State Water Planning Takes Shape

State environmental officials are underway with development of water planning in Georgia. Eleven experts have been selected to serve on the state’s water planning advisory panel. They include scientists from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, among others. They are joined by geological and environmental researchers. The group aims to help Georgia deal with a wide array of challenges with water, including the growing metro Atlanta region, plans to build new reservoirs, and how restrictions help deal with times of drought.

Georgia Likely to Owe Interest to Taxpayers

Slumping tax collections and budget cuts make Alabama and Georgia likely to join California in owing interest to some taxpayers for issuing their income tax refunds late.

Both states have laws requiring them to pay interest to taxpayers who filed by the April 15 deadline but don't get their refunds within 90 days. That deadline is Wednesday.

Tax officials in both states say it appears that interest will have to be paid because thousands of tax refunds are still awaiting payment.

California officials are planning to issue IOUs this month for nearly $200 million in tax refunds. California expects to pay the IOUs in October.

Kansas had also been late in paying refunds, but it borrowed money last week to catch up.

(Associated Press)

Fifty Georgia Colleges, Universities to Increase GI Financial Aid

Nearly 50 colleges and universities in Georgia have signed on to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program to improve financial aid for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

The 45 campuses include Georgia Tech and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Mercer University in Macon and Savannah College of Art and Design. The institutions have agreed to pay up to half of the tuition, housing and textbook expenses for veterans who sign up under the Yellow Ribbon Program.

The program is part of the new GI Bill passed last year, offering veterans the most significant expansion of educational benefits since the original GI Bill in 1944. The VA expects nearly half a million veterans to participate in the coming year.

On the Net: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov

(Associated Press)

Local Sheriff Department Allowed to Enforce Federal Immigration Laws

The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department has become the fifth agency in Georgia to be accepted into a federal program that allows local and state officials to enforce federal immigration laws.

The Gwinnett Sheriff's Department is one of 11 new law enforcement agencies nationwide whose acceptance into the Homeland Security Department program was announced Friday.

The acceptance of Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway's application was hailed as a victory by anti-illegal immigration groups but decried by civil liberties and human rights groups.

The 11 new participants are the first to sign a new, standardized agreement since the program was overhauled following an investigation earlier this year by the Government Accountability Office.

(Associated Press)

Georgia Supreme Court Examines Riding Lawn Mower Case

It's got four wheels and a powerful engine. It can hit speeds of up to 40 mph.

But is a riding lawn mower technically a motor vehicle?

That argument is at the center of an unusual appeal before the Georgia Supreme Court Monday seeking to cut short the prison term of a man sentenced to 10 years after he was convicted of felony motor vehicle theft for swiping a riding mower.

The court's decision could help clarify what lawyers say is a murky definition for "motor vehicles" that may or may not extend to golf carts, industrial equipment and even racecars.

On the Net: http://www.gasupreme.us

(Associated Press)

Man Sentenced for Helping Illegal Immigrants

A 37-year-old Duluth man has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of using his employment agency to help illegal immigrants get jobs at Chinese restaurants.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced Liang Yang on charges of conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants. Three years supervised release will follow his prison term.

Authorities indicted Yang and 10 other employment agency operators on April 15, 2008. Only Yang went to trial. The others pleaded guilty to similar charges and have either been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.

Evidence presented at trial showed the group of employment agencies was a first stop for illegal Latino workers. Prosecutors said Yang served as a broker between the immigrants and the restaurants.

(Associated Press)

Fed Energy Funds Headed Our Way

Federal officials say Georgia will receive $32.9 million in federal funds to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across the state. The grant, announced Monday, is part of the nearly $82.5 million the department will award Georgia under the Federal-State Energy Program. Georgia's proposal for the money outlined plans for increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy says the state will receive more than $41 million in additional funding upon demonstrating successful implementation of that plan.

(Associated Press)

Georgia on List for Electric Car Plant

A South Korean company says Georgia is one of five states it is considering for an electric vehicle manufacturing plant. It could create 2,600 jobs over the next five years.

CT&T Company Ltd. says it plans to decide by September among sites in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and California.

CT&T plans to build a North American headquarters, a research and development center and several manufacturing facilities, which could be spread among multiple states or consolidated on one site.

Officials say they would evaluate sites based on the presence of a skilled work force, the transportation infrastructure and the incentives offered.

