February 8, 2023
ATLANTA – Georgia House Republicans are backing legislation that would increase the statewide cap on income tax credits offered to donors to a fund that provides private school scholarships. House Bill 54, introduced by state Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, would raise the cap from the current $120 million per year to $200 million. The program offered $58 million in tax credits through 2018, then was increased to $100 million in 2019 and $120 million this year.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Southeastern Grasslands Institute is developing a grasslands conservation plan for the Cumberland Plateau in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, thanks to a $495,000 federal grant. The money from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will help the institute prioritize habitat needs for at least 185 species of conservation concern, according to a news release from the institute at Austin Peay State University. Those species include at least 125 grassland plants and at least 60 animals that make grasslands their homes.
ATLANTA – The 26-year-old man shot to death by law enforcement in Atlanta last week legally purchased the gun he used to shoot a state trooper, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported Monday. Manuel Esteban Paez Teran was shot last Wednesday at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a project that has drawn protests for more than a year. Teran was shot as multiple law enforcement agencies were removing 25 campsites from the area. Officers returned fire after Teran did not comply with verbal commands and instead shot and wounded a state trooper, according to the Bureau.
ADEL, Ga. (AP) — A storm that tore through southwest Georgia over the weekend spawned a tornado that damaged homes, flipped trailers and mowed down trees along a path nearly 6 miles long, officials confirmed Monday. The National Weather Service reported Monday that damage observed in the rural community of Adel appears to have come from an EF2 tornado with peak winds estimated at 115 mph. The tornado touched down at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday west of Interstate 75.
ATLANTA (AP) — A now-retired Atlanta police officer who was indicted last month in the 2019 fatal shooting of a man hiding in a closet after running from authorities wants the case moved from state to federal court. Sung Kim was assigned to an FBI fugitive task force when he shot Jimmy Atchison. In seeking to have Kim's murder case moved to U.S. District Court, Kim's attorney, Don Samuel, noted that Kim was working with the FBI’s Atlanta Metropolitan Major Offender Task Force at the time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police are continguing to investigate a protest that turned violent in downtown Atlanta on Saturday night in the wake of the death of an environmental activist who was killed by authorities this week after officials said the 26-year-old shot a state trooper.
ATLANTA (AP) — A protest turned violent in downtown Atlanta on Saturday night in the wake of the death of an environmental activist who was killed by authorities this week after officials said the 26-year-old shot a state trooper.
ATLANTA (AP) — New Georgia House speaker Jon Burns says he doesn't want to pass any laws on abortion while awaiting court action, isn't interested in fully expanding Medicaid, and leans toward giving Atlanta more time to reduce crime before allowing citizens in its Buckhead area to secede. But on many more issues, the self-proclaimed “country boy” who has taken the reins of the House after David Ralston's death is avoiding a public position, saying he wants to see the details of legislation or what his committee chairs think.
ATLANTA (AP) — Two Georgia college presidents will shift to new jobs at Clayton State University and Atlanta Metropolitan State College next month. Georj Lewis is taking over Clayton State University in Morrow and leaving his current post as president at Atlanta Metropolitan State. Ingrid Thompson-Sellers will become president at Atlanta Metropolitan State, leaving the same position at South Georgia State College in Douglas. The moves, approved Wednesday by the state university system's board of regents, take effect Feb. 1.
MACON, Ga. (AP) — A wastewater plant in middle Georgia's largest city spilled partially treated water into the Ocmulgee River after a series of equipment failures in December. WMAZ-TV reports that the Macon Water Authority's treatment plant released more than 100 million gallons of partially treated water into the river. The water authority said that it struggled with freezing weather and equipment failures at the Graphic Packaging International paper mill. The mill is one of the authority's largest sources of wastewater.
