Area News
Georgia elections chief punts to governor, legislature on delaying May 19 primary
By Beau Evans Staff Writer Capitol Beat News Service Georgia’s elections chief is leaving it up to the governor and state legislature whether to postpone the May 19 primaries another month after a prior delay in the face of coronavirus. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger already has put back Georgia’s originally scheduled March 24…
Read MoreSummerville Isolates Some Of The Contaminated Water
Summerville provides drinking water to its customers by pumping out of Raccoon Creek and Lowe Springs. The U.S. EPA tested both sources and found the creek contained two man-made chemicals. The spring, however, was clear of those contaminants. Since then, the city has worked to isolate portions of its water system and now the water…
Read MoreSummerville To Hold Special Meeting
The Summerville City Council will meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Summerville Recreation Center to discuss a myriad of topics, according to the official agenda. In new business it includes: (7) New Business a. Approve The City of Summerville, Second Declaration of a Local State of Emergency related to COVID-19 effective Tuesday, March 31…
Read MoreThree Confirmed Cases Of Covid-19 In Chattooga County
The number of coronavirus cases in Chattooga County has increased to three, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. The county stayed at one confirmed case for several days. Then during the 8 p.m. update on COVID-19, Chattooga’s numbers jumped. Also, Dade County had zero cases until today. During the 8 p.m. update, Dade’s…
Read MoreHouse Speaker urges primary delay in Georgia as secretary of state holds firm
By Beau Evans Staff Writer Capitol Beat News Service Georgia House Speaker David Ralston has doubled down on his request to delay the state’s primary elections by about a month due to concerns over coronavirus, after the state’s elections chief balked at that request last week. In a letter Sunday, Ralston reiterated his stance that…
Read MoreVirus Watch: Still Only One Case; Commissioner Extends Order
Salons, barbershops and other businesses that require physical contact between the provider and client is being asked to close, according to Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters. Commissioner Winters’ order extends the current state of emergency until April 24. Here are the changes according to Winters: 1.) Extends State of Emergency until April 24, 2020 at…
Read MoreCoronavirus vaccine clinical trials start at Emory in Atlanta
By Beau Evans Staff Writer Capitol Beat News Service Clinical trials to study a potential new vaccine for coronavirus began Friday morning at Emory University in Atlanta, the school announced. The study trials, which started earlier this month in Seattle, are the first phase of a process expected to take at least a year to…
Read MoreCoronavirus prompts Georgia school officials to drop final tests, other rules
By Beau Evans Staff Writer Capitol Beat News Service Georgia school officials took steps Thursday to scrap final exams and relax a wide range of other accountability rules for the state’s nearly two million public-school students who have been out of class since last week due to the impacts of coronavirus. The action Thursday came…
Read MoreRalston throws cold water on teacher pay raise, income tax cut, citing coronavirus
By Dave Williams Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA -Georgia House Speaker David Ralston cast serious doubts Friday that the state will be able to afford either a teacher pay raise or an income tax cut because of the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact. The $28.1 billion fiscal 2021 state budget the House passed this…
Read MoreVirus Watch: Cases in Georgia climb past 2,000
By Dave Williams Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – More than 2,000 Georgians have tested positive for coronavirus, the state Department of Public Health reported Friday. As of noon, there were 2,001 confirmed cases in Georgia and 64 deaths from the virus. Among those testing positive for COVID-29, 566 were hospitalized. Broken down…
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