On March 24, 1824, the Marquis de LaFayette visited Augusta, Georgia.
On this date in 1825, LaFayette, a beloved French hero of the American Revolution, stopped in Augusta on his nationwide tour, and thousands turned out to greet him.
Storekeepers displayed all sorts of LaFayette gear – hats, portraits, souvenirs. An arch was constructed over Broad Street. A platform big enough to hold 600 diners was put up in front of the courthouse on Greene Street.
Governor E.D. Rivers signed a resolution on March 24, 1939, calling for the return of “General” locomotive made famous in the Great Train Chase from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Georgia. It currently resides in The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia. The other locomotive involved in the chase, The Texas, is displayed at the Atlanta Center.
Elvis Presley was inducted into the United States Army on March 24, 1958.
On March 24, 1970, Gov. Lester Maddox signed legislation naming the Largemouth Bass the Official State Fish.
On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five juvenile delinquents disaffected youth reported to detention at Shermer High School.
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Savannah hosted a celebration of the bicentennial of the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit on March 22, 1825, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette had arrived once more in Savannah.
While this scene could have been out of 1825, it occurred this Saturday morning, March 22. Mayor Van Johnson said he was honored to welcome General Lafayette back to the city. “The rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated,” Johnson joked during his speech in front of a hundred or so.
Two hundred years after Lafayette’s southern leg of a yearlong tour of the United States brought him to Savannah, reenactors and history enthusiasts, along with descendants of Nathanael Greene, filed into Johnson Square to commemorate the event’s Bicentennial by dedicating a new historical marker.
Resounding volleys of musket fire and accompanying plumes of gun smoke also filled the square thanks to the Sons of American Revolution Militia. Members of the Society of Cincinnati for the State of Georgia and the Georgia committee of the American Friends of Lafayette, led by dedicated co-chairs John Trussell, Billie Trussell, Lynne Tate, and Bev Baker, held the event to acknowledge Lafayette’s visit, which itself celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Revolutionary War.
An article from the March 19, 1825 edition of the Savannah Georgian bears the headline WELCOME LAFAYETTE! and conveys the enthusiasm of a massive crowd that cheered the Marquis as a friend of the young nation.
During his 1825 stay in Savannah, he participated in many events, including a dinner and ball for a veritable who’s who of Savannah society. The Committee of Arrangements for the Entertainments of General Lafayette at the time included William Bulloch, William Gaston, R.W. Habersham, J.P. Henry and Captain E.F. Tattnall to name a few.
His duties also included laying the cornerstones for the Major General Nathanael Greene and Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski Monuments, while accompanied by freemasons, soldiers, citizens, and clergymen.
While in town, Lafayette and his son, George Washington Lafayette, roomed at a boarding house (known today as Telfair Museum’s Owens-Thomas House) run by Mary Maxwell. Lafayette famously addressed another crowd from the home’s south façade cast-iron balcony. By 1873, the city named Lafayette Square in his honor.
The Savannah Morning News has photos from the event.
Sparta will host an observance of the bicentennial of LaFayette’s farewell tour, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
The graves of 10 Revolutionary War veterans in the historic Sparta Cemetery are undergoing significant restoration led by the Sparta Cemetery Association. The work will be completed in time for a March 25 commemoration of the bicentennial of Gen. Lafayette’s “Farewell Tour” which visited Sparta on March 25, 1825.
The Sparta celebration is one of hundreds organized by the American Friends of Lafayette to trace the footsteps of the French hero of the American Revolution on the exact dates and in the exact order he followed on his tour of America as “Guest of the Nation” between 1824 and 1825.
Local activities, coordinated by the Hancock County-Sparta Historical Society, will include a parade, downtown ceremony and a visit to the Revolutionary War grave sites in Sparta Cemetery, where Sons of the American Revolution members in period dress will conduct a solemn musket firing.
“The Sparta Cemetery Association is grateful for the opportunity to be part of this national event that honors the memory and sacrifice of our Revolutionary War soldiers along with the significant contributions of Gen. Lafayette,” said Jim Alfriend, chairman of the Sparta Cemetery Association board. “We fully support the Historical Society in this important undertaking that will bring many distinguished guests to the community.”
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Tuesday, March 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 35
Wednesday, March 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Thursday, March 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 36
Friday, March 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 37
Monday, March 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 38
Tuesday, April 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Wednesday, April 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 39
Thursday, April 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Friday, April 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Sine Die) convene for legislative day 40
Monday, March 24, 2025
1:00 PM Senate Judiciary: HB 268 Sub MEZZ 1
1:00 PM Senate Public Safety Committee 450 CAP
2:00 PM Cancelled – Senate Health and Human Svcs 450 CAP
3:00 PM Senate Finance Committee MEZZ 1
4:00 PM Cancelled – Senate Judiciary 307 CLOB
The first bill in Governor Brian Kemp’s tort reform legislative package passed as the Senate agreed to House changes and sent Senate Bill 68 to Governor Kemp’s desk for his signature. From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News:
A tort reform bill Republican Gov. Brian Kemp made his top priority for this year’s legislative session gained final passage in the General Assembly Friday.
The Georgia Senate’s GOP majority voted 34-21 to agree to changes the state House of Representatives made to the bill, sending it to Kemp’s desk for his signature.
Supporters of Senate Bill 68 argued tort reform is needed in Georgia to reverse a pattern of excessive jury awards in civil lawsuits they said are driving up liability insurance premiums, making it harder for the small businesses that are the state’s economic mainstay to grow and create jobs.
