http://www.ajc.com The latest headlines from AJC en-us Copyright 2008, Cox Newspapers Inc., AJC Sun, 6 Jul 2008 20:40:13 EDT Newspapers COXnet RSS Generator v1.0 http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/17/52/image_1352178.jpg http://www.ajc.com 5 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/1005/101005.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/1005/101005.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sun, 9 Oct 2005 19:23:24 EDT You had to pardon the giddiness that flowed from Lauren Weathers' phone call. She's with the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and had just uncovered evidence that Republicans aren't in lockstep when it comes to making her state a barren wasteland for illegal aliens, undocumented workers — whatever the pleasure of your parlance. Weathers and others were on a conference call with U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss when he was asked about the bill proposed by state Senate president pro tem Eric Johnson and Sen. Chip Rogers of Woodstock. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0905/090505.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0905/090505.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sun, 4 Sep 2005 22:01:55 EDT As troops finally, finally, finally rolled into New Orleans, African-Americans let loose the suspicions lodged in their throats since Katrina roared ashore. Washington would have moved more swiftly if the faces on rooftops had been white. "Prove me wrong," said U.S. Rep. David Scott of Atlanta. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0705/071105.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0705/071105.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sun, 10 Jul 2005 21:05:36 EDT Hardly a news release was issued Friday that didn't shatter vinyl. All sorts of records were broken, say the politicians who filed their campaign disclosures just as the weekend began. Most candidates were eager to share their final tallies but were less eager to say where the money came from. That will take a few days to sort out. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/062705.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/062705.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sun, 26 Jun 2005 23:44:54 EDT Sen. Regina Thomas (D-Savannah) is known for her stylish hats and a habit of speaking her mind on subjects ranging from PeachCare to natural gas rates. She won't be chairing the State Institutions and Property Committee any longer — and it's not because of her hats. Thomas, one of three Democrats who were chairs this year in the Republican-majority Senate, said she had expected to be bumped. She said her fellow Savannahan, Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson, sat her down for a talk after this year's session. "He told me I was the only [one] of the three Democratic chairs who would get up in the well and just rant and rave. He wanted to know whether or not I could change, and I told him no," Thomas said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/062005.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/062005.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sun, 19 Jun 2005 19:50:55 EDT To that recurrent question — how much have things changed at the Capitol? — here's another eyebrow-raising answer. Former U.S. attorney Rick Thompson has been hired as a lobbyist for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. While he was the attorney for the state's Southern District, Thompson was involved in several high-profile investigations of prominent Democrats. An internal Justice Department investigation found that Thompson abused his authority by threatening to launch an investigation of Gov. Roy Barnes and state Sen. Van Streat during their 2002 re-election campaigns. Thompson also launched the investigation of Sen. Charles Walker (D-Augusta), which led to his conviction earlier this month. Walker attempted to have the case dropped because of Thompson?s involvement but was rebuffed. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/061305.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/061305.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 13 Jun 2005 04:08:15 EDT When Zell Miller gave his good riddance to the U.S. Senate and came home, he vowed to remain a Democrat, even if he was the party's black sheep. It hasn't exactly worked out that way. For one thing, Miller's been so busy with his book tour and other activities, it's questionable whether you can say he's really come home. And while he's been sighted at one Democratic fund-raiser this year — for U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska — most of his social outings have leaned decidedly Republican. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/060205.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0605/060205.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 2 Jun 2005 01:55:32 EDT You wouldn't expect Howard Dean to come to town without something to say about Ralph Reed's recent problems, now would you? "I'm disappointed. He seems to be mixed up with the corrupt Washington lobbying crowd," said Dean, who spoke to us before arriving in Atlanta for a "low dollar" party fund-raiser Thursday afternoon. The new Democratic national chairman said Reed's involvement with casino-operating Indian tribes puts him in an odd position for a former head of the Christian Coalition. Dean noted that while he isn't a card-carrying Christian Coalition member himself, he is "firmly anti-casino" and opposed casinos as governor of Vermont. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/052305.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/052305.