Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for October 4, 2022

On October 4, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson sent a telegram to the Georgia Democratic Party Convention delegates in appreciation for their support of his admininstration.

The Savannah River Bridge opened on October 4, 1925.

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957.

Beverly Hills, 90210 debuted on October 4, 1990.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order # 10.03.22.01, Renewal of State of Emergency for Supply Chain Disruptions, and E.O. #10.03.22.02, Suspending Fuel Taxes During the State of Emergency for Supply Chain Disruptions. From the Press Release:

Governor Brian P. Kemp today signed two executive orders extending the temporary suspension of state taxes on motor and locomotive fuel as well as the supply chain state of emergency. As Georgia’s neighboring states of Florida and South Carolina continue recovery efforts following the severe damage caused by Hurricane Ian, the Southeast region could experience further supply chain issues and even higher demand on fuel supplies, exacerbating the 40-year high inflation caused by bad policies coming out of Washington, D.C. As South Carolina and Florida contend with the damage caused by the storm, and as armies of linemen, emergency response crews, and volunteers continue to move to and through the region, fuel supplies could undergo even greater demand in the days and weeks ahead. Both orders will be effective through November 11, 2022, and can be found here.

“While Georgia was largely spared the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian, Florida and South Carolina endured both significant destruction and flooding,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “As we both pray for these neighbors in need and send resources and volunteers to aid in their recovery, we’re also bracing for the impact on already strained supply chains and prices at the gas pump that are already too high. While my executive orders cannot undo the mess caused by Washington, I hope that they alleviate some of the additional strain placed on Georgians by the lingering impact of this major storm.”

“The coupling of high inflation with natural disasters occurring in our neighboring states is putting more pressure on Georgians at the pump,” said Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan. “I commend Governor Kemp for his leadership in extending the suspension of the gas tax and doing what is necessary to provide relief for all Georgians.”

“While our neighboring states are trying to recover from a natural disaster and Washington continues to fuel record inflation, Governor Kemp is leading to keep our people and our economy moving,” said Speaker David Ralston. “I appreciate Governor Kemp’s determination to spare Georgians some of the pain they continue to feel at the pumps due to high fuel costs. His continued coordination and partnership with the General Assembly on this important initiative is appreciated.”

Because of Governor Kemp and the General Assembly’s fiscally conservative approach to budgeting, Georgia can confidently extend the state motor fuel and locomotive tax suspension to help curb historic gas prices. Since the temporary suspension was implemented, Georgia’s average gas price has remained one of the lowest in the nation and is currently roughly 62 cents below the national average for a gallon of regular gas, according to AAA. Since the state tax on motor fuel was first suspended in March of this year, Georgians have saved approximately $800 million at the pump.

From WALB:

The [fuel] tax was suspended several months ago to give drivers a break as gas prices started to spike across the U.S.

In renewing the suspension until Nov. 11, Kemp – who’s up for re-election on Nov. 8 – cited the recovery by the neighboring states of Florida and South Carolina from damage caused in the past few days by Hurricane Ian.

Kemp also extended an executive order easing trucking regulations in an effort to help alleviate the supply chain crisis.

From the AJC:

The governor signed an executive order on Monday that suspends the 29.1 cents-a-gallon state tax until Nov. 11. That’s three days after the Republican faces a rematch against Democrat Stacey Abrams.

The Republican has used each monthly announcement to extend the tax break to blame Democrats for high gas prices and promote his efforts to provide relief at the pump. Abrams and other Democrats have pushed him to go a step further and announce he would suspend the state tax on fuel through 2022.

The governor signed a law in March that cleared the Legislature with the backing of most Democrats and Republicans to allow him to suspend the gas tax through May, and he’s since announced extensions each month, benefiting from a wave of media coverage each time.

“We’ve saved Georgians $800 million by suspending the gas tax. That’s $800 million that went into the pockets of hardworking Georgia families, small business owners and large corporations,” Kemp said. “That’s us trying to help people trying to fight 40-year-high inflation.”

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sought to disqualify the lawyers for eleven alleged “fake electors,” in her Trump quest. From CNN via the Albany Herald:

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is trying to disqualify two of the attorneys for 11 of the Republican “fake electors” who participated in a plan to subvert the Electoral College and are now targets of an ongoing special purpose grand jury criminal investigation in Georgia.

