British forces under General Sir Henry Clinton left Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18, 1778 after occupying the former capital for nine months.
On June 18, 1807, commissioners from Georgia and North Carolina agreed to recognize the 35th parallel as the boundary between the two states. North Carolina conducted a survey that placed the boundary further South than the 35th parallel, though Georgia never accepted the survey and continues to argue that the 35th is the proper boundary against both North Carolina and Tennessee.
The War of 1812 began on June 18, 1812, as President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain passed by the House and Senate.
The Georgia Whig Party held its first convention on June 19, 1843 in Milledgeville and elected ten delegates to the 1844 National Convention.
The first Republican National Convention, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ended on June 19, 1856.
The Republicans, who called for the abolition of slavery in all U.S. territories, rapidly gained supporters in the North, and in 1856 their first presidential candidate, John Fremont, won 11 of the 16 Northern states. By 1860, the majority of Southern states were publicly threatening secession if a Republican won the presidency.
The Civil War firmly identified the Republican Party as the official party of the victorious North. After the war, the Republican-dominated Congress forced a radical Reconstruction policy on the South, which saw the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, abolishing slavery and granting voting rights to African American men in the South. By 1876, the Republican Party had lost control of the South, but it continued to dominate the presidency, with a few intermissions, until the ascendance of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.
On June 19, 1864, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston retreated from Pine Mountain and Lost Mountain toward Marietta.
On the same day, USS Kearsarge sank CSS Alabama off the coast of Cherbourg, France.
Shortly after the battle between CSS Alabama and USS Kearsarge, Edouard Manet painted the scene from newspaper accounts. The painting hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where I viewed it several years ago. Another painting of Kearsarge is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Built in an English shipyard and sold to the Confederates in 1861, the Alabama was a state-of-the-art ship—220 feet long, with a speed of up to 13 knots. The cruiser was equipped with a machine shop and could carry enough coal to steam for 18 days, but its sails could greatly extend that time. Under its captain, Raphael Semmes, the Alabama prowled the world for three years, capturing U.S. commercial ships. It sailed around the globe, usually working out of the West Indies, but taking prizes and bungling Union shipping in the Caribbean, off Newfoundland, and around the coast of South America. In January 1863, Semmes sunk a Union warship, the Hatteras, after luring it out of Galveston, Texas. The Union navy spent an enormous amount of time and effort trying to track down the Alabama.
The ship sailed around South America, across the Pacific, and docked in India in 1864. By the summer, Semmes realized that after three years and 75,000 miles his vessel needed overhauling in a modern shipyard. He sailed around Africa to France, where the French denied him access to a dry dock. Semmes moved out of Cherbourg Harbor and found the USS Kearsarge waiting. In a spectacular battle, the Kearsarge bested and sank the Alabama. During its career, the Alabama captured 66 ships and was hunted by more than 20 Federal warships.
On June 19, 1865, U.S. Soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news of the emancipation of African slaves. “Juneteenth” commemorates this.
Some historians blame the lapse in time on poor communication in that era, while others believe Texan slave-owners purposely withheld the information.
Upon arrival and leading the Union soldiers, Major Gen. Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
For many African Americans, June 19 is considered an independence day. Before 2021, nearly all 50 states recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday. On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed legislation officially declaring it a federal holiday.
On June 18, 1873, Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for illegally voting in Rochester, New York. At the conclusion of her trial, the judge read a statement that, “The Fourteenth Amendment gives no right to a woman to vote, and the voting by Miss Anthony was in violation of the law,” and directed the jury to convict her. Anthony responded,
“Yes, your honor, I have many things to say; for in your ordered verdict of guilty, you have trampled underfoot every vital principle of our government,” Anthony said. “My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights, are all alike ignored. Robbed of the fundamental privilege of citizenship, I am degraded from the status of a citizen to that of a subject; and not only myself individually, but all of my sex, are, by your honor’s verdict, doomed to political subjection under this, so-called, form of government.”
The Southern Railway Company was organized on June 18, 1894 and through predecessor railroads traces its heritage to the nation’s first regularly-scheduled railroad service, The Best Friend of Charleston. Samuel Spencer, of Columbus, Georgia, was the first President of the Southern. In the 1980s, the Southern merged with Norfolk & Western Railway to form Norfolk Southern.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Yesterday was the Special Primary Election for Public Service Commission Districts 2 and 3, with Commissioners Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson winning their respective primaries, and Johnson unopposed. From the SOS:
District 2
Republican Tim Echols 48,835 votes (75.81%)
Republican Lee Muns 15,263 votes (24.19%)
Democrat Alicia M. Johnson 125,292 votes (100%)
District 3
Republican Fitz Johnson 54,451 votes (100%)
Democrat Peter Hubbard 41,832 votes (33.32%)
Democrat Robert Jones 25,898 votes (20.63%)
Democrat Keisha Sean Waites 57,800 votes (46.04%)
With no District 3 Democrat winning more than 50%, a Special Primary Runoff Election will be on July 15, 2025 between the first and second finishers, with the General Election on November 4, 2025.
