State launches website for new school vouchers program
ATLANTA - The state is laying the groundwork for a private-school vouchers program by launching a website with details on the initiative. The new site, mygeorgiapromise.org, includes information on the Georgia Promise Scholarship, which the Republican-controlled...
State medical cannabis registry reaches 25,000
ATLANTA - Georgia's medical cannabis program has hit an important milestone. Enrollment in the registry of patients eligible to receive the drug hit 25,000 during the weekend. That growth means the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, the state agency that...
Boaters want to separate paddling from fishing in debate over access to waterways
ATLANTA - Boating enthusiasts and representatives of the recreational boating industry are asking Georgia lawmakers to separate the right to float along the state's rivers and streams from hunting and fishing. That was a major theme of the final meeting Nov. 13 of a...
Proposed expansion of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge draws strong support
ATLANTA - A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to expand the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - including land near the swamp being eyed by a mining company - received strong support this week. Speakers at a public hearing on the proposal in Folkston were...
Trump taps Doug Collins for Veterans’ Affairs post
ATLANTA - President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, Trump announced on social media Thursday. "Doug is a veteran himself, who currently serves our nation as a chaplain in the...
Veteran lawmaker Carolyn Hugley to lead state House Democrats
ATLANTA - Georgia House Democrats Thursday elected longtime Rep. Carolyn Hugley of Columbus to serve as House minority leader during the two-year term starting in January. Hugley, who was elected to the House in 1992 and served as the Democratic whip from 2003 until...
Study committee chair recommends penalties, incentives to promote safe firearm storage
ATLANTA - A legislative study committee chairman exploring ways to foster safe firearm storage in Georgia Thursday recommended a carrot-and-stick approach to an issue that has taken on greater urgency since September's mass school shooting in Barrow County. Sen....
Georgia ports report busy October following strike
ATLANTA - The Georgia Ports Authority experienced its third busiest October on record, handling 494,261 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), the agency reported Thursday. That number fell short only of October 2021 and October 2022, when more than half a...