The Battle of the Wilderness began on May 5, 1864, between the Army of the Potomac, led by General Ulysses S. Grant, and the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee.
On May 5, 1886, Jefferson Davis attended a public reception at Savannah, Georgia’s City Hall.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Cy Young threw a perfect game against the Detroit Tigers on May 5, 1904.
Alan Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space on May 5, 1961, making a 15 minute sub-orbital flight that reached an altitude of 115 miles, during which he experienced about five minutes of ‘weightlessness.’ He was launched in the 2,000-lb. capsule Freedom 7 from Cape Canaveral, Florida… The flight traveled 302 miles at a speed relative to the ground of 4,500 mph. The mission was named Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7.
On May 4, 1965, the Rolling Stones played a show at Georgia Southern.
The British band played in Hanner Fieldhouse to an overflow crowd of more than 3,500 people, according to a retrospective by Jim Hilliard in the Statesboro Herald. The gym’s capacity was about 1,500.
Hilliard said organizers figured they could sell 1,800 tickets at $2.50 each, which would be enough to pay the band and have some money left over for expenses.
The Stones had played on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Sunday, May 2, and advance ticket sales were brisk the Monday and during lunch Tuesday, the day of the concert.
Hilliard said he signed the contract booking the Stones on behalf of Sigma Epsilon Chi fraternity. The contract called for the new fraternity to pay the band $3,000 for the appearance. Hilliard said he got a $1,500 loan from First Bulloch Bank to make the deal happen.
The Stones were expected to take the stage at 8:30 p.m. and play for at least an hour, but Hilliard had lined up three front bands, and “it proved to be a fatal flaw in plans for the concert,” he said in his retrospective.
The noise was deafening as the original Stones lineup — Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts — hit the stage nearly an hour late.
Jagger and the other band members were “openly hostile” at having to wait so long to play.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Local political parties in Columbus, GA are gearing up for the fall elections, according WTVM.
“We’ve got the building and we’re trying to get it ready because we want it to be the focal point for the democratic party in Columbus Georgia and Muscogee County,” said Saundra Ellison, Chairman of the Muscogee Democrats.
While local partisan elections are in full swing, Democrats and Republicans in the Valley are looking towards the November election, making sure they have a place to call home for campaigning.
Rick Allen, head of the Muscogee Republicans said, “We’re getting more and more calls about people wanting material and wanting to know where headquarters is so we’re moving in that direction.”
Republicans in the Valley were divided earlier this year, as a list of candidates attracted different voters, but now as the scope narrows in on Donald Trump, Muscogee Republicans hope to unite.
“There will be a consolidation towards Trump and some of the people who have been for other candidates, Cruz and Kasich, will be trying to decide what we’re going to do and hopefully we will all get together and come on board and have a unified front,” said Allen.
Governor Deal has redirected money in the FY 2017 budget away from a memorial at the National Infantry Museum, and State Rep. Richard Smith is blamestorming.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal redirected $100,000 in state funding designated for a Global War on Terror memorial at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center in Columbus earlier this week when he signed next year’s budget.
Republican state Rep. Richard Smith of Columbus said he has been told by the governor and the chief of staff for Speaker of the House David Ralston that the funding for Columbus’ projects is being withheld because of Republican Sen. Josh McKoon. The three-term Columbus state senator has been a leading and vocal proponent of ethics reform, “religious liberty” legislation and other matters that have put him at odds with leading Republicans.
The budget that recently passed the General Assembly included $100,000 for the infantry museum memorial. Smith said at the time he was told the governor, who has line-item veto authority, would remove that money from the budget. On Monday, Deal directed the state Department of Economic Development to convert the money to other uses within the department.
“It was part of an $11.7 million package that included other projects so he could not veto it,” Smith said. “But he has directed it for other uses.”
McKoon, who represents a district that runs from north Columbus into Troup County, pointed out the museum was not in his district.
“The National Infantry Museum is in Sen. (Ed) Harbison’s Senate district and Rep. (Calvin) Smyre’s House district,” McKoon said. “No. 1, I would be disappointed if Gov. Deal tried to punish either of those legislators by harming the memory of the infantry men and women who served our country. No. 2, if Rep. Smith had information that the governor was intending to politicize the National Infantry Museum, I am surprised he did not do anything about it.”
As a Republican, I’ve long heard stories about how votes are turned out in Democratic primaries, but first-hand information is hard to come by. 11Alive looks at one way votes may be influenced among seniors in the City of Atlanta.
Gwendolyn Johnson, 68, told Channel 2 Action News that the woman who oversees senior programming at Old Adamsville Rec Center in northwest Atlanta gave her “Jamila’s Picks,” a list of candidates for whom she should vote this week.
“I do just like the Atlanta Constitution and The New York Times,” vendor Jamila Jones said. “I give my picks and they can use them the way they want to.”
The list names the preferred candidates of Jones, 71, a city of Atlanta vendor who works at the Rec Center
,and independently provides transportation and voting talks to older residents in their homes.Channel 2 Action News obtained lists going back as far as 2013.
One list shows that Jones is a paid political consultant for one of her picks, receiving more than $4,000 in the last two months.
“Because she works here, she has access to all the senior high-rises. She’s able to go pick them up and give them this,” candidate Duwon Robinson said.
No formal complaints against Jones have been filed with the secretary of state or the Fulton County Board of Elections.