Here’s what would keep me awake at night if I were managing one of the GOP campaigns, a campaign that I’ve worked for the winning candidate 6 times. At the end of early voting, Democratic voters (51,022) more than doubled the GOP vote count (23,309), and yesterday, more than twice as many Democratic ballots were cast as Republicans. Is there a reason Democrats turned out more than twice as many voters as Republicans? Undoubtedly there is, and any disadvantage of this scale is hard to address in a low-dollar General Election.
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times:
Republican Tim Echols Tuesday cruised to his party’s nomination for another term on the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates utilities in the Peach State.
With 157 of Georgia’s 159 counties reporting as of 9:45 p.m., Echols had amassed 76.2% of the vote in the PSC’s District 2 to just 23.8% for challenger Lee Muns of Columbia County, according to unofficial results. Echols, who lives near Hoschton near Athens, will take on Democrat Alicia Johnson in November.
Meanwhile, former Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Sean Waites was by far the top vote-getter in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination in PSC District 3 but was headed for a runoff next month with second-place finisher Peter Hubbard. With 47.2% of the vote as of 9:45 p.m., Waites fell short of the 50%-plus-one-vote margin needed to avoid a runoff.
Hubbard, a clean-energy advocate, was running second with 32.1% of the vote, with former utilities executive Robert Jones trailing in third with 20.7%. The winner of the July 15 runoff between Waites and Hubbard will face incumbent Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson in November.
Echols was elected to the PSC in 2010 and reelected in 2016. His term was supposed to expire in 2022 but was extended when the election was postponed by a lawsuit challenging the way members of the commission are elected. The plaintiffs argued that electing commissioners statewide instead of by district dilutes violates the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act by making it more difficult for Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.
While the case was pending, the 2022 and 2024 PSC elections were postponed. As a result, Echols got three more years on his six-year term, while Fitz Johnson – appointed to the commission in 2021 – didn’t have to face Georgia voters until this year.
A federal appeals court eventually ruled against the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, leaving the system of statewide elections of members of the PSC intact.
The commission’s District 2 covers Fulton, Clayton, and DeKalb counties. District 3 stretches from Atlanta’s eastern and southeastern suburbs to Savannah.
There weren’t any waits Tuesday for the Georgia Public Service Commission primary election at any of the polling places open in Glynn County.
Christina Redden, assistant supervisor for the Glynn County Board of Elections and Registration, said the turnout had been as bad as expected.
“I’m getting messages from my peers across the state,” Redden said. “It’s dismal. I don’t think anyone expected it to be this bad. Not in my time in Georgia.”
One polling place, Selden Park, didn’t get its first voter until late morning and only had five voters show up by 1:30 p.m., she said. In all, 828 people out of the 71,000 registered voters cast votes in the primary by early Tuesday afternoon — and that includes three weeks of early voting.
The disappointing part for poll workers is they took vacation and personal time to volunteer for an election that has attracted such little interest. There are at least three poll workers at each of the county’s 17 polling places.
“It’s been a complete burden for our poll workers,” Redden said. “It’s easier getting slammed.”
A low turnout was expected statewide for the primary election despite the important role the five-person commission has in setting electric and gas rates and regulating state utilities and infrastructure.
The special election was ordered after a long legal battle over how the PSC members were elected. The courts ordered that commissioners must live in the district they represent, even though they are elected in a statewide vote.
District 2 incumbent Tim Echols faced Lee Mans in the Republican primary. The winner will face Democrat Alicia M. Johnson, who was unopposed, in the Nov. 4 general election.
District 3 incumbent Fitz Johnson was not challenged in the Republican primary. He will face the winner of the four-candidate race for the Democratic Party’s nomination between Peter Hubbard, Robert Jones and Keisha Sean Waites. Daniel Blackman’s name appeared on the ballot, but his disqualification from the race on residency issues was upheld last week.
There was particularly low turnout, with under 200,000 people voting out of over 7,000,000 active voters in the state.
Floyd County will likely open a single precinct for the July 15, 2025 Special Primary Runoff Election, according to WRGA News.
Due to the low voter turnout, it is likely only one precinct will be open for the runoff in Floyd County, according to board of elections chair Jerry Lee.
“The statute says that if you have less than 1 percent for a particular race, you only have to open one precinct,” he said. “Considering there was such a low turnout, obviously, we would like to save the taxpayers the cost of opening 19 precincts and having people just sitting around. So, we are going to open the one precinct, and it will be the one that is housed at the library.”
There will likely only be one week of early voting, which would be July 7- 11 at the elections center on East 12th Street.
“The week before that is obviously the July 4 holiday,” Lee said. “With that holiday, it would be difficult to have any election during that time. Of course, we have to wait on the state to get us our ballot project, and with the short turnaround between today and getting that project set up, plus we have to do L+A [location and accuracy] testing on the equipment we use—that takes time as well.”
