The Players: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and President Joe Biden. The Issue: Kemp signed a massive 95-page election overhaul bill Thursday. The bill limits the amount of time Georgians have to request an absentee ballot, requires a photo ID to request an absentee ballot, and restricts absentee ballot boxes. Biden fired the first shot, calling […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp gets vaccinated
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has received his coronavirus vaccine. For Kemp, it was “one and done,” as the governor received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Friday afternoon at the Ware County Health Department in Waycross. Kemp waited in line until he became eligible to receive the life-saving vaccine, which he was finally eligible for starting […]
Posted inWeather
Georgia wakes to disaster caused by tornado
A deadly supercell thunderstorm spawned a long-tracking tornado across parts of Alabama on Thursday, just a week after another round of severe weather left extensive damage across the Southeast. At least six fatalities have been reported from the day, five of which came from outside of Birmingham, Alabama’s most populous city, as scenes of destruction […]
Posted inYour Government
Legal challenges filed hours after Kemp signs controversial election bill
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed off on an overhaul of Georgia’s new voting laws that limit absentee voting Thursday with partisan support and an acknowledgement that courts will decide if new restrictions are legal. Following weeks of embittered debate and protests, Georgia Republicans hours earlier passed the expansive Senate Bill 202, coined the “Election Integrity […]
Posted inYour Government
Georgia House passes 95-page election overhaul bill
Sweeping legislation to overhaul voting by mail, advance voting and state oversight of Georgia elections passed the state House of Representatives Thursday, a major step for election changes Republican lawmakers are seeking this year. The 95-page bill, which passed 100-75 along party lines, contains dozens of proposals pitched by Republicans that would require stricter voter ID […]
Posted inWeather
Severe thunderstorms possible in Georgia Thursday and Friday
Resident in parts of north Georgia may get severe thunderstorms this afternoon and tomorrow morning. The highest threat for severe thunderstorms will increase late this afternoon across northwest Georgia and transition southeastward this evening into tonight According to the National Weather Service, there is an enhanced to moderate risk of severe weather in far Northwest […]
Posted inCrime
Georgia Tech professor charged with fraud
A Georgia Tech Professor is facing charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud after a federal investigation. Gee-Kung Chang has been arraigned on the federal charges. Chang and Jianjun Yu were indicted on March 18. “The defendants allegedly abused the visa program and deceived Georgia Tech to […]
Posted inGeorgia By The Numbers
What is Georgia’s most dangerous city?
(The Center Square) – Violent crimes in Georgia numbered 340.7 per every 100,000 residents of the state as of 2019, the 26th-highest rate among the 50 states, according to a new analysis from the website 24/7 Wall St. The total number of murders in Georgia in 2019 came in at 654, according to the 24/7 Wall […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Kemp to get vaccine Friday, all adults can get it starting Thursday
The long winter of COVID-19 looks to be coming to an end in Georgia. All Georgians age 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting this Thursday, March 25, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday. The long-awaited expansion comes as Georgia is set to receive another boost in the weekly shipment of vaccines, […]
Posted inThe Public Record
Georgia elections chief strikes back against top critic
The Players: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger lashed out at lawyer Sidney Powell, who was an integral part of voter fraud claims against Georgia in the November election. The Background: Powell is being sued for defamation in federal court by Dominion Voting Systems for her role in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn […]
Posted inCrime
$10,000 reward offered for information on killing of Georgia RaceTrac clerk
WATKINSVILLE — The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect who shot and killed a clerk at a RaceTrac in Watkinsville, Georgia, on Friday, March 19. RaceTrac is also offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect. The FBI has opened an […]
Posted inYour Government
Big changes made to Georgia’s election reform bills
Republican state lawmakers hammering out changes to Georgia’s election system have dropped controversial proposals to scrap Sunday polling hours and no-excuse mail-in voting amid pushback from Democratic leaders and voting-rights advocates. With the General Assembly set to adjourn the 2021 session next week, two omnibus bills moving through the House and Senate include dozens of proposed […]
Posted inBusiness
Here’s why gas prices are going up in Georgia
If you’ve filled up your car’s gas tank lately, you may have felt a slight sting looking at the prices per gallon. Georgia gas prices increased at the pump compared to a week ago. Georgia motorists are now paying an average price of $2.74 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. Monday’s state average is 5 cents more than a week ago, 23 cents […]
Posted inCrime
16-year-old charged in 2019 Norcross homicide
A 16-year-old Norcross resident has been arrested and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault stemming from a 2019 homicide. Leslie Garcia-Juarez, 16, of Norcross, was arrested on charges stemming from the slaying of 19-year-old Osiel Montano, of Norcross, which occurred in December of 2019. Garcia-Juarez was arrested at the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, […]
Posted inCrime
Four charged with child exploitation in Clayton County
The News: Four people have been arrested and charged with child exploitation and at least two children were identified as possible prior victims of molestation during a two day coordinated effort between the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, and the GBI’s Special Enforcement Team. The GBI work units partnered to […]
Posted inYour Government
Georgia’s elections chief will face challengers in Republican primary
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Greensboro, and former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle announced their candidacies for Georgia secretary of state Monday by attacking incumbent Brad Raffensperger’s handling of last year’s elections. Hice, who immediately picked up the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, accused Raffensperger of standing by while widespread election fraud compromised the integrity […]
Posted inYour Family
Georgia residents are getting a tax cut
Gov. Brian Kemp signed two bills Monday that will hand Georgians a slight income-tax cut and let foster parents tap into a larger tax credit when adopting children. The governor, who has helmed the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic for a year now, called the two tax measures a boon for struggling Georgians and […]
Posted inYour Government
Georgia lawmakers want to make protests that block highways a felony
A bill placing new restrictions on protests and the cities where they take place was revived late last week after failing to get a vote in a state Senate committee earlier. The proposed law would increase penalties for protest tactics including blocking a highway after police tell protesters to leave. It would also require demonstration […]