“Georgians from across the state are asking for a more fair and balanced civil justice system,” Senate President Pro Tempore John Kennedy, R-Macon, the bill’s chief sponsor, said before Friday’s vote. “Everyday Georgians are struggling to make ends meet. … We need to do something about this.”
Most sections of the measure deal with how trials of lawsuit should be conducted in Georgia, including when plaintiff lawyers can argue for non-economic damages, when discovery can begin, and when lawyers on either side can request dismissal of a case.
But most of the controversy surrounding the bill involves its “premises liability” provision governing when plaintiffs can sue business owners after suffering injuries during the commission of a crime by a third party outside the owner’s control.
After an outcry from victims of sex trafficking and their lawyers, the House amended the bill to carve out those victims from the legislation.
But opponents said the carveout doesn’t go far enough. On Friday, Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to expand the carveout to include all sex crimes where the victim is a minor or a senior citizen.
“Why should they not have the same rights?” she asked her Senate colleagues. “It makes no sense.”
Other changes the House made to the bill based on feedback from hours of testimony give discretion to trial judges over whether to let defense lawyers introduce evidence involving whether a victim of an auto crash was wearing a seatbelt and give victims the right to avoid testifying multiple times during a trial if doing so would prove traumatic.
But critics remained dissatisfied with the overall bill, calling it a shield from liability for businesses that denies victims their day in court.
“Lawmakers have decided that protecting corporations and insurance companies is more important than protecting victims,” Parent said.
Kennedy objected to Parent’s characterization of the measure. He said Kemp would never do anything to take away the rights of victims of human trafficking, considering that his wife – First Lady Marty Kemp – has long been a leading advocate for cracking down on sex traffickers.
Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, the only Republican who voted against the bill Friday, said it won’t necessarily fix what supporters say is wrong with the civil justice system.
“There’s no guarantee whatsoever that insurance companies are going to reduce rates,” he said.
On the other side of the aisle, only two Democrats – Sens. Ed Harbison of Columbus and Emanuel Jones of Decatur, voted for the legislation.
Business groups praised Kemp and the General Assembly for passing tort reform.
“This is a big victory for Georgia’s small businesses,” said Hunter Loggins, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business. “Lawsuit abuse has driven up the cost of insurance and made it hard for small business members.”
“Governor Kemp and Georgia lawmakers have taken a bold step to restore fairness and balance to our legal system,” added Ben Cowart, vice president of Georgia Retailers. “By reducing the risk of excessive jury verdicts, this legislation will discourage frivolous lawsuits, encourage new investment, and create jobs across the state.”
After a combined 15 hours of testimony, and a narrow vote in the House of Representatives Thursday, the Georgia State Senate passed the final version of Senate Bill 68 Friday by a vote of 34 to 21.
Supporters say it’s a positive for business owners who have been impacted by excessive lawsuits. Opponents say it impacts victims in personal injury cases and benefits insurance companies.
Bert Brantley of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce says this is a positive, and a way to potentially lower insurance rates for businesses.
“A lot of companies can’t sustain that if they get a bad verdict or two. Their insurance rates can go through the roof, and they may not be able to keep their doors open. This is a real risk for our businesses,” said Brantley.
The bill limits lawyers to only seeking economic damages, like medical bills and lost wages. It does away with “noneconomic damages” like compensation for pain and suffering.
It also makes it more difficult to sue a business for something that happens on their property that they didn’t have prior knowledge of.
Protestors have taken to the state capitol for weeks including one mother whose son was abused at an early learning center. She wished not to share her name, because her lawsuit is ongoing.
Opponents also state there’s no guarantee that this legislation would bring insurance rates down.
Brantley says the bill would be a positive for new business and the local economy.
“We’re hoping that a more competitive and balanced legal system will encourage more people to start a business. They won’t have that huge liability that is out there,” said Brantley.
Governor Kemp has six days to sign the bill, because the legislature is still in session. Georgia’s legislative session is slated to end April 4th.
From the Associated Press via AcccessWDUN:
Supporters of the bill say it will stop “frivolous” suits that have damaged business owners, and limit large financial awards from juries. Opponents say it will prevent valid lawsuits from Georgians who were wronged, including victims of violence and sexual abuse.
The win comes about a year and a half after Kemp promised the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, a top ally, that he would take action to limit lawsuits. The package, also called tort reform, picked up some unlikely supporters in the Senate after he made some changes. Before the vote, Kemp also threatened Republican detractors that he would fund primary opponents against them.
Millions of dollars have gone into lobbying for and against the bill. Kemp and his allies have promised that it would stop insurance rates across the board from rising. Many experts have warned that may not happen.
Republican House Speaker Jon Burns said lawmakers “worked tirelessly to craft” a bill that would “protect our businesses from frivolous lawsuits while upholding the rights of those with legitimate claims to be made whole.”
Burns also announced Thursday that a House committee will study the practices of insurance companies, including how they set rates.
The effort appeared to hit some roadblocks last week. Several House Republicans were skeptical — and not just trial lawyers, who mostly oppose the plan because they fear it will stop victims of wrongdoing they represent from getting justice in court. Kemp made some more changes, but several Republicans still voted against it. Three Democrats voted in favor.
Opponents of the bill, including victims of abuse, sex trafficking and violence have regularly shown up at the Capitol to protest. They gathered again Thursday with signs and to share examples of abuse and violence that they say were ignored by those who ran businesses, recreational facilities and hotels.
