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)

Davis Case On U.S. Supreme Court Docket

Whether Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis should get the chance to have his high-profile case heard by the nation’s high court-might be determined soon. The Davis-case is on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court today. Since the Davis conviction for the killing of a Savannah police officer almost 20 years ago, several witnesses have recanted testimony. Still, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says it was "unpersuaded" by affidavits supporting Davis, and cleared the way again for execution. The Davis-case has drawn the attention of former president Jimmy Carter, the Pope, and several high profile U.S. lawmakers, among others.

NAACP Continues Push For New Davis Hearing

About 200 people were on-hand Saturday afternoon in a Savannah park, joining the NAACP in a rally to support Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. NAACP President Ben Jealous led the rally, and later led supporters in a petition drive hoping to pressure local prosecutors to re-open the case. Davis was convicted in 1991 of the killing of police officer Mark McPhail 20 years ago. Since then, several witnesses have recanted testimony, and high profile names such as former president Jimmy Carter have called for a fresh look at the case.

The NAACP hopes to get 10,000 signatures on a petition local prosecutors to step in. But barring an late intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court, Davis could be executed next month. The nation’s high court has the Davis-case on its Thursday docket.

Explosives Found Near Carter's Route

Former President Jimmy Carter has criticized Israel's blockade during a trip to Gaza. He encouraged the territory's Hamas rulers to accept international conditions for ending its boycott of the militant Islamic group. During his visit, Hamas security found what appeared to be explosives buried in a sand dune next to Carter's route. No one was hurt, and it was unclear if the former president was being targeted. Carter spoke at a graduation for students from United Nations-run schools in Gaza City. He criticized the Gaza blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas took control. Carter's Gaza visit came at the end of a swing though Lebanon, Syria and Israel. He encouraged officials in all countries to move toward a negotiated end to the Middle East conflict.

(Associated Press)

Former Mexico President Speaks At Emory Graduation

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox is set to speak at graduation ceremonies of Emory University this morning in Atlanta. He will also receive an honorary doctor-of-laws degree from the university. Fox was elected president of Mexico in 2000. Following the end of his term in 2006, he founded Centro Fox—a presidential library and museum modeled loosely on the humanitarian work of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Fox also became president of Coca-Cola Mexico.

Ft. Valley To Get Stimulus $$ for Superfund Site

The Superfund program was established during the Carter administration. It requires chemical and manufacturing companies to pay for cleaning up thousands of contaminated sites around the country. Sixteen such sites are in Georgia. They're part of the EPA's National Priority List or NPL.

The $5 million dollars heading toward Fort Valley is part of President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Fort Valley officials say the Woolfolk site will become the nexus of its redevelopment efforts in an area which includes downtown Fort Valley as well as Fort Valley State University.

Woolfolk sits close to downtown Fort Valley and to the state university which bears the city's name. Since the site was deemed eligible for Superfund in 1990, 27 million dollars has been spent to partially cleanup its 31-acres. Fort Valley mayor Dr. John Stumbo knows the site's history.

"The Woolfolk Chemical Plant started operations there in about 1924. They made agricultural pesticides that were arsenic lace. In those days, of course, there was no air conditioning and because of the heat, most of the mixing of this dry material was done in sheds that simply had a roof and no side walls. So, as the winds blew through there, it would carry this contamined dust all over the area. The second company came in there in the 1970s, they were called Canada in Georgia, and they were doing the same thing."

Recently, Fort Valley's City Council voted to designate Woolfolk part of its redevelopment plan. But, commercial developers have shied away from the area since in some places contaminated soil remains below the surface. So, instead the City Council is considering a recreation center and Fort Valley's mayor says he'd like a new police academy. And, there is also this idea from Fort Valley State University.

"They're trying to develop plants that indeed clean on their own by their growing process, contaminants out of soils. Well, this would be an ideal situation, because there is still some contamination in the soil."

In the early 1980s, citizen complaints prompted the Georgia environmental officials to investigate Woolfolk amid allegations of discharge of waste products into a drainage corridor heading away from the site. No injuries have been reported but one lawsuit forced a former Woolfolk owner to reimburse residents for declining property values.

Today, according to the US EPA, all excavation of arsenic from residential soil is complete, as well as the removal of arsennic contaminated dust from residential attics.

