|
The Irish author Oscar Wilde once wrote, “I can resist anything except temptation.” Read More
|
|
This is a story about heroes — good people doing good things. The cast of characters in this performance shares one thing in common: They are strangers to one another. They will meet for the first time via this column. That is what makes this such a good story. Read More
|
|
Mental health and developmental disability service provisions have transformed over the last few years due in large part to two settlement agreements with the Department of Justice (DOJ). On July 1, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) will have completed the third year in a five-year plan established to dramatically increase community services for citizens with developmental disabilities and mental illness. Read More
|
|
The hospital room where my father lay deathly ill from emphysema and pneumonia was small and sterile. All of his friends in Alcoholics Anonymous were gathered in the cluttered waiting room telling stories and recounting fond memories of their time with Dr. John Mooney. Read More
|
|
There was a brief time when there were two commissioned officers in the family. And they still got outranked by somebody who carried no bars, stars or leaf clusters on his shoulder. Read More
|
|
For some, July 8, 2010, was a momentous day in the state of Georgia — only not for a good reason. Read More
|
|
School is out, vacations have started, and visitors from across the country are driving to one of the state’s great coastal attractions, Jekyll Island. Read More
|
|
I have said it before, but let me repeat: I have no problem with charter schools. I did have a big problem with the ham-handed way last November’s charter school referendum was rammed through by proponents. Read More
|
|
The 11th month of the fiscal year saw an increase of over $100 million in state revenues, but timing issues with replacing the sales tax on automobile sales with title fees clouds a clear view. Total collections for May were $1.348 billion with a net increase of $106.3 million over May of 2012, an increase for the month of 8.6 percent. Read More
|
|
If you’re still a Democrat in Georgia, there are reasons to feel optimistic about the future. Read More
|
|
Well, boys and girls, I see by the old clock on the wall that it is June already. We know what that means. It is time for Answer Man to dig into the question box and see what is on your hearts and minds and assorted body parts. Just remember that Answer Man doesn’t have to be doing this stuff. He does it because he cares about you and if he wasn’t doing it, he would have to take out the trash. Answer Man hates taking out the trash. So let’s get to our first question. Read More
|
|
Last week, we looked at college savings plans and the advantages tax-wise they hold as well as highlighting the obvious: college or any postsecondary education is and will be expensive, and it will be very challenging for most parents to fund college even partially without some planning. Read More
|
|
On June 18, 2012, 9-year-old Jake Prince and his 13-year-old brother Griffin were killed on Lake Lanier in north Georgia when a drunken boater collided with their family’s pontoon boat. Five others were injured in the accident. Read More
|
|
Spring brings high school graduations, and every parent feels the pride of the high school graduate in the family moving on to adulthood and hopefully making plans for a next level of education. Read More
|
|
|
|
There are many factors that will have an impact on next year’s U.S. Senate race: the quality of the candidates, the strategies developed by their consultants, the amount of money they raise. Read More
|
|
If you could check a box on your monthly electric bill that could save you extra money, would you? Read More
|
|
The Republican Party delegates who gathered in Athens for their annual state convention heard a cautionary message from Gov. Nathan Deal about the future of the GOP. Read More
|
|
Dear Public School Teachers in Georgia: Read More
|
|
Governor Deal released only five veto statements and two signing statements as the signing deadline ended May 7. Read More
|
|
Last week, the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) held a public hearing to solicit comments on the draft wastewater permit for King American Finishing (KAF) located in Screven County. The hearing was held at the Effingham County High School in Springfield and, although I was not there, I understand it was well attended. Read More
|
|
The extent that a business effectively utilizes new technology is a measure of the company’s profitability. The critical issue for many companies today is filling their new jobs with talented people who can think critically and have real-world expertise in the latest technology. Read More
|
|
Often, sometimes too often, we like to paint the picture of the sides to an issue as good guys vs. bad guys. It helps us identify which side to support in an argument or a contest or a confrontation. Read More
|
|
Until last week, Georgia had been one of only three remaining states that put absolutely no limits on how much money lobbyists could spend to influence the passage or defeat of legislation in a General Assembly session. Read More
