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McBath to George Floyd’s brother: ‘I know exactly how you feel’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath consoled the brother of George Floyd during a Wednesday Capitol Hill hearing as she drew on her family’s personal tragedy to appeal to lawmakers to ensure the man didn’t die in vain on the pavement in Minneapolis. “We come to this hearing today as a result of deep morally […]
Long lines blamed on technical problems, poor poll worker training
Updated at 7:20 p.m. At the Fulton County precinct in the former Fanplex complex on Hank Aaron Drive downtown, perspiration beaded on Carlen Funk’s face around her mask as she handed out water and snacks to the hundreds of people lined up to vote inside the long-shuttered arcade. It was 4:15 p.m. and she’d already […]
Early-voting social distancing hints at tight spaces, long lines Tuesday
Voters at College Park’s library precinct waited more than six hours to cast ballots on a sometimes rainy Friday as in-person early voting came to a close, an indication that Georgia’s new ballot-marking equipment will be put to the test Tuesday under COVID-19 safety precautions that were not part of the plan. The line stretched […]
Ga. early voting underway as state eases county absentee ballot rules
Jennifer Rainwater arrived at her north Atlanta polling place on the first day of Georgia’s early primary voting with an absentee ballot in hand and a mask affixed to her face. She said she didn’t have much need for either one. Why show up for in-person, touchscreen voting when she’d requested a mail-in ballot weeks […]
Atlanta Press Club candidate debates set ahead of June primary
After years of originating its Georgia candidate debate series at the Georgia Public Broadcasting studios in Atlanta, the Atlanta Press Club is taking its signature election event online for the upcoming primary election. The virtual event is set to include candidates for U.S. Senate and the hotly contested race to replace outgoing Republican Congressman Rob […]
You’ve always got a next best step
The Georgia Recorder platform I have today gives me an opportunity to pay forward some good advice from my past: When you’re in a personal financial crisis, there’s always a next best step. I absorbed that advice — and saw it work — during the Great Recession, when I was communications manager for the nation’s […]
WalletHub ranks Georgia economy as least exposed to coronavirus
Georgia is about to find out how many people will miss their April rent and mortgage payments as thousands of workers lost their jobs already to the coronavirus economic shutdown. Georgia academic economists are predicting the state is particularly vulnerable to a downturn due to its dependence on the travel and hospitality industry. Already, Georgia […]
Gold Dome handshakes to social distancing – a Ga. COVID-19 timeline
Just a little over two weeks ago U.S. Senate candidates, legislative hopefuls, lobbyists and the usual groups of student visitors converged on the Georgia Capitol on the first day candidates could qualify for 2020 elections. People were already dying of COVID-19 in other states by March 2 when U.S. Sen. David Perdue stopped by the Gold Dome to fill out his paperwork and glad hand with other politicians and some of the young visitors that day. Things have deteriorated at a head-spinning pace as you'll see in our timeline that traces the outbreak from a Chinese province late last year to this week's news that 236 state lawmakers are urged to self-quarantine because one of their own tested positive. And the lives of more than 10 million Georgians are now turned upside down.
Mental health advocates say cuts to state safety net are deadly serious
Officials in charge of Georgia’s mental health safety net offered dire predictions after the governor ordered nearly all state agencies to slash spending. People suffering from mental illnesses would land in the emergency room, they said. And more people contemplating suicide would act on those impulses. Those same officials with the Department of Behavioral Health […]
Georgia Recorder reports for Gold Dome duty
When Georgia’s 236 state lawmakers closed out the last legislative session on April 2, they tossed copies of bills in the air and sang Sine Die, Latin for adjourning with no appointed day of resumption. Now, that day of resumption is here. Georgia Recorder’s news operation was built for this moment. Since our Aug. 6 […]
Time for Georgia to snuff out this generation’s ‘coffin nails’
One of the state’s most influential lawmakers on health policy wants to ban flavored vaping products in Georgia and raise the purchase age from 18 to 21. Her colleagues should rush to support her when the legislative session kicks off in a couple of weeks. The electronic cigarettes are devices that can deliver nicotine clouds […]
Speak up to keep Georgia from getting short end of Medicaid stick
It’s time to tell state officials it’s not right to require poor people to punch a clock for their health care. Gov. Brian Kemp’s six-city road show to sell his skinny version of Medicaid expansion wraps up this week. Nearly 500,000 uninsured Georgians could get health coverage if the governor expanded Medicaid income eligibility. Just […]