Q: Who does the redistricting for county commission, city council, school board etc., seats?
— Robert Nader, Sandy Springs
A: Local jurisdictions produce proposed maps and then the local legislative delegation votes on them at the Capitol. Each jurisdiction's map is submitted as a separate bill, e.g., there is a bill for Fulton County Commission and another for Fulton County school board. The votes are happening during this special legislative session. The maps have to be pre-cleared by the Justice Department.
Q: Recently, President Obama approved tapping of the Strategic Oil Reserve in response to increasing oil prices, due to instability in the Middle East. How much of our reserves were used?
— Randy Cook, Marietta
A: Nearly 30 million barrels of crude oil was used from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve's 727 million barrels in late June. It was nearly half of the total of 60 million barrels released by nations in the International Energy Agency, a move that was to "drive down high crude prices and revive the flagging economic recovery in the world's most industrialized countries," the Los Angeles Times reported. The release was to be spread over 30 days, according to MSNBC.com. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was created after the 1973-74 oil embargo, is the largest stockpile of government owned emergency crude oil in the world, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's website.
Lori Johnston wrote this column; Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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