Francis Scott Key composed the lyrics to “The Star Spangled Banner” on September 14, 1814.
On September 14, 1885, Georgia Governor Henry McDaniel signed legislation granting up to 200 acres in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to the federal government to be used in the constuction of Fort McPherson, which was named after Union Maj. Gen. James McPherson, who was killed in the Battle of Atlanta in 1864.
On September 14, 1901, President William McKinley died of an infection from gunshot wounds suffered eight days earlier.
On September 14, 1974, Eric Clapton’s cover of the Bob Marley song, “I Shot the Sheriff” reached #1 on the music charts. After 46 years, we still don’t know who shot the deputy.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Stockbridge City Council voted to remove Mayor Jayden Williams from office, according to WSB-TV.
The Stockbridge City Council voted Saturday night to remove Mayor Jayden Williams from office after a nearly 10-hour hearing focused on allegations of misuse of city resources and inappropriate communications with an 18-year-old.
The hearing began at 9 a.m. and continued throughout the day, with attorneys for the city and Williams presenting testimony and evidence. The council’s decision came just before 9 p.m.
Robert Ashe, an attorney representing the city and acting as the prosecutor during the hearing, presented evidence alleging Williams used city purchasing cards for personal expenses.
The city said those purchases included Lyft rides, haircuts, movie tickets, clothing, clothing alterations and restaurant meals.
One purchase highlighted during the hearing was a $322 Father’s Day purchase at Pandora in McDonough. The city said Williams used a city purchasing card to pay for his entire family.
Williams testified that he did not intentionally use the city’s cards for personal purchases and said many of his transactions were connected to city business.
Ashe also questioned Williams about whether he had read Stockbridge’s purchasing and ethics policy.
“So you have never read the City of Stockbridge purchasing and ethics policy? Is that your testimony?” Ashe asked.
Williams said he had not received a copy of the policy and testified that he had asked for the information he needed to know after being elected.
The city also presented evidence regarding Williams’ use of a city vehicle.
According to testimony presented during the hearing, Williams checked out a city vehicle 183 days between January and June. The city said that was all but nine days of his tenure in office during that period.
The city’s policy requires city-owned vehicles to be used only for official business or emergencies, according to the city.
The city also said Williams spent approximately $2,600 using the city’s fuel card.
The hearing also focused on text messages between Williams and an 18-year-old.
According to information presented during the hearing, some of the messages were sent around late November or Dec. 1, when Williams was still mayor-elect. The teen had turned 18 approximately two months before the Dec. 1 communication.
Another message in which the teen referred to being a distraction was sent in January, possibly after Williams had been sworn into office.
The city also presented allegations that nude photographs were exchanged.
During his testimony, Ashe questioned Williams about whether receiving nude photographs by text message was unusual or memorable.
Williams has denied wrongdoing.
Williams’ attorney, Robert Kenner, said he and the mayor were disappointed with the council’s decision.
“The mayor and I are deeply disappointed. I think that certain minds on the council were already made up,” Kenner said.
City officials held a press conference shortly after the decision was announced, saying in response, “If you already made a decision, why spend a whole day in a performance space, acting like you haven’t made a decision?”
The hearing came after weeks of legal disputes over the investigation. A retired judge previously ruled that Councilwoman LaKeisha Gantt could not participate in the proceedings after finding she had shown bias toward Williams.
Williams has the option to appeal the council’s decision; however, Kenner said he was not sure whether Williams would pursue an appeal.
The city has said a special election will be held to choose Stockbridge’s next mayor.
Williams’ removal ends his tenure after less than a year in office.
City Attorney Quinton Washington said a special election will be held to replace Williams, though the mayor can appeal his removal to Henry County Superior Court. It was unclear Saturday night whether he will do so.
The city’s charter says three votes are needed for removal. Council members Kyle D. Berry Sr., Elton Alexander and Antwan Cloud voted to impeach Williams. Yolanda Barber abstained and declined to comment afterward.
Council member LaKeisha Gantt also did not vote because the hearing officer removed her from the panel after deciding Aug. 31 she had shown bias against Williams and “animus” toward him.
Alexander said he, Cloud and Berry have no desire to run for mayor in the special election.
Attorney Robbie Ashe, who acted as one of the prosecutors, told the council in his closing argument that Williams betrayed the public trust by treating city-owned vehicles and city-issued purchasing cards and fuel cards as if they were his own for personal use, and by lying about his misdeeds and obstructing the investigation into his conduct.