Lee was surprised by one aspect of Tuesday’s turnout.
“We had a stronger turnout on Election Day than I would have expected,” he said. “Typically, we see 40 to 50 percent of our votes cast during early voting, and then the other half on Election Day. We went into Election Day with 353, and then we picked up another 900 votes, roughly.”
J. Micheal Evans was elected Mayor of Centerville yesterday, according to 13WMAZ.
J. Micheal Evans is the projected winner of Centerville’s special mayoral election, earning 57% of the vote to defeat challenger Justin Wright, according to unofficial results.
Voters selected Evans to complete the term left vacant by former Mayor John Harley’s resignation. Harley resigned on Dec. 31 after serving as mayor since 2009.
Evans, the city’s mayor pro tempore and city council chairman, has served in the role since. The term runs through the end of the year, but Evans said there’s still time to get meaningful work done.
During his campaign, Evans focused on expanding STEM education for local students, strengthening public safety, and building closer ties with Robins Air Force Base — a major employer in the region.
In November, [Centerville] voters will elect a new mayor for a full four-year term.
J Michael Evans: 57% of the votes, with 565
Justin Wright: 43% of the votes, with 414[Washington County Council Chair]
Mel Daniel: 54% of the vote, with 2,004 votes
Doug Watkins: 46% of the vote, with 1,676 votes[Wheeler County Tax Commissioner]
Bradley Davis: 11.4% of the vote, with 91 votes
Whitney Griffin: 36.7% of the vote, with 293 votes
Curtis Hay: 37.8% of the vote, with 302 votes
Marvin Howard: 14.1% of the vote, with 113Griffin and Hay will enter a runoff race to be determined on July 15.
From WALB on other local elections held yesterday:
Cuthbert Council Special Election
• Gino Carreras
• Torre Harris
• Henry Hogan IIICairo Mayor
• Shenkia Johnson
• Edgar Robinson
• Silvia SalgadoAlbany City Commissioner Ward 2
• Muarlean Edwards
• Henry Mathis
• Willie Weaver
Police Blotter: Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #06.17.25.01, to create a panel to investigate Camilla Mayor Kelvin M. Owens, who has been indicted, and recommend whether to remove him from office.
Georgia state income tax refunds checks are arriving, according to WRDW.
Back on June 2, Gov. Brian Kemp and the state Department of Revenue announced eligible taxpayers would begin receiving their checks during the first week of the month.
This marks the third time Georgia has returned a portion of its revenue surplus to taxpayers, with previous refunds issued in 2022 and 2023.
Taxpayers who have filed both 2023 and 2024 individual income tax returns, have paid into the system, and do not owe the state Department of Revenue. An individual filer’s refund amount will depend on their tax liability from the 2023 tax year and is capped at:
• $250 for single filers and married individuals filing separately
• $375 for head of household filers
• $500 for married individuals filing jointlyTaxpayers can check their eligibility using the surplus tax refund eligibility tool, available through the Georgia Tax Center, by inputting their tax year, social security number or tax identification number, and federal adjusted gross income.
The Georgia Senate Republican Caucus elected State Senator Larry Walker (R-Perry) as their nominee for Senate President Pro Tem, which is voted upon by all members of the Senate. The caucus also nominated Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Paulding County) as Senate Majority Leader, a position only voted on my members of the caucus. From the Associated Press via WRDW:
Republicans, who hold a 33-23 majority in Georgia’s upper chamber, nominated Sen. Larry Walker III of Perry as president pro tem and elected Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas as majority leader.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Macon stepped down as president pro tem, the second-highest ranking post in the Senate, because he’s running for lieutenant governor.
The full Senate will have to vote on whether to elect Walker when it next meets, which is scheduled to be in January, but Walker will win the office with the support of the majority party. Until then the office will be vacant.
Anavitarte becomes the majority leader as of Tuesday because that post only requires a vote of Republicans. He had been the majority caucus chair. Like Kennedy, Sen. Steve Gooch of Dahlonega had to step down because he’s running for lieutenant governor.
Republicans enacted a rule that senators could not hold a leadership position and run for higher office after 2022, when then-President Pro Tem Butch Miller, a Gainesville Republican, ran for lieutenant governor while serving as the chamber’s highest ranking member against Burt Jones, then a senator from Jackson who held no leadership position.
Miller forced votes on a number of bills to try to appeal to Republican voters, making a number of senators uncomfortable, even though Miller and Jones did not come into open conflict on the Senate floor. Miller lost the Republican primary to Jones, who was elected lieutenant governor in 2022.
Along with the lieutenant governor, Walker and Anavitarte will be steering a chamber where a large number of senators may be seeking higher office. Democratic state Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta is running for governor and Jones is expected to seek the Republican nomination to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, who can’t run again after two terms.
