State leaders list priorities for 2008 session

State leaders including Governor Perdue and House Speaker Glenn Richardson laid out their legislative priorities to the members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce today.

It was the first time Perdue and Richardson appeared together in public since the State House overrode 12 of the Governor's vetos. They greeted each other fleetingly and promised the crowd of 2500 that they will work in the best interest of the state, in their speeches. Afterward, Perdue told reporters that State House members should let it go.

"If it's about messages, then I hope they got it out of their system. And we can more forward, and move our state forward to the issues we need to address."

For Perdue, those include water, education and funding for trauma care. For Richardson it's transportation and property tax reform. For GPB News, I'm Susanna Capelouto

Grady supporters bring petitions to keep Grady public

A group of Grady Hospital supporters brought petitions to the Capitol today asking that the Atlanta hospital remain public. Meanwhile state leaders vowed to help the financially strapped hospital while also funding a state-wide trauma care system.

Grady Hospital is trying to stay open for business. There is fear that if it changes management, it will no longer serve Atlanta's poor. House Speaker Glenn Richardson told business leaders in Atlanta that he is willing to support state funding, but with conditions.

"Grady's got to help themselves first. When Grady helps itself, I'm willing to jump it. But we have to do something about trauma care statewide. We gotta get on the same page."

Governor Perdue is expected to outline help for Grady in his "State of the State" address. One idea is to charge speeders more money to fund hospitals. For GPB News, I'm Susanna Capelouto at the State Capitol.

GPB Morning Podcast: Dec. 24, 2007

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Vick surrenders early in dog fighting case

Suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has begun serving his sentence in a Virginia prison on federal dog fighting charges. Vick was scheduled to be sentenced on December 10th. However, an assistant to U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson of Richmond Virginia confirms Vick voluntarily surrendered himself to officials with the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Hudson signed the order allowing Vick to turn himself in earlier today. Four people have pleaded guilty in the case. Earlier this year, Vick acknowledged he was part of a dogfighting operation known as Bad Newz Kennels at his former property in Surry County, Va. In a plea agreement, Vick admitted the operation involved the "victimization and killing of pit bull dogs." Under federal sentencing guidelines, Michael Vick faces up to five months in prison, although Judge Hudson could impose a sentence below or above that range if he sees fit.

Georgia Power closer to rate hikes

Georgia Power has reached a deal that could bump up customers’ monthly bills by nearly six dollars. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports state and private entities have approved more than $300 million in price hikes. Georgia Power says it needs the boost to pay for compliance with new environmental rules. The Georgia Public Service Commission has yet to approve the increase. The Commission is set to vote on the settlement December.

Georgia and South Carolina announce plans for Savannah River port

The Governors of Georgia and South Carolina today announced an agreement putting more detail into a plan to develop a new port on the Savannah River.

The 11-page agreement forms a bi-state joint project office to get the port up-and-running. The office will be responsible for the nuts and bolts of finding the port’s exact location, getting the permits to build it, and developing the business plan. Those tasks will cost about $6 million. As to how long it will take, before the first ship docks, Governor Sonny Perdue could only guess:

“Well, I think these are all projections, but from the permitting side, to the construction side, those kinds of things, we’re probably talking about four or five years plus. Again, I think both states are committed to moving very aggressively here.”

Officials said today the land to build the port would cost about $9 million. That land is owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation, but is in South Carolina. Under the agreement, the port will be owned jointly by the two states’ port authorities.

Augusta educators to increase class size to cope with teacher shortage

Officials in eastern Georgia are struggling with more students per classroom in some schools.

School administrators in Augusta say budget cuts have caused a shortage of teachers. Because of that, they are seeking permission to expand class sizes in 62 elementary classrooms. It's a problem that school systems across the state have struggled with.

Barbara Pulliam is a school board member in Richmond County. She is also a retired teacher. She opposes efforts to increase class size:

"Small classes not only promote better learning. It eliminates discipline problems. Small classes [are] the answer to a lot of the problems that we're having."

