Last week’s Courier Herald column: The Georgia General Assembly is in its final official hours for 2023, with legislators prepared to gavel out “Sine Die” on March 29th.  While this will end their 40 official business days in Atlanta for the year, it’s important to understand the real schedule of the legislature.  State Senators and

This week’s Courier Herald column: Bank failures were big recurring news stories just over a decade ago.  The 2008 failure of Bear Stearns, then Lehman Brothers, signaled that the bubble in real estate had burst.  The effects began a long cascade of regulators closing banks, peaking with 157 financial institutions closed nationally in 2010, with

This week’s Courier Herald column: Forty days of the Georgia Legislature could easily be summed up by paraphrasing Charles Dickens.  It is the longest time; it is the shortest time. When the General Assembly stood at ease at the end of Thursday March 9th, they had already completed 31 of the 40 days allowed for

This week’s Courier Herald column Senator Jon Ossoff made news a few weeks ago, backing federal efforts via the Land and Water Conservation Fund to protect two sections of forest land in Northwest Georgia.  As reported by Dave Williams of the Capitol Beat News Service, Senator Ossoff’s letter to the Forest Service noted the land’s

This week’s Courier Herald column: In recent weeks I’ve been taking a look at Georgia’s lack of affordable housing.  The problem, articulated by Governor Kemp and the state’s Economist Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman, is that Georgia does not have enough housing units for the workforce we currently have, much less for the employees we expect to

Last week’s Courier Herald column: I grew up in rural Fayette County Georgia.  Or, perhaps I should say I grew up with rural Fayette County.  When the 1970 census was taken shortly after I was born, the county due south of Atlanta’s airport, nestled between interstates 75 and 85, had under 12,000 residents – and

This week’s Courier Herald column: This week we’re going to dive deeper into Georgia’s challenge of providing workforce housing. While it’s not a new problem, the recent public remarks by Governor Brian Kemp and the state’s economist Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman have directly tied the lack of available and affordable housing as a hindrance not only

This week’s Courier Herald column: Georgia has been building a fortress economy since coming out of the great recession.  “The number one state to do business” is as much of a mission statement as it is a ranking.  The formula is quite public and relatively simple on the surface.  The state begins by ensuring a

Parents aren't calling for book bans, and school boards aren't banning books. People who think that's what's happening don't understand the history and purpose of public schools.

This week’s Courier Herald column: For the second year in a row, the state of Georgia’s fiscal coffers are overflowing.  Literally. The state’s rainy day fund is at its legal limit.  Funds from tax revenues are still coming in above projection.  There is still some federal Covid relief money yet to be spent.  It’s an