The latest public spat regarding the ongoing 2020 election investigation was revealed in court filings Monday by Fulton County prosecutors, who filed a motion to disqualify attorneys Holly A. Pierson and Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow, saying their “simultaneous” representation of 11 clients is “rife with serious ethical problems” and conflicts of interest that violate the Georgia state bar’s rules of professional conduct.

In the new court filing, which is heavily redacted, the Atlanta-area district attorney’s office says that Pierson and Debrow should be prohibited “from any further participation in this matter” and that if they are “allowed to continue in their representation of even just one of the 11, there is a serious possibility of future ethical problems concerning confidentiality of information obtained in the course of their representation thus far.”

In a joint written statement to CNN, Pierson and Debrow said any suggestion that they have “violated our professional duties is false and defamatory.”

“We are disappointed to see the District Attorney and her office actively trying to separate citizens from their chosen counsel,” Debrow and Pierson said. “Allegations of conflict here are particularly rich, given that the Court in this case has already determined that the DA herself had a disqualifying conflict of interest in this case.”

“Individuals are presumptively entitled to counsel of their own choosing, especially where, as here, they have no conflicting or divergent interests because they have done nothing wrong. Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Georgia Supreme Court recognize that there is no actual or potential conflict in representing multiple individuals united in their innocence whose defenses against false allegations of wrongdoing are aligned,” Pierson and Debrow told CNN in their written statement.

The Stacey Abrams group Fair Fight Action is likely to appeal the U.S. District Court decision against their election lawsuit, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

Lawyers for a voting rights group founded by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said Monday they will likely appeal last week’s federal court ruling upholding Georgia’s election laws.

The lawsuit said Georgia’s requirement that voter records exactly match driver’s license records was too aggressive and prevented thousands of Georgians from being able to register to vote properly. And state processes caused problems when verifying that potential voters were citizens and not former felons.

But U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled last Friday that Fair Fight had not sufficiently proved a disparate impact on voters of color in the lawsuit, which he said was the longest-running voting rights case in the history of the court.

State Republican leaders called the decision a victory, saying it vindicates their approach to Georgia elections.

“This is a win for all Georgia election officials who dedicated their lives to safe, secure and accessible elections,” said Raffensperger, who is running for reelection in November.  “Stolen election and voter suppression claims by Stacey Abrams were nothing but poll-tested rhetoric not supported by facts and evidence.”

“In Georgia, it is easy to vote and hard to cheat – and I’m going to continue to work to keep it that way,” said Kemp, who served as secretary of state until defeating Abrams in the governor’s race in 2018.

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes about the effect of the Fair Fight lawsuit on Stacey Abrams.

Stacey Abrams’s ‘Big Lie’ Loses in Court

Her voter suppression narrative takes a hit from a federal judge.

An amusing spectacle this year has been seeing Stacey Abrams, as she campaigns again for Governor of Georgia, trying to explain away her Trumpian refusal to concede after she lost the same race in 2018. “Despite the final tally and the inauguration,” she claimed in 2019, “I do have one very affirmative statement to make. We won.” Does that call to mind a certain Republican?

Ms. Abrams has argued that her stolen election theories are nothing like President Trump’s. “My point was that the access to the election was flawed,” she said last month, “and I refuse to concede a system that permits citizens to be denied access. That is very different than someone claiming fraudulent outcome.” How inconvenient for her that last week, amid her grudge match against Gov. Brian Kemp, a federal judge rejected a lawsuit accusing Georgia, more or less, of voter suppression.

The case was brought soon after the 2018 election by Fair Fight Action, a group tied to Ms. Abrams. The ruling by Judge Steve Jones, summarizing years of litigation, says that many of the claims were dismissed earlier under summary judgment, some of them on the merits. The surviving complaints included those aimed at Georgia’s alleged “mismanagement of the statewide voter registration list,” as well as its “Exact Match policy.” These were aired during a 21-day trial with more than 50 witnesses.

The political debate is full of rhetoric about how American elections are untrustworthy due to either voter fraud or voter suppression. It isn’t true, and the thing about federal courts is they demand evidence. Ms. Abrams doesn’t have it, despite telling the public in 2018 that she was robbed. Don’t expect her to recant any more than Mr. Trump will, but the state of Georgia deserves apologies from both.