School officials say their request is small: 62 out of 813 classrooms. The matter now goes before state education officials.

DOT Chair: "Red tape causes road work delays"

The head of the state Department of Transportation board says red tape is hindering road projects in Georgia. Mike Evans told a transportation committee yesterday that environmental regulations and project development processes are imposing undue costs and delays. He asked regulators to adopt a quote "more reasoned and practical approach." Transportation officials from around the country participated in yesterday’s meeting to address needed reforms to federal transportation policy.

Low lead-levels in blood may still endanger children

A new report is out about children and lead. A government panel is saying that children with blood lead-levels lower than the U.S. standard may still suffer low IQs or other problems.
The report from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, urges doctors to be more alert to the signs of lead poisoning. The report comes amid growing parent concerns over imported toys with lead.

Presidential primary ballot confirmed by Secretary of State

The ballot is now official for Georgia’s Presidential primary. Secretary of State Karen Handel says there are eight Democrats and nine Republicans in the running. Georgia will hold its Presidential Primary on February 5th, 2008. Voters who would like to participate in the primary must register to vote by January 7, 2008. If you would like to register to vote, please visit http://www.sos.georgia.gov/ .

In accordance with the list provided by the Democratic Party of Georgia, the following candidates will be listed on the Republican ballot in alphabetical order: Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson.

In accordance with the list provided by the Republican Party of Georgia, the following candidates will be listed on the Republican ballot in alphabetical order: Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis J. Kucinich, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson.

UGA veterinary hospital employee charged with killing puppies

In nearby Clarke County, a grand jury has indicted a former employee of the University of Georgia's Veterinary Teaching Hospital with beating puppies to death. The grand jury found 20-year-old Rose Council of Ellenwood killed the animals and then left them in a trash bin. Council was a part-time clerical worker at the vet hospital. University of Georgia says Council remains suspended without pay from her job at the hospital.

Northeast Georgia extends outdoor water ban

Officials in a northeast Georgia county have voted to extend the outdoor watering ban. Jackson County voted yesterday to ban concrete contractors, pavers, pressure washers and hydro-seeders from using county waters. Brick masons and car washes still will be able to use county water, but car washes will be asked to conserve and cut their consumption by 40 percent to 50 percent. Landscapers were already banned from using county water.

Little League champs meet President Bush

Warner Robins' Little League world champions met President George Bush in a ceremony yesterday at the White House. The Macon Telegraph reports the team first stopped at Capitol Hill for a meeting with Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. Next was the visit to the White House. There, the boys spent a few minutes with the President and had pictures taken in the Oval Office. The Warner Robins American Little League team beat Japan in the Little League title game in late August.

South Carolina to buy part of Jasper Co. shipping terminal

According to a proposal being negotiated by Georgia and South Carolina, the states’ ports authorities will jointly own the site of a shipping terminal at the mouth of the Savannah River. A South Carolina newspaper reports the ports authorities would purchase the land in Jasper County on the South Carolina side of the river for about $10 million dollars. The Georgia Ports Authority currently owns the land. Officials estimate it could take at least five years and more than $600 million dollars to make the first phase of the port operational.

Companies struggle to slash water use by 10 percent

Today's the first day that city and county water utility companies in North Georgia are working under tighter state limits. But many are still hashing out how, exactly, to get their customers to use less water.

Last week, Governor Sonny Perdue ordered water withdrawal permit-holders to reduce their water usage by 10 percent between November and March. Kevin Chambers, spokesperson for Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, says it's OK that some counties and municipalities haven't figured out how to do that yet:

"Many of them have called us for guidance on this as well. And what we're recommending they do is identify their big users, if they've got industry that is using significant amounts of water, to work with industry to try to reduce their water use."

Some counties are looking into incentives. Gwinnett County, for example, is considering rebates for people who replace their toilets with low-flush toilets. Both the city of Atlanta and DeKalb County are expected to announce concrete water-saving measures tomorrow.

Early birds head to the polls in local elections

Early voting started today for local elections in 96 Georgia counties.

