On May 13, 1607, English settlers founded the first permanent English settlement in America, at Jamestown on the James River. This led to the first English-language politics in America:
Dispatched from England by the London Company, the colonists had sailed across the Atlantic aboard the Susan Constant,Godspeed, and Discovery. Upon landing at Jamestown, the first colonial council was held by seven settlers whose names had been chosen and placed in a sealed box by King James I. The council, which included Captain John Smith, an English adventurer, chose Edward Wingfield as its first president.
Lyman Hall arrived in Philadelphia as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress on May 13, 1775.
On May 13, 1798, a Constitutional Convention adopted the Georgia Constitution of 1798.
The United States declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
Georgia Whigs, led by Governor George Crawford, Alexander Stephens, and Robert Toombs, criticized the war for raising divisive questions about slavery in the territories. Georgia Democrats, led by Howell Cobb and Herschel Johnson, staunchly supported the war and states’ rights afterward. Because Whigs, nationally, appeared to be antislavery, Georgia Whigs lost the governorship in 1847. The Compromise of 1850 temporarily settled the slavery question in the territories, but the moderating influence of Georgia’s Whigs dissolved in the heated rhetoric of states’ rights in the 1850s. The next war would find Americans fighting Americans.
The first fighting at Resaca, Georgia took place on May 13, 1864 and Union forces marched into Dalton. On May 13, 1864, 257 cadets from the Virginia Military Institute camped at Mt. Crawford near Harrisonburg.The next day they would continue their march to New Market, Virginia.
On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot at St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
On May 13, 2005, the Pentagon Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommended the closing of Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Fort Gillem in Forest Park, the Naval Air Station in Marietta, and the Naval Supply Corps School in Athens.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
The reason Georgia is so good at ransacking the gas stations is because we get so much practice everytime it snows somewhere. But Governor Brian Kemp thinks some of y’all are overdoing it. From 11Alive:
Long lines of motorists fueling up have drained fuel supplies at gas stations that would normally take a couple of days to empty. Experts caution that people don’t need to be rushing to gas stations to hoard fuel.
Kemp echoed the call for Georgia motorists to stop overstocking fuel.
“It’s frustrating for me, it’s frustrating for a lot of our citizens when you see pictures of people literally filling up 5,000 gallon water tanks. There’s no need to do that. There’s no need to fill every five-gallon can you’ve got at your house,” he said.
From the Valdosta Daily Times:
“My main message to Georgians today is that the most effective way to address the fuel shortages we’re experiencing is for everyone to remain calm,” Kemp said Wednesday. “… Please do not go out and fill up fill up every five gallon can that you have. Doing so will only mean the shortage will last longer and more Georgians will be unable to make it to work, take their kids to school or get to their medical appointment.”
At the request of Georgia’s Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also authorized the use of gas supplies that are seasonally out of circulation. Gas slated for fall and winter use will be distributed throughout Georgia in an effort to offset any shortages.
“We’ll have this new product flowing very quickly and hopefully will solve our problem,” Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said.
Black noted there has been no report of a diesel fuel shortage that would disrupt Georgia production but noted scattered fuel shortage concerns around the state in areas such as Gainesville and Cumming.
Attorney General Chris Carr warned companies against price gouging customers during the emergency. While the state of emergency is in effect, he said businesses are not allowed to charge more than during normal times. Carr said his office has already received more than 300 complaints of possible gouging which will be investigated.
“While we believe this to be a short-term event, like the governor I want to warn consumers to be on the lookout for scams and possible price gouging,” he said. “… No one should be taking advantage of consumers who are trying to continue their daily routines.”
“If something changes and we are told that this is not going to be a short-term problem, we will message that,” he said. “… Don’t unnecessarily fill up every vehicle you’ve got, every can you’ve got — give others the opportunity to do the same.”
Georgia received approval Wednesday from the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency to release out of circulation fuel to help with gas supply as the Colonial Pipeline, a major supplier to the southeast, remains largely shut down.
“By this letter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a waiver under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to address the fuel supply emergency caused by a cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline’s computer networks that led to the pipeline’s shutdown. This pipeline shutdown and related impacts on petroleum pipeline operations affect the petroleum distribution system in your states and the District of Columbia,” according to the document.
Federal EPA regulations require the use of low volatility gasoline during the summer months in order to limit the ozone pollution. Under the waiver, gas stations in designated states will be allowed to sell fall/winter gasoline.
This waiver is effective immediately and will continue through May 31.
A lawsuit over the Augusta Judicial Circuit split will proceed after all sitting judges in the circuit recused themselves, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Meanwhile, the challenge to the legality of the governor’s appointment of Judge Jesse Stone will continue, according to notice of appeal filed Tuesday in Burke County Superior Court.
The notice of the recusal of the Superior Court judges was filed in the civil lawsuit filed by Willie Saunders against the current three counties of the Augusta Judicial Circuit – Richmond, Columbia and Burke counties – and the state of Georgia. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate a new law set to go into effect July 1 that establishes Columbia County as a single-county judicial circuit.
Wenesday afternoon, Sen. Judge Gail S. Tusan was appointed to preside over the case. Tusan retired and took senior judge status in April 2019. During her more than 35 years as a judge, she last served as a Fulton County Superior Court judge and as a chief judge for the circuit.
