ATLANTA – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is self-isolating after his wife tested positive for coronavirus, Raffensperger’s office confirmed Thursday.
The news of the secretary of state’s potential exposure to COVID-19 came one day after he ordered a hand recount of the nearly 5 million ballots from Georgia’s tight presidential contest between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
Having won enough electoral votes from other states to be declared president-elect, Biden has begun working on his transition to the White House, starting with his inauguration on Jan. 20.
However, the race in Georgia remains uncertain, with Biden leading Trump by more than 14,000 votes.
Earlier this week, Georgia’s two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, demanded that Raffensperger resign for mismanaging the counting of the ballots. While dismissing those calls to step down, Raffensperger said he has not discovered any evidence of substantial ballot-casting fraud.
Raffensperger will be working from home while quarantining. Members of his staff who work in his Capitol office have all been advised to be tested and to work from home, according to the office’s established procedures.
The hand recount, which is due to start Friday and run until midnight next Wednesday, will not be affected by the quarantining, according to Raffensperger’s office.
County elections officials – not the secretary of state – will be recounting the ballots.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation has released its 2021 list of “10 Places in Peril,” historic sites across the state either threatened by neglect or in danger of demolition or encroaching development.
The nonprofit organization’s 16th annual “Places in Peril” list, as was the case with its predecessors, is aimed at encouraging owners of the sites or historic preservation groups to invest in revitalizing the properties.
Here is this year’s list:
Ashby Street Theatre in Atlanta, one of the city’s first theaters serving the African American community.
Atlanta Eagle and Kodak buildings in Midtown Atlanta, originally built as expansive private homes in 1898 and 1905, respectively.
Blackshear City Jail, known locally as the old “Hanging Jail,” thought to be the third in a series of interior-gallows jailhouses in the South.
Cherry Grove Schoolhouse in Wilkes County, a rare surviving example of an early 20th century rural African American school building.
Cohutta African American Civil District in Whitfield County, consisting of three contiguous properties – two churches and a school.
Downtown Toomsboro in Wilkinson County, an old whistle stop on the Central Georgia Railroad between Macon and Savannah.
Kiah House Museum in Savannah, one of the first museums in Savannah started by African Americans in 1959, unoccupied for 20 years.
Old Monticello United Methodist Church, built in 1895 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Terrell County Courthouse, built in 1892 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of the tallest historic courthouses in Georgia.
Vineville Avenue Corridor in Macon, three-block historic residential district threatened by commercial development.
The annual Places in Peril list has a track record of getting results. Historic Griffin City Hall was fully rehabilitated this year after appearing on the list, while the Central State Hospital Depot in Milledgeville received a grant that will go toward a rehabilitation project.
ATLANTA – First-time unemployment claims in Georgia fell significantly last week, continuing a downward trend that has helped the state Department of Labor catch up with a backlog of claims.
Initial claims declined by 13,426 during the week to 23,827.
After 34 weeks of paying out unemployment benefits since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Georgia, the labor department has processed all of the more than 4 million state unemployment applications in the pipeline.
“Any delays [unemployed Georgians] are currently having regarding claims are not related to processing,” state Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said Thursday. “We are processing claims at pre-COVID rates.”
Butler said eligibility determination, which takes place after a claim is processed, is the most frequent cause for a claimant to experience an extended wait.
“The claims that are taking awhile are the ones where there is a disagreement about the separation reason between the employer and the employee,” Butler said.
Jobless Georgians have received more than $15.7 billion in unemployment benefits since mid-March, more than the past 28 years combined. Last week, the labor department paid out more than $174 million in benefits.
The job sector accounting for the most initial unemployment claims last week was accommodation and food services with 4,768 claims. The administrative and support services sector was next with 2,506 claims, followed by manufacturing with 2,446.
More than 162,000 jobs are listed online at EmployGeorgia for Georgians to access, more than double the job listings back in April. The labor department offers online resources for finding careers, building a resume and assisting with other reemployment needs.
ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia reported record enrollment for the fall semester Wednesday despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The fall enrollment of 341,485 students was up 2.4% over the fall 2019 semester, marking the seventh year in a row of growth in the system. Enrollment increased at 16 of the system’s 26 colleges and universities and declined at the other 10.
“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, students still seek education,” system Chancellor Steve Wrigley told members of the system’s Board of Regents.
While enrollment was on the rise in Georgia, university enrollment in the nation as a whole fell by 3% during the past year, said Angela Bell, the Georgia system’s vice chancellor of research and policy analysis.
Bell attributed Georgia outperforming the rest of the nation in enrollment to decisions by the regents to hold the line on tuition this fall and drop SAT and ACT scores from admission requirements for most institutions because the tests weren’t available last spring.
She also cited the regents’ decision to put in place a plan for resuming in-person instruction on campuses this fall, a policy that was publicized in plenty of time to give students certainty.
Fall enrollment increases weren’t uniform across the university system. Enrollment grew at the system’s four research universities: the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and Augusta University.
Fall enrollment also rose at the system’s comprehensive universities – including Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern universities – and at the state universities including Albany State and Savannah State universities.
But enrollment at Georgia’s two-year colleges declined by 7%, with only Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton reporting an increase.
“Our state colleges are a key part of our system as access institutions,” Wrigley said.
The chancellor said the decrease at the two-year colleges might be due to the recession touched off by the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected the low-income students who make up a large portion of their enrollment.
Dual enrollment in the university system has increased by 9.1% since fall 2019, primarily at the research and comprehensive universities. The General Assembly passed legislation this year to limit dual-enrollment classes largely to 11th and 12th graders in an effort to reduce the program’s soaring costs.
Among the demographic categories, the largest systemwide enrollment growth occurred among Hispanic and Asian students, both at 7.2%, while African American enrollment increased by 3.9%.
ATLANTA – Georgia House Democrats have chosen state Rep. James Beverly of Macon as minority leader.
When the General Assembly convenes in January, Beverly will succeed Rep. Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville, who lost his reelection bid last week.
Beverly previously served as minority caucus chairman, a role that now will be filled by Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain.
During a House Democratic Caucus meeting Tuesday, Democrats also elected Rep. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, to serve as minority whip. Rep. Debra Bazemore, D-South Fulton, will work with Wilkerson as chief deputy whip.
Rep. Erica Thomas, D-Austell, will work with Mitchell as caucus vice chair.
Democrats chose Rep. Mary Robichaux, D-Roswell, to serve as caucus treasurer, and Rep. Park Cannon, D-Atlanta, as secretary.
House Democrats scored a net gain of two seats in the legislature’s lower chamber in last week’s elections, well below the 16 seats Democrats needed to seize control from Republicans, who have held a majority in the House since 2005.