The bill would require anyone who sues a business or property owner over misconduct or injuries on their property to prove the owner knew about a specific security risk and a physical condition on the property that created a risk, but didn’t provide adequate security. Kemp last week added more protections to the section of the bill that made an exception for sex trafficking survivors after their lawyers said they wouldn’t have been able to bring most cases.
However, lawyers say victims of rape and other violence would still be left without the ability to seek recourse from several responsible parties. Supporters have denied that.
Kemp delayed legislation on lawsuit limits in 2024 when it seemed to tough to pass, instead signing a law to gather data on lawsuit verdicts. He also hosted a series of roundtables in which business owners, trucking company executives, apartment owners and doctors said they were hurting from unfair lawsuits.
“Our family businesses are scared,” said House Republican Majority Whip Rep. James Burchett. “Our family-run farms are scared.”
The bill also sets stricter rules for when lawyers can put monetary values on noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering; lets them show jurors what portion of a medical bill was paid by insurance or third parties; and requires separate trial processes for determining fault and damages in most cases.
The trio of House Democrats who broke party ranks and provided crucial votes to pass Gov. Brian Kemp’s contentious overhaul of Georgia’s legal system faced immediate blowback – and put one rural lawmaker on the brink of leaving the party.
Meanwhile, it was unclear whether Gov. Brian Kemp would follow through on promises to back primary challenges against fellow Republicans who opposed his top priority, a rewrite of litigation rules aimed at limiting lawsuits and bringing down hefty jury awards.
Some of the sharpest criticism focused on state Rep. Mack Jackson, a Sandersville Democrat who voted for Kemp’s bill. In a fiery speech on Friday, Jackson blasted an unnamed Democrat who he said “talked down to me as if I’m a child” and others who implied he voted for the measure to gain political favors.
“The chains and shackles that she thought she had on me had to be broken,” said Jackson, who is Black. “Because in that very instance, I realized that she only tolerated me as long as I went along to get along. I was never allowed to be free.”
Jackson left the state Capitol on Friday uncertain about whether he would remain a Democrat. Republicans hold a 100-80 edge in the House, and any defection puts Democrats further away from regaining control of the chamber. But some party leaders were ready to see him bolt.
”Good riddance,” said Democratic state Rep. Tanya Miller, who helped lead her party’s fight against Kemp’s legislation. She added that Jackson’s speech was “the most disgusting” she’s ever heard.
Republicans have long courted Jackson, a preacher who was a close friend of the late House Speaker David Ralston. He’s broken party lines over past controversial issues, most notably joining GOP lawmakers to back anti-abortion restrictions in 2019.
And Jackson only narrowly won his competitive district in November, after a judge rejected his Republican challenger’s claims that dozens of voters were given incorrect ballots in the election.
Democrats said the defections from Jackson, along with state Reps. Michelle Au of Johns Creek and Carl Gilliard of Savannah, felt like betrayals. The caucus voted internally to oppose the proposal, and leaders fiercely lobbied the chamber’s 80 Democrats to vote against it.
“I’m disappointed in my colleagues, and I’m just going to say it, and I may regret it later, but I’m going to say it because we were sent here to represent the people, and we were sent here to make hard decisions,” said state Rep. Stacey Evans, an Atlanta Democrat who urged voters to hold them accountable in next year’s election.
Gilliard didn’t immediately comment on his stance. Au, a physician, told party leaders earlier this year she would support for the measure, and officials said she waited until its passage seemed secure before tallying her “yes” vote.
The Democratic renegades weren’t the only reason the measure barely squeezed through the House with a 91-82 vote – the bare minimum required.
Republican state Reps. Buddy DeLoach of Hinesville, Noelle Kahaian of Henry County, Trey Kelley of Cedartown, Danny Mathis of Cochran, Tyler Paul Smith of Bremen, Vance Smith of Pine Mountain, Jordan Ridley of Cherokee County and Dale Washburn of Macon all broke party lines to vote against it.
State Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain) felt some consequences from his vote. From the AJC:
State Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, isn’t commenting on what happened with his role as president and CEO of the Harris County Chamber of Commerce. But officials said he was ousted from the job on Friday, only hours after the House narrowly approved the measure without Smith’s support.
“It became obvious that we had different visions for the future success of our organization and its members and it was time for us to move forward in a different direction,” wrote the board’s chair, Theresa Garcia Robertson, in an email we obtained.
On Sunday, Garcia Robertson declined to comment on personnel matters but added that board members hold “Vance in high regard personally and appreciate his service to our community and his district.”
Smith was one of at least eight House Republicans who voted against the Kemp-backed rewrite of litigation rules, which passed the House on Thursday with the bare 91 votes needed. On Friday, the Senate voted to send it to Kemp’s desk.
State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) has a new job with a killer perk: his signature will appear on U.S. currency. From the AJC:
President Donald Trump reached into the Georgia Legislature for his latest appointment, naming Republican state Sen. Brandon Beach on Friday as his administration’s treasurer, meaning his signature will soon appear on U.S. currency.
The pick rewards a loyalist who was a fixture at just about every major Trump rally in the closing weeks of the campaign. It also leaves open Beach’s GOP-leaning, Alpharetta-based state Senate district.
Senate officials announced the appointment at a committee hearing Friday.
