by Dave Williams | Oct 18, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing an expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, including land currently held by a company looking to open a titanium mine near the swamp.
The federal agency is seeking public comment on the plan to add about 22,000 acres adjacent to the existing refuge, according to a news release issued Friday.
“If adopted, the proposed minor boundary expansion would enable the service to work with willing landowners to explore voluntary conservation actions, including potential acquisition, that would further protect the refuge’s globally significant freshwater wetland system and wildlife habitat,” the news release stated.
Proposed state draft permits that would allow Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) to mine titanium oxide along Trail Ridge on the Okefenokee’s eastern rim have drawn widespread opposition. Scientific research has shown a mine would threaten the swamp’s water levels, increase wildfire risks, harm wildlife, and release toxic contaminants into nearby surface and groundwater.
Twin Pines officials say the project would not harm the largest blackwater swamp in North America.
There is precedence for adding to the wildlife refuge to head off proposed mining, said Josh Marks, president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, who led a successful effort to stop DuPont’s mining project at the swamp in the 1990s.
“Having helped with the last major addition to the refuge in 2003, which was the product of the DuPont company deciding to donate its land for conservation instead of mining it, I know first-hand the importance of public/private partnerships for securing the integrity of the Okefenokee,” Marks wrote in an email to Capitol Beat.
“Now that the federal government has taken this critical step in the face of this latest mining threat, it’s now Governor (Brian) Kemp’s turn to stop the review of TPM’s permit application and instead join in helping permanently protect Georgia’s greatest natural treasure.”
A poll a Washington, D.C.-based research firm conducted last June found strong opposition to issuing permits for a mine next to the Okefenokee.
Bipartisan legislation aimed at stopping the mine has been introduced in the General Assembly but has failed to win passage. Also, at least 19 local governments across Georgia have passed resolutions calling for protecting the Okefenokee.
Public comment on the proposed expansion of the refuge must be submitted by Nov. 18 via email to Okefenokee@fws.gov. In addition, a public meeting on the proposal will be held Oct. 29 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Charlton County Annex Auditorium in Folkston.
by Dave Williams | Oct 18, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A Fulton County Superior Court judge has invalidated seven changes to state election laws the Republican-controlled State Election Board (SEB) adopted in recent weeks.
In an 11-page ruling handed down this week, Judge Thomas Cox Jr. declared the board lacked the legal authority to adopt the rules.
“All rules enacted by the SEB must be consistent with the Existing Election Code and the Georgia Constitution,” Cox wrote. “Stated another way, the SEB’s authority can only extend to ‘adopt rules and regulations to carry into effect a law already passed’ or otherwise ‘administer and effectuate an existing enactment of the General Assembly.’ “
Cox’s ruling, dated Wednesday, came in a lawsuit filed by Eternal Vigilance Action, a Georgia-based advocacy group headed by former Republican state Rep. Scot Turner.
It followed two similar decisions handed down earlier in the week by Fulton Judge Robert McBurney that invalidated two of the new SEB rules requiring counties to hand-count the number of ballots cast at polling places on Election Day and allowing local election officials to delay certifying results in order to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” if they suspect voter fraud. McBurney wrote that the rules were adopted too close to Election Day.
Wednesday’s ruling applied to both of those rules in addition to five others the SEB’s three-member Republican majority has passed since August that would:
- give county election board members access to all election-related documentation created as the election was being conducted.
- require signatures and photo IDs to accompany absentee ballots.
- provide video surveillance and recording of absentee ballot drop boxes after the polls close.
- expand designated areas for poll watchers.
- add new requirements for county election boards in reporting absentee ballot information.
The three Republican SEB members who supported the rules changes said they would restore public confidence by restoring fairness and integrity to the electoral process.
But opponents – including Democrats and some Republicans – accused the three of seeking to sow confusion into the counting of ballots by delaying certification of results, potentially to the benefit of former President Donald Trump.
Georgia First, a bipartisan nonprofit group that supports election access and security, praised this week’s rulings.
“As a lifelong Georgian and Republican, I, along with our cross-partisan Georgia First board members, have been deeply troubled by the continued misconduct and ill-informed, conspiracy theory-fueled rulemaking efforts of Election Board members,” said Natalie Crawford, executive director of Georgia First and a former member of the Habersham County Commission.