Five senators have expressed interest in running for lieutenant governor, with Republicans Blake Tillery of Vidalia and Greg Dolezal of Cumming eyeing the GOP race along with Gooch and Kennedy. Sen. Josh McLaurin is running as a Democrat.
Two Republicans are running for attorney general — Sens. Bill Cowsert of Athens and Brian Strickland of McDonough. And Democrat Emanuel Jones has announced he’s running for Congress.
“I am deeply honored by the trust my colleagues have placed in me,” said Sen. Anavitarte. “The people of Georgia, and the 31st Senate District, elected a Republican majority to lead boldly, govern responsibly, and protect our values. I come from a blue-collar family, and I carry those roots with me every day. Hardworking Georgians across West Georgia and beyond are counting on us, and I intend to meet this moment with focus, discipline, and a commitment to improving lives across our state. As we move through the remainder of the legislative interim, I’m ready to get to work.”
Anavitarte, who previously served as Majority Caucus Chair, brings years of leadership experience to the role. Since joining the Senate in 2021, he has championed legislation to expand school choice, strengthen public safety, support teachers, protect kids and lower taxes.
A former member of both the Doraville City Council and the Paulding County Board of Education, Anavitarte made history early in his career as one of the youngest Hispanic officials elected in the state. He currently represents the 31st Senate District, which includes Paulding and Polk counties.
Anavitarte is believed to be the first Latino elected as Senate majority leader. His political career started on the Doraville City Council, followed by a stint on the Paulding County School Board. He was elected to the state Senate in 2020.
Georgia Republicans have a 33-23 majority in the state Senate, something Anavitarte pledged to maintain during his leadership.
“We will successfully defend every seat of our majority in the 2026 election,” he said.
[Senate President Pro Tem designate Sen. Larry] Walker can’t start the job immediately because he has to be voted on by the full Senate, which isn’t scheduled to reconvene again until January. Anavitarte, however, starts his new job right away.
Anavitarte was the majority caucus chair, while Walker was the caucus secretary. Republicans plan to hold another round of leadership elections “in the coming weeks” to fill those positions.
State Senator Max Burns (R-Sylvania) discussed the issues between Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams and County Commissioners, according to WRDW.
Burns released a statement on Tuesday, claiming he has been made aware of the situation.
“Through the many conversations that I have had with Burke County residents, I understand the frustration that you have with this prolonged situation,” said Burns.
“While it would be counterproductive to get into the details at this time, I continue to work with Burke County and state officials to facilitate a much needed resolution,” he said.
Last week, all Augusta Circuit Superior Court judges have disqualified themselves from the Burke County sheriff’s legal battle with county commissioners.
Meanwhile, District Attorney Jared Williams stepped aside from a separate criminal investigation of Sheriff Alfonzo Williams.
It’s not a huge surprise that the judges should recuse themselves, since they deal with the sheriff a lot and therefore could have a conflict of interest.
The sheriff’s legal battle against commissioners is a civil case. He’s filed a writ of mandamus lawsuit against them because he claims they and the county manager are illegally interfering with his budget decisions.
It hasn’t stopped there; he’s also indicated he wants to arrest them, even filing an incident report outlining their alleged offenses.
The criminal investigation of the sheriff is another matter entirely, but it’s also tied to the sheriff’s threat to arrest commissioners.
Although the sheriff claims in a May 19 incident report that he’s a victim of crimes committed by commissioners, the county attorney alleges the sheriff’s actions are a crime.
“A reasonable prosecutor could concur with this assessment,” the DA said, so he must recuse himself from the criminal investigation.
That “preliminary inquiry” stemmed from a case the Georgia Bureau of Investigation opened two years ago on the sheriff at the request of the commissioners.
Not only will the DA step aside from that case but also from advising the sheriff’s office on the sufficiency of evidence and warrants, because that’s also a conflict of interest.
The State House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking, chaired by State Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) met to hear testimony, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Statesboro Herald.
Some Georgia lawmakers have been trying for years without success to raise Georgia’s tax on cigarettes, but some think cuts at the federal level may finally stir interest in their cause.
State Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, said she’s been trying for five years to get the Republican-led Georgia House of Representatives interested in a study committee on the issue, and leadership finally relented.
The House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking met for the first time Thursday. Members heard from smoking cessation advocates, including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, American Lung Society and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
They learned that, yes, cigarettes are still extraordinarily harmful to health — and that raising the cigarette tax would both discourage smoking and help to pay for the health consequences for those who keep smoking.
There are at least 7,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, said Danna Thompson, a regional director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, and 69 of them are known to cause cancer.
Nine out of 10 lung cancer deaths are due to smoking, which also is known to cause obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and coronary heart disease, among others, she said.
“Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body,” Thompson said.
The lawmakers also learned about the financial impact for everyone, due to rising health care costs and reduced productivity at work when smokers get sick.