As treasurer, Beach would oversee the U.S. Mint, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the storage of gold at Fort Knox. He’ll also serve as an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He does not need U.S. Senate approval to assume the post.
First elected to the Senate in 2013, Beach took conservative stances in some of the state’s most heated debates, including allowing college students and others to carry concealed weapons on campus, restricting abortion and supporting a version of the “religious liberty” measure.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, he joined a handful of other Trump allies in calling for a special session of the General Assembly to potentially invalidate Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the state.
He was later stripped of his Senate leadership post by then-Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, but returned to a committee chair position after Jones won his statewide bid. He also backed former U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s failed primary challenge against Gov. Brian Kemp.
Beach has flirted with higher office before. He was the first major GOP candidate to announce a 2020 campaign against U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, whose victory in a suburban district was the biggest Georgia Democratic upset of the 2018 midterms. Beach dropped out weeks later.
Georgia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chris Clark on Friday touted Beach’s economic development experience, including his time as a board member of the chamber.
“While serving as a member of the Georgia state Senate, Sen. Beach established himself as an expert on monetary and economic policy.,” Clark said. “His strong legislative background and professional expertise makes Sen. Beach uniquely qualified to be Treasurer of the United States.”
House Bill 147 by State Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) passed the Senate Science & Technology Committee, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times.
By the time the 2025 General Assembly session gavels to a close early next month, Georgia lawmakers are expected to have taken the first steps to come to grips with the growth of artificial intelligence technology.
A state Senate committee approved a House bill Friday that would require the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) and local governments across the state to develop plans for using AI and – importantly – to publish those plans online for the public to see.
“Transparency is everything,” Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, chief sponsor of House Bill 147, told members of the Senate Science and Technology Committee. “If we can’t operate a transparent government, that’s where the breakdown of democracy starts.”
Georgia lawmakers have been working for the last couple of years on how to regulate AI. Crafting plans to accomplish that goal was at the heart of the report a Senate study committee released ahead of this year’s session.
“We need to do this,” said Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, who chaired the study committee. “If we’re going to stay the No.-place to do business, we have to be the No.-1 place for artificial intelligence.”
Besides developing plans for regulating AI, the legislature also is looking to criminalize the use of AI to generate obscene material depicting children. Two bills with that goal in mind – House Bill 171 and Senate Bill 9 – have passed their respective legislative chambers and await action on the other side of the Capitol.
Another measure that touches on artificial intelligence is the Georgia Consumer Privacy Protection Act, which the Senate passed early this month with just two “no” votes.
“Our personal information is everywhere,” said Albers, chief sponsor of Senate Bill 111. “In fact, it gets a little scary. … We want to make sure data that’s personal is protected as much as possible.”
Albers’ bill is aimed at businesses that “target market” by selling customers’ personal data. The legislation would prohibit selling such personal information without the customer’s permission, limit the collection of personal information to what is necessary, and give customers the ability to delete their personal information.
The measure also gives Georgia’s attorney general the ability to enforce the law against violators.
While a representative of the Atlanta-based Technology Association of Georgia supported the bill during a House committee hearing last Wednesday, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia said forcing consumers to appeal to the attorney general’s office for enforcement would be cumbersome.
“Tech companies and other companies need to do something to protect (consumers’) rights and data,” said Christopher Bruce, the organization’s policy and advocacy director. “(But) this bill is flawed.”
House Bill 147, meanwhile, has drawn concern from representatives of local governments that would have to put together plans for how they use AI.
“For small counties that don’t use AI or have any plans to, is it practical for them to put together a report?” asked Todd Edwards, director of governmental affairs for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia. “That might not be the best use of their time and capital.”
To address that issue, changes to Thomas’ bill made by the Senate Science and Technology Committee would give local governments until the end of 2027 to set out in writing what AI systems they’re using. The GTA would have to publish online how state agencies are using AI by the end of this year.
“This is a transformational enough technology that the public needs to know what’s going on,” said Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, the Senate committee’s chairman.
Lawmakers working to establish policies for managing the use of AI acknowledge that the technology is constantly changing. Even though Albers’ Senate study committee completed its work last year, he has introduced a resolution calling for a new study committee to examine what needs to be done to keep pace with those changes.
The panel would have until Dec. 1 to issue findings and recommendations.
House Bill 112 by State Rep. Lauren McDonald, III (R-Cumming), passed both chambers and will provide tax refunds to some Georgia income taxpayers, according to the Savannah Morning News.
This bill, adopted by a 30-23 vote, provides tax rebates to Georgians who file income taxes this year.
The bill will allow a one-time tax credit for individual taxpayers who filed income tax returns for the 2023 and 2024 taxable years.
If signed into law, with it most likely will by Gov. Brian Kemp, this bill will provide:
A $250 rebate to individual filers
A $375 to heads of households
$500 to married couples filing jointly
A $1 billion tax rebate for Georgia residents is one step closer to reality after both chambers of the state legislature approved HB 112. The bill now awaits Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature, which is expected in the coming days.
If signed into law, this will mark the third consecutive year of tax rebates for Georgians, continuing the state’s trend of returning surplus funds directly to taxpayers.
Rep. Shaw Blackmon, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the state’s healthy budget allows for this flexibility.
“The fund is completely full and we maintain the surplus of $11 billion. We’re fully funding our obligations in the budget and continue to maintain a balanced budget,” Blackmon said.
