Contribution Reports Due Out Tuesday

All state, county, and local candidates for office must file financial disclosures Tuesday. These disclosures could give statewide candidates a boost heading into the fall.

None of the candidates for statewide office are expected to smash fundraising records this quarter, with the economy in a slump and a diverse field of politicians seeking various open seats, including the governorship. Yet, a strong surprise showing in contributions could boost a dark horse candidate into serious contention, while a poor showing by a front runner could cast doubt on their campaign. Also, lesser known candidates could be sunk early if they fail to show their ability to raise money to fund a statewide campaign. According to the State Ethics Commission, which tracks campaign contributions, Republicans have out raised Democrats so far this year by about a 2-1 margin, with the vast majority of the money collected by both parties coming from Fulton County.

Find a handy little map breaking this year's contributions here.

Fire Destroys Athens' Georgia Theatre

An Athens landmark steeped in history was destroyed by fire early this morning, as the Georgia Theatre went up in flames. Dozens of firefighters with engines and ladder trucks responded to the scene in downtown Athens around 7am--by the time they had control of the blaze an hour later, the building was gutted. Officials do not yet have a cause for the fire.

The Theatre dates back to the late 1800’s. Through its history it was used as a cinema, and since the 1970’s, it’s been a major player in the Athens music scene.

Sandy Turner with Athens-Clarke County government told WGAU Radio in Athens she’s still trying to absorb the loss:

"That’s one of these places that you just take for granted...(the loss)will be great."

The Georgia Theatre was scheduled to host 11 musical acts during next weekend’s Ath-Fest. Organizers are working to reschedule them to different locations.

Barrow County Starts Layoffs

Barrow County has laid off 18 employees this week. The county cut the workers Monday and Tuesday as part of plans to deal with a $5 million budget shortfall. Three other employees took early retirement. The jobs ranged from the fire department to the tax commissioner's office. The county has cut other expenses since the shortfall was announced in January, but it still faces a $1.6 million deficit. Cuts include eliminating holiday pay, salary reductions and a hiring freeze. Barrow County is northeast of Atlanta. It has about 400 workers.

(Associated Press)

The Drought is Finally Over!

The state's worst dry spell in the last century has finally ended. Thanks to the second wettest spring in more than a hundred and ten years, the drought which has gripped parts of Georgia since summer 2006 has is finally over.

But more importantly say state officials, Georgia has returned to rainfall patterns recorded in the early part of the century. However, even with rivers flowing and reservoirs at or near capacity, all that good news is tempered with a bit of caution.

State climatologist David Stooksbury.

"There's been this perception that we've had this tremendous amount of rainfall over the last six months. In reality, we've had near normal rainfall over much of north Georgia. I think the fact that it’s been so dry, we have forgotten what normal rainfall is like. Now, South Georgia has been extremely wet and there are allot of fields sitting in water still in South Georgia. But here in North Georgia, the Athens area, the Atlanta area, near normal for the last six months."

At the height of the drought, lawmakers passed House Bill 1281, enacting tough water restrictions. Residents exceeded expectations cutting back water consumption by 10 percent. Five percent more than was called for.

Carol Couch heads Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

"Georgians did more than simply follow some state rule. At the end of the day, we cannot simply explain this consistent decrease in water use through this period by regulation alone. To me, it is a tribute to every Georgian in the 55 county area that chose to do the right thing."

The timing of the drought happened at the same time the country's economy hit the skids. And that hit Georgia's 8 billion landscape industry squarely in the pocket.

Sherry Loudermilk is executive director of Georgia's Green Industry Association.

"We lost about thirty five percent of our industry. And it’s been very difficult. There have been many who have hung on and some have just gone out of business this past spring. its been very difficult in most of our industry is still family oriented and if there were employees there, they were like family and having to terminate those people has been very difficult."

With the recent drenching things may be looking up for nurseries.

Jeff Hunter is a spokesperson for one of the nation’s largest …. Pike Nurseries. He’s says the slow economy has more people looking to save water and money.

"There's been an upturn in the past couple of years of rain harvesting, you know rain barrels, drip irrigation and more conservation of water. So it’s helped with new techniques anyway."

