The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced it will investigate the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery. (Official GBI logo)
State law enforcement officials have opened an investigation into the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a coastal Georgia resident who was gunned down during an encounter in Brunswick with two men in February that has sparked widespread outrage.
Video footage purporting to show the fatal encounter between Arbery and the two men, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, surfaced online Tuesday and drew comparisons to the high-profile killings of unarmed black men in recent years.
The video ignited anger among political leaders and social-media observers alike over the appearance that Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, who are both white, shot the 25-year-old Arbery, who is black, while he was jogging in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick on Feb. 23.
Gregory McMichael told police he and his son followed Arbery in a truck after suspecting him of committing robberies in the neighborhood, according to a police report cited by The Brunswick News in April. A struggle broke out between Arbery and Travis McMichael over a shotgun that McMichael brought in the truck, which led to shots being fired and Arbery’s death.
The video circulating online appears to show this encounter from a recording taken inside an approaching vehicle. Arbery is shown running toward the truck and then around it before grappling with Travis McMichael in the street. Three shots are heard and Arbery stumbles onto the pavement.
The lack of arrests or charges brought in the case so far have prompted accusations of police corruption, given Gregory McMichael formerly worked as a Glynn County police officer and as an investigator with the Brunswick District Attorney’s Office before retiring last May.
Authorities in Glynn County have faced mounting criticism from outraged observers and members of Arbery’s family, who have told news outlets Arbery was out for a jog on the day he was shot. Last month, the Southern Poverty Law Center called for a federal investigation.
In a statement late Tuesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced it will investigate the Arbery shooting following a request from Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden, whose office is overseeing a review of the case.
The agency also said it has been asked by the Glynn County Police Department to investigate how the video circulating online was released as well as “allegations of threats” against local officers involved in the investigation.
Durden announced Wednesday that he plans to present evidence for a Glynn County grand jury to consider filing any potential charges.
On Twitter, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Tuesday he is “deeply concerned” about the video and news reports on the shooting of Arbery. Carr said he expects “justice to be carried out as swiftly as possible.”
Gov. Brian Kemp also weighed in on the shooting investigation, writing on Twitter Tuesday that state officials are poised to help Durden’s office “ensure a thorough, independent investigation.”
“Georgians deserve answers,” Kemp said. “State law enforcement stands ready to ensure justice is served.”
Spaceport Camden rendering (Camden County Commission)
ATLANTA – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to revisit part of the environmental review process required to approve a controversial commercial spaceport in Camden County because of a major change in the project’s design.
While revising the environmental impact study (EIS) will require a second public comment period, sponsors of Spaceport Camden say the new development actually represents progress for their plans.
Camden County officials have been working since the middle of the last decade to build a commercial spaceport they say would create up to 2,000 jobs and convince the next generation of aerospace engineers, many of whom graduate from Georgia Tech, to stay in Georgia to pursue their careers. The project enjoys the backing of Gov. Brian Kemp and the state’s congressional delegation.
Homeowners on nearby Little Cumberland Island have spearheaded opposition to the spaceport as a public safety and environmental threat.
Officials with the National ParkSp Service also have spoken out against the project, warning it could disrupt tourism at the popular Cumberland Island National Seashore, while the Defense Department has raised concerns over the proposed launch site’s proximity to the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.
The county submitted a revised license application to the FAA in January that calls for launching only small rockets from the site rather than the medium-to-large rockets envisioned in the original plan.
Conservation and environmental groups opposed to the spaceport sent a letter a month later asking the FAA to order the supplemental EIS.
“Small rockets fail at a much higher rate than medium-to-large rockets, so the FAA must now consider the environmental impacts of these risky, unproven vehicles,” said Brian Gist, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Given the enormous risks Spaceport Camden poses to public health, private property and Cumberland Island, this is not the time for shortcuts and half measures.”
Jimmy Starline, chairman of the Camden County Commission, said the FAA order for a revised environmental impact study is good news for the spaceport because it means the federal agency has signed off on other key project milestones.
“With only environmental review and policy review outstanding, Spaceport Camden has cleared critical safety and launch location reviews,” Starline said. “Camden County has had good conversations with the Pentagon and leadership at Kings Bay, and we are confident that we can deconflict any remaining issues pertaining to the Department of Defense.”
“The EIS has been the longest and most expensive part of this project,” commission Vice Chairman Gary Blount added. “I am hopeful we are nearing an end to that process.”
Meanwhile, county officials announced late last month that Camden has entered into a public/private partnership agreement with Organic Code Development LLC, an investment group that specializes in aerospace, to add a technology and research business park to the spaceport’s launch site.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan outlines his agenda for the 2020 legislative session at the State Capitol on January 13, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan pledged Wednesday to take a 14% pay cut in his salary to match what state agencies in Georgia are being asked to trim amid the coronavirus-prompted economic downturn.
