#baselines

+5 to the Atlanta Braves for this video. +1 to the Bob Barr campaign, on whose Facebook page I first saw it.

#Panama

Governor Nathan Deal is in Panama this week, touring the Panama Canal expansion, which provides part of the impetus for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. From an interview Deal gave to AP writer Russ Bynum over the phone from Panama:

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday that the major Panama Canal expansion that’s underway underscores the need for the Port of Savannah to deepen its shipping channel.

“They are making substantial progress,” Deal said, adding that the Panama Canal project was on track to be completed in early to mid-2015.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s effort to deepen 30 miles of the Savannah River to accommodate the larger ships is waiting on Congress to eliminate a final bureaucratic hurdle. The Port of Savannah is the fourth-busiest container port in the U.S. The deepening effort also needs substantial construction funding from the federal government, which is supposed to cover 70 percent of the project.

In Georgia, port officials have received the required permits, but the $652 million project has been held up because when Congress authorized the project in 1999, it had a spending cap of $459 million. In May, the Senate approved the higher cost as part of a larger water projects bill that still must pass the House.

Deal said the state is eager to start spending its money to begin deepening the Savannah shipping channel to accommodate the larger ships. Georgia lawmakers have allocated $231 million for the project.

“If it was up to Georgia, we would have been dredging a long time ago,” the Republican governor said.

 

As a child of the 80s, I can never hear the word “Panama” without it sounding like this:

City Council Member Convicted of Bribery, Sentenced

Former Grovetown, Ga City Council Member Sonny McDowell was convicted by a federal jury of offering a kickback to an Alabama Department of Public Safety employee and sentenced to 60 months on probation and 500 hours of community service.

Two nephews of Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle were among those arrested when police found 20 pounds of marijuana in a car.

Dr. John Barge misspelling mishaps multiply

Dr. John Barge, Georgia’s State School Superintendent, in the midst of a flailing campaign for “Govenor” is being docked a total of four points. One point each for the repeated misspellings of “caucus” shown above, and one point each for the Democratic party events detailed in the listings that have since disappeared from his public schedule.

If Dr. Barge were in the seventh grade, he would be expected to be able to correctly spell “caucus.”

He has apparently decided to go to the Gwinnett Tea Party meeting instead of the Snellville Democratic Caucus meeting, but his calendar takes the opportunity to misspell “Suwanee” as “Suwannee”. Paging Dan Quayle.

Columbus to Columbus

A delegation of elected officials, Chamber of Commerce types and business leaders from Columbus, Ga will visit the majestic Ohio State Capitol and other sites in the home of the Buckeyes this week.

“They’re currently doing a 140-acre development along their river,” he said. “Of course, that’s where we’re looking now with what’s next for our riverfront development and so forth. We think that can be other lessons learned — what works, what didn’t work.”

The Georgians and Alabamians also will discuss the topic of a junior high school set up on the campus of Ohio State. It’s geared toward students focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

There also will be time to look at the Ohio city’s performing arts high school, which is tied to career development, Gaymon said. One element of that requires students to maintain at least a C average to remain in the school that allows them to sing, dance and perform.

Other things they might ask Ohioans about include how it feels to be ranked #9 in the nation for public schools or being ranked in the top four for both the AP and USA Today college football rankings or producing eight Presidents of the United States.

Reporter tweets from federal courtroom

+1 to United States District Court Judge Clay Land who allowed a reporter to tweet from his courtroom and showed flexibility in allowing him to use his iPad in court, where normally only lawyers are allowed to use computers. And we’re giving Judge Land an extra +1 for having a great understanding of the importance of transparency in government, including our courts. From the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer,

Land was open to the idea of making his courtroom more transparent.

After consulting with the attorneys while the jury was on a 15-minute break, Land said yes again, this time in open court on the record.

By saying yes twice, Land became the first judge in Georgia’s Middle District to allow a reporter to tweet during a federal trial.

Why?

“Maybe you are the first reporter to ask,” Land said in an interview Monday.

Maybe, but it is clear there was an overriding reason. Land has long been on the record that the federal courts should be transparent.

“It sends a message what we do up here is the public’s business,” Land said. “We should be as transparent as we can.”

There is nothing that sends the message of transparency more than hundreds of tweets that became an almost play-by-play account of the trial. And the publication of the testimony, lawyers’ arguments and judge’s comments were almost immediate.

Gregory J. Leonard, clerk of the Middle District, did not seem surprised that Land was the first of the five Middle District judges to allow live electronic reporting out of his courtroom.

