Political Notes – Lawmakers will scrutinize new planning director

A legislative committee is appointed to hold confirmation hearings on the appointment of Toby Carr as the DOT's new planning director . . .

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Tags: Athens plant , Caterpillar , DOT planning director , Ed Rynders , House Transportation Committee , Jay Roberts , Mitt Romney , Nathan Deal , Toby Carr , Todd Long

Callaway Gardens is latest resort area pushed into financial distress

The owners of Callaway Gardens, trying to deal with dropping visitor numbers and related financial problems, will try to sell 4,000 acres of the Pine Mountain resort area . . .

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Tags: Callaway Gardens , Edward Callaway , Ida Cason Callaway Foundation , Mercer Reynolds , Reynolds Plantation , Sea Island

GOP will put ethics question on July 31 primary ballot

Republican primary voters will have their say on the issue of limiting what lobbyists can spend on legislators . . .

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Tags: David Ralston , ethics reform , Josh McKoon , lobbyist limitations , Republican primary ballot

Political Notes – Cagle, a longtime opponent of tax increases, now backs a tax increase

The T-SPLOST referendum has even turned Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle into a politician who supports tax hikes . . .

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Tags: Casey Cagle , FDIC , Lynn Westmoreland , payday lending , Sam Olens , structured transactions , T-SPLOST , transportation sales tax

Balfour is hit with another ethics complaint

Another complaint alleging filing irregularities for state expense reimbursements is made against Sen. Don Balfour, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee . . .

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Tags: Debbie Dooley , Don Balfour , ethics complaint , expense reimbursements , lobbyists expenditures , Tea Party Patriots

On the campaign trail: PSC’s Wise now has opposition

Both of the incumbents on the Public Service Commission running for reelection this year, Stan Wise and Chuck Eaton, will have opposition . . .

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Tags: 12th Congressional District , 9th Congressional District , Carrie Deal Wilder , Chuck Eaton , Denise Deal , Doug Collins , John Barrow , Martha Zoller , Mickey Stephens , Nathan Deal , Pam Davidson , PSC , Rick Allen , Stan Wise , Steve Oppenheimer , Wright McLeod

GOP converges upon Columbus to discuss delegates, ethics

Georgia Republicans travel to the River City of Columbus for their annual state convention, with ethics and Ron Paul expected to dominate the discussion . . .

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Tags: David Ralston , Don Balfour , ethics reform , Georgia Republican Party , national delegates , Ron Paul , state convention

Political Notes – Moving toward a ‘minority-majority’ population

Census estimates show that the U.S. may be at a tipping point as it continues to move toward the day when non-white minority groups comprise a majority of the population . . .

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Tags: alternative fuel , Army Corps of Engineers , Census Bureau , demographic trends , Drought , Georgia Ports , minority growth , PSC

Northwest Corridor project’s a go – but it will take a while

The State Transportation Board and the DOT are moving ahead with the Northwest Corridor toll lane project, which will take some time to complete . . .

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Tags: Brandon Beach , DOT , Northwest Corridor , State Transportation Board

Georgia’s jobless rate drops below 9 percent

The state's unemployment rate has now declined for nine months in a row, although it is still significantly higher than the national jobless rate . . .

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Tags: Labor Department , Mark Butler , new jobs , unemployment rate