State agencies are being asked to slice their budgets by 14% ahead of expected revenue shortfalls in Georgia of between $3 billion and $4 billion, as state lawmakers scramble to draft a budget for the 2021 fiscal year before a July 1 deadline.
The voluntary 14% reduction in Duncan’s annual salary rounds out to nearly $13,000. Georgia’s lieutenant governor currently makes about $91,000 per year.
In a statement Wednesday, Duncan framed the pay cut as a show of solidarity with state agencies and an example of how “it will be necessary for everyone to make sacrifices” as lawmakers craft the budget in the coming weeks.
“The fiscal impact of the coronavirus on our state’s budget is severe, and the General Assembly is tasked with making serious cuts to government services and programs, which will affect the lives of the Georgians we serve,” Duncan said.
“These are difficult times accompanied by a lot of uncertainty, but we are all a team, and meaningful savings will come as we work together to make the required adjustments,” he added.
The steep revenue decline has been fueled by drastic slowdowns in economic activity among several economic sectors in Georgia like travel, tourism, logistics, hospitality and food service.
Around 10% of the state’s workforce primarily in the hospitality and food-service industries has filed for unemployment benefits in recent weeks, marking an extraordinary uptick in out-of-work Georgians.
Last week, top budget-writing lawmakers in the General Assembly directed state agencies to hand in proposals by May 20 for how to make across-the-board cuts totaling up to $3.8 billion.
Those reductions will almost certainly bring painful impacts for state agencies that could result in scaled-back services and layoffs.
Critics of the 14% cut in spending have called for state lawmakers to instead raise revenues via taxes and by ending certain tax exemptions.
Meanwhile, a letter asking Congress to release $500 billion in federal funds to help prop up state budgets in Georgia and across the U.S. was sent Monday by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia.
The General Assembly is poised to resume the 2020 legislative session in mid-June with the budget as the main focus.
State lawmakers are pushing for Congress to release $500 billion in federal funds to help prop up state budgets in Georgia and across the U.S. amid the coronavirus-prompted economic downturn.
In a letter Monday, top budget-writing lawmakers in the General Assembly formally asked the state’s congressional delegation to back the $500 billion relief package for state governments, echoing calls by a handful of governors last month for the same amount.
State agencies are already being asked to slice their budgets by 14% ahead of expected revenue shortfalls in Georgia of between $3 billion and $4 billion, as state lawmakers scramble to draft a budget for the 2021 fiscal year before a July 1 deadline.
The revenue decline has been fueled in part by drastic slowdowns in economic activity seen at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Port of Savannah and the Georgia World Congress Center, according to the letter.
Additionally, around 10% of the state’s workforce primarily in the hospitality and food-service industries has filed for unemployment benefits in recent weeks, marking an extraordinary uptick in out-of-work Georgians.
“As one of the 10 largest state economies in the nation, we are experiencing an unprecedented fiscal shock as the world stands still,” reads the letter.
It was signed by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia.
Facing such large budget cuts, state agencies will almost certainly experience painful impacts that could result in scaled-back services and layoffs.
Critics of the 14% cut in spending have called for state lawmakers to instead raise revenues via taxes and by ending certain tax exemptions.
Agency heads have been ordered to submit budget-reduction proposals by May 20, around the time lawmakers are set to resume in-person committee meetings.
ATLANTA – Piedmont Healthcare is signing up COVID-19 patients for two new clinical trials, the Atlanta-based nonprofit health system announced Tuesday.
One of the trials, intended for patients who have tested positive for the virus, will evaluate the efficiency of the anti-inflammatory drug Gimsilumab. The other will investigate the value of repositioning patients to improve their oxygen levels.
“Piedmont’s mission is to serve its patents,” said Dr. Charles L. Brown III, CEO of Piedmont Healthcare’s Physician Enterprise. “Offering clinical trials designed to fight COVID-19 during this pandemic, we are delivering on our promise.”
Word of the new clinical trials came as the death toll from coronavirus in Georgia rose to 1,274. The number of Georgians who have tested positive for COVID-19 also increased Tuesday to 29,640.
COVID-19 has two phases: an initial viral phase followed by an inflammatory phase. The drug Gimsilumab is designed to block inflammation in parts of the body and cool down the immune system’s response.
The trial will include 270 patients and is expected to be completed in October.
The second clinical trial will study whether having COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms lie prone on their stomachs soon after arriving at the hospital can improve their oxygen levels. The therapy has been shown helpful to patients suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
Piedmont is enrolling 200 patients for the second trial, which is expected to be completed a year from now.
“These clinical trial options, with the experimental therapies they bring to our patient populations, are exciting in that they look at fighting the disease from different perspectives,” said Dr. Amy Hajari Case, Piedmont’s director of pulmonary and critical care research. She will serve as principal site investigator for both trials.
