TOCCOA — A police chase in Toccoa ended in gunfire Tuesday afternoon just after 1:15 p.m. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, a Stephens County deputy attempted a traffic stop on Yearwood Road in Toccoa on a man driving a Chevrolet Silverado. GBI officials say the driver of the Chevrolet Silverado refused to stop and […]
Posted inCrime
Past racial slurs an issue in hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers
The three men facing federal hate crimes charges in the death of Ahmaud Arbery will have to overcome a jury’s reactions to racial slurs in text messages and conversations as evidence that the murderers were motivated by race when they gunned down the 25-year-old Black man on a Brunswick-area street on Feb. 23, 2020. Tuesday […]
Posted inYour Government
Roswell mayor puts brakes on charter changes
ROSWELL — After proposing a round of significant changes to the city charter to be voted on Monday night, Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson says he is killing any immediate plans of revising the city charter. At a committee meeting Tuesday night, Wilson apologized again for how the process was handled and said the council would […]
Posted inRepresenting You
Representing You: Georgia lawmakers take on Facebook and Twitter
Legislation prohibiting giant social media platforms from censoring content based on the author’s viewpoint cleared a Georgia Senate committee Tuesday. Reining in social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter has become a national issue since the companies suspended former President Donald Trump’s accounts a year ago. Republican-controlled legislatures in Florida and Texas have adopted laws […]
Posted inCrime
Scam Alert: Atlanta police officers don’t call demanding money
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police Department is warning residents of someone using several police department numbers to make threatening phone calls to citizens and demanding money to clear citations. Police officials say no one from the police department will call you soliciting money to clear an outstanding warrant or parking ticket. This tactic is commonly […]
Posted inYour Family
Who really benefits from Georgia’s ‘Freedom to Farm’ bill?
A controversial bill making it harder for property owners living in agricultural areas to file nuisance lawsuits against nearby farms or livestock operations got its first airing in a legislative committee Tuesday. Supporters of the Freedom to Farm Act have inserted changes into the original bill targeting hog farms and chicken houses, livestock operations that […]
Posted inSponsored
Report shines light on Atlanta’s ‘Barriers to Business’
Making diners happy is easy for Atlanta chef Joey Ward. The hard part was satisfying City Hall when he opened Southern Belle, a restaurant that serves farm-to-table cuisine in a historic building with a speakeasy nestled inside. The startup process was so complicated that even agency officials lacked clear answers. When Ward called for help, […]
Posted inHome & Garden
What is Georgia’s unpredictable weather doing to your garden?
While some U.S. regions, such as the Northeast and Midwest, have experienced consistent cold throughout the winter of 2022, the Southeast region, including Georgia, has seen a winter with varied temperatures. Those unpredictable temperatures, alongside moisture and frost, may have had a direct impact on plant survival, as plants’ ability to thrive or perish is […]
Posted inYour Government
Kemp pushes state lawmakers to ban mask mandates in schools
Georgia parents — not public schools — would decide whether to send children to school wearing masks under legislation introduced on behalf of Gov. Brian Kemp Monday. “Parents know how best to care for their children, and that includes when it comes to masking,” Kemp said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “As […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Kids Under 5 Won’t Be Able to Get Their COVID Vaccine Until at Least April
A COVID-19 vaccine for young children will be delayed by at least two months as Pfizer and BioNTech gather more information on a three-dose regimen. The disappointing news for many parents came after the Biden administration earlier had announced it was preparing to get the vaccines out to states as soon as it could following […]