Finally, in 2002, then President Bush elmininated the Superfund tax for chemical companies, which generated approximately $1 billion dollars a year. The Obama administration has reinstated the program starting in 2011, which is expected to add about $17 billion dollars over ten years to the program.

Fort Valley hopes this latest infusion of $5 million dollars from President Obama's stimulus plan will complete the cleanup of Woolfolk, fulfilling its promise of downtown revitalization.

80-Year Old Arrest Warrant Still Valid

An arrest warrant from 1928 has turned up at a coastal police storage room, and now authorities are trying to execute it. The Carter County Sheriff's Department of Tennessee is trying to serve an 80-year-old warrant for the arrest of a man who wrote a $30 bad check, although unsure if he is alive. The warrant, issued in August 1928, calls for the arrest of J.A. Rowland. It says he owes $30 for the bad check, $2 for the arrest fee and 50 cents each for the affidavit and warrant. Clerks at the Glynn County Sheriff's Office in Brunswick, Ga., recently found the warrant buried in a records storage room while cleaning and mailed it to Tennessee.

(Associated Press)

Former Mexico Prez To Speak At Emory Graduation

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox is scheduled to speak at Emory University’s spring commencement May 11th. The Atlanta school will also give Fox an honorary degree.

Fox was elected Mexico’s president in 2000. Following the end of his term in ’06, Fox founded Centro Fox. The presidential library and museum is loosely modeled on the humanitarian work of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Atlanta’s Carter Center.

Fox earned an MBA from Harvard University and also held the post of president of Coca-Cola Mexico.

Habitat for Humanity Co-founder Dies

Habitat for Humanity co-founder Millard Fuller has died. He was 74.

Fuller's wife, Linda, says Fuller died about 3 a.m. Tuesday after visiting a Georgia hospital, but she says the cause of death is unknown.

Linda Fuller says her husband had complained of chest pains, headache and that his throat was tightening up. She says she took him to an emergency room in Americus in south Georgia, and he was being taken to another hospital in Albany, Ga., about 35 miles away, when he died.

Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement calling Fuller "one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known."

After running Habitat with his wife for nearly three decades, Fuller lost control of the charity in a conflict with the organization's board.

According to the Fuller Center for Housing's website, Fuller will be buried at Koinonia Farms in Americus, Ga.

Click here for more GPB News coverage about Habitat for Humanity.

(AP)

Officials: Plains State Visitor To Remain Open

In Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio’s occasional “MoneyCrunch” series, which airs on Georgia Gazette news magazine weekday evenings at 6 P.M., we explore the effects of proposed budget cuts on communities and constituents around the state.


Duck pond in front of the Georgia Visitor Information Center at Plains. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Last week, an obscure state law saved a state welcome center in Plains from the chopping block, to help cover a $2.2 billion shortfall in the 2010 budget.


Entrance to visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

But, on Monday, officials at the Georgia Department of Economic Development said The Georgia Visitor Information Center will remain open, despite a pending recommendation to slash its $186,000 budget.


Democratic State Sen. George Hooks at the Capitol. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Americus state Senator, George Hooks cites a 1977 statute that says Georgia, by law, must have a visitor center in any town whose resident becomes a president:

“'...and it shall be,' - not 'may be,' but 'shall be,' - maintained and supplied with materials," Hooks told legislators.

Those materials feature the state’s charms in hundreds of glossy tourism magazines, colorful photos and souvenirs.

A visitor’s center at Sylvania was also facing closure. The two centers are among eleven similar facilities around the state.

The GDEcD’s Alison Tyrer, however, says her office would like to keep both the Sylvania and Plains centers open:

”We are looking at all possible options for both centers. However, it’s very early in the legislative process so we would prefer not to speculate on what those options might be at this time,” Tyrer said in a written comment on the issue.

The Plains center is a replica of a rustic wooden farmhouse, surrounded by fields and piney woods. A pastoral two-lane road out front links the town to nearby Americus. The road, and the parking lot of the 31-year-old building are both empty on this Monday afternoon.


Map, pins and and "Post-its" left by guests who have visited the site. Penny Smith, who manages the facility, is behind the desk. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Manager Penny Smith sits inside and waits for tourists:

“…you don’t get bored, because it’s God’s nature… and that’s why the visitors love it so much, because you’re in another world, and when you’re here you don’t think about the outside; what’s going on outside this area - it’s just peace and harmony and such a wonderful feeling…”

She's worked here for eight years, and says the visitor center is her whole world. Smith shared her patch of Georgia with 56,000 folks who stopped by last year:

"Our visitors are 'destination visitors;' they're not just stopping to go to the restroom or get a roadmap. They're here to spend time and money and see what there is to see in the state."

