She calls attacks on law enforcement ‘attempted diversion from real matter’
Teresa Tomlinson, the mayor and public safety director in Columbus, is speaking out in The Daily Beast about what she sees as suggestions from what she called gun extremists that law enforcement is to blame for the Parkland, Fla., school shooting. "I take particular offense at this attempted diversion from the real matter at hand," Tomlinson said. She said Columbus, like most cities across the country, has seen declining crime rates for many years. But its murder rate has gone up, with 35 in 2017 and 34 of those from gun violence. "But in the face of this, what do our (National Rifle Association-backed) elected officials do despite such trends? They continue to do the NRA's bidding," she said. She cites, among other laws, a 2012 state Senate measure requiring law enforcement agencies to return to the streets all unclaimed confiscated weapons. Then-Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said that putting those weapons back on the market would be "catastrophic" to community safety, Tomlinson said.
Georgia resident says state Department of Revenue quashed his entrepreneurial spirit
Ozy.com cites an entrepreneur's experience with the Georgia Department of Revenue in a story about a battle being waged over the future economics of conservatism. The website reports that Michael Gerard, a native of Austria who has lived in Georgia for 25 years, had patented a potentially industry-changing process he says would age whiskey the equivalent of six to eight years in 24 hours. He said his company, Spirits of the USA, had received local and federal business licenses but ran into trouble with the state due to its "three-tier" alcohol laws. He said he was told he couldn't own a distillery because his wife owns a bar in Atlanta. Even his wife's promise to sign an affidavit promising not to buy any of his products was rejected, ozy.com reported. It asks the questions: In what way will the GOP be pro-business? And can campaign rhetoric match up with governing reality? A representative for the Revenue Department confirmed that Gerard had met with top state officials but declined to discuss specifics.
Bibb County could look at utility pole cameras for crime prevention
At least one member of the Macon-Bibb County Commission believes strategically placed cameras could curtail some of the county's most frequent crimes. County Commissioner Virgil Watkins said the cameras could be placed on utility poles and help with crime prevention as well as crime solving. Macon.com reports that Watkins would raise the county's hotel-motel tax to fund the cameras. No action has been taken on Watkins' proposal, but Sheriff David Davis says he finds the idea intriguing. "I've long hoped we could get something like this in different parts of the community like downtown or some of the high crime areas," Davis said.
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