MyAJC.com provides in-depth coverage of the top stories affecting metro Atlantans. Here are three highlights from this past week that you might have missed. Get more details on myAJC.com by clicking on the links below.
Reverberations from school shooting: Georgia students and parents reflected the shock and worry that families across the nation were feeling after Wednesday's shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school that left 17 dead. Georgia law requires that every public school prepare a school safety plan. Some metro Atlanta parents putting kids in school for the first time get a bitter dose of that grown-up reality when their children, with ages in the single digits, come home talking about shooter drills of ducking, covering and escaping in case of an armed person. Across metro Atlanta, the Florida shooting had school officials reassessing readiness — plans vary by district and school and can be inconsistently applied.
Metro Atlanta students shaken | "It's scary every day."
A miracle she's alive | Shooting survivor has Marietta ties
Making a statement | Decatur woman organizing school walkouts to protest gun violence
Watch the video below for AJC editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich’s touching take on the tragedy:
The governor's agenda part 1: This session of the General Assembly will be the last one for the administration of Gov. Nathan Deal. After two terms in office, Deal's legacy will be felt in the state, but the governor has some final proposals before lawmakers. Georgia — and many other states — would receive a revenue windfall because the new federal tax law limits or eliminates some of the deductions Georgians have used when figuring their state taxes in the past and makes it far more likely that ratepayers will use the standard federal deduction, rather than lowering their state taxable income using itemized deductions. So while many Georgians may pay less in federal taxes, at least some could wind up with bigger state tax bills unless lawmakers make some changes in the tax code. However, Deal's plan to reduce the revenue windfall the state will receive from federal tax changes approved by Congress in December is getting a frosty reception from legislators.
The future of taxes | What to do with the expected windfall
Behind the debate | What it means for taxpayers and state coffers
The governor's agenda part 2: While his tax proposal faces critics, Gov. Nathan Deal's final piece of criminal justice reform is coming under fire. Speaking of fire, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills compared Georgia's leader to Lucifer in the wake of the latest idea, which would give judges more leeway to forgo cash bail for poor defendants accused of low-level offenses and would give law enforcement officials flexibility to issue citations instead of criminal charges for some traffic-related offenses and other violations. While Sills urged his fellow law enforcement officers to speak up, legislators made their opinions known against Sills' demonizing of Deal.
Heating up the Gold Dome | Law enforcers vs. lawmakers
'Criminal element has been coddled' | 'Lucifer and his demons' comments
Taking aim at cash bail | Criminal justice overhaul