Experts said Georgia is spending hundreds of millions more on Medicaid for people sickened by smoking than it gets from the cigarette tax.
Only Missouri charges a lower tax than Georgia for a pack of 20 cigarettes, said Andrew Lord, a lobbyist for the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology. Georgia’s tax is 37 cents a pack, Lord said, adding that raising it to $1.37 would generate between $400 million and $500 million.
That still wouldn’t close the gap on medical costs, according to Danny Kanso, senior fiscal analyst with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
The cigarette tax currently generates about $115 million a year, and Georgia is spending about $850 million a year on Medicaid costs attributable to smoking, he said.
Kanso added that Georgia has plenty of room to raise the tax. New York state has the highest tax, at $5.35 per pack.
Au, a medical doctor, is leading the charge for a tax increase, which is a dubious prospect in a legislature led by Republicans who generally oppose taxes.
However, she has some GOP allies. A handful of Republican senators signed a 2019 resolution encouraging the House, which writes the budget, to raise the cigarette tax to at least the national average to help offset indigent health care costs.
And Au has three Republican signatures on House Bill 83, introduced this year, to raise the tax to 57 cents per pack. She said in an interview that federal budget cuts may be undermining the traditional GOP opposition to tax hikes.
The easiest way to kill a bill is to ignore it, she said, so the approval of the study committee is a sign of receptiveness to her idea.
“The fact that they’re letting us talk about it … shows a level of investment and interest that we did not have before,” Au said.
Federal cuts are already having an impact.
The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed that it eliminated its Tobacco Use Prevention Program last month due to federal cuts. However, a spokeswoman said “core” tobacco and vaping prevention and cessation programs, including the Tobacco-Free Schools and the Georgia Tobacco Quitline, were still operating.
Courtlandt Fouche, the former director of the program, said the loss of $2 million from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention far outweighs the $750,000 the state directed to the program from the national tobacco lawsuit settlement fund.
Fouche said he and his four managers were let go. One handled youth prevention, another cessation in general, another second-hand smoke exposure and the fourth program evaluations.
Their outreach to children, adults and local public health districts helped hundreds, even thousands, quit smoking, he said, adding, now, those relationships are “completely lost.”
State Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) urged Congress to extend the federal DACA act, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Dalton Daily Citizen.
A state lawmaker from a city with a Hispanic majority marked the 13th anniversary of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program Tuesday by urging Congress to make its protections permanent.
The city of Dalton makes up a large part of Georgia Republican Rep. Kasey Carpenter’s 4th House District in Northwest Georgia. It is widely known as the “Carpet Capital of the World.”
“It is a manufacturing hub for the state and a very diverse community,” Carpenter said during a news conference at the Georgia Capitol.
DACA was created in 2012 by the Obama administration to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. Carpenter said the program has played an important role in Dalton’s progress.
“With DACA, I saw lives change, a workforce solidified, and a community strengthened,” he said.
Veronica Maldonado, CEO of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Georgia’s undocumented immigrants pay more than $61 million in state and local taxes each year and have more than $850 million in spending power. More than 90% are either employed or in school.
“They don’t take. They contribute,” Maldonado said. “Georgia can’t afford to lose them.”
Currently, DACA is in legal limbo. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in January against the program.
At the same time, the appellate court also approved a stay that allows current DACA recipients to continue renewing their status and receiving work authorization. However, no new applications are being accepted.
Maldonado urged members of Georgia’s congressional delegation to get behind efforts to make DACA protections permanent.
For his part, Carpenter introduced legislation into the state House of Representatives this year that would allow certain non-citizen students to pay in-state tuition to attend either a Georgia public college or university or one of the state’s technical colleges. However, the bill failed to make it through the House Higher Education Committee.
Georgia joined a multi-state settlement of claims against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler famiily over opioid medications, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.
Georgia will join other states and U.S. territories in a settlement that extracts $7.4 billion from Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, as recompense for their role in the opioid crisis that ravaged the country for a generation.
“For years, the Sackler family profited off other people’s pain – destroying lives and families in Georgia and throughout the country,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in announcing the decision to join the settlement. “While nothing can undo the harm caused, this settlement will provide our state with significant resources to support those struggling with addiction and Georgians in recovery.”
Georgia is positioned to receive $126 million for addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery services, Carr’s office said Monday, adding that local governments will be asked to join the settlement contingent upon bankruptcy proceedings.
The settlement would end the Sackler family’s control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States, Carr’s office said. It comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a prior multistate settlement last year.
The Sacklers and Purdue would make installment payments, with the family contributing $1.5 billion in the first year and the company paying $900 million, the annual amounts declining thereafter.
If approved, the settlement would also open to the public more than 30 million documents related to the opioid business of Purdue and the Sacklers, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office.
The settlement includes five U.S. territories and Washington, D.C., plus all states except Oklahoma, which, according to Reuters and other reports, had already reached its own $270 million settlement in 2019.