Last year, the Georgia legislature passed a measure establishing a study committee dedicated to formulating a statewide water plan.

Former Lt. Governor Pier Howard says now it’s up to the next administration to develop a long range conservation plan Georgians can live with. Howard now heads The Georgia Conservancy.

"I think what Georgia needs going forwards is an overall policy. We need input from all the different sectors. We need all the voices at the table, but we need a new policy in Georgia for water efficiency and water conservation."

Richmond County Students Show Improvement on CRCT

Preliminary results for this year's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests show that more Richmond County students passed than last year.

Early results released by the Richmond County Board of Education show that students performed better on most sections of the test.

Math continues to be a problem area with more than 50 percent of students failing.

Officials at the RCBE blame the sub par math scores on the more difficult curriculum instituted in 2008.

The only area down from last year is 5th grade reading, which dropped by about 1 percentage point.

Third, fifth and eighth graders are required to pass the reading section before advancing to the next grade. And fifth and eighth graders also have to pass the math section before moving on. Students who fail are permitted to retake the test or file an appeal.

Proposed Coal Plant Loses Support

Four electric cooperatives have pulled-out of a deal to build a coal plant in Washington County.

Both GreyStone Power, based in Douglasville, and Metter-based Excelsior EMC recently decided to leave the 10-member group of electric cooperatives. Georgia Public Broadcasting learned Tuesday another two have also dropped out: Jackson EMG in Jefferson, and Diverse Power based in LaGrange. That leaves six co-ops in the coalition Power4Georgians, originally formed to invest in the Washington County plant.

The president and CEO of Greystone is fully behind coal fueling the nation’s needs in years to come. But Gary Miller says his company’s decision to drop-out is based on an uncertain political climate, and how the dust will settle on carbon legislation:

"The price has always been very attractive...the supply is there. The issues now clearly are how much more cost is the government going to impose on that due to carbon. That’s the uncertainty that we really can’t plan around."

President Obama’s "cap and trade" proposal has been hotly-debated with push-back in Washington from coal-producing states and industry. Under "cap and trade", companies like coal plants that need to go over the issued limit of emission permits must buy credits from those who pollute less. In effect, the buyer pays more to pollute more, and costs could be passed to the consumer.

Dean Alford with Power4Georgians says these defections from the coalition will NOT affect the timetable in getting the proposed $2-billion-plus plant built and online:

"The reality of it is the number of co-ops that we would require to not only build the plant but take off-take agreements on the power plant are a whole lot less than the ones that were involved in this. So this doesn’t change anything about the plant at all."

Alford says he respects the decision of any business to figure any certainty in risk with investments.

Construction could start early next year with the plant up and running by 2014. The proposed coal plant still needs clearance on an envirmomental permit, followed by a round of public hearings.

Meth Bust Could Be Biggest In Eastern U.S.

Federal drug enforcement officials later this morning will give details on what’s being called the largest methamphetamine bust in the eastern U.S. The Gwinnett Daily Post reports late Sunday into early Monday, agents raided homes near metro Atlanta’s Duluth. The seizure netted 350 pounds of Mexican crystal meth, with a reported street value of more than $7-million. Four men were arrested and being held at Gwinnett County’s jail.

U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal Announces Run for Governor

Another Republican has joined the race for governor in Georgia. U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal said Friday morning outside the Hall County Courthouse that he will enter the 2010 contest. He said he will be a governor who "does his own thinking, ties his own shoes and can deliver a speech without a teleprompter." Deal, a one-time Democrat and former state senator, is one ofthe most senior members of Georgia's congressional delegation. He began eyeing the race after Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle - an early Republican favorite - withdrew for health reasons. Both men are from Gainesville and share the same north Georgia political base. Four Republicans are already in the race to replace Gov. Sonny Perdue. They are Secretary of State Karen Handel, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, state Sen. Eric Johnson and state Rep. Austin Scott.

(Associated Press)

Perdue Responds To SB 31 Lawsuit

Legislation signed this week by Governor Perdue includes SB 31--that’s the bill to allow Georgia Power to charge ratepayers early for a pair of nuclear reactors before construction is finished.

But Perdue is among other top lawmakers named in a lawsuit which claims the bill passed through the Legislature illegally. The suit filed by the Fulton County Taxpayers’ Foundation says any measure increasing revenue should originate in the House, not from the Senate.