The proposed rebate amounts match previous rounds: single filers can expect up to $250, single head of household filers up to $375, and married couples filing jointly up to $500. However, refund amounts are based on 2023 tax liability, and no one can receive more than they paid in state income tax.
Blackmon emphasized that the rebate aligns with Gov. Kemp’s goal of putting more money directly into taxpayers’ hands.
“There’s pressure anytime you see, over the last few years, kind of inflationary increases in housing, food, everything, so letting people keep more of their money — obviously it’s not our money,” Blackmon said. “I believe in letting taxpayers keep as much of it.”
The rebate would be processed automatically for eligible taxpayers. Once Gov. Kemp signs the legislation, the State Department of Revenue website will list the eligibility criteria.
The rebates are included in the 2025 budget, which Gov. Kemp has already signed. This bill represents the final step in the process to officially approve the tax rebates.
Georgia farmers are still seeking aid to recover from Hurricane Helene, according to the AJC.
It’s been nearly six months since Hurricane Helene turned into a mangled mess the land Moses’ family has farmed for more than 200 years. The story is the same on countless other farms and tracts of timberlands in this part of the state.
The storm caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage to Georgia’s agriculture and forestry industries, the biggest sector of the state’s economy, according to the University of Georgia. Helene, which also devastated Florida, the Carolinas and parts of Tennessee, was the seventh-costliest tropical storm to strike the U.S. since 1980 and has been blamed for at least 219 deaths.
Even with many fields still littered with debris, Georgia’s farmers and foresters are beginning to rebuild chicken houses, replant crops and take out loans to try to stay in business. But to succeed, they say they need more federal financial aid — and fast.
“We’re not asking for handouts,” said Clay McKinnon, a Coffee County farmer who saw five of his six chicken houses demolished and blueberry bushes twisted by Helene’s winds. “We’re just asking for help from the federal government, which they give to a lot of other businesses and corporations.”
Georgia’s farmers haven’t been totally without federal aid. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has existing programs farmers like McKinnon and Moses can apply for to help defray their storm cleanup and other costs. Just this week, the USDA made $10 billion available to eligible farmers across the country to ease the pain of high fertilizer and fuel costs.
But funding from the largest pot — a $100 billion federal aid package passed by Congress late last year — has been slow to arrive. Of that, about $21 billion is earmarked for farmers in Georgia and other states hit by recent disasters.
Former President Joe Biden and his administration faced pleas from Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper and other state leaders to deliver the aid swiftly. Now, pressure has shifted to President Donald Trump. Georgia’s Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have urged Trump’s newly minted agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, to disburse the funds.
Congress set a deadline of March 21 for the federal government to distribute the money to states. During a visit to the state Capitol last week, Rollins said the money would “begin to move in the next few weeks.”
Also suffering the aftermath of Hurricane Helene are Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers. From the Augusta Chronicle:
Hurricane force winds that blew through Augusta on Sept. 27 packed a punch strong enough to impact wildlife habitats for threatened wildlife species like the red-cockaded woodpecker. Six months removed from when Hurricane Helene walloped much of Georgia, recovery efforts are still underway.
“Moody Forest Wildlife WM, a state-owned property with red-cockaded woodpeckers near Baxley (Georgia), was hit pretty hard by the storm,” said Joe Burnam, wildlife biologist for Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Conservation Division, referencing Hurricane Helene. “The Nature Conservancy and Georgia DNR both own and manage parts of the property. We have 10 RCW (red-cockaded woodpecker) groups there.”
There was significant tree loss, Burnam said.
“The areas with the RCW cluster sites and the areas they use to forage, damage was variable,” said Burnam. “But overall there was enough habitat there to support them.”
Burnam said in Georgia, there are more than 1,500 groups of red-cockaded woodpeckers.
“We kind of had a playbook from Hurricane Michael, which was back in 2018,” said Burnam. “Hurricane Michael severely impacted Silver Lake WMA, which is one of our other properties with woodpeckers in southwest Georgia. Our response was based on what we did in 2018.”
Burnam added, “It was a challenge, because the whole area had significant damage. Within two weeks of the storm, we were all able to work together to clear the roads to access the cluster sites. We were able to install cavity inserts and replace trees that were lost. It takes red-cockaded woodpeckers so long to make their cavities. When they lose those trees, they really have nowhere to go.”
Steven Camp, chief of the Natural Resources branch with the environmental division at Fort Eisenhower, said there are 76 red-cockaded woodpecker clusters managed on site.
“Of those 76 red-cockaded woodpecker clusters, 65 are active,” said Camp. “Before the storm, we had 377 managed trees. Of the 377 trees, 204 were active, meaning red-cockaded woodpeckers were living in them. We lost 71 trees. Of those 71 trees, 46 were active.”
Camp said within 47 days 70 trees were replaced.
“When we say we replaced the trees, I mean we found trees that were able to insert cavity nest boxes in,” he said. “Because the trees that these woodpeckers use are somewhere between 80 and 120 years old, it’s going to take another 80 years to grow a tree big enough for a woodpecker to make its own cavity.”
Protesters held a Town Hall to trash U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton), according to the Macon Telegraph.
Rep. Austin Scott, the Republican congressman for Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, was noticeably absent from a town hall in Warner Robins Thursday where constituents expressed anger over President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s cuts to federal funding.
The town hall — which was hosted by a chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union for federal employees — invited constituents of Georgia’s 2nd and 8th Districts. Rep. Sanford Bishop, a Democrat who represents Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, was in attendance and Scott was invited.
