I remember one Sunday when my son Silas was about 6-years-old. He and I spent the entire day in the woods.
My wife doesn't know this and she'll probably kill me when she finds out, since she thinks I have better sense:
We have officially completed the twentieth legislative day of the 2008 Georgia General Assembly session, which signals we have passed the half-way point of the constitutionally mandated "no-more-than" forty-day legislative session. The reconciliation budget, called the "little budget" is the document that looks at where the state stands, especially with federally-mandated Medicaid and education funding. If we are short, usually due to unanticipated growth, the General Assembly must infuse new funds to offset ...
An anonymous reader writes: "In your column (Feb. 17) you state, 'The total Republican [presidential primary] vote was down nearly 25 percent from Gov. Sonny Perdue's 2006 high-water mark.' You seem to hold that as a hopeful sign that the Democrat Party is somehow making a comeback in Georgia. That's wishful thinking on your part, but what this 25 percent difference no doubt really indicates is the magnitude of Republican voters who ...
Since Gov. Sonny Perdue took the state's reins in 2003, he has methodically cut $1.4 billion in funds that would have gone to the state's school systems. The upcoming budget is no different: Perdue has recommended $140 million in education "austerity cuts" for fiscal 2009, which begins in July. Since his election, he has successfully reversed the course of previous governors who had hoped to improve Georgia's dismal record in public education by ...
Each year, the Bryan County News is proud to publish our "countywide" edition. This issue is mailed to every deliverable household in Bryan County as a way of introducing the newspaper to potential readers.
This week a friend said to me, "I thought when the children went off to college that our lives would slow down. Instead, they seem to be speeding up."
Here's the problem: Every year, more than 13,000 Georgia kids become daily smokers and nearly one-third of them will die a premature death because of it.
News that the state has abolished its portion of the property tax is no doubt welcome to homeowners. That's a good thing, but let's get real. That $15-25 saved on a home valued at $150,000 is not what's hurting local property owners - who have been hit by a double whammy in recent years thanks to rapid growth.
It's 2008 already? Do any of us remember what happened in 2007? I certainly don't. Where did that year go anyway? We're eight years into this century already and I haven't even cut my lawn yet! I was up late the other night and thinking to myself. "Self," I said. "What can we record for posterity for 2007? It deserves at least an honorable mention -- no? No?" I then fell ...
The fallout from Super Tuesday still hasn't settled yet, leaving both parties in a bit of disarray.
The 2008 Georgia General Assembly session is in mid-stream as we have completed its fourteenth day. The House and Senate Appropriation Committees put the final touches on the Fiscal Year 2008 Reconciliation Budget and are currently preparing the FY 09 state budget. The reconciliation budget, called the "little budget" is the document that looks at where the state stands, especially with federally-mandated Medicaid and education funding. If we are short, usually due to ...
The arrogance of Glenn Richardson, Georgia's House Speaker, has taken on world-class stature. Last week, he apparently persuaded a Paulding County judge and former law partner to approve a quickie divorce and then seal all the proceedings from public view.
I have been so wrong so often on these presidential primaries that I don't know where to start cleaning up and trying to explain my record.
If you've followed local news lately, you know that government officials in both Richmond Hill and Bryan County have been asked to hold a public hearing on a planned building project in their respective jurisdictions.
"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.
This column almost didn't happen. I didn't think I'd have time to write it.
These past 10 days have been quite unusual for me, filled with both extremely happy and very sad personal moments in my life. I know life is like that sometimes. But it makes me wonder why things happen the way they do.
His name is Charles Almerin Tinker, and he was the great-great-grandfather of my beloved.
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., has a tough road ahead of him, make no mistake about it. Getting elected to any statewide office requires everything an individual has to offer, plus some. Just ask those who have committed to running on the ballot in Georgia's 159 counties.