by Dave Williams | Oct 3, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – President Joe Biden called on Congress Thursday to pass a supplemental spending bill to aid victims of Hurricane Helene in Georgia and other Southeastern states.
After touring storm damage from last week’s massive storm in South Georgia, Biden dismissed remarks earlier this week by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that there’s no need for Congress to act until after next month’s elections.
“We can’t wait,” the president said during an address at a pecan farm in tiny Ray City. “People need help now.”
Biden arrived in Lowndes County Thursday afternoon after speaking with Gov. Brian Kemp by telephone earlier in the day and promising the federal government will cover 100% of the cleanup costs from Helene for three months.
Biden, a Democrat, was greeted at Moody Air Force Base by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and U.S. Reps. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, and Sanford Bishop, D-Albany.
“In moments like this, it’s time to put politics aside,” Biden said.
The president said representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture are on the ground in storm-ravaged areas, helping farmers and ranchers apply for federal disaster relief. The widespread damage in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas is expected to cost billions of dollars, he said.
Biden noted that residents of South Georgia have been hit with three hurricanes during the past year: Idalia, Debby, and now Helene.
“You’ve been through hell,” he said. “I see you. I hear you. I grieve with you. I promise we have your back.”
Meanwhile, utility officials briefed the Georgia Public Service Commission Thursday afternoon on their response to Helene.
Cleve Fann, vice president of distribution strategy and support for Georgia Power, said the company has restored power to more than 1.2 million customers in the eastern half of the utility’s service area. More than 8,300 poles are down in communities including Valdosta, Savannah, Augusta, Waycross, and Dublin, he said.
“This is the most destructive storm we’ve seen hit the Georgia Power service area,” added Jeremiah Haswell, Georgia Power’s director of regulatory affairs.
Dennis Chastain, president and CEO of Georgia EMC, said 11 of its electric membership corporations were severely impacted by Helene.
“It’s hard to describe the devastation that’s out there,” he said. “It’s miles and miles of wire that were damaged.”
Chastain said 435,000 EMC customers were without power at the peak of the storm. As of Thursday morning, 150,000 remained without service, he said.
David Weekly, director of transmission operations for the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), said 17 municipal electric systems were affected by Helene, with four in the direct path of the storm knocked out completely.
Daryl Ingram, chief operating officer at Electric Cities of Georgia, said multiple cities suffered outages of 80% to 100%, with Douglas and Fitzgerald sustaining the most damage.
“Douglas is a complete disaster zone,” he said.
While most power should be restored by early next week, the utility executives said some remote areas may not get their service back for weeks.
by Dave Williams | Oct 3, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – About 270,000 customers in Georgia still were without electricity Thursday, six days after Hurricane Helene cut a destructive swath across the southeastern part of the state, down from 1.3 million at the storm’s peak.
The death toll in Georgia now is up to at least 33, many from trees falling on their homes, Gov. Brian Kemp said during a briefing Thursday at the state Capitol after touring damaged areas during the previous two days with First Lady Marty Kemp.
“We’ve been on the ground from Valdosta up through Augusta,” Kemp said. “The width of the destruction even compared to Hurricane Michael (in 2018) is so much more.”
Kemp said he spoke to President Joe Biden by telephone Thursday morning to thank him for increasing the federal disaster declaration that originally covered 11 Georgia counties to 41. The governor said he is seeking approval to more than double the number of counties eligible for federal aid.
“There are still a lot of counties out there expressing frustration that they haven’t been added to the list,” Kemp said.
The Biden administration has agreed to cover 100% of the cleanup costs for the first three months, Kemp said.
Chris Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, said preliminary figures from 50 counties have put the damage estimate at $417 million, a number that is expected to increase significantly in the coming days.
Kemp said nearly 2,000 Georgia National Guard troops are on duty in the hardest-hit areas, clearing roads and transporting critical supplies including food, water, and generators.
Kemp said he heard many stories of dramatic rescues from Georgians directly affected by Helene.
“In every community we went to, everyday heroes stepped up,” he said. “It reminds me what a resilient state we live in and what good people we have.”
Kemp said Georgia crops suffered extensive damage from the storm. He said cotton crops and pecan orchards in the path of Helene were virtually wiped out.
“The ag economy was not good before the storm, and it’s worse now,” he said.
Georgia Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry said more than 300 state routes were blocked at the storm’s height, including three interstate highways. That’s now down to just a handful, he said.
However, McMurry cautioned motorists to drive defensively because many of the roads that have been reopened are down to a single lane, while about 250 traffic signals are still out of service. He urged drivers to treat intersections without functioning signals as four-way stops.
“We don’t need anyone else to be hurt or injured,” he said.
Kemp also warned Georgians using generators to make sure their homes are sufficiently ventilated. He said three people in Chatham County who were using a generator died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Stallings urged residents affected by Helene to be patient with recovery efforts.