Perdue on Wednesday responded to the suit:

"As I understand it, the lawsuit was to enjoin me from signing a bill, and based on the powers in the way our governments are set-up with judicial, legislative and executive...it is the role of the executive branch to choose whether or not to give that final vote, and frankly I do believe the lawsuit was more of a publicity stunt than anything else."

A Georgia Power spokesman told the ‘Atlanta Journal-Constitution’ they’re not worried about the suit.

GA Power "Pay It Forward" Plan Challenged in Lawsuit

A bill that would charge Georgia Power customers to pay early for the construction of two nuclear reactors awaits Governor Sonny Perdue’s signature. The governor has indicated he’ll sign it.

Meanwhile, it has become the target of a lawsuit by the Fulton County Taxpayers’ Foundation. The group sued Governor Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson among others last week.

The lawsuit argues Senate bill 31 is illegal because it originated in the state Senate instead of the House, and that any measure that increases revenues should originate in the House.

Publish Post

Georgia Power officials say they aren’t worried about the lawsuit.

(The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Major Flooding Concern For Parts Of South Georgia

Several days of heavy rains have brought bad--and good news--to Georgia. Parts of the state, especially to the south, have received well over a foot of rain--a good bit of that over the past 36 hours.

And the immediate concern for those residents today is flooding. At least two sections of major rivers in the region are forecast to reach major flood stage. The Satilla River near Waycross had already hit the 20-foot "major flood" mark by early afternoon. To the west, in Lowndes County near the state line, the Withlacoochee River is also expected to reach "major flood status"—near 25 feet.

Paige Dukes is with Lowndes County:

"Right now I’m sort of right in the middle of the city, and I grew up just a couple of blocks from where we have some of the most significant flooding and it’s been common for the water to come up over a bridge in the area several times over probably the last 20 or 30 years. But, we have a lot of long time residents in the area and everyone’s saying they’ve never seen the water get this high."

Many roads in south Georgia are closed to traffic due to flooding, and about two dozen school systems were closed today.

Meanwhile, the massive rainfall has now busted the drought for most of Georgia. State climatologist David Stooksbury says the southern two-thirds of the state Georgia have now stepped-out out of drought. Earlier this week, Stooksbury removed the drought designation from most of north Georgia. The only exceptions remain the Lake Lanier and Lake Hartwell basins, which are still classified as in moderate drought.

State Recovers From Winter Weather

A Sunday full of snow, and an overnight of gusty winds across parts of Georgia have mixed to present Monday morning problems for parts of the state.

Officials with Georgia Power this morning tell GPB they still have about 28,000 customers without electricity as of 8am. The bulk of those outages are in the Athens-area, with strong winds causing numerous downed tree limbs onto power lines.

From the group of electric membership cooperatives in Georgia, serving four-million residents--they report about 29,000 customers without power. Along with outages in metro Atlanta, outages also are reported in middle and west Georgia. Georgia EMC says its biggest challenge involves extensive damage to a transmission line and two substations in Jackson and Madison Counties, which has impacted about 16,000 customers. Last evening, this area received nearly seven inches of snow, prompting repairs that could extend into early to late Monday evening.

The state Department of Transportation says they’ve been working through the night to handle trouble spots in Georgia when reports of icy patches on roads come in. Brian Gunter is with the DOT says about 100 trucks right now are on duty:

"Over the last 24 hours all over Georgia we've had over a 1,000 employees and 200 pieces of equipment just rolling around checking out the icy spots and laying down sand and salt."

There are dozens of county school system closings across Georgia, along with numerous private school and city school closures. The list of county school system closings as of 8:10 am:

Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Clarke, Clayton, Coweta, DeKalb, Dodge, Elbert, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hancock, Hart, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Pike, Putnam, Rockdale, Spalding, Taylor, Telfair, Troup, Twiggs, Upson, Walton, Wheeler, Wilkes.

Wintry Weather Heading Toward Augusta

The wintry weather moving across the state is making its way into eastern Georgia. A winter storm warning is in effect for the Augusta area, and includes Richland, Columbia, Lincoln and Thomson counties in Georgia, and much of neighboring South Carolina. The warning is in effect from 4 p.m. on Sunday until 7 a.m. on Monday.