More than 100 people showed up to express frustration over Trump and Musk targeting federal funding through the Department of Government Efficiency, an organization within the executive branch that is not a cabinet-level office, despite what its name implies.
Julie Savoy, who lives in Georgia’s 8th Congressional District and attended Thursday’s town hall, said she feels her concerns are disregarded by Scott. She attended another town hall that took place Monday outside of Rep. Scott’s Warner Robins office, from which he was also missing.
“He only hears what he wants to hear,” Savoy said. “He only seems to come around when he wants money or a vote.”
A representative from Scott’s office said in an email to The Telegraph that Scott was unable to attend the town hall due to other obligations and “a lack of significant advance notice” from organizers, who his office said reached out to Scott two days before the event.
The representative also said in the email that Scott’s senior legislative staff in Washington, D.C., met with the American Federation of Government Employees Georgia State Council to discuss their concerns surrounding Trump, Musk and DOGE.
Protesters targeted the office of U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme NW GA), according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
Following the protest, the Dalton Daily Citizen was provided with the following statement from the office of Rep. Greene:
“These 35 Democrat activists do not represent the nearly 800,000 residents of Northwest Georgia. Plus, their signs, painted in Ukrainian colors, are full of lies. President Trump and Congresswoman Greene have said over and over they will protect Medicare and Social Security for Americans who have earned it — not for illegal aliens or fraudsters who don’t deserve it.”
“DOGE is focused on exposing the waste, fraud and abuse in these programs, and that’s exactly what Congresswoman Greene is doing as chairwoman of the DOGE committee in Congress. “To save our country, we must address our $36 trillion debt, which Democrats apparently don’t care about.”
United States Department of Agriculture spending cuts could affect Georgia school lunch programs, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently slashed more than $1 billion in federal spending, including eliminating two programs that helped Georgia schools and food banks buy fresh produce from local farms.
In March 2023, the USDA and Georgia officials announced the beginning of the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. The program provided the Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition Division with over $7.1 million to boost the state’s purchase of healthy, locally sourced foods for school meal programs, improve child nutrition and cultivate connections between local agriculture and schools.
Although the $7 million grant will remain effective and funded until June, budget cuts from the federal agency have resulted in a multimillion-dollar loss for Georgia’s public schools in the upcoming school years,
Georgia Department of Education spokesperson Meghan Frick said. “We were also rewarded a three-year LFS grant for over $15 million beginning next school year, but that has been terminated based on the communication we received last week,” Frick told The Telegraph via email.
Nationally, an estimated $660 million in money from the Local Food for Schools program for 2025 will no longer be available to support local producers and assist schools in expanding fresh menu options, according to the School Nutrition Association, a national non-profit organization representing 50,000 school nutrition professionals across the country.
Thirteen percent of Georgia’s population is food insecure, according to the Science for Georgia. This means that over 1 million Georgians do not have reliable access to a sufficient supply of affordable, nutritious food. That includes one in five children, according to Feeding America.
Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., of Georgia, serves as the top Democrat on the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Relation Agencies subcommittee. Bishop said the programs were beneficial in combating food insecurity, while also noting state Superintendent Richard Woods’ belief in the program’s ability to ensure that Georgia students don’t go hungry.
Bishop raised concerns about how the funding cuts could create budget constraints for school nutrition programs.
“It will put a dent in the school lunch programs because many school districts and school cafeterias have already put (those funds) in their budget, and losing that food is going to mean that they will come up short of what their school feeding plans have been,” Bishop said.
Bishop said the cuts could also financially affect underserved local farmers who sell the produce.
Georgia Department of Education officials reported that over 75% of Local Food for Schools purchases during the pilot year came from local Georgia farmers, with the remaining 25% sourced from regional producers within 400 miles of designated schools.
“It’s really penny-wise and pound-foolish for them to cut that program because it hurts so many folks,” Bishop said. “The program does so much good for both the producers and the recipients of the food that it just doesn’t make sense.”
Bishop said the state education department’s food service workers will have to face the question of what’s next in terms of relying on other alternatives.
“Purchasing local foods has significantly enriched our school community by providing fresher, healthier meal options for students,” said Colquitt County Schools nutrition staff. “It has also fostered educational opportunities, teaching students about local agriculture, nutrition and the importance of supporting local businesses.”
When asked about the budget cuts, Rep. Bishop said, “It’s incredibly unfortunate.”
He added, “When you talk about $23 million in food going to food banks and you talk about $7.5 million in food going to local school districts, it’s a great loss.”
Rep. Bishop said these cuts will have an impact on 150 farmers and 80 school districts in Georgia. He said Georgia has the fifth largest school nutrition program.
Rep. Bishop said these funding cuts will create many challenges for the state legislature and for the state’s department of education. He said he hopes the state will be able to restore the funds or at least make ends meet.
Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson is considering complaints that Columbus Council members allegedly broke open meetings rules, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson is looking into whether there is any material evidence suggesting Columbus Councilors violated state law, he told the Ledger-Enquirer on Friday.
His comment comes two days after the Columbus branch of the NAACP called for an investigation into whether a quorum of councilors privately discussed choosing former Councilor Judy Thomas’ replacement.
If a quorum of councilors privately met to discuss city business, whether in-person, by text or email, then they broke Georgia’s Open Meetings Act, said a Wednesday news release from the NAACP.
This move by the NAACP comes after former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson brought up a potential Open Meetings Act violation during a March 14 news conference defending city manager Isaiah Hugley and questioning the council’s process to appoint Thomas’ successor.
