(APN) ATLANTA — In less than a month, the people of the United States have witnessed a widespread, systematic, sustained, and increasing curtailment of their civil liberties and constitutional rights in the wake of the Coronavirus national pandemic. Day after day, one level of government or another–whether the city, the county, or the state–has issued an emergency declaration […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Members of the Georgia Water Coalition from around the State of Georgia lobbied on Wednesday, February 17, 2016, at the State Capitol for priority conservation bills, HB 966 and SB 36. The Georgia Water Coalition is a group of more than 180 organizations representing over a quarter million Georgians. HB 966 – Provides a 25 […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On Monday, February 22, 2016, the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee eliminated in-state cultivation of medical cannabis from HB 722. The revised HB 722 still adds several medical conditions to Georgia’s existing medical cannabis immunity laws; and adds one cannabinoid, Tetrahydrocannabinol Acid (THCA). HB 722 has been gutted from 24 pages down to only seven. […]
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By Austin Stewart, Special to the Atlanta Progressive News (APN) ATLANTA — HB 135, or “Too Young to Suspend,” a bill co-sponsored by State Reps. Henry “Wayne” Howard (D-Augusta), Mable Thomas (D-Atlanta), and “Coach” Williams (D-Avondale Estates), would prohibit suspensions and expulsions of students in pre-kindergarten through the third grade. During the 2013-2014 Georgia school year, 14,292 children in […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Georgia Power’s 2016 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), released on Friday, January 29, 2016, continues to keep renewables on a slow track. The company files an IRP every three years to outline how it can best meet Georgia’s changing energy needs for the next twenty years. Georgia Power talks about the benefits of renewables, but the […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — HB 929, a bill co-sponsored by State Reps. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta), and others, would change Georgia’s allocation of Electoral College votes, in concert with several other U.S. states, to effect a national popular vote for the President of the United States. Currently, per the federal Constitution, U.S. Presidents are elected not by […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — State Rep. Sandra Scott (D-Rex) has introduced legislation calling for automatic voter registration in the State of Georgia, following in the footsteps of the State of Oregon and the State of California, which adopted similar measures in 2015. It is a hard sell in a state that has been ground zero for voter suppression–Georgia pioneered stricter […]
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Photograph courtesy of Dr. Laura Emiko Soltis, Freedom University. (APN) ATLANTA — On Monday, February 01, 2016, fourteen students, including six undocumented students, were arrested in civil disobedience actions at two universities. Almost one hundred undocumented and documented students integrated classrooms at Georgia State University (GSU); the University of Georgia, Athens (UGA); and Georgia Tech. The purpose […]
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(APN) ATLANTA – On Monday, January 25, 2016, patients and parents testified to the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee asking for their support for HB 722, a follow-up bill to HB 1, Haleigh’s Hope Act. HB 1 allowed possession of medical cannabis oil for eight conditions, but no legal means to access it in-state. http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20152016/HB/722 The bill, if […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Medicaid expansion may be dead for the year, but there appears to be bipartisan cooperation on other health policy issues. “One of the biggest concerns I have is our rural hospitals…. I have personally seen what happened when some of my friends in Dooly County, when their hospital closed. I had friends who worked there, doctors, […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) opened its wait list for rental vouchers to new applicants statewide, and the results have been overwhelming. Within the first 24 hours, the agency has received approximately 47,000 applications, according to Jana Wiggins, a DCA spokesperson. That is more than three times the number of households that currently […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — State Rep Mike Dudgeon (R-Johns Creek) introduced HR 1051, a constitutional amendment to create a township form of governance in Georgia. State Sen. William Ligon (R- Brunswick) introduced SR 724, an identical resolution in the State Senate. The proposed amendment would create a township with limited powers and services. Towns would have the power of […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — In a curious turn of events, the hacker group, Operation KKK, which claims to be affiliated with Anonymous, appears to have disclaimed that it is behind the recent Internet postings regarding purported members of the Ku Klux Klan in U.S. government positions. At 1:13pm on Sunday, November 01, 2015, the Twitter account @YourAnonNews–which identifies itself as […]
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With additional reporting by Gloria Tatum. (APN) ATLANTA — Anonymous, a group of online hackers, has posted what they claim to be a list of members of the Ku Klux Klan. The list includes several elected officials, including four U.S. Senators, with Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) making the list. In November 2014, Anonymous had promised […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — “Climate Change and Alternatives to Capitalism” filled the downstairs meeting room of the Decatur Library, with about thirty attendees, on Sunday, September 13, 2015. The Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America hosted the event. The conversation centered on two documents – Laudato Si, Pope Francis’s Encyclical on the environment; and This Changes Everything by Naomi […]
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