Georgia’s Medical Marijuana program appears off to a start after years of delay due to lawsuits, according to the AJC.

Trulieve opened a nursery in its South Georgia greenhouse as soon as it became one of two companies that won a license last month to grow, process and sell medical marijuana oil to registered patients.

By the end of the year, Trulieve hopes to begin selling low THC oil to registered Georgia patients suffering from illnesses including severe seizures, Parkinson’s disease and terminal cancers.

The legal challenges already prevented the state from issuing four more licenses, leaving the state with only two companies to serve Georgia’s 24,400 patients and 17,700 caregivers.

“Georgia is poised to have a fantastic launch for this market,” said Kim Rivers, CEO and founder of Trulieve, one of the largest cannabis companies in the United States, with operations in 11 states. “We just don’t want there to be delays for those who have been waiting seven years for this product to be available.”

Both of Georgia’s licensees, Trulieve and a newer company, Botanical Sciences, will be allowed to open five dispensaries each, serving only patients who received a doctor’s approval and signed up with the state’s Low THC Oil Registry. Trulieve’s first two dispensaries are planned for Macon and Marietta.

Construction is nearly complete on Botanical Sciences’ facility in Glennville, a southeast Georgia city of less than 4,000 people. But unlike Trulieve, the company hasn’t started the plant cultivation process. Trulieve’s greenhouse is located in Adel, a city of 5,000 residents in South Georgia.

The executive director of the commission, Andrew Turnage, said it is doing everything it can to complete a difficult licensing process amid lawsuits and companies’ protests. The commission awarded two licenses for companies to use 100,000 square feet of indoor growing space, but the lawsuits prevented the commission from licensing four more companies with 50,000 square feet.

“There will be no delay on the commission’s part. At the junctures where we’ve been forced to delay our movement, it’s purely to comply with the law,” Turnage said. “We’re certainly very excited to have our Class 1 licensees begin with their process, making THC oil and products for our patients here in Georgia.”

The Dougherty County Elections Office is testing voting machines ahead of November elections, according to WALB.

The department will be testing voting machines ahead of the election. The testing is done every election year and is open for the public to see.

The logic and accuracy testing of the machines is state-mandated and serves to get the machines ready for each election.

“He sets up the equipment for the precincts. So, you’re going to let each component know what precinct it’s assigned to. It has to be assigned with that precinct. So, we have 26 Election Day precincts and then we have advanced voting,” Elections Supervisor, Ginger Nickerson said. “The actual precinct location will be downloaded so it represents where it will be utilized at.”

“The location will be in our office at 222 Pine Avenue. We’re in the government center building on the second floor,” Nickerson said. “And also will be at our warehouse, which is located at the Northwest Library in Dawson Road. And it is open to the public. By law, we’re required to advertise, which we have.”

“The importance of the testing is for the community,” she said. “That’s why we’re required to put it out there. We want individuals to be secure. We want them to have confidence in this equipment, so that’s why we open it up to the public. All the process, all aspects of this process is open to the public. Even on Election Day from certain distances.”

“We want everybody to know, of course, advanced voting is coming. And that will be October the 17th. The board voted and it has been approved for us to utilize the Albany Civic Center. We will not be in the arena. We will be in those two meeting rooms. But, it begins on Monday, October the 17th at 9 a.m. So we encourage our voters to please come out and exercise their right,” Nickerson said.

She says people can also visit the ‘My Voter’ website to verify their information, like their address and name.

“If they chose absentee by mail, applications are being received,” Nickerson said. “Please call our office or go online to complete that process as well. If they’re going to come advanced if they’re going to come on Election Day. We just got our voters to exercise their options and get out and vote!”

The Gwinnett County Board of Elections voted to dismiss outstanding voter qualification challenges, according to the AJC.

The Gwinnett County Board of Elections voted Monday night to dismiss all remaining challenges to voter eligibility that had been filed by conservative residents who alleged 22,000 voter registration records were invalid.

The board’s 3-2 vote found that there wasn’t probable cause to move forward with the voter challenges because they were primarily based on records of voters’ mailing addresses rather than more specific allegations that they were no longer eligible to vote in Georgia.