Forecasters expect a mix of rain and snow to begin by 7 p.m. this evening in the area, then changing to snow by 9 p.m. Some of the snow could be heavy for a brief period before midnight, tapering off by early Monday morning. Forecasters are expecting 2-4 inches of snow between the Augusta area and central South Carolina, with the heavier snow to likely fall north of Augusta. Freezing temperatures could make roads slippery on Monday morning.

Columbia County schools in eastern Georgia have cancelled classes for Monday. Central office staff will report to work by 10 a.m., or as road conditions permit, according to the superintendent, Charles Nagle.

Two Dead in Meth Lab Blast

Two women were killed over the weekend after a suspected methamphetamine lab exploded inside a Ray City home.State authorities are now helping in the investigation.

Officials say the blast occurred early Friday in the south Georgia city.

Lanier County identified the dead as 65-year-old Annie Ruth Power and 37-year-old Constance Bennett.

(AP)

Meth Lab Explosion Kills Two

An explosion of a methamphetamine lab and fire at a south Georgia home killed two woman early Saturday morning.

The blast happened in Lanier county. Officials say it peeled back the roof of the double-wide manufactured home.

The victims, 65-year old Annie Ruth Powers and 37-year old Constance Bennett, were found in the home and pronounced dead shortly after the explosion.

Storm Damage Estimate: $25M

Twenty-five million dollars is the early damage estimate of the violent storms that tore through Georgia earlier this week.

Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in four Georgia counties: Hancock, Jasper, Thomas and Warren.

The storm spawned eleven tornadoes, killing one person and injuring

One insurance company has reported it expects as many as 750 claims from homeowners and businesses. 1,000 claims for damaged vehicles.

In the Hancock county town of Sparta, Johnny Frank Bakers was killed when his home was destroyed by the storm.

Vandals Hit Historic Cemetery in Coweta County

The Coweta County Sheriff's Office is seeking help from the public to help identify people responsible for about $100,000 worth of vandalism in the historic Tranquil Cemetery near Turin, located between Newnan and Griffin. Police believe the vandalism happened between Saturday night and early Tuesday. Investigator Elaine Jordan said authorities found an estimated 50 graves--about one-third of the cemetery--desecrated.

The cemetery is located in a secluded area with graves dating back to the early 1800's.

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.

Standard Candy Company factory closing

The small city of Eastman is known as the "Candy Capital" of Georgia. Now the factory that helped give the city this distinction is closing.
Back in the 1950's the Stuckey family opened its candy factory in Eastman where they manufactured the iconic pecan roll. Years later the Standard Candy Company bought the facility and continued making their own version of the concoction of "fluffy nougat with rich creamy caramel, covered in Georgia pecans."
In April that plant will close and its 250 jobs will move to Nashville. Josh Fenn is with the Eastman-Dodge County Chamber of Commerce. He says the community is losing part of its identity.

"A lot of people know Eastman for being the birthplace of the famous Stuckey's store and convenience store chain that was very dominant in the 50's, 60's, and early 70's and nationwide kind of a forefather to the modern day convenience store."

In 2007 Standard Candy Company expanded their Eastman plant with more than a million dollars in grants and low interest loans from the State of Georgia.

Greens Laud Power Co. Pullout From Coal Power Station

Houston-based Dynegy Corporation is dropping its support for a controversial coal-fired power plant in Southwest Georgia.

Dynegy officials say they're pulling out of the Longleaf power station project near Blakeley because of the poor economy and the possibility of tighter federal regulations.

Environmental groups are thrilled. The project ground to a halt last year amid a flurry of lawsuits over pollution controls.

Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia says the project doesn't stand a chance now that one of its two backers has pulled out:

"It's very exciting that Dynegy cancelled their plans to build a large coal plant in early county. It's clear that Georgia has the technology, know how to provide energy without a polluting coal plant, so it's very nice to see an energy company reacting to that reality."

Officials for the company that owns the project remain optimistic, however.

New Jersey-based LS Power hopes an appeal of the court ruling this month will get the project restarted by this summer.

Click here for ongoing GPB News coverage of this story.