Sign of town's pride. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The biggest local attraction is former President Jimmy Carter, who lives in Plains with former First Lady Rosalynn.

While a National Park Service visitors center closer to Carter’s home focuses on the 39th president, Smith says her facility offers a lot more:

"When we have the visitors captured here, we use that time to tell them about other places in Americus, down the road; make motel, hotel reservations – just service the visitor overall. They don’t do that at the park service.”

Their money's part of more than thirty-four billion tourism dollars that Georgia raked in last year. Those dollars paid for almost 250,000 jobs – among them, Smith’s and two assistants.

Plains peanut processing facility and road sign on the way to the visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Plains Mayor Boze Godwin says the 700 residents of his struggling rural town – and the vicinity - need every tourist dollar that comes through the center:

“I think it’s important not only for Plains, but for the whole county because they do refer people to businesses here. In the past we had a tog shop here, and that closed – but they would send people to that to buy clothes – so they helped the whole area, not just Plains … and they do a great job.”

Hooks, Godwin and Smith hope that statute will be enough to keep the visitor center open to greet the next busload of tourists.

Click here for more GPB news coverage of the state budget.

Lawmaker: Ga. Can't Close Carter Visitor Center

(National Park Service)

Georgia economic development officials were left red-faced as a veteran state lawmaker said the department's plans to shutter a visitor center in former President Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains violated state law.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development's budget plan eliminated $186,407 for the visitor center as part of agency budget cuts.

But at a budget hearing Thursday at the state Capitol, state Sen. George Hooks, a Democrat from Americus, said Georgia law dating from 1977 requires the state to "construct, operate and maintain a tourist center" near the home of any Georgian elected president.

Economic Development Commissioner Ken Stewart said he was not aware of the law and said "we will certainly go look at our options."

(AP)

Click here for more GPB coverage about budget cutting statewide.

Georgians Ready for Inauguration Festivities

Thousands of Georgians have made the trek to Washington D.C. to take-in today’s Inauguration events. Last night, about a thousand people attended a ball put on by the Georgia State Society.

Among some Georgia-connected names in D.C. today--the Reverand Joseph Lowery. He will deliver the benediction at today's Inauguration. Lowery is the co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and retired pastor of Atlanta’s Cascade United Methodist Church.

Across Georgia, there will be viewing parties and events for the Inauguration. Those include in Plains. Some of the people who once helped Jimmy Carter win the nation's highest office are gathering in Carter's hometown. The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site is hosting a special Inaugural Day event at the Plains High School Museum/Visitor Center.

Complete Inauguration coverage can be heard on the Georgia Public Broadcasting radio network. You can also get updates anytime by going to our website: gpb.org

Griffin Bell Memorial Today in Atlanta

Hundreds of friends and numerous political leaders are expected to gather this morning for a memorial service in Atlanta, remembering former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell. President Jimmy Carter will headline the politicos, a longtime friend of Bell’s and Carter’s pick for Attorney General in 1976. Bell also served for over a decade as a federal judge with important contributions to desegregation of schools in the South. He was also a prominent attorney for decades. Today’s memorial follows Bell’s funeral two days ago in Americus.

Funeral for Griffin Bell Draws 500

Today 500 friends and family gathered under sunny skies at the graveside of Griffin B. Bell, the former U.S. attorney general who died on Monday. Bell was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Americus in southwest Georgia. He was for decades one of Atlanta's most prominent attorneys and served as the nation's top lawyer for his longtime friend Jimmy Carter for 2 1/2 years.

(Associated Press)

Flags lowered to honor Griffin Bell

Governor Sonny Perdue has ordered flags on state buildings to half staff in memory of Griffin Bell. Bell died yesterday of complications from cancer. He served as a federal judge in Georgia, as Jimmy Carter's U.S. Attorney General, and as an advisor to state and national leaders. Flags will fly at half-staff tomorrow on the day of his funeral, which will be held in Americus in southwest Georgia.