Four Georgia Banks Ordered to Fix Problems

Four Georgia banks are under orders from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to raise capital, clear bad loans off their books, and improve their lending methods. The FDIC action was put in place in mid-April, but just now made public. The banks are Community Bank and Trust in Cornelia; Gordon Bank in Gordon; Crescent Bank and Trust in Jasper; and Farmers and Merchants Bank in Lakeland.

Over the past year, 14 banks have been closed in Georgia by regulators--the most of any state.

New Fiscal Year Continues Budget Pain

Governor Sonny Perdue warns of more pain as the state flips the page into a new fiscal year today. The continued weak revenue stream forced constant cuts to the budget through fiscal 2009. Now for the new month, Perdue has already asked state agencies to voluntarily cut spending by another 3-percent.

Now into fiscal 2010, Perdue says moving forward the operative phrase is "right-sizing expenditures.":

"The budget act gives the Governor the right to withhold allotments to meet up with revenue expectations. I'm going to meet with Legislative leadership after the end of the year and determine if we want to take that route or if they would like to come back for a special session where we readjust the budget."

Concerning the end of fiscal 2009, Perdue earlier had mentioned the possibility to perhaps tap the state's rainy day fund for up to $400 million to make ends meet.

DHR Re-organization Begins Today

Governor Sonny Perdue has high hopes for the restructuring of health and social service agencies in the state. That begins today with the arrival of the new fiscal year.

Basically, the sweeping changes will spread the services previously handled by two agencies—Department of Human Resources and the Department of Community Health—to three. The main reason is to help Georgia to get a better handle on its failings in mental health, which has been under the federal microscope over the past year.

Governor Perdue says he’s confident of future success for the newly-created Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities:

"I firmly believe by separating these functions organizationally, the resulting standalone department focused on mental health will be a nimble, flexible and responsive unit…better able to fully implement the commission’s recommendations."

Advocates are hopeful, yet worried about whether the state’s continued budget crisis will cripple the effort.

Perdue says other areas of concern, like access to vital records, should be better handled in the new set-up.

Officials Get First Road Stimulus Project Rolling

The first of hundreds of road projects injected by federal stimulus dollars got rolling today in Georgia.

A four-mile stretch of highway in Hapeville near Atlanta’s airport is the inaugural project. The resurfacing work represents more than $900,000 of the state’s transportation stimulus share. Once all projects are allocated, over $900-million will be used in work across the state.

State and federal transportation officials at Tuesday’s press conference trumpeted the creation or preservation of hundreds of jobs with the stimulus. But Governor Sonny Perdue says the state needs to have a long-view plan on managing budget issues once the well of stimulus money runs dry:

"If you become dependent on them, there are going to be tough decisions in the future. So we’re trying to manage state government in a way of transition—using these federal stimulus funds, but hopeful that our state economy will recover soon."

The rollout of additional road projects continues over the next few weeks and into the fall. Thus far, a combined $119-million in work has been awarded.
State officials say another $250 million will soon be certified to round-out Phase One of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. By fall, it's expected Phase Two money to be awarded will total $370 million.

Supreme Court puts Troy Davis appeal on hold

The U.S. Supreme Court has recessed for the summer without taking action on Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis' latest appeal, likely delaying any action on the convicted cop killer's case until the fall.

Davis, of Savannah, was convicted in 1991 for the slaying of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. Supporters say he deserves a new trial after several key trial witnesses recanted their testimony.

Davis' lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower federal court denied his request for a new trial in April. The Supreme Court won't reconvene until September.

Davis' case has become a rallying point for death penalty opponents worldwide. A petition signed by 60,000 supporters was turned into Chatham County's District Attorney's office today. His supporters also include former President Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict XVI.

(Associated Press)

UGA Study Shows Drought-Tornado Link

A University of Georgia researcher says there’s a surprising connection between periods of drought and the number of tornadoes that strike the Southeast.

The past two springs have produced numerous and damaging twisters. Several hit north, central and south Georgia this February through April. And it was the destructive March 2008 Atlanta tornado that spurred Marshall Shepherd to launch a study--is it rare to see such activity, coming out of drought conditions of the previous fall and winter seasons?

The associate professor with UGA’s Atmospheric Sciences Department went back through decades of records, finding this result 93-percent of the time in the southeast:

"The strongest statistical result that is related to the fact that when there’s drought there’s below normal activity. We haven’t been able to establish a strong link that suggests when the fall and winter is wetter, that you have even more tornadoes the following spring."

