Georgia News

“This is the great hole in democratic theory”

Sean Connery thinks a Scottish nation is a bonnie notion. How about Spain's Basque country becoming a REAL country? And what's wrong with a People's Republic of Vermont?

Kosovo's looming independence raises all those questions and more. For starters: Why is statehood OK for some people but frowned on for others? After all, isn't the right to self-determination the essence of democracy itself?

There are at least two dozen secessionist movements active in Europe alone, and scores of others agitating for sovereignty around the globe. All of them, experts warn, will be emboldened by Sunday's expected proclamation of the Republic of Kosovo. Read more

“Do I think Sonny Perdue is capable of being vice president of the United States? Absolutely yes.”

Now that Senator John McCain has all but locked up the Republican presidential nomination, speculation is already turning to who he'll select as a running mate. via WXIA-TV Atlanta

“This is entirely legal and we're moving forward with it”

Students in all of Greene County's regular public schools will be separated by gender starting next fall, a move educators hope will improve rock-bottom test scores and reduce teen pregnancy and discipline ... via Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

“I told him I'd think about it”

In a fresh sign of trouble for Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of the former first lady's congressional black supporters intends to vote for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, and a second, more prominent lawmaker is openly discussing a possible switch.

Rep. David Scott's defection and Rep. John Lewis' remarks highlight one of the challenges confronting Clinton in a campaign that pits a black man against a woman for a nomination that historically has been the exclusive property of white men. Read more

“Eliminating the state portion of property tax will be a clear tax cut for Georgia's homeowners”

Gov. Sonny Perdue's plan to erase the state portion of property taxes in Georgia sailed through the state Senate on Thursday. via MyFOX Atlanta

For the first time in five years, state lawmakers are looking at raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1. The additional revenue would go to fund health care programs in Georgia, said Rep. via WXIA-TV Atlanta

“Although I do believe we need to go further to help families that feel the brunt of their ever-increasing property tax bills, the Senate has taken a major step forward”

Georgia Republicans' election-year assault on property taxes got underway at the Capitol on Tuesday as the Senate overwhelmingly passed a pair of measures aimed at reining in soaring property tax bills. via Athens Banner-Herald

“We suspect that there are additional bodies but only three have been removed”

Three people were killed and at least three more are missing and feared dead after a huge blast ripped through a sugar refinery in the US state of Georgia, injuring dozens, authorities said on Friday. via News24.com

What's good for Gator fans in Georgia should be good enough for Bulldogs loyalists in Florida. via WJBF-TV Augusta

“This bill will create some incidents that we don't want happening to anyone”

Georgia lawmakers waded back into the debate over immigration on Thursday, passing one measure that would outlaw sanctuary cities and another that would boost penalties for driving without a valid driver's ... via CBS 46

A couple was held in jail Thursday on charges of kidnapping their granddaughter from her Georgia home after authorities discovered the 5-year-old in their Lynchburg house. via WSBTV

“We have an idea of where they are”

Crews on Saturday found another body in the remnants of the sugar refinery plant devastated by an explosion and fire, raising the death toll to five and leaving three others still missing, officials said. via KRISTV.COM Corpus Christi

“Once communities see how much money it's going to cost, there's a bit of a sticker shock”

North Georgia holds a little-known secret that could come in handy during the state's historic drought: A band of aging, government-built lakes that are brimming with water.

The federal government built 357 dams starting in the 1950s to protect agricultural lands from floods and create jobs for mostly rural communities. Since many of the areas were sparsely populated, only 19 of the dams were equipped to provide drinking water.

But some Georgia lawmakers are rethinking the dams in the midst of a severe drought that has forced state officials to impose sweeping water restrictions. Read more

“One of the animal control officers grabbed its legs and another grabbed the upper body and another put a covering over its head and they loaded into the truck. It kicked so hard in the truck that the latch on the truck broke.”

Authorities in east Georgia are seeking the owner of a wandering emu that made drivers gawk and clogged traffic on Interstate 20 before it was finally caught.

The three-toed emu _ a flightless bird _ was spotted by numerous motorists on Wednesday after it appeared in the highway median between the Thomson and Camak exits, said Law Enforcement Capt. Larry Barnard of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

'The biggest concern was the threat to motorists,' he said. 'Since an emu is technically livestock it doesn't normally fall under our jurisdiction.' Read more

Resentment boiled to the surface Tuesday in the state House when members applauded a lawmaker who stood to complain after he was punished for defying Speaker Glenn Richardson on a key vote. via WDUN-AM Gainesville

“They ought to control their growth in Atlanta. This has nothing to do with the people. It's the politicians.”

Nearly two centuries after a flawed survey placed Georgia's northern line just short of the Tennessee River, some legislators are suddenly thirsting to set the record straight. via News Max

“Voting machines are always going to have issues. That's inevitable”

Scattered voting problems, including machine glitches and long lines, were reported early in some states in the biggest Super Tuesday ever held in America. via Statesman Journal

Two Georgia legislators want Tennessee to share water from its river with Atlanta. via WAAY-TV Huntsville

Governor Perdue announced an easing of restrictions on outdoor watering in Georgia today - " particularly on landscaping -- by allowing exemptions on the state's current Level 4 drought policy. via First Coast News