“Their actions threatened to cause electoral chaos, reflect poorly on the integrity of our state’s highly regarded electoral processes, and undermine trust in our democratic institutions. Ideology is not more important than facts and the law.”
Republicans vowed to appeal the court decisions as an example of judicial overreach.
“By overturning the Georgia State Election Board’s common-sense rules passed to safeguard Georgia’s elections, the judge sided with the Democrats in their attacks on transparency, accountability, and integrity of our elections,” said Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee. “We will not let this stand.”
by Dave Williams | Oct 17, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Four concrete suppliers have been sentenced to prison for participating in a long-running bid-rigging scheme in the Savannah area.
James Clayton Pedrick, Gregory Hall Melton, John David Melton, and Timothy “Bo” Strickland were charged in federal court four years ago with conspiring to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate jobs from the sale of ready-mix concrete used in residential, commercial, and public projects.
Pedrick and Strickland pleaded guilty, while the two Meltons were convicted earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Savannah.
According to court documents, the defendants colluded to submit bids charging uncompetitive prices and coordinated the issuance of price-increase letters to customers between 2010 and 2016.
Gregory Hall Melton was sentenced Thursday to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. John David Melton was sentenced to a prison term of 26 months, along with three years of supervised release and a fine of $10,000.
The court had previously sentenced Strickland to five months in prison and ordered him to pay a $150,000 fine. Pedrick was sentenced to one year of probation.
Two companies also were involved in the conspiracy. Evans Concrete was ordered to pay a $2.7 million fine, while Argos USA previously paid a fine of $20 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.
“These sentences reflect the egregious nature of rigging bids for materials like ready-mix concrete, which are essential to the American economy,” said Manish Kumar, deputy assistant attorney general with the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will hold accountable those who seek to exploit the critical need for these materials to harm consumers.”
The FBI’s Washington field office, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Postal Service investigated the case.
by Dave Williams | Oct 17, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia continued to set employment records last month even as the state’s unemployment rate held steady.
The Peach State’s jobless rate stood at 3.6% in September, unchanged from August and five-tenths lower than the national average.
Georgia set all-time highs in several categories, including the number of jobs in the state’s economy, the number of employed Georgians and the size of the workforce.
“Every job created represents another paycheck in the pocket of hardworking Georgians,” state Commissioner of Labor Bruce Thompson said Thursday. “With record-breaking job growth, an expanding workforce, and rising key industries, we’re continuing to build better lives for families across our state.”
The number of jobs increased by 6,800 last month to nearly 5 million, a record. The sectors with the most over-the-month gains were health care and social assistance, which gained 4,700 jobs, and accommodation and food services, which posted an increase of 3,200 jobs.
The private educational services sector was down by 1,400 in September, and transportation and warehousing lost 1,000 jobs.
The number of employed Georgians rose by 1,761 last month to more than 5.2 million, another all-time high, while the state’s labor force increased by 4,777 to more than 5.4 million, also a record.
At the same time, the ranks of the unemployed was up by 3,016 to more than 195,000, the highest level since July 2021.
Initial unemployment claims declined by 3,598 in September to 19,600.
by Dave Williams | Oct 16, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Former President Donald Trump continues to lead Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia, according to a new poll.
A survey of 1,328 likely Georgia voters Quinnipiac University conducted Oct. 10-14 found Trump with 52% of the vote to 45% for Harris, well above the poll’s margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.7%. Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver each received 1% support.
The new poll was only slightly different from the results of the last Quinnipiac poll in Georgia conducted two weeks ago, which had Trump ahead of Harris by 6 points.
Not surprisingly, Republican Trump and Democrat Harris held huge leads among voters who self-identified with their respective parties. More telling is that Trump led over Harris among independents in Georgia 49% to 42%.
Support for Trump and Democrat Harris mirrored their favorability ratings. According to the Georgia poll, Trump was viewed favorably by 51% of likely voters and unfavorably by 46%. Harris was viewed favorably by 44% of the respondents and unfavorably by 51%.
On key issues shaping the race, the poll found more voters saying Trump would do a better job than Harris handling the economy and immigration. Respondents gave Harris higher ratings than Trump on handling the abortion issue.
