Walker County’s new sole Commissioner Shannon Whitfield took his oath of office a week ago and officially took office New Year’s Day.  Whitfield overwhelmingly defeated former Commissioner Bebe Heiskell, who was first elected in 2000, this past November. The transition has been less than smooth with Heiskell accepting resignations of members from various county boards and

Be honest: how many of you have gone into work today/yesterday saying “only XX more decades until retirement”? “You’re No Good” by Ken Boothe. Atlanta’s warmest year “certainly consistent with climate change.”  John Lewis: I will protest you for protesting against my protest. Is it time for a Michael Vick forgiveness?  The ACC was the

Republicans announced the Senate committee assignments on Tuesday and David Perdue was a winner. He picked up a seat on the Armed Service and Banking committees–both quite powerful committees. Perdue dropped his Aging, Foreign Relations and Judiciary committee assignments for his new posts. He will continue to serve as a member of the Agriculture and Banking

Congressman Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) was sworn in today as the Congressman for Georgia’s Third Congressional District. Previously, the Third was represented by Lynn Westmoreland, who first elected in 2004 and chose not to seek re-election. Ferguson faced off against a crowded field, ultimately besting Senator Mike Crane in a GOP Primary runoff and coasting to

The Fulton County Superior Court ruled today that Georgia residents who have been shielded from deportation by the Obama Administration shall be granted in-state tuition at Georgia public universities. The Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program allowed millions of young immigrants to obtain legal status if they illegally entered the United States as a

From a press release: WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., took his third oath of office in the U.S. Senate as the 115th Congress convened today. He again marked the occasion with his family in attendance in the Senate chamber, including his wife Dianne, their three grown children, spouses and grandchildren. Isakson was escorted

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced today that The Linde Group will construct an air separation plant in Cook County. They will be investing $40 million into the plant and expect to create 35 permanent jobs. The Linde Group is based out of Munich, Germany and is a manufacturer and supplier of industrial gases, such as

Not surprisingly the legislature’s study committee on rural broadband is receiving complaints about the lack of quality service throughout the state. After a series of six hearings across the state and thousands of responses to an online survey, the committee has a number of recommendations that could become legislation in the upcoming session. Maggie Lee

Every list creates controversy -that’s kind of what they’re for- but Georgia Trend has been compiling the list of the 100 Most Influential Georgians for nearly 20 years. This year, the writers at GT “…have included many of the usual suspects – politicians, CEOs, college presidents – but we’ve also added a number of new

This week’s Courier Herald column: As our new year begins in Georgia, political optimism for many is fueled by the fact that a state governed by Republicans now has a White House and Congress controlled by Republicans. Well, optimism for many Republicans anyway. More than a few Democrats are still somewhere between pretending 2016 was