Perdue: Bell 'A Respected Counselor'

Griffin Bell. (USG)

Governor Sonny Perdue issued the following statement following the death of former U.S. Attorney-General Griffin Bell:

“Mary and I are saddened to hear of the passing of one of our nation’s greatest public servants and one of Georgia’s most accomplished native sons, Judge Griffin Bell. As a respected counselor to political leaders on both sides of the political spectrum, Griffin Bell’s impact on our state and nation spanned multiple generations. He had a unique ability to explain complex legal matters plainly and to bring people together over even the most contentious of issues.

"On a personal note, I am grateful for the counsel he provided to me during my time as Governor. Given his ability to hone in on the central issue in complicated legal proceedings, I was not surprised to discover that in addition to his legal talent, he had one of the best shots of any lawyer I knew. The people of Georgia celebrate the life of this extraordinary man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Bell’s family has scheduled a graveside service in his hometown of Americus.

Griffin Bell III says the graveside service for his grandfather will be held at the Oak Grove Cemetery at 11 a.m. Wednesday and will be open to the public.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. It also will be open to the public.

Bell died of kidney failure on Monday at the age of 90. He was for decades one of Atlanta's most prominent attorneys and served as U.S. attorney general for his longtime friend Jimmy Carter for 2 1/2 years.

In addition to his grandson, Bell is survived by his wife, Nancy Kinnebrew, and a son, Griffin B. Bell Jr., both of Atlanta, granddaughter Katherine Bell McClure and five great grandchildren.

Click here for more GPB News reports about Griffin Bell.

Fmr. Carter A.G. Griffin Bell Dies

Jimmy Carter's attorney general, Griffin B. Bell, has died in Atlanta hospital at 90.

Bell died at 9:40 a.m. Monday, said Les Zucke, a spokesman for Atlanta law firm King & Spalding.

Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell was being treated at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta for complications due to pancreatic cancer.

Former President Jimmy Carter said he was "deeply saddened" by Bell's death and called him a "trusted and enduring public figure."

Katherine Bell McClure said her 90-year-old grandfather had also been experiencing kidney failure and pneumonia. Bell had battled kidney disease for years and was recently diagnosed with cancer. McClure said Bell was admitted to a hospital Monday in his hometown of Americus and by midweek was moved to Piedmont.

Carter's choice of Bell, a longtime friend, as attorney general was considered the most controversial of his Cabinet picks after the 1976 election.

At the time, the NAACP and other civil rights groups complained Bell, as a federal judge, didn't force Southern schools to integrate quickly enough. But Carter called Bell's civil rights record superb, and many black Georgians - including U.N. ambassador designate Andrew Young - came forward to support him.

Bell served just 2 1/2 years at the Justice Department, returning to his Atlanta law firm. But Bell remained a key adviser to Carter.

(AP)

Former AG Griffin Bell In Atlanta Hospital

Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell is being treated at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta for complications due to pancreatic cancer.

Katherine Bell McClure says her 90-year-old grandfather is also experiencing kidney failure and pneumonia. His condition Sunday was not immediately available.

Bell has battled kidney disease for years and was recently diagnosed with cancer. McClure says Bell was admitted to a hospital Monday in his hometown of Americus and by midweek was moved to Piedmont.

McClure says his hospital room was filled Saturday with family members and his minister. A leading Georgia attorney, Bell served as attorney general under President Jimmy Carter.

(AP)

Carter Center urges end to Gaza violence

The Carter Center is urging both sides to cease violence in and around Gaza, saying it threatens peace talks and Israel's long-term security.

The center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife - which has offices in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank – said Wednesday that Israel must cease attacks endangering civilians in the densely populated territory and Hamas leaders must halt rocket attacks against Israel.

The Atlanta-based Carter Center released a statement saying Israel has a right to protect its citizens but "these operations are disproportionate and detrimental to the ongoing peace efforts."

It said bombing "contributes to the further radicalization of the Palestinian population and undermines Israel's long-term security interests.

(AP)

Click here for more GPB News coverage about the Carter Center.

Georgia hosts human rights conference

Human rights activists from around the world are gathering in Georgia this week. The Carter Center in Atlanta is hosting a conference aimed at focusing support for international political, economic, social and cultural rights in the administration of President-elect Barack Obama. Former President Carter told about 50 conference delegates today that the U.S. image has been tarnished over the past seven years in the name of fighting terrorism. Carter said he believes the Obama administration "will be looking to restore the reputation of my country."

(Associated Press)