ATLANTA – The second of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle has entered full commercial operation, Georgia Power officials announced Monday.
Unit 4, which went online nine months after the completion of Unit 3 at the plant south of Augusta, can produce enough electricity to power an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses.
“The new Vogtle units are a key piece of our strategy to meet the energy needs of our customers not only tomorrow, but 20 years from now,” said Kim Greene, Georgia Power’s chairman, president and CEO. “I’m so proud of the teams who have worked tirelessly to deliver the first newly constructed nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years.”
The nuclear expansion at Plant Vogtle was a long time in coming. The project originally was due to be completed in 2016 and 2017 but encountered a series of delays that drove up the cost to more than double the $14 billion anticipated when the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) signed off on the work in 2009.
The PSC voted late last year to let Georgia Power pass on to customers almost $7.6 billion of the project’s costs, which will increase the average monthly residential customer’s bill by $8.95.
Representatives of environmental and consumer advocacy groups complained as the costs escalated that Georgia Power and its utility partners in the project – Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power, and Dalton Utilities – should have more aggressively pursued renewable energy as a less costly alternative to nuclear power.
Georgia Power executives countered that nuclear energy is the only zero-emission baseload energy source available today – offering high reliability around the clock. Last year, nuclear energy produced at plants Vogtle and Hatch provided more than 25% of Georgia Power’s electrical generation.
“We have added new nuclear generation to the diverse energy resources that enhance the reliability, resiliency, and affordability of our system as we work to achieve our goal to be net zero (in greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050,” said Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co., Georgia Power’s parent company.
“The completion of the Vogtle expansion project signifies the culmination of a remarkable journey filled with dedication, perseverance and a commitment to a cleaner energy future for Georgians,” Oglethorpe Power President & CEO Mike Smith added. “We celebrate not only the completion of this important emission-free resource but also the historic achievement it represents.”
In addition to the 800 permanent jobs created by the two new reactors, the nuclear expansion at Plant Vogtle employed more than 9,000 construction workers at the peak of the project, including engineers, welders, electricians, pipefitters, and plumbers.
ATLANTA – Former Fulton County prosecutor Christian Wise Smith Sunday vowed to bring “fresh energy and new ideas” to the Fulton district attorney’s office as he challenges Fani Willis for the DA post.
Smith, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Georgia attorney general two years ago, was the only candidate on the stage Sunday for a candidate debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club ahead of the May 21 Democratic primary. Willis declined to participate in the debate and was represented by an empty podium.
Willis is in the national limelight after gaining an indictment last summer charging former President Donald Trump and 18 allies with trying to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in Georgia four years ago.
Wise Smith said Sunday he would continue to pursue the case if he’s elected district attorney, but he questioned Willis’ approach. He said Willis’ decision to hire an outside lawyer to lead the prosecution took resources away from pursuing other crimes.
“When you pay one attorney $1 million to handle a case, it hurts everyone else in Fulton County,” Wise Smith said. “We have to see (the Trump case) through while addressing everything else affecting Fulton.”
The lawyer Willis hired, Nathan Wade, ended up resigning from the case last month at the urging of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee after Wade and Willis acknowledged they had been involved in a romantic relationship.
Wise Smith also questioned the use Willis has made of Georgia’s broad RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute to go after criminal conspiracies, not only in the Trump case but in the prosecution of rapper Young Thug and a group of associates on gang-related charges and in the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating scandal a few years back.
“RICO was designed for organized crime,” Wise Smith said. “Using it against teachers is an overreach.”
Wise Smith said he wants to use the powers of the district attorney to address overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail by promoting a diversion program.
“We can bring people through the system a lot faster,” he said.
In another judicial candidate debate on Sunday, former U.S. Rep. John Barrow declared he’s running for a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court because incumbent Justice Andrew Pinson has a track record of defending a ban on abortion.
Barrow, a Democrat who represented Georgia’s 12th Congressional District for a decade, said legislation the General Assembly passed in 2019 essentially banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy violates the state’s Constitution.
Barrow said Georgia’s highest court needs more people like him with “real-world experience” outside the courtroom.
“I’ve had 25 years of practice … representing families all over Georgia, working with real people with real problems,” he said. “My opponent brings virtually no experience from the real world.”