The challenges were an effort to disqualify registrations from this fall’s election based on the belief that voters had likely moved out of state.

Election board member Wandy Taylor said the challenges threatened individuals’ ability to vote without concrete evidence that they had moved away.

“They’re challenging a person’s right to vote, and that’s the part I’m concerned with, that we are potentially impeding or we are obstructing people,” said Taylor, a Democratic Party board member. “We’re making this pre-judgment that somebody, because they have an address change, is up to something erroneous.”

United States Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) raised more than $26 million in the most recent reporting period, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Warnock, D-Ga., raised more than $26.3 million during the third quarter of this year, easily eclipsing the $17.2 million his campaign brought in during the second quarter.

Warnock received contributions from more than 340,000 individual donors during July, August, and September. The campaign reported $13.7 million cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

Republican Herschel Walker, Warnock’s opponent, had not revealed his latest campaign fundraising results as of Monday. Candidates for the U.S. House and Senate have until Oct. 15 to file third-quarter fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission.

From the AJC:

Walker has yet to report his latest financial details. Though the former football star hasn’t kept pace with Warnock, he has emerged as a formidable fundraiser. In the last three-month period, the Republican collected nearly $6.2 million and ended with about $7 million in the bank.

As November nears, Warnock is also spending his cash at a more aggressive pace. He ended the quarter with about $8.5 million less in the bank than he did at the end of the previous quarter, with much of his spending devoted to a barrage of campaign ads.

In all, Warnock has raised roughly $90 million since he defeated Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler in last year’s Senate runoff, part of a tandem of Democratic victories that flipped control of the chamber.

South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R) spoke about Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, according to WSAV.

Scott says he has spoken to Walker recently and believes he could be an asset to the party and country.

“I think he is a common sense conservative as well as someone who recognizes the strength of the conservative movement,” says Scott. “He is a product of Georgia. It is good news to see someone of his caliber wanting to serve his state. His life was transformed by the opportunities he got. He is just a nice guy. His philosophy is deep and rich. I think he is going to represent Georgia very well.”

An online news outlet published allegations that Senate candidate Herschel Walker paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009, according to WSAV.

The Daily Beast spoke to a woman who said Walker paid for her abortion when they were dating. The news outlet reviewed a receipt showing her $575 payment for the procedure, along with a get-well card from Walker and her bank deposit records showing the image of a $700 personal check from Walker dated five days after the abortion receipt.

The woman said Walker encouraged her to end the pregnancy, saying that the time wasn’t right for a baby, The Daily Beast reported.

In a statement, Walker said he would file a lawsuit against the news outlet on Tuesday morning.

“This is a flat-out lie — and I deny this in the strongest terms possible,” he wrote.

Later Monday night, Walker appeared on Sean Hannity’s program on Fox News, where Walker was asked if he recalled sending a $700 check to a girlfriend.

“Well, I sent money to a lot of people,” he said. “I give money to people all the time because I’m always helping people. I believe in being generous. God has blessed me. I want to bless others.”

From the AJC:

[T]he one-two punch on Monday of a Daily Beast story that accused Walker of paying for his then-girlfriend’s abortion in 2009 coupled with his adult son’s stunning attacks on his father’s candidacy may pose the greatest threat yet to the Republican’s bid.

Conservative commentator Erick Erickson said the fallout is “probably a KO” for Walker’s midterm chances. Nicole Rodden, a former Republican House contender, blamed party leaders for backing a candidate who has “cost the GOP the US Senate for a second time.”

Walker reacted by condemning the Daily Beast report as a “flat-out lie” and said on Fox News he “never asked anyone to get an abortion, I never paid for an abortion.” His attorney has pledged to file a defamation lawsuit against the publication, which stands by the story.

The Republican and his allies had a more muted response toward his son Christian Walker’s claims that his father threatened to kill his family members and entered the race despite opposition from “every single one” of his relatives.

“I LOVE my son no matter what,” Walker tweeted.

His son’s sudden outspoken treatment of his father amounts to a different sort of blow. Christian Walker’s mother, Cindy Grossman accused Herschel Walker of choking her and putting a gun to her head when they were married. She obtained a restraining order against him in 2005 in response to the threats.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has devoted tens of millions of dollars to elect Walker, issued a statement late Monday that called the report “nonsense” and tied Warnock to President Joe Biden’s record.