Ashe added that Williams also broke his constituents’ trust by pursuing sexual favors from a young man who was “attracted to the star power of the office of mayor.”
Ashe was referring to an 18-year-old high school student who got to know the mayor through his interest in Williams’ mentoring program, according to a Stockbridge Police Department report. The report adds that, according to the student, he and the mayor exchanged nude photos.
Williams on Saturday testified the student sent him a nude image, but the mayor did not admit to sending any himself. Ashe questioned Williams at length about specific messages he exchanged with the student that were flirty and sexually suggestive.
Ashe told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that some of the photos the two men exchanged were sent as Instagram messages that disappeared after they were viewed.
The mayor testified that his mentee program was his own, and that it was not sponsored by the city as the police report said.
On Father’s Day, Williams spent $322 with his P-card at Pandora on the Square, a restaurant in McDonough, the prosecution said. The mayor reported on a lost-receipt form, displayed as evidence during the hearing, that he spent the money on Father’s Day gift cards for staff.
City Manager Shawn Edmondson said he asked Williams for which city staff he had bought gift cards after learning about the lost receipt form. Williams answered that his handwritten explanation on the lost-receipt form was a “typo” and that he actually had bought gift cards for staff of another organization, Edmondson said.
Richard Hyde, the investigator the city hired to examine the mayor’s conduct, testified he went to the restaurant and got the receipt, which showed the $322 was spent on two sodas and three Father’s Day brunches, not on gift cards.
Saturday marked the second time in recent memory that the Stockbridge City Council voted to remove the city’s mayor, though none of its current members was on the council the previous time.
The council voted to oust Lee Stuart in December 2012 after an investigation into allegations he misused city funds and created a hostile work environment.
James Daniels qualified as a write-in candidate for Effingham County Commission District 5, according to the Savannah Morning News.
With 48 hours left to qualify as a write-in candidate, Daniels told his wife he was tired of being on the sideline and decided it was time to enter the race for District 5 County Commissioner. He will run against Phil Kieffer in the General Election Nov. 3.
“I have no idea why it got under my skin and I told my wife, we have until Monday for somebody to go to the Herald, get their name in the paper, and get all the paperwork filled out and turned in to be able to run,” said Daniels.
And that’s exactly what he did.
He knows the risks of running as a write-in candidate, especially this late in the game. But Daniels said he “swings for the fences every day” and it’s a gamble he is willing to take.
OpenAI has committed to investing $20 billion to build a new facility and at least 400 jobs.
He also pointed to frustrations over the way the news of the data center was announced to the community.
“They say this isn’t going to cost us anything – OpenAI is paying for it, but it is going to cost us. It’s going to cost us as a community in our identity. Look at Statesboro, it is a college town. Hinesville is a military town. We’ve always been a bedroom community and I think they’re going to strip that away when they build a monstrosity like that. So it is going to cost us. Maybe not dollar-wise, but it’s going to cost us.”
The General Primary is Nov. 3. Residents that want to vote for Daniels will need to physically write his name to the “write-in” spot on the ballot. Call the Effingham County Board of Registration for more information.
Augusta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Amanda Heath was elected President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Today, Heath serves as a Superior Court judge presiding over civil, domestic and felony criminal cases in Burke and Richmond counties.
Though she no longer oversees child welfare cases, her expertise and insight into the juvenile courts is considered so valuable that last month she was elected president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. As one ofthe country’s oldest and largest judicial membership organizations, the council influences juvenile and family court policies and practices nationwide.Its 2,000 members include judges, attorneys, probation officers, child welfare advocates and other juvenile and family law professionals.
In 2016, she served as a juvenile court judge, becoming the youngest sitting judge on the Augusta Judicial Circuit. Her accomplishments on the bench included securing a $100,000 state grant to create a new, evidence-based response for youth sex trafficking victims in Augusta.
Gov. Brian Kemp selected her to fill a vacancy on the Superior Court in 2021. The appointment made Heath the first Black woman in the circuit’s 152-year history to serve in that role. In 2022, voters elected her to the post.
In her new council president role, Heath said she wants to prioritize training and technical assistance for under-resourced tribal courts, and draw more attention to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous youth.She hopes to attract more attorneys, social workers and other child welfare professionals to the judicial council, believing that everyone involved with juvenile courts needs access to the same training and best-practices information.
