
Erratum: yesterday I mixed up the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission and the Judicial Nominations Commission. It is the Judicial Nominating Commission that is accepting nominations for a seat on the Richmond County State Court.
Online and Out-of-Line
Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter could learn his fate as the Gwinnett County ethics board considers sanctioning him over online comments.
The board held a hearing that lasted a little more than an hour regarding the comments, which included calling U.S. Rep. John Lewis a “racist pig” and referring to Democrats as “Libtards” and “Demonrats,” and then retreated to discuss the matter for nearly another hour.
When they came back, ethics board chairman David Will said the board would hold another meeting later on to announce the recommendation it is making to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
“We’re gong to make a recommendation based the record before us and have asked our attorney to prepare a written decision,” Will said. “Once that is presented, we will then resume for a meeting in the near future at which time we will then render our decision.”
[Investigator Robin] Martinelli said she recorded the conversation, and testified that Hunter told her “this matter is childish” and that he was “done with Gwinnett.”
At one point Martinelli testified that Hunter planned to quit soon, but she later added that he said he would not resign. She said he told her he was looking at seeking an elected office outside Gwinnett County.
Roswell Mayor Jere Wood drew criticism for a Facebook posting he said he didn’t post.
Roswell Mayor Jere Wood said he’s not responsible for a questionable meme published on his Facebook page, and that he has taken it down.
The meme compares Hillary Clinton unfavorably to Melania Trump. It shows a photograph of a frowning Bill Clinton, and reads: “That moment when you realize you and Trump are the same age and he has Melania and you’re married to Hillary.”
Wood, who is apparently traveling, did not respond to a request for comment, except for a brief text: “I did not post this share and I deleted it from my page,” he wrote.
Peaches
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black said more than 80 percent of Georgia’s peach crop was wiped out.
Black says the lack of peaches could mean a shorter season for Georgia consumers. He says farmers probably won’t ship out of state.
The newspaper reports that the loss, combined with a blow to this year’s blueberry crop, could mean a $300 million hit to farmers.
The peach crop issue has been worse in neighboring South Carolina, where Black says he’s told more than 85 percent of the crop was lost.
Higher peach prices may help some farmers, according to the Gainesville Times.
In North Georgia, Jaemor Farms got the cold weather it needed to push its peach bloom about two weeks later than the rest of the state, sparing them from the March 8 freeze.
“They did bloom earlier than they should have because of the mild (winter),” said farm manager Drew Echols. “We squeaked through the late freeze because we still had a lot of closed blooms on the tree. We were not at full bloom — we (still) lost a lot of flowers.”
But “a lot” doesn’t mean “most.” Jaemor Farms is looking at a 70 percent crop — maybe an 80 percent crop if it’s lucky — while most of the state and South Carolina is looking at 20 to 30 percent yields.
At Ellijay’s B.J. Reece Orchards, co-owner John Reece said he’s looking at what might be “the best crop we’ve ever had.” Reece, unlike farms to the south, plants late peaches that ripen in July — further protecting him from the cold snap that rolled through earlier this year.
Georgia farmers are getting $1 a pound or more for early peaches, according to Jeff Cook, an agent in Middle Georgia for the UGA Extension, when an average price is closer to 65 cents a pound.
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