In metro Atlanta, Republicans and Democrats alike have praised MARTA general manager Keith Parker, in part for putting the transit agency in the black.
But then there’s the contrast he provides with his predecessor, Beverly Scott, who this week was named by President Barack Obama to the National Transportation Safety Board – after an apparently unsatisfactory run in New England.
Scott left the T on April 11, but announced her resignation Feb. 11 under mounting public criticism as a string of snowstorms paralyzed the transit system.
Herald reports have revealed that Scott traveled across the country at taxpayer expense nearly every month during her two-plus-year tenure — sometimes several times a month — to conferences and meetings. She spent a total of 106 days traveling out of state during her tenure, taking 30 trips in 24 months, racking up $56,753 in expenses on lodging, airplane tickets and dining tabs, including at least $1,132 on hotel laundry and dry-cleaning bills.
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Given that next week's RedState Gathering in Atlanta will feature 10 GOP presidential candidates, it's worth noting the emphasis that RedState editor-in-chief Erick Erickson has placed on those Planned Parenthood videos. His morning post includes this:
If Republicans are not willing to make this their hill to die on and even see the government shutdown to stop this, the Republican Party needs to be shut down.
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The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP, which sparked controversy when it called for the erasure of Confederate figures on Stone Mountain, is holding a press conference Friday to demand the "removal of all symbols of the Confederacy" on all Georgia buildings and parks.
The group's president, Richard Rose, said the press conference was organized after Gov. Nathan Deal's office canceled the meeting he requested for Friday. He will outline the next steps the group will take to protest Confederate memorials enshrined in law, including the monolithic mountain.
Deal's office disputes Rose's use of the word "canceled." The governor's soon-to-depart chief spokesman, Brian Robinson, says "you can't cancel a meeting you didn't schedule." Said Robinson:
"They sent in a meeting request form -- which is the right way to do it -- and we had to decline. The governor won't be available tomorrow. I'm afraid the word choice is intentionally misleading and charged. That's not helpful."
In any event, Rose said his group is set on a three-pronged strategy to press its goals: "Rallies, boycotts, legislation."
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An early window into potential push-back against the nomination of DeKalb County state Judge Dax López -- who would be Georgia's first Hispanic lifetime-appointed federal judge -- comes via activist D.A. King, who advocates for tougher immigration laws and enforcement.
López's offense, to King, is serving on the board of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.
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This weekend's gathering of the Young Republican National Federation in Chicago features an election for chairman, and it seems as if the Georgia candidate may be stirring the pot. From Buzzfeed:
In a letter sent last Friday to YRNF chairman Jason Weingartner, candidate Meagan Hanson's attorney (and husband) alleged that the YRNF was unlawfully withholding the list of delegates' names and phone numbers, citing a D.C. law that requires nonprofits to provide for the inspection of such a list….
"It is simply impossible for a fair, unbiased, open election to be held when one slate of candidates is systematically denied access to the names and contact information of all individuals who are qualified to vote in that election," the letter reads.
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Because it's Friday, at left is a picture of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, cuddling a puppy. Lewis uploaded several photos to Facebook after an ASPCA event on Capitol Hill. All together, now: Awww!
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Brian Barrett, who ran the coordinated Republican campaign in Georgia last year, is heading to Florida to do the same for 2016, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
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Georgia's back-to-school sales tax holiday returns Friday and Saturday, promising savings on tax-exempt items like clothing, computers, school supplies and software.
But don't be surprised if adult stores get an uptick in business, too. Why? The sales tax holiday also covers a more provocative set of items, including lingerie, corsets and garter belts. You can find the whole list right here.
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