Over at Georgia Health News, Andy Miller reports that yet another rural hospital is in dire straits – and has filed for bankruptcy:
Officials at Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe said Wednesday evening that the filing would allow it to continue operations, restructure debt, and help protect it from a Chattanooga system's effort to foreclose on the hospital's property.
Four rural Georgia hospitals have closed their doors in the last two years. Miller notes that last week’s bankruptcy declaration came a day before a meeting of Gov. Nathan Deal’s Rural Hospital Stabilization Committee at the Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center in Lavonia. That Lavonia hospital, Miller reports, will require Franklin County’s help to make its next bond payment.
The one topic that didn’t come up among committee members assigned the task of saving Georgia’s rural hospitals: Medicaid expansion.
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Just in case you haven't seen it, here's the much-talked-about opening skit from NBC's "Saturday Night Live:"
The Washington Post even did a quick fact-check on the skit.
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Following in the snow-covered footsteps of a certain Georgia colleague, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday blamed his state's lack of preparedness for the blizzard that buried parts of Buffalo on faulty forecasts by the National Weather Service.
And just as in Georgia, weather hounds pushed back. Hard. From the New York Post:
Forecasters predicted Monday that Erie County could receive 3 feet of snow — then doubled the amount in their forecast by Tuesday morning. They estimated 3-to-5 inches would fall per hour, for a total of 5-to-6 feet Tuesday — plus an additional fall of up-to-2 feet Wednesday night through Thursday.
But state officials only planned for 3 feet of snow from a briefing they received Monday and got a late start plowing out the region.… Buffalo weatherman Kevin O'Neill called the forecasters "brilliant."
"Shame on Cuomo for throwing @NWS under the plow. We don't tell you how to run a state. Don't tell us how to forecast," he thundered on Twitter.
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Former President Jimmy Carter spoke to MSNBC's Ronan Farrow on Friday in a wide-ranging interview that touched on, among other topics, the future of the Democratic Party. Let's just say he has high hopes for his grandson Jason Carter, who has made clear another run is on his radar.
"I would say I want the future Democrats to be represented perhaps by my grandson Jason Carter, who ran for governor unsuccessfully in Georgia," said the elder Carter.
Farrow then asked what advice he gave Carter before and after his defeat. Said the former president:
"Just tell the truth and get to know the people that you hope to represent as best you can, and he did quite well considering the Republican sweep of America. He's the kind of future Democrat that I hope will prevail."
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Another proxy fight to lead the Democratic Party could be in the works.
DuBose Porter, the long-time Georgia lawmaker who now leads the organization, announced last week he was seeking a full four-year term. So did Rockdale County Tax Commissioner R.J. Hadley.
But most Democratic insiders are closely watching to see whether Tharon Johnson, the former Obama strategists who now works for McKenna Long & Aldridge, hops in the race. Johnson is close to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who supported former state Sen. Doug Stoner's failed bid to lead the party last year.
Reed, not surprisingly, has made clear he is still no fan of Porter. And Johnson, a young and connected operative originally from Athens, could be his pick to mount a challenge.
Johnson told us he was considering a bid but hadn't made up his mind yet. In the meantime, though, he's been boosting his persona with appearances on WAGA-TV's "The Georgia Gang" and a more active Twitter presence.
Expect Porter's allies to rally to his side. Jason Carter, the party's gubernatorial nominee, told us he expected Porter to prevail.
Johnson will have to make up his mind soon. The vote is set for February.
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In Saturday's Marietta Daily Journal, former state lawmaker Roger Hines of Kennesaw says state Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Johns Creek, will introduce a bill to make the state school superintendent an appointed position. That would require a constitutional amendment. It's been tried at least twice before.
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Qualifying closed Friday on the special election for state House District 50, to replace Lynne Riley, R-Johns Creek, who Gov. Nathan Deal has appointed state revenue commissioner.
Your candidates:
-- Christine A. Austin, 44, a Libertarian and homemaker;
-- Bradford Jay Raffensperger, 59, a Republican and an engineer;
-- Royce M. Reinecke, 62, a Republican and retired engineer;
-- Kelly Leigh Stewart, 48, a self-employed Republican;
-- And Paul Troop, 72, a retired journalist and public relations executive. No party identification listed.
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Over the weekend, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, sent out these lines in remembrance of former D.C. mayor Marion Barry:
"Marion had been a leader and organizer of student protests before he even came to Nashville at Lemoyne Owens College in Memphis. In the spring of 1960 he was elected the first chairman of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee because he was smart, articulate, impressive, committed to the philosophy and discipline of non-violence, and a bit more experienced in leadership than those of us who were undergraduates.
"He had come to Nashville to study chemistry on the graduate level at Fisk. As chairman, he testified on behalf of the students and the movement before the Democratic and Republican conventions in 1960.
"Ultimately, he left the Deep South and moved to Washington where he became the face of progressive change. He transformed D.C. from a jurisdiction run by the federal government into a self-governing city and a mecca for black politicians, government administrators, businessmen and intellectuals. He used his influence and power to lay the foundation for the thriving, metropolitan community people flock to today.
"Marion Barry was always hopeful, always optimistic. He was committed to the cause of civil rights and social justice, and he was committed to the people of Washington, DC. He loved the people, and the people loved him. Marion Barry was a dynamic leader, a wonderful friend, and a strategic master who did all he could to serve the people of the District of Columbia. He will be deeply missed."
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