United States Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme NW GA) advised President Trump to stay out of the Iran-Israel conflict, according to the AJC.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, insisted that if the U.S. were to carry out or facilitate new attacks in Iran it would cause a split among the president’s base between those who remain loyal to him and those who would feel he betrayed his “America First” priorities.
“It’s going to fracture it, and it’s already fracturing it,” she told former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz during an interview on his One America News Network show.
It’s the second time Greene has signaled her willingness to break with the Trump administration. Earlier this month, she said she would have voted against the president’s “big, beautiful” budget bill had she known it banned state governments from regulating artificial intelligence.
Still, Greene has focused her criticism not on Trump directly but on what she describes as bad advice from his aides who represent a more traditional brand of conservatism that backs engaging in the affairs of other nations. By contrast, she has long backed isolationist policies where the U.S. avoids involving itself in foreign conflicts.
United States Representative Buddy Carter (R-SSI) led a group of Representatives who signed a letter supporting state regulation of Red Snapper fishing, according to The Brunswick News.
Carter, R-St. Simons Island, led a group of Georgia Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives in penning a letter last week to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing “strong support” for the request from Gov. Brian Kemp and the governors of South Carolina and Florida who sent a similar request to Lutnick earlier this month.
Chatham County Commissioner Pat Farrell announced he will run for the Congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Buddy Carter, according to WTOC.
Farrell says he considers himself an authentic candidate, and points to his accomplishments on the County Commission being one of 3 republican commissioners.
“We are not monocultural, we have lots of different viewpoints and lots of different political viewpoints and I have been able to work well with them and accomplish great things even though I have been in the minority party as a commissioner all these years,” said Farrell.
Farrell has served on the Chatham County Commission for District 4 since 2004.
Presumably, Mr. Farrell will run as a Republican.
Lowndes County Board of Education members are moving forward with a distraction-free electronics ban to comply with House Bill 340, passed earlier this year, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
The board approved the second reading of the updated district-wide personal electronic device policy for students, in alignment with the recently signed House Bill 340. The new guidelines look to reduce distractions and improve classroom focus by heavily limiting access to devices. Under the new policy, K–8 students must turn off and store their devices in designated, locked school storage areas from the beginning to the end of the day.
High school students must keep phones off and out of sight during class, though teachers may opt to collect devices at the start of class and return them at the end. High school students have more leniency than younger students, allowing them to use their phones during class transitions and lunch, but they cannot use them during instructional time.
Additional guidance includes protocols for device usage during transportation and extracurricular events. At athletic or extracurricular events, device usage is permitted based on individual school rules. The updated electronic device policy will be printed in the 2025–26 Student Parent Handbook and is also available online for those seeking more information. Parents needing to reach their children during the school day are encouraged to call the school’s front office.
Dr. Ivy Smith, director of federal programs, shared the results of the district’s latest stakeholder surveys. Over 90% of staff, families, and educators rated the district highly in areas such as curriculum quality, school leadership, and family engagement. Key priorities identified through the surveys include early literacy, social-emotional learning, and staff retention.
Irwin County public schools will require clear or mesh bags for students, according to WALB.
In an effort to enhance school safety and security, Irwin County Schools will implement a new bookbag policy requiring all students to use clear plastic, vinyl, or mesh book bags starting August 1, 2025.
The policy applies to all grade levels and is designed to support a safer learning environment.
Glynn County Commissioners will discuss their proposed FY 2026 budget, according to The Brunswick News.
The Glynn County Commission will open Thursday’s meeting by conceding to approve the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1.
The $174.7 million budget does not include Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenue for county projects.
Savannah Chatham County Board of Education members are considering a proposed millage rate that would increase property tax revenues, according to WTOC.
The Savannah Chatham County Public School System’s school board is looking to keep the same millage rate this year as they had last year.
Though the rate is the same, property values have gone up, which means people living in the county can expect to see a 3.89% property tax increase.
The school system’s data shows the increase would translate to about $65 a year for the average homeowner.
Before the millage rate can be officially adopted, the Board of Education is required by law to hold three public hearings- the first of which was Tuesday morning.
One man showed up to speak, saying he and his wife moved to Savannah a few years ago, and simply can’t afford to see their taxes rise again.
“The property tax have increased about 24%, okay? And now they’re wanting to increase another property tax by $65. And being retired, and living on a fixed income, any increase in the tax base is extremely detrimental to our standard of living,” said Savannah resident, Dr. John Wills.
“New things that are required of us, new expenses. A lot of times decisions are made in Atlanta, and they’re really great, but they don’t cover everyone so we have to pick that up,” said SCCPSS Board of Education President Roger Moss.
Floyd County Board of Education members voted to approve a lower property tax millage rate for FY 2026, according to the Rome News Tribune.
The Floyd County Board of Education approved the fiscal year 2026 budget Monday with a proposed decreased millage rate, which is reportedly the lowest millage rate in 20 years, according to Superintendent Glenn White.
