Tag Archives: Sam Olens

APN 2014 General Endorsements Part Two: Hecht, Doreen Carter, Blackman, No on Income Tax Cap Amendment

(APN) ATLANTA — The Board of Directors of Atlanta Progressive News has issued a second round of endorsements in the General Election for 2014 for statewide, U.S. midterm, and other elections in Georgia. In our latest round of endorsements, we endorse Greg Hecht for Attorney General of Georgia; Doreen Carter for Secretary of State; and Daniel Blackman for Public Service […]

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On Heels of Open Meetings Victory, Tisdale Assaulted, Arrested at GOP Event

With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale (APN) ATLANTA — After finally claiming victory in an open meetings dispute with the City of Cumming, Georgia, that had been going on since April 17, 2012–where Forsyth Superior Court Judge Robert Adamson ruled that the City violated her right to videotape its meetings–activist and videographer Nydia Tisdale found herself in a new […]

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Judge Glanville Sanctions Attorney General Olens; LaBerge over Withheld Memo

(APN) ATLANTA — On September 03, 2014, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville brought down sanctions against Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and Holly LaBerge, Executive Secretary for the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, for their failure to produce documents crucial to the Stacey Kalberman’s whistleblower case against Gov. Nathan Deal and his cronies.     During […]

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LaBerge Memo Raises Questions about Deal’s Interference with Ethics Office

(APN) ATLANTA — In a new twist in the Gov. Nathan Deal ethics scandal, Holly LaBerge, Executive Secretary of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission–who initially was seen as a main player in keeping any investigation of Gov. Deal from coming to the light–has produced a memo showing that she too faced pressure from the Governor’s office.   […]

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Georgia 2014 Primary Elections Results Part One: Statewide, U.S. House, Judicial, Fulton County

(APN) ATLANTA — Georgia’s Primary and Non-partisan Elections were held on Tuesday, May 20, 2014.  This overview presents the results in statewide, U.S. House, and Fulton County Commission primary races; and non-partisan judicial races. Georgia election results according to the Secretary of State’s office as of May 21, 2014 at 4:20 PM.   Registered voters 5,040,952; ballots cast 984.419 and turnout […]

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AG Olens Ignored State EPD in Clean Air Challenge

(APN) ATLANTA — Sam Olens, the Attorney General of the State of Georgia, sought but ultimately ignored the advice of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD), in a legal challenge of new rules issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the Clean Air Act. EPD advised Olens against challenging the Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rule; however, […]

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Part 2: City Misportrayed AG’s Advice on Airport Records

(APN) ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta Department of Law misrepresented to City Council Members the advice provided to them by the office of the Attorney General of Georgia related to airport concessions bidding records and the Georgia Open Records Act. At issue was whether the scores for the various food and beverage and retail proposals submitted to the City […]

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Attorney General Proposal Would Ban Secret Votes, Private Briefings in Georgia

  (APN) ATLANTA — Making good on a campaign promise to strengthen Georgia’s Sunshine Laws, including the Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, a Republican, has proposed a series of significant changes to both laws. According to a review of the current version of the proposal, HB 397, which was marked up by the […]

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Olens, First Amendment Group File Briefs in Atlanta Secret Vote Case

(APN) ATLANTA — Attorney General Sam Olens and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation have filed amicus briefs in the case, S11G1047, currently before the Supreme Court of Georgia, and brought by the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News–the present writer–against the City of Atlanta, regarding the City Council’s secret vote of February 2010. Oral arguments will be held in the […]

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Attorney General’s Office Warns Atlanta over Closed Briefings

  (APN) ATLANTA — Senior Assistant Attorney General Stefan Ritter advised the City of Atlanta and Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter’s office that Attorney General Sam Olens’s Office believes the City Council violated the Georgia Open Meetings Act by holding closed-door Committee Briefings, at a status and scheduling conference held today,Monday, August 08, 2011, in Judge Baxter’s conference room. City […]

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Georgia Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Secret Vote Case

  Georgia Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Secret Vote Case By Matthew Cardinale (APN) ATLANTA — The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed on Monday, July 11, 2011, to hear a case brought by the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News–the present writer–challenging the decision by the City Council of Atlanta to take a secret vote in February 2010. The present […]

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APAB Votes to Request Atlanta Committee Briefing Records

(APN) ATLANTA — At the Saturday, May 21, 2011, meeting of the Atlanta Planning and Advisory Board (APAB), the citizens’ advisory group to the City of Atlanta, APAB voted to request information related to one of the City Council of Atlanta’s seven regularly scheduled closed-door Committee Briefings, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. APAB President Cathy Richards and senior advocate Ben […]

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