Additional issues she intends to champion include increased education and training regarding the behavioral health needs of foster youth; shifting the courts’ response from “trauma informed” to “trauma responsive” in order to better serve families, and initiatives prioritizing the physical and mental health of judges and others working in child welfare.
“In order to do this work, you’ve got to have the fire in your belly,” she said. “It’s very intense — a lot of potential for vicarious trauma. So you really have to have something inside of you that is burning bright to continue to forge forward to be there for these children and families.”
Heath, who likes to sing in her free time, marked her latest achievement by belting out “Proud Mary’’ at her installation ceremony. The lifelong Tina Turner fan asked fellow judges to step in as her backup Ikettes.
Governor Brian Kemp announced he is endorsing U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) for U.S. Senate, according to WSAV.
According to a statement released by Collins campaign, Governor Kemp praised Collins’ record of delivering results, his common-sense leadership and his commitment to putting Georgia first.
“Mike Collins and I share a commitment to making Georgia an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. Mike has delivered results as a businessman and commonsense leader in Washington, and that’s what we need in our next Senator. Jon Ossoff’s far-left agenda doesn’t represent Georgia values, and the future of our state and country demands a different direction. I’m proud to endorse Mike Collins for the U.S. Senate, and I know he’ll always put Georgia first,” said Governor Kemp.
Collins will face Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff in the November 3 election for the Senate seat.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) campaigned for U.S. Senate election, according to Atlanta News First via WALB.
Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent, held a rally alongside former Atlanta Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“In one month, we will vote to defeat the bigot congressman, Trump puppet Mike Collins,” Ossoff said.
Ossoff also targeted Collins over controversies involving associates in the Republican congressman’s circle.
“Another reason so many Republicans are backing our campaign, and it’s the bigot congressman. Mike Collins was only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, surrounded at work and at home by neo-Nazis and white nationalists,” Ossoff said.
The Collins campaign said his stop at Piedmont University was not an official campaign event. When asked about the Senate race, however, Collins pushed back against Ossoff’s record.
“Jon Ossoff has done nothing but make your life more expensive, less safe, and he has left the state worse off,” Collins said.
Collins made those remarks following a tour of Piedmont’s nursing program alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, where the congressman emphasized the importance of health care access, particularly in rural Georgia.
Collins also fired back at Ossoff’s personal attacks, pointing to his own business background compared to the senator’s career.
“I’ve been in the private sector all my life. I’m a small businessman. I know what it feels like to be over there paying taxes and trying to teach families,” Collins said. “Jon is just a trust fund kid who’s never had a job in his life.”
Health care remains a central issue for Ossoff as well, marking one of several policy areas where the two candidates offer starkly contrasting visions.
With less than two months until the election, both campaigns are stepping up efforts to define the race for Georgia voters.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
From the Athens Banner Herald:
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms struck hard at their Republican opponents during a rally Sunday afternoon at the Georgia Theater in downtown Athens.
The Democratic Party rally drew an estimated 1,400 people, filling the venue as the candidates lambasted opponents who have pledged loyalty to President Donald Trump.
Ossoff faces U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, while Bottoms is in a race with political newcomer and healthcare executive Rick Jackson.
Ossoff and Bottoms each reminded the attendees that early election voting begins on Oct. 13, while Elise Wade, president of the Young Democrats of Georgia, noted that last month more than 140 student organizers at the University of Georgia gathered in an effort to get out the vote.
Ossoff said he is gaining the support of conservative and Republican politicians who do not support Collins and criticized the congressman’s alleged relationship with so-called neo-Nazis while noting he is under federal investigation for the alleged misuse of tax dollars.
Bottoms, in her speech, repeatedly referred to her opponent as “Slick Rick.”
“There is so much about this guy that we don’t know,” she said about the billionaire businessman, whom she alleged is spending $200 million of his own money on the election “while Georgians are struggling to make ends meet.”
Others providing remarks at the rally were Athens businessman Dexter Weaver, the owner of the former Weaver’s D restaurant.
Weaver said that Trump’s agenda has forced small business owners to consider if they can stay afloat in a time when the cost of food, labor and utilities are going up.
Dr. Lara Hart, an Athens OBGYN, told the audience about the problems in healthcare in which she has seen people who were priced out of their insurance, forced to go without insurance or select plans with little coverage.
Mike Collins willingly let the Affordable Care Act premiums expire and cut Medicaid at the same time, she said.