“We’re in the process of taking a look at it to see if there are any material issues we could forward on to the attorney general’s office and ask them to look into it,” [Henderson] said.
If there is anything to forward to the attorney general, Henderson said, they would do it in the next few days.
Thomas resigned for medical reasons March 11 during a council meeting. Later that meeting, the council voted 6-3 to appoint as her replacement in the District 9 citywide seat John Anker, who lost the 2022 mayoral election to Henderson and the 2024 District 10 citywide council election to Travis Chambers. The motion was approved despite Henderson warning against voting so quickly and with no other candidates publicly being considered.
In a March 13 interview, Anker told the L-E, “I did have conversations with a councilor or two over time, asking, ‘Would you be willing to put your name up?’” Anker declined to identify with whom he had those conversations.
“To my knowledge, there were no discussions that would violate Georgia’s Open Meetings law,” Councilor Glenn Davis told the L-E in a March 14 email. “Any claims suggesting otherwise are incorrect. The council operates within legal guidelines, and any official decisions about filling a vacancy follow proper procedures.”
The process to nominate Anker was done differently than how it’s gone in the past, Henderson said. “There is no written requirement on how to handle those situations,” he said. “But going back to 1997, I’ve seen it done maybe four or five times. And this one was a bit unusual.”
The President of the Columbus NAACP chapter, Melvin Tanner, JR. explained why the group asked for an investigation.
“Back when Pop Barnes position was vacant and how they chose to take time before actually appointing someone to fill Mr. Barnes’ term, so why wasn’t the same consideration given this time,” he said.
The group also claimed the council violated the Georgia Open Meetings Act, where a quorum or a majority of counselors in attendance has to be open to public, meaning no private meetings which includes by email, over text, or in person.
We asked Tanner if he thought the council met secretly before taking a vote to which he responded: “I don’t have any proof of that, so I don’t want to state that, but there were some comments that were made, but if the mayor does the investigation and do some fact-finding, we can find out if that is factual or not.”
The Georgia Ports Authority claims to support one in eight jobs in Georgia, according to a press release.
Port activity in Georgia now supports more than 600,000 full- and part-time jobs across the Peach State, according to an economic impact study by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. The statewide number is up 48,000 jobs or 8.6 percent compared to Fiscal Year 2021; the period covered by the previous study.
“This study confirms that our ports are invaluable economic drivers for the entire state,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Across industries and communities in every corner of Georgia, the Ports of Savannah and Brunswick – as well as our entire ports ecosystem – both directly and indirectly support tens of thousands of jobs and create opportunity all across the state while connecting manufacturers with markets all around the world.”
Georgia ports now help sustain 12 percent of total state employment, according to data announced by Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch at the 2025 Savannah State of the Port event on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
“Georgia’s deepwater ports support 609,197 full- and part-time jobs,” said Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth, who conducted the study. “This means that almost one job out of every eight is in some way dependent on the ports.”
Other statewide impacts include:
· $171 billion in sales for Georgia businesses (12 percent of state total)
· $72 billion in goods produced or services provided by port-supported industry each year (9 percent of total state GDP)
· $40 billion in income earned by Georgians annually (6 percent of Georgia’s total personal income)
The portion of statewide sales and state gross domestic product related to port trade have both grown by 22 percent compared to FY2021. Personal income earned by Georgians through port-supported business is up by 21 percent over the same period.
“These economic impacts demonstrate that continued emphasis on imports and exports through Georgia’s deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes, greater production of goods and services, and revenue collections for government,” Humphreys reported. “Port operations help to preserve and expand Georgia’s manufacturing base, support Georgia’s agricultural economy, the forestry and mining industries, and the state’s logistics, distribution, and warehousing cluster.”
Internal GPA data show the top three export commodity groups for the study period were food, forest products and automotive cargo. The top imports were machinery, retail goods and furniture.
“As a national gateway for American farm and factory exports, Georgia’s ports link every major ocean carrier calling the U.S. East Coast with superior connections to road and rail,” Lynch said. “Businesses are drawn to GPA’s market by its growing workforce and logistical advantages. These factors, combined with Georgia Ports’ customer-focused service, contribute to job growth across the Peach State.”
Trade through Georgia’s ports also helps to support government services, yielding $10 billion in federal taxes, $2.8 billion in state taxes, and $2.5 billion in local taxes annually.
“The new report shows GPA is fulfilling its mission by positively impacting Georgia, well beyond our gates,” said GPA Board Chairman Kent Fountain. “There are direct benefits in terms of jobs and community opportunities in every county of Georgia.”
The UGA study, “The Economic Impact of Georgia’s Deepwater Ports on Georgia’s Economy in FY 2023” is the latest in a series of similar studies conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth. The comprehensive technical report may be viewed here.
The City of Atlanta is asking most employees to return to the office, according to the AJC.
According to a letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that was sent to employees on March 10 with the subject line “resumption of in-person business operations,” city staff will need to return to offices at least three days a week — but requirements vary based on position. Staff for ATL311 will remain fully remote.
“Thank you for all you do to keep Atlanta Moving Forward!” Interim Commissioner of Human Resources Calvin W. Blackburn III wrote to city employees. “We look forward to seeing everyone on April 10th, 2025.”
A flood of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who returned to offices in earlier this month caused a traffic headache for that part of the city.