“Democrats and the media have tried to stir up nonsense about what has or hasn’t happened in Herschel Walker’s past because they want to distract from what’s happening in the present,” said NRSC spokesman Chris Hartline.

Republican Burt Jones, a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, criticized Democratic candidate Charlie Bailey over a DUI arrest, according to the AJC.

Jones says Bailey’s 2011 arrest on charges of driving under the influence makes the Democrat unfit for office, our Atlanta Journal-Constitution colleague Maya T. Prabhu reports.

Bailey, a former prosecutor who lives in Atlanta, has called the DUI charges flimsy. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving in connection with the arrest. Court documents revealed no evidence that Bailey took or failed a sobriety test after he was pulled over for a broken brake light, although the arresting officer said alcohol could be smelled on Bailey’s breath.

“Charlie Bailey was arrested for driving drunk, breaking the law, and endangering the lives of Georgia citizens,” said Jones, a state senator and fuel executive from Jackson. “But what’s worse — he lied about it and hid it from the people of Georgia for years. Georgians deserve an ethical, honest and trustworthy leader who will protect our families and uphold the rule of law — not break it.”

According to police and court documents, Bailey was pulled over late on May 5, 2011, in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta for what police said was an “inoperable” brake light. Police said in an incident report that Bailey smelled of alcohol. He refused a field sobriety test or to take a breath test to determine his blood alcohol level and was arrested.

Bailey was released on $1,100 bond and pleaded guilty to reckless driving, a misdemeanor, about three weeks later. He was sentenced to a year of probation, 100 hours of community service and attendance at a panel hosted by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

The Gainesville Times has a voter guide for November elections and profiles the candidates for an at-large seat on the Hall County Board of Educations.

The Gainesville City School Board adopted a “divisive concepts” policy as required by state law, according to the Gainesville Times.

The Gainesville City school board on Monday approved by a majority vote a policy that limits what teachers can say about race in the classroom, following the “divisive concepts” law signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in April, which requires local school boards to adopt their own policies.

Before Kemp signed the bill into law, legislators branded it as an effort to ban critical race theory in schools, though the bill itself doesn’t mention the theory.

“I don’t like the law personally,” board chairman Andy Stewart said to Mitchell. “But I think if you read the policy, it’s giving our teachers and principals, administrators guidelines to go (on) if someone brings up one of these issues.”

Superintendent Jeremy Williams said they’ve never had any complaints related to the divisive concepts or critical race theory.

The state law, HB 1084, requires local school boards to adopt their own policies, and both Gainesville and Hall County’s policies are taken almost verbatim from the state law.

The policy bars the teaching of nine “divisive concepts” related to race, such as teaching students that one race is inherently superior to another, or that the United States is fundamentally racist.

Randolph County Commission Vice Chairman Jimmie Allen announced the commission will seek to maximize non-tax revenues, according to the Albany Herald.

Randolph County Commission Vice Chairman Jimmie Allen, with the concurrence of other officials, announced the start of a detailed, four-part “treasure hunt” to find non-tax funds to support local government and some individual taxpayers.

The first component of Allen’s search for additional, non-tax funds is to search for ways to secure interest on county bank accounts.

“I was shocked to learn the other day that Randolph County has 20 different bank accounts that do not get a dime in interest,” Allen said. “These accounts have balances that range from $1.2 million to $800,000. By contrast, the city of Cuthbert routinely puts some of its idle money in certificates of deposit.”

“This is particularly worrisome now that interest rates are climbing — we must seize this opportunity to secure as much non-tax income for government units in our county as we can.”

Allen said that he would ask three other local government units to take similar actions: the county school board, the Cuthbert Housing Authority, and the now inactive Randolph County Hospital Authority. Each has money on deposit, but the exact totals could not be determined immediately.

Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis will announce a plan to reduce violent crime, according to WRDW.

“There’s a lot of work that we need to get done. Over these next 70 days, we’re going to get it done,” said Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr.

The week we were told to expect this plan has come and gone, and we’ve seen two more shootings since.

We’ve reached out to the mayor’s office, the sheriff’s office, and commissioners to learn when we may finally hear the details of this plan.

The only thing we know for certain, the 70 days he mentioned is now down to 60.