Advance voting ends Friday at 5 P.M. before the general election on November 6th.

Ballot items include several county and municipal seats, and a range of local measures.

Lynn Ledford, Vice President of the Georgia Election Officials Association, says she expects above-average turnout.

“There are a lot of mayoral races on the ballot, but also because of the presidential race there’s been so much interest. So I think that’s going to get a lot of the voters more interested.”

Major races also include city council seats, alcohol sales, and tax allocation measures.

State Supreme Court overturns two malpractice suits

In a pair of decisions, Georgia’s Supreme Court overturned two medical malpractice lawsuits.

The Court ruled a Glynn County man cannot sue doctors who mistakenly infected him with HIV.

The patient was two moths old when doctors when doctors at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital performed open-heart surgery, using contaminated blood.

The patient suffered a decade of health problems attributed to his heart condition. He then sued in 2001 after discovering he was HIV-positive.

Attorneys for the defense argued the time to file a lawsuit had passed.

In its ruling, the Court said the open-heart surgery did not cause the patient to develop AIDS, but that a lack of treatment led to the illness.

In another ruling today, the Court says a judge cannot award money in a wrongful death case if the jury chooses to award nothing.

The family of a baby, who died at 15 months, says doctors at Columbus Healthcare System failed to diagnose a rare blood condition.

However, at trail, expert testimony showed the baby died due to massive head injuries.

A jury awarded $100,000 for the child’s pain and suffering, but no damages for the infant’s wrongful death.

Later, the judge added $1 million, saying it was not right to acknowledge malpractice, but award nothing for a wrongful death.

The Supreme Court overturned the judge’s $1 million award and has sent the case back for re-trial.

Drought threatens upcoming golf classic

The impact of this year's drought could jeopardize one of Georgia's most popular sporting events.

The annual spring AT&T classic at the Sugarloaf Country Club in Gwinnett County, means $20 million to the state's bottom line.

And, although Sugarloaf uses rain collected in nearby retention ponds, officials hope the state will grant a watering ban exemption.

Mike Crawford is Sugarloaf's superintendent.

"If we were to lose the ability to water our greens, I think you would see a lot of golf courses and a lot of business in the state be seriously affected, and potentially in the long run could have to close their doors."

Current law prohibits Sugarloaf from using water hazards on its course to keep the bluegrass green.

Cooler temperatures and recent rains mean the course has not had to draw from its retention ponds.

Still, the course has no contingency plan. Instead, they’re relying on a wet spring and the state for drought relief.

Cobb County to vote on water-saving toilets

Following Governor Perdue's order that public utilities reduce water consumption, one metro-Atlanta county will vote tonight on a new water-saving rebate plan for its customers. Federal law says all new construction must include low-flow, water-saving toilets. Now, officials in Cobb County want to offer customers in older homes, a chance to turn in their outdated water guzzling fixtures for newer models. They're willing to pay up to $100 per unit to persuade residents and businesses to do just that. Kathy Ngyuen is with Cobb County's water system. She says the plan was slated to kick off in 2008, but current drought conditions forced an early implementation:

"The Governor has mandated that all water utilities in the 61 counties in Georgia, achieve a 10 percent reduction over winter use. What that essentially means is a serious reduction in indoor water use and we think this program will be very effective in helping us achieve that."

The county has set aside $100 dollars to pay for the low-flow toilets, which use less than 1-1/2 gallons of water per flush versus the older models which can use up to 5 gallons each time they're flushed. Nearly 90,000 customers of the Cobb County water system are eligible to participate, and can receive up to $100 for each unit installed, to a maximum of three.

Judge releases rapper T.I. on $3 million bond

Today a federal judge in Atlanta ordered the rapper T.I. released on three million dollars bond. However the musician whose real name is Clifford Harris must remain under house arrest while he awaits trial on weapons charges. Harris will be monitored 24 hours a day by a private monitoring service that he must pay for. Harris - who is already a convicted felon -- was arrested two weeks ago allegedly buying machine guns and silencers.