An Athens-Clarke County Police Department analyst was arrested and charged with misuse of Flock cameras, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
The crime analyst for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department was released on bond recently after his arrest on a charge of misusing the license plate reader system, known as Flock.
Nicholas James Barker, 33, of Jefferson, posted a $1,300 bond at the Athens-Clarke County Jail following his arrest on Sept. 9 for the misdemeanor charge. Barker was a civilian employee and not a sworn officer, as police officers face felony charges.
Athens-Clarke police turned the investigation over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and GBI agent Kelsey Wood obtained the arrest warrant from Western Circuit Superior Court Judge Eric Norris.
The case will be prosecuted in Athens-Clarke County State Court, where Barker will be arraigned in November.
The warrant charges that between April 2025 and October 2025, Barker participated in a continuous course of conduct to query a license plate number. Athens-Clarke police had reported earlier that the plate belonged on the car of Barker’s ex-wife.
The Tift County Democratic Party hosted a candidate forum, according to the Tifton Gazette.
State candidates like Nikki Porcher, Lydia Powell, and Katherine Juhan-Arnold–running for Commissioner of Labor, State School Superintendent, and Commissioner of Agriculture, respectively–promised to bring not only new visions to their positions, but experience in the field.
All three women discussed their backgrounds in their respective spheres, which they aimed to put to great use if elected; Porcher hoped to create a Department of Labor that properly understood the plights of the state’s workers, Powell planned to create a space for teachers to provide more input on curriculum plans, and Juhan-Arnold discussed her intentions to revitalize and recentralize the state’s agricultural infrastructure.
National candidate Dr. Kelly Esti, running against Austin Scott for the seat of U.S. District 8 Representative, expressed a desire to implement universal healthcare, provide increased support to rural areas, and promote a greater sense of interconnectivity between the state’s communities, such as through a train network that would allow for convenient transport between rural cities and between rural and urban areas.
Though Tifton’s two local candidates–Angela Haggins for the Tift County Board of Commissioners and Pat McKinnon to retain her seat on the Tift County Board of Education–will be running unopposed, they promised to remain committed to the community in their respective positions. As a newcomer to the board, Haggins hoped to bring a new vision to her responsibilities as a commissioner, aiming to refocus on infrastructure and beautification.
Several candidates also stressed the importance of voting and spreading the word regarding the upcoming election, asking attendees not only to vote, voting early if possible, but to encourage their fellow community members to do the same.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-SSI) said he supports the “Doctors Not AI” act, according to WSAV.
A new bipartisan legislation is being pushed to limit AI from having the power to make healthcare coverage decisions and Congressman Buddy Carter is supporting it.
Carter is advocating for “human judgement” when making decisions about healthcare.
“They can’t replace the doctor; the human touch. The last decisions have to be made by a human,” the congressman said in an interview with WSAV’s Nakya Harris.
Under the bill, AI can still be used as a supportive tool, but medical staff will have to independently review a patient’s medical record and make the final decision. It would also require disclosure when AI is used.
Lawmakers who are backing this legislation say that the use of AI in healthcare coverage decisions can impact claims with mental healthcare, cancer treatments, hospital visits and more.
“Transparency is important in healthcare, but particularly in this certain situation to assure patients that the decision was not made through an algorithm,” Carter said.
Carter stated he supports using AI as a tool, but guardrails are necessary so that AI supports rather than replaces a doctor’s judgement.
The Bulloch County Board of Education is seeking a pay raise for members, according to the Statesboro Herald.
The Bulloch County Board of Education is now asking that the Georgia General Assembly increase the school board’s pay from the current $100 per meeting to $400 per meeting for each regular member and $450 per meeting for their annually chosen chairperson. This will be the board’s first raise in 27 years.
All eight elected board members were present for Thursday evening’s regular meeting, where the “resolution for board member compensation” was the one “new business” item.
Superintendent of Schools Torian White, in that role since July 1, recommended the resolution for the raise to and for the board members.
He further noted that the resolution does not provide for any reimbursement for travel that board members do inside the county. A clause in the one-page document calling for the raise states that board members, “shall be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their official duties, excluding mileage reimbursement for travel within Bulloch County.”
So, board members can be reimbursed for travel expenses to Georgia School Boards Association conferences or training events across the state. But they cannot claim mileage payments for driving from the central office in Statesboro to the elementary schools in Stilson or Nevils, or from Brooklet to a graduation at Portal Middle High, for example.