The lawsuit contends that the law creating the Columbia County Judicial Circuit violates the separation of the three branches of government. The law gives the courts the authority to decide whether new circuits are needed and how they would be formed, as well as deciding whether there is a need for additional circuit judges, according to the lawsuit. The suit contends the court system was bypassed when state Sen. Lee Anderson, R-Grovetown, introduced Senate Bill 9 to create the Columbia County Judicial Circuit with only an inquiry into the judicial workload in each county.
The suit also alleges the law violates the Voting Rights Act by creating a separate, white-majority circuit, diluting the votes of Black Columbia County residents, and voiding the votes of residents in the three counties who elected the first Black district attorney of the Augusta Judicial Circuit, Jared Williams.
Hall County Commissioners and Board of Elections members reached an understanding on who supervises the elections director, according to AccessWDUN.
Today, both parties reached an agreement that ensures each side will be fairly involved in the position. According to Katie Crumley, Public Information Officer with Hall County, the agreement was voted on at tonight’s Board of Commissioners meeting. “The Hall County Board of Commissioners and Hall County Board of Elections have worked together to craft a solution we feel is in the best interest of Hall County as a whole,” says Crumley.
The agreement reached in tonight’s settlement states that both parties will have responsibilities as it relates to the director. Both Hall County and the Hall County Board of Elections will jointly supervise the position, and both will contribute to the annual job evaluation and any other job performance-related issues. Neither party will be able to hire, or fire, the employee in that position without mutually agreeing upon the decision.
The human resources aspect of the position, including salary, benefits, and compensation, will be done by the Hall County administrator.
Gainesville is adding options to its WeGo transit rideshare program, according to AccessWDUN.
Several changes are coming to the City of Gainesville’s WeGo rideshare service, including a downtown shuttle service, an expansion of the service to the entirety of Hall County and possible elimination of the other two public transit services in the city.
Phillippa Lewis Moss, Community Service Center director with the City of Gainesville, said the downtown dinner route will start on Thursday, May 13, and will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday every week.
“The first 30 days of the program will be free to all travelers, and only to people in that square area,” Moss said. “[The shuttle] will be picking up people basically at the existing parking deck and taking them around the square so they can access any of their restaurants or retailers without having to walk through construction sites.”
Moss said the main goal of the shuttle route is to help get people into the downtown square while construction is underway on the new parking deck on Brenau Avenue, and on the Gainesville Renaissance project.
Gainesville will also start operating its WeGo service throughout the entire Hall County area beginning July 1.
The Coastal Regional Commission of Georgia is seeking citizen input for their planning efforts, according to WTOC.
The commission’s goal is to keep the ten counties and 35 cities in our region sustainable as they continue to grow.
The regional planning commission hopes to come up with a plan by October that will be in effect by early next year. But first, they need your help. If you live in Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, or Screven counties, the plan commission is asking for your input in order to come up with the plan.
The Regional Plan includes a vision for how the regional coast of Georgia can develop policies and projects that ensure a high quality of life for all residents over the next 25 years. The plan will look at everything from transportation, natural resources, infrastructure, and any other topics that are important to the growth of the region.
Right now, they are looking for public input to see what priorities citizens have so that they can make sure the local government is making decisions based on a vision from the community and not just reacting when a problem arises.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College held a drive-through graduation, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
The 2021 spring drive-thru commencement ceremony began at 7 p.m. with a vehicle procession that started behind the college on Hemlock Street. This was GNTC’s third drive-thru commencement ceremony.
Stuart Phillips, vice president of Student Affairs at GNTC, announced the names of the graduates and their respective programs. When graduates pulled up to the front of the A Building, they stepped out of their vehicles and walked the blue GNTC carpet to the center awarding area.
GNTC President Heidi Popham greeted each graduate and presented them with their award. Each student had their photo taken with Popham as well as a ceremony portrait taken by a professional photographer.
Middle Georgia State University will hold in-person graduation ceremonies scheduled over three days to accomodate COVID protocols, according to 13WMAZ.
Chief of Staff, Ember Bentley, and her staff made the decision to hold an in-person ceremony in March, following Gov. Brian Kemp’s announcement to ease COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’re still strongly encouraging masks, social distancing, we’re doing full sanitizing, the hand sanitizing stations. We’re sanitizing the space in between ceremonies. We were able to space out the ceremonies this year, so each school has the opportunity to have their own ceremonies,” said Bentley.
They held ceremonies over a three-day period. Graduates sat with their family members in a “pod” style instead of sitting next to classmates.
Masks are required inside the Recreation and Wellness Center. All graduation ceremonies will be live streamed on the university website and will be available to watch after the ceremonies.
Flowery Branch City Manager Bill Andrew resigned, according to AccessWDUN.
The City of Cave Spring is temporarily lifting a prohibition on gunfire within the city limits to address a beaver infestation, according to AccessWDUN.
The Cave Spring City Council passed a resolution to temporarily lift restrictions on shooting guns in the city — for the northern end of Floyd’s Lake and U.S. 411.
The resolution came about after multiple residents complained about beavers around Floyd’s Lake that are damming up streams in the area.
The temporary suspension will only last for 90 days, to allow property owners to get rid of the beavers.
Related Posts
Do primary defeats indicate gender issues in politics? | members.jacksonville.com
Ga troops return from Afghan deployment | AccessNorthGa
AUDIO – Rep. Delvis Dutton Talks To Ga Pundit About His Campaign for Congress 
Braves stadium opponents want residents’ vote
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for January 19, 2021
Comments ( 0 )