James Nov-Dec 2023 web - Flipbook - Page 7
FL O AT I N G
B O ATS
W H O ’S R I S I N G & S I N K I N G I N G E O R G I A B U S I N E S S & P O L I T I C S
Georgia elected officials rallied behind Israel following
the attack by terrorist group Hamas that killed more
than 1,300 people and plunged the Mideast nation into
war. They then put their money where their mouth
is with the state purchasing $10 million in Israeli
bonds, the most available on the market. And state
lawmakers say they have more in mind to help one of
America’s strongest allies during the upcoming legislative session. Rising
The Georgia Senate is the latest government body to
probe the state of the Fulton County jail, which has
been plagued by overcrowding and violence to the
point that Sheriff Pat Labatt called it a “humanitarian crisis.” The U.S. Justice Department has already
launched an investigation of its own, and as both federal and state officials search for answers, Georgia’s most
populous county is Sinking.
A common line of attack on Gov. Brian Kemp from
Democrats has been that he hasn’t done enough to
expand Medicaid. Much to their chagrin, the governor recently took home a National Association
of Medicaid Directors’ Spotlight Award for his
administration’s Georgia Pathways program. It offers
an avenue to insurance for low-income Georgians who
meet certain requirements. Projections show that the
total number of Georgians enrolled in the program
could hit 90,000 by 2025. Rising
The Georgia Republican Senate Caucus voted to indefinitely suspend state Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton,
over his continued criticisms of his Republican colleagues for not signing onto his demand for a special
session that would seek to impeach Fulton DA Fani
Willis. While the suspension doesn’t remove Moore from
office nor any of his committee assignments, his influence within the GOP establishment is Sinking.
Atlanta is known as the nation’s capital of college football, but could it also soon be its soccer capital? Thanks
to a $50 million donation from Arthur Blank, U.S. Soccer
will build its first ever National Training Center in the
metro Atlanta area. The facility will also serve as the
headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation, making
it the official home base for both men’s and women’s
soccer. A major win for the city and state that has its
burgeoning soccer scene Rising.
Controversy flared in Augusta as the city commission
voted to rename the Augusta Riverwalk after Edward
M. McIntyre Sr., the city’s first black mayor. While
McIntyre did break racial barriers and help find funding
for the riverwalk in the early 1980s, he also left office
in shame following a felony extortion conviction. The
riverwalk’s divisive new name leaves it Drifting.
Georgia high school students saw both 2023 ACT and
SAT scores decrease from 2022, mirroring a national
trend where test scores have fallen to a 30-year low.
While that fact is concerning, Georgia students did still
score better than the national average, which they’ve
now done for seven straight years. Education officials
are examining a wide array of possible causes, from the
COVID pandemic and grade inflation to the ongoing
teacher shortage, but test scores continue Sinking.
The board of the Georgia High School Association
voted unanimously to allow high school athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL), mirroring
the similar college athletics rule. The ruling comes with
a set of restrictions including that NIL money cannot
be used as an incentive to get students to enroll at a
particular school. It remains to be seen what loopholes
emerge, but the commodification of high school athletics has it Drifting.
Backlash is building against Cobb County Democrat
members of the Board of Elections after the sole
Republican-appointed member moved to add reciting
the Pledge of Allegiance to open an October meeting.
The Democrats refused to second the motion of Debbie
Fisher. The shocked GOP member said, “In my wildest
dreams I would’ve never thought honoring our sacred
American flag would be controversial. To my disappointment, the majority consensus of my colleagues
have chosen to not honor our flag.” At the end of the
meeting, Fisher turned to Old Glory and recited the
Pledge, joined by attendees in the audience. For their
lack of patriotism, the Democrat appointees are Sinking.
N OV EM B E R /D EC E M BER 2023
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