A Republican Party official has resigned from the Augusta housing authority board after fallout from an e-mail in which he appeared to endorse "making the downtown whiter." Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver says Dave Barbee resigned from the Augusta Housing Authority effective Sunday. A release from Copenhaver's office says Barbee expressed "sincere regret" for poor wording in the Aug. 7 e-mail - which urged developers to support a plan to shut down a public housing development and replace it with "high income folks who will tend to be White." Barbee is the GOP's chairman for the Tenth Congressional District. Party officials say he has not been asked to step down from that position. (Source: Associated Press)