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sun, 22 May 2005 20:16:34 EDT For the elephants, it was the social event of the season, and everybody short of Babar was there. Nick Ayres, Gov. Sonny Perdue's 22-year-old campaign manager, tied the knot in Perry on Saturday with Jamie Floyd, 23, Perdue's first cousin. Dan McLagan, Perdue's director of communications, was best man, and the aisles were filled with prominent Republicans, including the governor and his wife; state Chairman Alex Poitevint; and Fulton County Commission Chairwoman Karen Handel, whose last campaign was also managed by Ayres. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/051605.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/051605.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 16 May 2005 11:36:50 EDT If we had to pick a race to illustrate the rising ambitions of Georgia Republicans, it would be one that hasn't attracted much attention in a long, long time: the agriculture commissioner's race. Democratic Commissioner Tommy Irvin has set a record for durability in statewide office that may not be equaled in this century. When he took office in 1969, state Sen. Brian Kemp, who announced last week he would seek the Republican nomination for the office, was 6 years old. Irvin has drawn Republican opponents in the past, but there hasn't been this much interest, this early, in challenging him. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/051005.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/051005.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 9 May 2005 20:30:14 EDT The Democrat who served longest in Georgia's No. 2 spot has lined up behind Republican Ralph Reed in the '06 race for lieutenant governor. Former U.S. senator Zell Miller, who served 16 years as lieutenant governor, has also written Reed a hefty check, we're told. On Monday, the Reed campaign announced that Miller and his Fox News sidekick Sean Hannity would appear at a June 17 fund-raiser in Cobb County. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/050305.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/050305.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 2 May 2005 22:31:19 EDT The naive might have supposed this to be an event looking for a reason to exist. On Monday, Ralph Reed issued a list of 473 citizens who will populate the steering committee of his Republican campaign for lieutenant governor. A hundred or so of them showed up at the state Capitol to bolster Reed's claim, and to promote an air of inevitability around a race that's still 14 months and at least one U.S. Senate hearing away. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/050205.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0505/050205.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sun, 1 May 2005 19:35:54 EDT http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0405/042505.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0405/042505.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 25 Apr 2005 01:26:26 EDT One of her goals as Fulton County Commission chair, Karen Handel told a group of Republicans Saturday morning, has been not to get in the AJC's Vent column. But after what she called "a rough week," a Venter inquired Friday, tongue in cheek, where to send her a sympathy card. Of late, Handel has sparred with Sheriff Myron Freeman over courthouse security and parted with the Fulco Commission over taking legal action to block the Sandy Springs referendum, an action she called "nothing more than a stalling tactic." Looking longer-term, the chain reaction sparked by the Sandy Springs referendum puts her in the interesting position of a political Cheshire cat, presiding over the disappearance of her domain – with a smile. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0405/041805.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0405/041805.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 18 Apr 2005 02:18:13 EDT We haven't heard much lately about the state's first inspector general, James E. Sehorn, but we do know that for the fiscal year that ended last June he was paid $105,000 in salary and charged travel expenses of $3,488.68. This isn't breaking news — as the saying goes, but you can look it up. What's noteworthy is that with a palm-sized mini disc available at the Department of Audits and Accounts, any troublemaker — that is, public watchdog — can look it up in a fraction of the time it used to take. Information once housed in several bound volumes is now available on something that fits inside your palm. So, with a few keystrokes, we learn that in fiscal 2004, University of Georgia President Michael Adams charged $14,250 in travel expenses, outdistancing Georgia Tech's Wayne Clough ($13,724.91) and Georgia State's Carl Patton ($8,499.70). http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0405/041505.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/insider/0405/041505.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 14 Apr 2005 18:46:49 EDT Gov. Sonny Perdue snuck out of Atlanta this week to address students at Liberty University, the Lynchburg, Va., institution founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. The Wednesday event wasn't on Perdue's public schedule — aides said the governor's speech to a student body of 10,000 was a personal matter. He was ferried to the event via Liberty U.'s private plane. Nonetheless, Perdue's remarks about his relationship with God were recorded by the Lynchburg News & Advance. "You will never be successful, if you're a child of God, unless you take him with you. Don't forget God. Don't forget the joys of following him," Perdue said. The governor was introduced by Falwell himself, who was released from the hospital last week after suffering difficulties breathing. "There are thousands of young Sonny Perdues in the audience," Falwell said during a concluding prayer. The newspaper declined to elaborate, but we have no evidence that the preacher intended the information as a warning.