The budget of $129.5 million was unanimously approved at the June 16 board meeting. When presenting the budget to the board, White shared that the total costs in the budget are only around $100,000 more than in the 2025 budget.
“We have made personnel cuts across the school, and because of that, we have been able to keep the budget almost the same amount,” White said. “We phased out some of our positions, so that’s where some of that comes from.”
Earlier in the year, House Bill 581 was signed into law, implementing a floating homestead exemption for participating taxing authorities, including FCS. The county board of education discussed opting out of the exemption for a few months at the beginning of the year, but ultimately decided to stay in.
Despite previous concerns, White shared on Monday that the county schools will actually be able to have a rollback rate for a second consecutive year, lowering the rate to an estimated 16.853 mills from the current 17.141 mills.
Augusta Commissioner Alvin Mason announced his retirement, according to WJBF.
Commissioner Alvin Mason has announced that he is resigning from the Augusta Commission.
Mason made the announcement on Tuesday stating that “he has done all that he can do.”
Mason says his health played a role in his decision.
He’d stepped down temporarily in the past for medical reasons.
A year ago, he left for three months because of back surgery.
At that time, he asked Commissioner Francine Scott to represent his constituents in District 4.
He was originally elected to the commission in 2007 to represent the south Augusta district. He left for a while and was later appointed to take over District 4 once Sammie Sias was convicted of federal crimes. Then Mason was elected to the post once again after that.
Before that, he served for two decades in the Army, from 1984 to 2004.
The Lord spoke to him and told him to “resign today,” he said at the meeting.
“I am resigning from this commission, and it’s someone else’s job to take it from here,” he said. “I’ve done all that I can do. My mom said and the Bible says when you’ve done all that you can do, then you stand and you stand on the truth that you always stood for. So I’m standing. I’ve done all that I can do.”
Mason served two terms as commissioner of his south Augusta district, part of that time as mayor pro tem. He also lost a 2014 run for mayor. In 2021, he returned to office as an interim commissioner to replace Sammie Sias while the latter faced felony charges over misused sales tax funds.
Mason resigned his seat temporarily in 2024 while he underwent and recovered from back surgery. But in a 17-minute address, Mason referred to a weekend health scare in which he took a nap the morning of June 13 and didn’t wake up for almost 48 hours.
After Mason said he “calmed down,” God spoke to him and told him to “rest.” By Tuesday morning, Mason said, the message became: “Your job has been done. Your mission has been accomplished. Resign today.”
As she also did during Mason’s back surgery, Super District 9 Commissioner Francine Scott will assume Mason’s outreach duties among his constituents, he added.
A Dalton “No Kings” anti-Trump rally was peaceful, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.
The intersection of Thornton and Walnut avenues in downtown Dalton was the scene of an energetic, well-attended and often loud, but peaceful protest on Saturday, June 14, as several hundred Dalton/Whitfield County residents and business owners brought signs, flags — of both U.S. and Mexico — and their voices to the local “No Kings” protest.
Spearheaded by local resident Armida Vicente, the local rally coincided with a reported 2,000+ similar protests across the nation, including the Atlanta rally, where more than 5,000 people gathered at the state Capitol.
Shortly before 1 p.m., a small group of individuals carrying signs in support of Trump and encouraging the support of law enforcement efforts, arrived and took their place on the Thornton Avenue sidewalk, just a short distance from the “No Kings” participants. Despite the opposing messages, no conflict occurred, and,at least in Dalton/Whitfield County, the predictions of violence and unrest failed to materialize.
Local “No Kings” protests took place Saturday morning as many citizens took to the streets of Columbus and Phenix City for a day of defiance against the Trump administration’s policies.
The Day of Defiance, a national protest, happened on the same weekend as the 250th birthday of our nation’s Army and President Donald Trump’s birthday.
Nearly 2,000 “No Kings Day” protests were held across the U.S., and this one was a collaboration between the Columbus Georgia Indivisibles and the newly formed Phenix City Indivisibles.
“We love the military. What we don’t love is that the military was started in order to fight a king, and now we have someone who is cosplaying a king, using the military as puns” said Kaitlin Bell of Indivisibles Columbus, Georgia. “We don’t want our service members to be used as pawn members.”
In DeKalb County, the connected protest did not go so peacefully, according to the AJC.
Rallies across metro Atlanta and Georgia to protest President Donald Trump’s administration and its immigration enforcement policies were mostly peaceful Saturday, except for one in DeKalb County where police deployed tear gas.
At the intersection of Northcrest and Chamblee Tucker roads in DeKalb, about 200 people gathered for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation that began at noon.
Shortly before 2 p.m., police in riot gear arrived as demonstrators tried to march on the road. Tear gas was subsequently deployed as officers blocked the road and urged protesters to leave the area. By 3 p.m., most people had dispersed.