“The only thing that happens quickly is the storm itself,” he said.
“A lot of people are frustrated,” Kemp added. “(But) this is unprecedented, a significantly larger power outage storm than we’ve ever dealt with.”
by Dave Williams | Oct 2, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The ports of Savannah and Brunswick were closed for a second day Wednesday, the result of a longshoremen’s strike affecting ports along the East and Gulf coasts from Maine to Texas.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is seeking a significant pay raise from the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), a shipping industry group representing terminal operators and ocean carriers, as well as an end to the use of automated cranes, gates and container-moving trucks in unloading or loading freight.
“USMX brought on this strike when they decided to hold firm to foreign-owned ocean carriers earning billion-dollar profits at United States ports but not compensate the American ILA longshore workers who perform the labor that brings them their wealth,” Harold Daggett, president of the 85,000-member ILA , wrote in a statement posted on social media.
“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve.”
The Georgia Ports Authority, which operates both the Savannah and Brunswick ports, said in a prepared statement it will reopen once the union and management reach an agreement.
“We enjoy a good working relationship with our local labor partners and are not involved in the contract negotiations in New Jersey,” the authority wrote.
The Port of Savannah is the second-busiest port on the East Coast and the fourth-busiest in the nation. The Port of Brunswick is the nation’s second-busiest for vehicle cargo.
If the first longshoremen’s strike since 1977 drags on for any length of time, prices on goods around the country could go up and potentially result in shortages at the start of the holiday shopping season.
by Dave Williams | Oct 1, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia’s prison system is violating inmates’ constitutional rights by failing to protect them from widespread violence, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday.
The agency released a 94-page report following a multi-year investigation that originally focused on whether the state was adequately protecting LGBT inmates from sexual abused and expanded to cover all inmates incarcerated at medium- and close-security prisons.
“Our findings report lays bare the horrific and inhumane conditions that people are confined to inside Georgia’s state prison system,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said during a news conference in Atlanta.
“Our statewide investigation exposes longstanding, systemic violations stemming from complete indifference and disregard to the safety and security of people Georgia holds in its prisons. … The Justice Department is committed to using its authority to bring about humane conditions of confinement that are consistent with contemporary standards of decency and respect for human dignity.”
Georgia has the fourth-highest state prison population in the country, with nearly 50,000 inmates incarcerated in 34 state-operated prisons and four private prisons.
The report attributed widespread violence in the prison system to understaffing and systemic deficiencies in physical plant, housing, control of contraband, and incident reporting and investigations. It also concluded that gangs are exerting improper influence inside prisons, including controlling entire housing units and operating unlawful and dangerous schemes inside and from prisons.
Clarke said the report documented incidents of assault, rape, and murder inside Georgia prisons, while inmates are relegated to fear, filth, and neglect.
“Individuals incarcerated by the Georgia Department of Corrections should not be subjected to life-threatening violence and other forms of severe deprivation while serving their prison terms,” said Ryan Buchanan, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
“We expect the state of Georgia to share our sense of urgency about the seriousness of the violations described in this report and to work cooperatively with the Department of Justice, our office, and our U.S. attorney partners in the Middle and Southern Districts to remedy these systemic deficiencies in Georgia prisons.”
The state has been working to come to grips with conditions inside Georgia prisons. The corrections department hired a consultant in June to conduct an assessment of the state’s prisons, while both the Georgia House and Senate have formed study committees to focus on prison conditions and consider funding recommendations aimed at improving safety.
Georgia Commissioner of Corrections Tyrone Oliver told a Senate study committee in August that reduced staffing and aging infrastructure are contributing to an influx of contraband that is driving an increase in criminal activity inside the prisons.
by Dave Williams | Oct 1, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Former President Donald Trump has opened up a solid lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia five weeks before the Nov. 5 election, according to a new poll.
A survey of 942 likely voters in Georgia conducted Sept. 25-29 by Quinnipiac University showed Republican Trump with 50% of the vote in the Peach State to 44% for Democrat Harris, well outside the poll’s margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.2%.
Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver and independents Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz each received 1% support.
Trump held the edge on Harris in the Georgia poll on the economy and immigration, with 53% of the respondents saying they believe Trump would do a better job handling both key issues. Respondents also rated the former president higher than Harris 52% to 46% on how he would handle international conflicts.
“Harris confronts a troubling Trump trifecta,” said Tim Malloy, a polling analyst for Quinnipiac. “He leads her on the economy and immigration and has the edge when it comes to who would best handle a national crisis.”
Harris rated above Trump only on the issue of abortion in the Georgia poll, with 50% of those surveyed saying she would do a better job on that issue to 43% for Trump.
Poll respondents were evenly divided on how they view Trump, with 48% viewing him favorably and 48% unfavorably. Harris was underwater in that category with 43% of the respondents rating her favorably and 50% unfavorably.
