The clubs and bars lining the streets of downtown Athens may be in for a big change. Lawmakers in Athens-Clarke County are set to vote tonight to change alcohol ordinances to crack down on alleged racial and LGBT discrimination.
The Athens Banner-Herald reports that the resolution would give authorities leeway to suspend or revoke alcohol licenses to businesses that violate state or federal anti-discrimination laws. It was spurred by accusations in October that a downtown bar called General Beauregard's had a version of a margarita using a racial slur.
An anonymous online survey conducted by the University of Georgia's student government found several alleged instances.
For example, one survey respondent claimed a "bouncer kept out a group of African American women from a bar with the excuse that they were wearing crop tops — my friend and I (both of whom are white) were just let into the bar and we too were wearing crop tops," while another respondent claimed to have been "denied access because of my dress, and the bouncer said, 'We don't let fags in here.'"
Still another respondent wrote a white male bouncer at one downtown bar "saw us, a group of well dressed black girls, coming and started to look weird. He proceeded to check our IDs and then on the last person, he claimed to have a 'private party' happening."
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Civil rights legend and U.S. Rep. John Lewis has received his share of honors over the years, but he finds himself in unusually exclusive company this week: He will have a U.S. Navy ship named for him.
The U.S.N.S. John Lewis will be announced Wednesday in a Capitol Hill ceremony with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. Among civil rights movement veterans, there is a ship named for slain activist Medgar Evers, but that is all we could find.
The ship, a T-AO 205, will be the first in the next generation of fleet replacement oilers. An appropriate choice for a man devoted to nonviolence.
In other Lewis news, he tweeted about playing with his cats.
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Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is surging with the right kind of voter to dominate the South.
The latest NBC/SurveyMonkey poll found Trump leading the pack at 35 percent, ahead of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 18 percent and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 13 percent. The backbone of his support was solid backing from white evangelical voters - the bloc of voters that's the beating heart of GOP primaries in Georgia, South Carolina and most of the region.
The poll found one-third of white evangelicals picked Trump, with Cruz following at about 20 percent. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson held his own, with 12 percent of support in the bloc, and Rubio got about 10 percent. Voters who described themselves as "very conservative" are also most likely to back Trump and Cruz, who polled at 35 percent and 30 percent respectively.
With an inevitable showdown in the South between Trump and Cruz drawing near, evangelicals are set to play a decisive role.
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Supporters of "religious liberty" bills and efforts to subvert Planned Parenthood in Georgia are looking forward to the alignment of this year's session of the Legislature, which starts next Monday, and a Georgia presidential primary that may actually matter.
One of the population peaks is likely to be a Feb. 10 prayer rally featuring Franklin Graham, the evangelist who recently disassociated himself from the GOP because of that $1 trillion bipartisan spending bill pushed through by House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Franklin is expected to attract thousands to Liberty Plaza across from the state Capitol, organizers say. If you’re a Republican presidential candidate, that’s strong catnip.
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Details for Chelsea Clinton's noon visit on Jan. 14 to Atlanta on behalf of her mom can be found here. Hostess is Sue Hrib. Minimum buy-in is $500.
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After our story over the holidays about the immigration-related Senate stall for the nomination of Judge Dax Lopez to the federal bench, his Georgia Republican allies are turning up the public heat on Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue.
Wrote Ken Shigley, a past president of the State Bar of Georgia, and a Republican, on the Atlanta Injury Law Blog:
Judge Lopez is a good judge worthy of a promotion. As a conservative Republican and member of the Federalist Society, he was a surprising choice for the current administration. He would have seemed a more likely choice for a Cruz or Rubio administration if either of them were to win next November.
And GOP consultant and DeKalb County resident Mike Hassinger recently wrote on Peach Pundit:
If the Republican party has any future at all, it has to become better at persuading voters who aren't old, white and angry to vote for their candidates. Playing political games with the nomination of a respected judge, accomplished attorney and genuine conservative begins to look a lot like bigotry. And if conservativism is to survive as a movement, we will need elected officials to understand that cash and carry conservatives who gin up and then exploit issues for ratings, clicks and consulting fees aren't in it for the good of the party, the movement -or even the elected officials who would do their bidding.
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Al Thurman was sworn in as the first black mayor of Powder Springs on Monday night, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. Thurman was one of several African-Americans who picked up municipal offices in Cobb County for the first time last November.
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We've got a bid to strip marijuana from the list of drugs that win you a felony conviction. From Walter Jones of Morris News Service:
The freshman senator announced the proposal Monday, noting that 10 states already consider marijuana possession a minor crime.
"In no way would my bill legalize the possession or selling of narcotics," said Jones, who prosecuted misdemeanors in Augusta before his election to the Senate.
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A note from the There's-No-Bad-Situation-That-Can't-Be-Made-Worse Department, via the Washington Post:
"What I suggest is we get the black leadership together, and as these jurisdictions come into Jackson we throw rocks and bricks and bottles at them," Stokes, who is black, told Mississippi News
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