DeKalb County police officers previously walked through the crowd asking those wearing masks and other facial coverings to remove them. An AJC reporter witnessed at least two demonstrators getting taken away in handcuffs.
At least eight people were arrested in DeKalb County, officials said. The names of those arrested and their charges were not immediately released.
The Georgia State Patrol and DeKalb police department deployed tear gas to prevent the situation from escalating.
“The right to protest is fundamental and respected in DeKalb County,” said CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson in an emailed statement. “But when a protest shifts from peaceful and law-abiding to one that threatens public safety and disregards lawful orders, I trust our officers to respond appropriately. Our duty is to protect both the rights of individuals and the wellbeing of the broader community.”
Warner Robins City Council members heard from residents upset with the city’s cooperation with the federal ICE agency, according to the Macon Telegraph.
The group’s comments focused on ICE raids being conducted in Warner Robins, and concerns that people’s constitutional rights were being violated in the process. They called on city officials to end cooperation with the federal government in identifying and arresting undocumented immigrants in the community.
“While ICE is a federal agency, it is our state government, our city council, our mayor, our sheriff that decides whether or not our local resources will be used to cooperate with ICE,” said Taiyah Lockett, a Warner Robins resident and organizer who spoke during the meeting.
Speakers pointed to several instances where ICE allegedly arrested people who were in the country illegally, and instances where immigrants — undocumented or otherwise — were allegedly unable to go before a court and argue their case.
“If we permit ICE jurisdiction in Warner Robins, we are not just condoning denial of constitutional rights, we are facilitating them,” Jones said during Monday’s meeting.
Councilman Charlie Bibb, who serves Post 2, said Warner Robins and its officials must comply with the law, and therefore must cooperate with ICE as they seek to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
“Whether we realize it or not, we are in a country that is ruled by law,” Bibb said. “We don’t get a bypass for that. You don’t go around law, because if you could go around law, there’s no sense in having law.”
The Peach State does have a law that requires local jurisdictions to comply with ICE activity. The Georgia General Assembly passed a bill in April 2024 requiring local governments and law enforcement agencies to coordinate with ICE when someone in custody is suspected of being in the country illegally. The bill was signed into law and went into effect on May 1, 2024.
Bibb also argued that because undocumented immigrants were not citizens and entered the country illegally, they are not entitled to constitutional rights.
“People that come into this country illegally and break the law are not given constitutional rights because they are not citizens of America,” Bibb said. “As bad as that sounds, that is a fact.”
Councilman Keith Lauritsen, who represents Post 3, echoed Bibb’s points, but said Warner Robins can still recognize immigrants as community members even as the city cooperates with ICE. “You can have compassion and still enforce the law,” Lauritsen said.
Councilman Larry Curtis Jr., who represents Post 6, did not have as strong an opposition to those who spoke Monday. Curtis praised the speakers for standing up, and urged them to shift their ire to state and federal officials due to their role in creating laws that he said leaves local officials with their hands tied.
“Yes, we have to abide by the laws, but remember the ones who make the laws,” Curtis said.
Generally speaking, it’s not true that Constitutional rights are limited to citizens. The Bill of Rights is a set of limits on the federal (and now state and local) government more than it is individual rights.
I will say it’s ironic to hear liberals talking about how state and local governments can interpose themselves between the federal government and not cooperate. To my knowledge, the most widespread use of this theory was during the civil rights movements to defend state actions against black people.
Chatham Area Transit launched two new hybrid ferries for service on the Savannah River, according to the Savannah Morning News.
After being first commissioned in February, the new ferries are expected to bring more reliable water transit around the Savannah River.
“Having these two new vessels has been a game changer for us,” said CAT’s Director of Marine Services John Allen. “Now we’re able to spend a lot more time, energy and money refurbishing and making sure our older vessels are up to standard and working properly, and at the same time we can keep a reliable ferry service going.”
The Savannah Belles Ferry system is a major mode of transit to move people from Hutchinson Island to Savannah’s waterfront and downtown, especially convention attendees travelling to and from the Savannah Convention Center. Nearly 550,000 people rode the ferries in fiscal year 2024, and about 516,000 had ridden a ferry between July 1, 2024 and April of this year, according to aCAT report.
The ferry service is roughly two decades old. CAT took over the system in 2003, eventually leading to the need for an update to an “aging fleet,” Allen said. Service from the ferries had become less reliable as more maintenance was needed on the existing vessels, officials said.
But as Savannah’s visitor economy has boomed in recent years, so have the uses for the ferries. Visit Savannah President and CEO Joseph Marinelli said ferry riders have grown from only convention goers to hospitality employees and a growing number of residents on Hutchinson Island.
The CAT Board of Directors approved an $11 million contract to manufacture the hybrid ferries in December 2022.
“What started as a convention transportation tool then grew into an employee transportation tool and now has grown into an attraction all by itself, if you will,” Marinelli said. “With all of that, we needed new vessels and larger vessels.”
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