Pinson, who was appointed to the state Supreme Court by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022 after a year on the Georgia Court of Appeals, declined to participate in Sunday’s debate.
ATLANTA – Five Republicans running for Georgia’s open 3rd Congressional District seat took turns touting their conservative credentials Sunday during a televised debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.
Former state Sens. Mike Crane and Mike Dugan, former state Rep. Philip Singleton, businessman Jim Bennett, and Brian Jack, who served as an aide in the Trump White House, are vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-West Point, who is not seeking reelection.
The winner of the GOP nomination will face one of two Democrats competing for the seat in November in the heavily Republican district in west-central Georgia.
With no substantial differences on issues, the five Republican hopefuls sought to distinguish themselves by their accomplishments.
Jack, who served as political director in the Trump administration and has been endorsed by the former president, said he played a role in securing America’s southern border against illegal immigrants, cutting taxes, and appointing three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
“I don’t think anybody trusts Joe Biden to secure our border,” Jack said. “We’ve got to build more border wall and support the largest domestic deportation program in our nation’s history.”
Dugan, who served as state Senate majority leader for four years, cited a list of Republican successes in the General Assembly on his watch, including passage of the “heartbeat bill,” essentially a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and an overhaul of Georgia election laws. He said he wrote the “divisive concepts” bill prohibiting teaching U.S. history in a way that might make any student feel guilty or that they are superior or inferior to anyone else because of their race.
If elected to Congress, Dugan said his first priority would be to push for legislation prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks.
Crane said the U.S. should close its southern border and criticized the Biden administration for failing to do so.
“We went from a secure border to an invasion within just a few years,” he said.
Singleton said he championed gun-rights legislation while serving in the Georgia House, including a bill allowing Georgians to carry concealed firearms without a permit. He said he also pushed for a ban on “sanctuary cities” that refuse to prosecute illegal immigrants.
Singleton rejected the idea that Congress is so divided it can’t get anything done.
“It’s about building relationships,” he said. “What you want is cooperation, not compromise, You never want to compromise your principles.”
Bennett said that as a businessman, he sees a need for government deregulation. He said he supports legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., requiring Congress to vote on any proposed regulation that would impact America’s economy by more than $100 million.
Bennett also criticized former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for leaving Congress after being ousted from the speakership last fall.
“People need to stop quitting their jobs and finish the job they started,” Bennett said.
All five candidates raised their hands when asked if they believe Trump was the rightful winner in Georgia in the 2020 election. They also indicated with a unanimous show of hands that they support U.S. aid to help Israel wage its war in Gaza but oppose continued assistance to Ukraine.
State Rep. Mandisha Thomas (top) and Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson are challenging U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District
ATLANTA – Much of Sunday’s debate between the two Democrats challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District focused on McBath’s absence from the stage.
McBath, who declined to participate in the debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, was represented by an empty podium.
“It’s important that we have leadership that is present and willing to speak,” said Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson.
“It’s a sign of immature leadership,” added state Rep. Mandisha Thomas of South Fulton. “You have to show up for the people you represent.”
Richardson and Thomas are opposing McBath’s bid for a fourth two-year term. The winner of the May 21 Democratic primary will face Republican Jeff Criswell in the general election in November.
Besides criticizing McBath’s decision not to participate in the debate, both challengers also noted that the incumbent is running in a new district with many voters she doesn’t current represent. McBath chose to run in the 6th District after the General Assembly’s Republican majorities redrew her current 7th District north into heavily Republican counties.
The redrawn 6th District includes Democrat-friendly central and southern Fulton counties, south Cobb, eastern Douglas and northern Fayette counties,
Thomas said six of the 16 cities in the district also are inside the state House district she has represented during the last four years.
“I know what this district looks like,” she said.
Thomas and Richardson agreed on many of the issues raised during the debate, supporting college students’ right to protest against U.S. support for the war Israel launched on Palestinians in Gaza after the terrorist group Hamas massacred Jewish civilians without warning last October. The war has killed more than 34,000 civilians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
The two challengers also said they support the $95 billion spending package Congress passed last week that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel as well as legislation added to the bill forcing a Chinese company to sell its interest in TikTok or face a federal ban.