“He seems sensitive to the public’s right to know,” Leonard said.

Land said that it is important that the federal judicial branch be transparent.

“We do not have the power of the purse or the power of the sword,” Land said. “Our judgments are accepted only because people believe in and accept the power of law.”

Macon Telegraph election coverage

The Macon Telegraph is doing an excellent job of covering not only the first ever Macon-Bibb Mayor and City Council elections, but also some of the other local races. This week, they’re profiling candidates for Mayor of Warner Robins.

Chuck Chalk forced a runoff for Mayor of Warner Robins in 2009 against current Mayor Chuck Shaheen, who is running instead this year for City Council. As such, he is probably a front-runner in this year’s race for Mayor. A major plank in his election platform is adding to the rolls of the Warner Robins Police Department.

One of the things [Chalk] believes the city needs to pay for is more police officers. Although he said it’s not a hard rule, the general thinking is that a city needs about 1.5 police officers for every 1,000 residents. Warner Robins, he said, has .85 officers for every thousand residents.

“We need to add 10, 20 or possibly as many as 30 officers to the force,” he said. “The police department is doing a great job of closing out cases. They work well with the DA’s office, and we get a sense of closure which helps a lot, but I think we can do better with having more patrols, and adding officers is going to be a part of that.”

He didn’t offer a specific plan on how to pay for it, other than to say he would look closely at the budget to see if cuts can be made elsewhere.

But regardless, he said, it needs to be done because police presence is one of the best ways to prevent crime.

“Can we afford not to have a significant police presence in the community?” he said.

Mike Brashear previously served on City Council and is now also running for Mayor of Warner Robins. Like Chalk, Brashear is an Air Force veteran, important to a community that is dominated by an Air Force base facing realignment within a downsizing military.

In 2011, Brashear won the Post 4 City Council seat. He previously held the seat for three months in 2008 when council appointed him before a special election to fill an unexpired term.

Brashear resigned early from his four-year term to run for mayor. He said his seat is on a rotation that would have required him to wait four more years to run as mayor, and the city needed him to lead in a time when talk of a Base Realignment and Closure Commission has been discussed on the federal level.

But he said he’ll finish a term as mayor, and maybe more, because, “I’m committed. I’m trying to provide a deeper service to my community.”

Brashear said his experience in aerospace gives him a unique perspective on how to run the city next door to Robins Air Force Base. He has visited other bases, participated in Department of Defense meetings in Washington, and was mentored by a man who was on the last BRAC Commission.

And here’s a tasty little trivia tidbit that the Telegraph notes about last week’s Macon-Bibb County elections: in odd-numbered commission districts no runoffs; in even-numbered districts plus the Mayor’s race, runoffs are required on October 15th.

Events

Gwinnett County Young Republicans will welcome Congressman Rob Woodall (R) to their monthly meeting tonight, beginning at 6:30 PM at Las Costas Nayaritas, located at 1555 Pleasant Hill Rd, Duluth, Georgia.

At 7 PM tonight, Col. Larry Mrozinski, who is apparently still running for Congress in the Eleventh District, will speak to the Cherokee County Young Republicans meeting at Sixes Tavern, 3568 Sixes Road, Canton, Georgia.

Atlanta Young Republicans will be meeting at the Braves games against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight, which begins at 7:10 PM.

Wednesday night, September 25th, Congressman Phil Gingrey and Tricia Pridemore will speak to the Atlanta Young Republicans meeting at Five Seasons Brewing Westside location at 1000 Marietta Street.

Thursday night at 6 PM, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett will be at the Organizational Meeting for the Dougherty County Republican Party at the Manor House in Merry Acres. Drinks and appetizers will be served beginning at 6 PM with the meeting starting at 6:30.

Thursday night at 7 PM, the Bryan County Republican Party is hosting a Coastal Candidate Forum at Richmond Hill City Center, 520 Cedar Street, Richmond Hill, Georgia.

Also at 7 PM on Thursday, the Fulton County Republican Party is hosting a Common Core Panel Discussion with Dr. Christine Ries, a Georgia Tech economist, Senator Fran Millar, Martha Reichrath, a Deputy Superintendent at Georgia DOE, Senator William Ligon, and Jane Robbins, Senior Fellow with the American Principles Project. The event is at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church, 471 Mount Vernon Hwy in Sandy Springs.

On Friday, September 27th, beginning at 7 PM, DeKalb Young Republicans will host a Q&A session with Congressman Jack Kingston at the Atlanta-Northlake Elks Lodge, 1775 Montreal Road in Tucker.