Atlanta faces a projected $20 million budget deficit at the end of Fiscal Year 2025 in June, and both the Dickens administration and City Council leaders have signaled there will likely be departmental cuts. Council budget leader Howard Shook told the AJC that includes potential layoffs.
Democratic United States Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) kicked off his reelection campaign, according to the Associated Press via WALB.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff came home to Atlanta Saturday to rally core Democrats desperate for effective action now against President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Georgia will bow to no king!” Ossoff proclaimed at the end of a 20-minute speech that labeled Trump as corrupt, out of touch with the problems of regular people, and “trying to poison our democracy with fear and intimidation.”
“Atlanta, this is not a drill. Atlanta, this is not a bad dream,” said Ossoff, who could be the Republicans’ No. 1 Democratic target in the 2026 elections. “As citizens, this is the test of our lifetime. So tell me, Atlanta, are you ready to fight?”
Ossoff’s campaign tried to play down the idea that Saturday’s event was the launch of his 2026 reelection campaign, and he never specifically asked the 2,000 Democrats gathered in a music hall on Atlanta’s gentrified east side for their votes. But others, including fellow Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, made that explicit, and Ossoff’s campaign handed out yard signs to people as they left.
It’s still so early that it’s not clear what Republicans will oppose the first-term Democrat. Many Republicans would like to see Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp enter the race. But the second-term governor has been holding back a decision and could opt instead to run for president in 2028 or to retire from politics. If Kemp declines to run, Republicans including U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter, Rich McCormick and Mike Collins could seek the nomination, as well as state Insurance Commissioner John King. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has also mused about a possible run for Georgia governor or Senate in 2026.
Any race in Georgia is likely to be closely contested and fantastically expensive. The twin Senate races in 2020, when Ossoff and Warnock narrowly won and flipped control of the Senate to Democrats, cost more than $900 million combined, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political spending. Warnock’s 2022 reelection over Republican Herschel Walker cost more than $470 million, OpenSecrets found.
Ossoff, keeping his focus off 2026, tried to speak to the alarm that Democratic voters say they are feeling, and promising he was doing everything he could to fight back.
“Maybe right now you feel surrounded by darkness. You might be a little numb. You might be wondering if there’s a way out,” Ossoff said. ”But Atlanta, we don’t have the luxury of despair.”
Some questioned whether a campaign rally was suited to this moment. Thomas McCormick, who drove 140 miles to Atlanta from the central Georgia town of Dublin, said he’s not seeing any effective opposition from Democrats, with the possible exception of Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy. He expressed disgust with Saturday’s event and mused about supporting a third party, saying that Democrats can’t wait until 2026, likening the impact of Trump’s work so far to the explosion of the Hindenburg airship in 1937.
“That’s two years, that’s two years of damage,” McCormick said, as strains of “Macarena” echoed through the hall before the rally began. “I have been on the left side of politics my whole life. This is the best I’ve got?”
Ten right whale calves have been spotted in Georgia waters this season, according to The Brunswick News.
The good news is that there were no vessel strikes and only one report of an entangled whale in the Southeast during the season, which runs from November to April when the critically endangered species comes to warmer Southern waters to give birth and begin raising their young.
Jessica Thompson, a senior wildlife biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources who spends her days each winter monitoring, tracking and studying the whales off of Georgia’s coast, said there were also two first-time mothers who are vessel-strike survivors, although one of them was seen off the coast of New York and New Jersey, outside of the traditional calving grounds in the Southeast.
But the good news was tempered by the low numbers of confirmed mother-and-calf pairs that were spotted, she said. Only 10 were seen all season, half of how many were seen in 2024 and not nearly enough to push the species into recovery.
If human interactions like entanglements and boat strikes remain constant, researchers estimate that more than 50 calves would need to be born annually to see the numbers of right whales begin to grow again. More than 30 would need to be born annually just to stabilize the current population at around 370, Thompson said.
Human behavior and interactions will have to change to accomplish that goal, Thompson said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that human-caused mortality is the top killer of right whales and the leading cause of injuries and stressors that impact reproduction.
In 2024, the agency proposed a rule that would have required vessels 35-feet and longer to slow down to 11.5 mph over an expanded area of ocean during the calving season in an effort to diminish the possibility of ship strikes. In January the agency withdrew its proposal, leaving the current rule that applies to vessels 65-feet and longer in place.
Opponents of the new rule, including U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1, said applying the speed rule to smaller boats would negatively impact commerce and Georgia’s two deepwater ports at Brunswick and Savannah.
Former Gordon County Commissioner Rebecca Hood and her husband, Scott Hood, were both indicted, according to WRGA News.
A former Gordon County Commissioner has been indicted on a felony charge of 1st-degree cruelty to children while her husband has been indicted on a felony count of child molestation.
Rebecca Hood and Scott Hood, both of Calhoun, were arrested last October following an investigation by the GBI that started in January of 2021.
Becky Hood had served as a Gordon County Commission since 2006 before announcing she would not run for re-election in 2022.
A Gordon County Grand Jury returned the indictments against the couple on Wednesday.
Related Posts
Gov. Nathan Deal: State Acts On High Demand Career Initiative Report
VIDEO – David Perdue: Launches First TV Ad
Southern Company, a lobbying powerhouse, fights new carbon rules | www.myajc.com
Veterans health care: Atlanta whistleblower to testify on VA case | www.ajc.com
Adoptable Georgia Dogs for December 31, 2014
Comments ( 0 )