Among Gov. Deal’s vetoes this week was House Bill 216, which would have allowed some firefighters diagnosed with cancer to file workers’ compensation claims. Firefighters sounded off on the veto. From 11Alive.
“It’s really disheartening that you ask firefighters to protect you, and then, the firefighters, when we need help, you turn your back on us,” Travis Boatright of Paulding County said, his voice trembling with frustration.
Boatright, the Professional Fire Fighters of Georgia president, can’t understand Governor Nathan Deal’s veto.
He worked with other firefighters for months at the Capitol to draft the legislation that would have expanded their workers’ compensation coverage if they could prove, in court, that they got cancer because of their job.
“We understand what our job hazards are, but why should our job hazards not be covered by workers’ comp?” he asked.
Thirty-eight other states have similar protections for firefighters and they thought passing a law in Georgia would be common sense.
But Governor Deal vetoed the bill Tuesday, calling the legislation unnecessary.
In a statement he said it would be too expensive for the state and that he had never seen a firefighter file a workers’ compensation claim for cancer.
Legislators in Hall County spoke to the Gainesville Times about Gov. Deal’s veto of the Campus Carry Bill.
State Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville said he understood Deal’s position even though he supported the bill “because of Second Amendment rights.”
“(Deal is) looking out for the welfare of all involved,” Hawkins said.
Rep. Emory Dunahoo, R-Gainesville, also said he respected the governor’s decision even if he disagreed.
“He’s elected by the people to make this decision, and as the governor that’s his right,” Dunahoo said. “However, I’m very disappointed as a law-abiding citizen with my Second Amendment rights.”
Dunahoo said the screening process for receiving a concealed carry permit is strenuous and that because it is limited to individuals 21 and older, that means the number of students on campus with guns would be inherently limited, and not likely include anyone living in a dormitory.
Sen. Butch Miller, who voted in favor of the bill, said one of its flaws that led to the veto was that it didn’t provide schools with an opt-out provision.
“If a campus wants to be gun-free, this bill takes that ability away,” he said.
Deal signed House Bill 808, placing the question of re-forming the Judicial Qualifications Commission on the November ballot.
Governor Nathan Deal on Tuesday signed into law a bill dissolving the Judicial Qualifications Commission and reconstituting the judicial watchdog organization with expanded appointment power from the legislative and executive branches of government.
The law cannot go into effect unless voters approve a related constitutional amendment in November.
Toll lane expansion on I-85 in Gwinnett Count will begin this summer, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Whatever the merits may otherwise be, Stephone Johnson’s campaign for DeKalb County Superior Court will likely go down as it has come to light that the candidate plead guilty to a battery charge in 2008.
Superior Court judge candidate Stephone Johnson was arrested and pleaded guilty to a simple battery charge in 2008 after his estranged wife accused him of abuse. He faced charges of sexual and simple battery, but they were effectively dismissed after he completed a pretrial diversion program in Rockdale County.
According to the final disposition, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of “family violence simple battery” in May 2008. He was required to complete 20 hours of community service work and a conflict resolution counseling program before his guilty plea could be withdrawn and the charges nolle prossed in October 2008.
Johnson, a solo practitioner, is challenging Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger in the May 24 nonpartisan election.
Seeliger said the eight-year-old case raised serious concerns about Johnson’s candidacy. “I’m distressed by it because of my own feelings about domestic violence. It’s tough. It’s difficult for victims of domestic violence to get any justice in the courts.”
The Gwinnett County Commission voted 4-1 to hire a firm to manage construction of a $75 million expansion of the Gwinnett Judicial and Administration Center in Lawrenceville.
Eric Thomas resigned his seat on Clermont City Council, according to the Gainesville Times.
[Mayor James] Nix said Thomas is a truck driver and is on the road a lot.
“If he doesn’t go — if he stays here — it probably costs him a lot of money,” Nix said.
The mayor could relate, as his father was in the trucking business.
“He always said if the wheels aren’t rolling, somebody’s not making payments,” Nix said. “I’m sure that’s the reason (Thomas) has been missing meetings.”
Incumbent Hall County District 4 Commissioner Jeff Stowe faces challenger Troy Phillips in the Republican Primary on May 24th. In District 2, incumbent Billy Powell meets challenger Eugene Moon in the GOP Primary, a rematch of a very close 2012 election. I’m going to award Eugene Moon +1 point for one of my favorite pieces of campaign swag this year.
While I’m handing out points, I’ll award +1 to Christopher Lowe, who is running for State House in District 34, who is giving out custom campaign lacrosse balls.
The first sea turtle nest of the year has been logged at Cumberland Island, off the Georgia coast.
If all goes as expected, the nest will be the first of thousands. Last year, Peach State beaches had a record 2,319 loggerhead nests, continuing an apparent upward trend in the population of this species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Loggerheads, which grow up to 4 feet long and weigh 200 to 400 pounds, are the main sea turtle visitors to Georgia beaches. They nest at night, typically at the base of the dunes every two or more years, laying up to 150 eggs at a time in multiple nests over the season.
As the southernmost and largest of Georgia’s barrier islands, it’s no surprise that Cumberland claimed the first nest. It routinely does, although the 200 or so professionals and volunteers who patrol the state’s beaches all the way up to Tybee take pride in finding that first nest on “their” beach. Loggerhead nesting usually begins in early May and hits full stride by June.
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