“There are absolutely some restrictions (on TikTok) that can be put in place,” Richardson said.
Both also called for the state and federal government to look for ways to regulate the use of artificial technology, Thomas pointing to legislation she introduced in the Georgia House this year to prohibit insurance companies from basing coverage decisions on data obtained through AI technology.
“There needs to be an overarching AI privacy act on the federal level,” Thomas said.
“There are some serious repercussions to how quickly it’s growing,” Richardson added. “With any technology, there comes a good side and a bad side.”
Sunday’s televised debate, which was recorded, will air live on Georgia Public Broadcasting on Monday at 7 p.m.
ATLANTA – Delays in processing mail at a new regional distribution center in Palmetto aren’t just affecting individual Georgians trying to obtain vital prescription drugs or pay their monthly rents or mortgages.
Chronic failures to deliver the mail in a timely manner are being seen in some quarters as a threat to the underpinnings of American democracy: elections and the ability to ensure an informed electorate.
Mail-in absentee ballots played a critical role in the 2020 elections, with voters wary of venturing outside during a global pandemic either for in-person advance voting or to cast their ballots on Election Day. Many voters liked the convenience of mail-in voting, and the practice continued in 2022.
But this year, officials in charge of monitoring the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) are worried that delays in delivering mail processed at the Palmetto distribution center will jeopardize mail-in voting in Georgia.
“Voters and election officials must know the amount of time needed to deliver ballots,” Michael Kubayanda, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, said April 16 during a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
The delays began in February when the USPS opened the Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto, part of a plan to make the postal service financially self-sufficient and better able to compete with private shippers including Federal Express and the United Parcel Service.
To staff the new center, the postal service consolidated 10 local mail distribution offices in the Atlanta region into the one Palmetto location, a move that involved nearly 10,000 employees.
A recent survey found that since the regional center opened, only 36% of inbound mail is being delivered on time.
“You are failing abysmally to fulfill your core mission in my state,” Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., told Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during the hearing.
Ossoff said he’s heard from constituents who can’t get their prescription drugs or make rent or mortgage payments.
Meanwhile, newspaper publishers across the state are taking their complaints directly to members of Georgia’s congressional delegation.
Patrick Graham, president of the Georgia Press Association, which represents 90% of the state’s newspaper subscribers, wrote in a letter to the delegation April 8 that many in-town and nearly all out-of-town subscribers are not receiving their newspapers
“I’m losing subscriptions,” said Chuck Southerland, publisher of the Hawkinsville Dispatch & News, a weekly with a little more than 2,000 subscribers. “It’s not unusual to get a call once or twice a month (from a subscriber who didn’t get their paper in the mail). Now, we’re getting two a day.”
Graham wrote that the disruption in deliveries not only threatens newspapers’ bottom lines but leaves the public uninformed on important issues.
“Newspapers are not only economic engines for their communities, in many places they are the only reliable sources of information for readers,” Graham wrote. “Cities and counties throughout Georgia rely on newspapers to provide news about local governments, community events, crime and other issues that affect their daily lives.”
The Newnan Times-Herald, which serves a broad swath of west-central Georgia, plans to file a formal complaint against the Newnan Post Office over the delays.
“Many of our customers have complained that their newspapers are not delivered the same day,” co-publishers Beth Neely and Clayton Neely wrote April 22 in an open letter. “In some cases, they are two or more days late, others as late as weeks.”
DeJoy attributed the delays in mail deliveries in Georgia and at a second regional USPS distribution center in Richmond, Va., to growing pains in an overhaul of the postal service that’s necessary to stem the flow of red ink from the agency.
“This is an organization that has not engaged in change for over 15 years,” DeJoy told the Senate committee. “We are taking longstanding broken practices and trying to transition from losing $137 billion over the last 15 years.”
In light of the delays at the Palmetto and Richmond centers, DeJoy said the postal service will hold off on implementing the planned overhaul in other parts of the country until the consolidations in Georgia and Virginia take hold.
“I expect Atlanta and Richmond to be stabilized coming into the summer,” he said. “We’re going to fix it. … We’ll get to where we need to be in 60 days.”