Shepherd says he wants to compare this research with that from the tornado-alleys of the Midwest. He says further study could lead forecasters to better predict seasonal tornado-activity…much like hurricane predictions made annually.

Davis Hopes For High Court Reprieve

There are only a couple of days left for the nation’s high court to consider a last-chance hearing for Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. With summer recess for the U.S. Supreme Court ahead, lawyers for Davis and others are watching to see whether the most recent petition is successful. It is generally assumed that if the high court does not decide by Tuesday to hear the Davis-petition, it would then be up to the Chatham County district attorney whether or not to go ahead with the execution warrant. Davis was convicted of murdering a Savannah police officer 20 years ago. Since then, several witnesses have recanted testimony. Davis has already had his execution delayed three times.

State Ag Officials Look To Revoke Pest Company License

State agriculture officials are working to pull the license of a pest control company that treats more than 100 healthcare facilities in Georgia.

At issue is how the company, Biotech Systems of Georgia, applied the pesticide Termindor, says Jim Harron with the State Agriculture department:

"It's not a question of training in the case of Termidor, this material should not have been used indoors--period."

It's only an outdoor product, but Harron’s says his office found it in patient rooms and food areas in all eight of the first nursing homes tested in May.

Since then, officials found discrepancies in records the company sent to the state for review.

Now, with the help of state health care officials, Harron says work is being done to examine other nursing homes handled by Biotech:

"We'll work with the nursing homes in getting them proper cleanup procedures, and getting them advice on how they can clean them up."

Harron says the Georgia Agriculture Department is working towill revoke the company’s license.

Georgia Aquarium's 10 Millionth Guest

The Georgia Aquarium welcomed its 10 millionth guest Thursday, less than four years after the downtown Atlanta attraction opened its doors. The lucky guest was Annette Kalber of Atlanta, who was visiting with her mother, sister, niece and nephew.

She got a free dive in the 6 million gallon Oceans Voyager tank, free airline tickets and other goodies.

The aquarium is home to more than 8 million gallons of tanks, featuring the only whale sharks outside of Asia. The attraction is the only aquarium in the world to let visitors dive with the four whale sharks, the world's largest fish.

The attraction also plans to open a dolphin exhibit in 2010 that will include shows and conservation research.

(Associated Press)

Former Georgia Rep. Charged in Connection with Illegal Campaign Contributions

A former Georgia congressman has been charged in connection with illegal campaign contributions during a 2005 Atlanta city council election.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard says former Rep. Pat Swindall and two business associates were charged with one count of felony conspiracy to commit a crime and four felony counts of false statements.

Swindall was a two-term congressman whose political career ended in 1988 after he was convicted of perjury charges linked to a federal money-laundering investigation.

Prosecutors say the three men sought political favors by contributing $8,000 to the campaign of Atlanta City Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd in her run-off bid for re-election. The law allowed a maximum contribution of $1,000 at the time.

(AP)

Perdue Asks For More Budget Cuts In July

Governor Sonny Perdue is calling on state agencies to continue tightening their belts into the next fiscal year.

State revenue numbers are not expected to show much—if any—improvement into July. Because of that, Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley says a letter sent to agencies today is asking for voluntary cutbacks in budgets next month:

"The check they receive so to speak from the state for their July operations will be the full amount. We’re just asking them to continue doing the things they’ve been doing...hold back spending where possible. The hope is we will achieve a 3-percent reduction in July."

Brantley says in order to balance the end of this fiscal year, officials may have to tap up to $400-million of the state’s rainy day funds. That would leave little into going into fiscal 2010.

He says additional state budget cuts through 2010 are likely.

State may sue Justice Department

State officials are contemplating their next move in election law, after the U.S Supreme court ruling this week left section 5 of the voting rights act in place. That’s the section requiring Georgia and 15 other states to get pre-clearance for any voting law changes.

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel had hoped the high court would strike down section 5 of the voting rights act.

That would have meant the state could enact a new law requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Now Handel has to send what’s know as SB86 for approval to the Justice Department.

That same Justice Department told Georgia in May that a procedure the state used last fall to scan registered voters for citizenship requirements did not pass muster.

Handel is now considering whether to sue the Justice Department says Deputy secretary of state Rob Simms.

“We’re juggling a few balls right now.” Simms says, “and one thing is abundantly clear. It’s Secretary of Handel’s opinion that these verification programs are necessary and vital.”

Simms says Handel has been meeting with the Attorney Generals office and will make a decision soon on whether to file a lawsuit.