|
|
David Pennington, the mayor of Dalton, is making noises about challenging incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal in the 2014 Republican primary. Say what? Read More
|
|
April state revenues totaled $1.7 billion with a gain over 2012 of some $201.1 million for the month. This is the second largest month in five years. January and April 2013 were the highest-revenue months since 2008. So this is encouraging. Read More
|
|
Few things have made me feel older than the news in last week’s Herald that Walt’s Furniture is closing. Read More
|
|
Most of them are small, although there are two or three larger ones with pictures of my show calves and me. All of them are slightly yellowed and somewhat worn by the weight of many years. Read More
|
|
It’s no secret that politicians often make mistakes — a lot of them. Read More
|
|
This is the story of courage. This is a story of tenacity. This is the story of Hill Daniel. Read More
|
|
HB 283 started out as a Title 20 (Education) clean-up bill that also put into code the changes recommended by the Education Finance Commission last year. In the end, it contained a number of provisions, some controversial, in a 35-page bill. Read More
|
|
Many of the roads and bridges we travel on every day in Georgia are crumbling because of insufficient maintenance and old age. Unless policymakers act soon to increase funding, motorists can expect more potholes, longer commutes, and dangerous safety problems. Read More
|
|
“Extra! Extra! Newspapers aren’t dead!” This is quoted from a recent headline in USA Today. The article, by Rem Rieder, reports a new business model has taken shape that makes newspapers a mature industry and, at the same time, an emerging industry. Read More
|
|
Some of my fondest memories of growing up in coastal Georgia are of going fishing with my dad. Read More
|
|
The dedication of George W. Bush’s presidential library last week reminded me of one of the former president’s most memorable public comments. Read More
|
|
|
|
The governor has until May 7 to sign or veto legislation or allow it to take effect. Read More
|
|
It was a packed room Tuesday morning at the Effingham College and Career Academy as the Savannah Area Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management presented ways to spot and stop domestic violence. Read More
|
|
Buried somewhere in my parents’ house in Watkinsville is a stack of aged newspapers — copies of the Athens Banner-Herald, The Oconee Enterprise and the dearly departed Athens Observer. You see, in my family, community newspapers have always been the chroniclers of family lore, of scholastic achievements, of the fleeting fame of youth. Read More
|
|
A wise man once told me, “If it isn’t in the newspaper, it never really happened.” I have found this to be no truer than in politics. Community newspapers are true guardians of the public interest and the absolute best purveyor of accurate local information. Read More
|
|
If congressmen Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston and Tom Price all end up running for Saxby Chambliss’ Senate seat next year, you can be sure of one thing: they won’t have to worry about a lack of money. Read More
|
|
When the terrorist attacks occurred in Boston during the running of the Boston Marathon, memories came flooding back of our own dark days in Atlanta. Read More
|
|
The FY 2014 general budget (HB 106) totaling $19.9 billion is based upon an expected 5 percent growth in tax revenue, but unfortunately many agencies still faced a 3 percent reduction in funding. Read More
|
|
Even before last week’s roundup of suspected purveyors of child pornography, there were no fewer than seven cases involving child porn or Internet use to facilitate child molestation working their way through the Effingham County court system. Read More
|
|
Delete“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” Read More
|
|
Georgia’s senators were caught in a political crossfire last week over their vote on a gun control bill currently being considered in the U.S. Senate. Read More
|
|
It turns out that you can go home again. I recently established a chair in crisis communications leadership at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at my beloved University of Georgia. UGA President-elect Dr. Jere Morehead, along with Dink NeSmith, chairman of the Board of Regents, came for the ceremony and both made my family and me feel warmly welcomed on campus. That is something we haven’t felt at my alma mater for ... Read More
|
|
March revenues came in at a positive 1.1 percent on a gain of $12.6 million for the month. Read More
|
|
Thank you for allowing me the honor of serving my first term as your state representative this year under the Gold Dome at our state Capitol. Read More
|
|
The annual 40-day session of the Georgia General Assembly has come to a close – and now Governor Deal has the same number of days to sign or veto the bills that were passed. Like the members of the legislature, he will decide what action he will take based on what he believes is in the best interest of the people he serves. We are confident he, as a governor who has pledged to do ... Read More
|
|
View Archives
|