Under a state law, OCGA 20-2-55, cited in the resolution, members of the board of a school district “for which no local act is passed” would receive at least a $50 “per diem” pay for each day of attendance at board meetings or while traveling on official board business. However, boards can have higher rates set by a “local act,” in other words a state law specific to the county or school district.
So the Thursday, Sept. 10 resolution is being directed to state Sen. Billy Hickman, whose district includes all of Bulloch County, and Reps. Butch Parrish, Lehman Franklin and Jon Burns, whose districts divvy up Bulloch County. It calls on them to obtain passage of the local legislation.
The Legislature meets again in January-March 2027, so the new pay rates will not take effect until sometime next year. Meanwhile, one of the current BOE members, Cook, will leave office at year-end, since he did not seek re-election and will be replaced by member-elect Sharon Draeger in January.
Whitfield County Commissioners are considering raising their property tax millage rate, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.
Whitfield County property owners could face a substantial tax increase under an 8-mill rate tentatively adopted by the county Board of Commissioners.
The proposed 2026 rate is 3.485 mills above the calculated rollback rate of 4.515 mills, an increase of 77.19%, according to a legal notice and press release issued by the county.
It would also represent an increase of nearly 74% from the county’s actual 2025 rate of 4.6 mills.
Those two percentages measure different things. The legally required 77.19% figure compares the proposal with the rollback rate—the rate calculated to produce approximately the same revenue from existing property as the previous year after changes in the tax digest. The nearly 74% figure compares the proposed rate directly with the rate adopted last year.
For a homesteaded property with a fair market value of $275,000, the county estimates the proposed rate would increase taxes by approximately $313.65 compared with taxation at the rollback rate.
The county’s press release says the budget tentatively adopted by commissioners requires a rate above the rollback rate but does not identify the specific expenses, revenue changes or other financial pressures behind the proposed increase.
Bibb County Board of Education members voted to retain the previously adopted property tax millage rate for the next fiscal year, according to the Macon Telegraph.
The school board approved keeping its current millage rate of 14.674 mills — the same rate since 2023. Because property values have climbed, holding the rate steady has resulted in higher taxes levied each year from 2023 to 2026.
Even with the additional revenue, the school system has faced million-dollar budget gaps as a result of long-running structural pressures in recent years.
By keeping the millage rate unchanged, the district has generated additional property-tax revenue — about $4 million in 2024 and 2025 and a projected School officials project the district will see an additional $8.34 million in 2027. for the fiscal year 2027 budget.
Board President Daryl Morton said he voted to maintain the millage rate because the additional revenue will help offset unfunded state mandates contributing to the district’s current $16.6 million deficit, including higher costs for employee health insurance and retirement.
“I saw not rolling back as sort of a temporary way to tide the system over as we do the things that are going to ultimately save money and right-size the system,” he said, pointing to school consolidation and the implementation of efficiency studies.
Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund and One Hundred Miles are hosting a community town hall meeting to discuss a proposed data center, according to WTOC.
Led by Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund and One Hundred Miles, the “Data Centers, Energy & Our Community: What’s at Stake?” event will be at the Mars Theatre at 106 South Laurel St. in Springfield from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Attendees can ask questions about Project Camellia to government officials and community advocates.
Topics will include the center’s projected energy demand and the role of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) in Georgia Power’s contract, as well as electricity bills, energy infrastructure, water resources and community impact, according to the registration page.
Chatham County Commissioners voted to extend a moratorium on new data centers, according to WSAV.
This unanimous decision places a temporary, 155-day pause on proposals of data centers with an electrical capacity of 10 megawatts or greater and prohibits converting warehouses and large industrial buildings to data center use.
Before the vote, the commissioners discussed the terms of the moratorium, if it went far enough or if an amendment was needed. Chairman Chester Ellis brought up the growing concern of “micro data centers” and if they also needed to be added to the pause.
“As I understand, from what I’ve read so far, you can be living in an apartment A on block six and then over on Block 8, they sign up for micro data center and the next thing you know is it shows up in your neighborhood,” said Ellis.
Anthony Wayne Noha, 1st District Commissioner, suggested coming back to the next meeting, and potentially considering a moratorium on all data centers, no matter the size.
In the end, commissioners approved the moratorium as written because county attorneys needed more time to research a clear definition of a micro data center and what could be restricted without infringing on property owner rights.
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