Davis told us his plan encompasses housing, joblessness, and mental health.

“All of the commissioners will be a part of that when we talk about what we’re going to unveil next week. It will require a holistic and total effort from the team. Law enforcement will have to be involved in that,” he said.

Garden City city council swore in a newly-appointed member and elected a Mayor Pro Tem, according to WTOC.

Garden City has sworn in their new council member Gwyn Hall.

Council members voted at the last meeting for Hall to fill the vacant spot from Bruce Campbell’s spot after the former mayor stepped down at the end of August.

Hall served the city for 16 years as a council member.

Garden City also selected their new mayor pro tem – current council member, Marcia Daniels.

Warner Robins City Council appointed Police Captain Wayne Fisher as interim Chief, according to 13WMAZ.

The change comes after Chief John Wagner announced his retirement around two weeks ago. October 2 marked Chief Wagner’s last day.

“Thank you so much, interim Chief Fisher, for stepping up to the call and coming to support the city at this level,” Patrick said.

Captain Wayne Fisher has been in law enforcement for 28 years, and has worked for the Warner Robins police department for 20 of those years.

Mayor LaRhonda Patrick says they looked externally at four candidates. Internally, they considered six individuals who already achieved the rank of captain. Patrick says the interim chief will help select the permanent chief.

Port Wentworth City Council voted to restructure their planning commission, according to the Savannah Morning News.

A unanimous vote during the Sept. 22 council meeting effectively dissolved the current four-member group, making way for the council to appoint five members of the new nine-member board. Four positions will be held by city employees adding “expertise” to an otherwise all-volunteer group, according to City Manager Steve Davis.

Assistant City Manager Jason Stewart, who has 17 years of experience in planning and development services, will take over as the planning commission chair. He will only vote to break ties. The other three city positions will be filled by Police Chief Matt Libby, Fire Chief Lance Moore and Public Works Director Omar Senati-Martinez.

The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration extended the comment period for new rules designed to protect Right Whales, according to The Brunswick News.

NOAA is giving small boat owners more time to comment on an offshore low speed limit the National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing.
The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration extended the deadline to Oct. 31. The comment period was initially set to end Sept. 30.

As proposed, the amendment to the Atlantic Right Whale Strike Reduction Rule will require vessels 35 to 65 feet in length to cap their speed at 10 knots, or roughly 11.5 mph, during specific times of the year. NMFS, which falls under NOAA, contends the rule is necessary to reduce the chance of vessels colliding with right whales along the Atlantic Coast.

Large cargo ships are already mandated not to exceed 10 knots, but under the amendment, the rule would remain in effect for a longer period of time and cover a wider expanse of ocean. Because Georgia’s offshore is a calving ground for right whales, ships would have to comply with the mandate from Nov. 1 to April 15.

The amendment also calls for the use of certain fishing gear.

Among those asking for an extension was the American Association of Port Authorities. The association requested the deadline be moved to Dec. 31.

“AAPA has significant policy concerns and questions with several aspects of the proposed rule and believes an extension is necessary to allow the affected ports sufficient time to identify and quantify the impacts the proposed modified rule will have, identify the additional considerations not adequately addressed in the documentation accompanying the rule, and identify areas where clarification is necessary,” Christopher J. Connor, president and CEO of AAPA, wrote NOAA.

Fishing vessels 35 feet or longer contend the rule will ruin them because of the amount of time it will take to reach fruitful fishing areas.
Organizations siding with NMFS on the proposal include the Georgia Conservancy, which observed that mother and calf pairs are at high risk of vessel strikes because they frequently rear and nurse nearshore and close to the surface of the water.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is accepting reservations for two archery hunts for disabled sportsmen and sportswomen, according to the Rome News Tribune.

The events — for disabled sportsmen and youth under the age of 16 — are scheduled on the same days, Dec. 10-11.

Hunters permanently confined to a wheelchair or Purple Heart recipients may reserve the use of a hunting blind. A non-hunting assistant may accompany each disabled hunter. Each hunter must possess a valid Georgia Big Game license.

Requests for reservations will be taken by phone, at 678-721-6700, Monday through Friday through noon on Nov. 11, or until all spaces are full. Spaces are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

I don’t hunt, but this is a good thing, in my opinion.