Gonzalez disputes need for new local immigration policy
Newly elected state Rep. Deborah Gonzalez of Athens participated in a community rally Friday opposing Clarke County Sheriff Ira Edwards' new policy allowing unauthorized immigrants to be held 48 hours past the normal release time to give Immigration Customs Enforcement time to detain them for deportation. The Red & Black, the University of Georgia's student newspaper, quotes Gonzalez as saying she's researched the issue and spoken with the sheriff, police chief, attorneys and legislative council to determine whether there's legal justification for the policy. "We don't believe, after all of that, that there is," Gonzalez said.
N.C. redistricting plan employs familiar law professor
A Stanford law professor who helped draw Georgia's political district lines in 2004 now will have a say in redistricting for the state House and Senate of North Carolina, a panel of federal judges ruled late last week. The judges want new districts drawn by professor Nathaniel Persily to be used by North Carolina in its 2018 elections. The ruling has an impact on districts in eight of the state's counties. The judges' ruling is expected to be appealed by state Republicans, The Charlotte News & Observer reported.
Port of Savannah draws attention in California
The success of the Port of Savannah is making headlines in newspapers in California. The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday carried an Associated Press story on the port's recent milestone. In 2017, the port loaded and unloaded 4 million shipping containers. Only three other ports — the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach, Calif., and the Port of New York and New Jersey handled more containers. L.A.'s port handled 9.3 million containers last year, while the other two handled 6.8 million and 6.1 million, respectively, in the first 11 months of 2017, according to the report.
Governors' opinions sought on drilling plan
The Washington Post reports that Georgia Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is one of the few governors not voicing opposition to the Trump administration's plan to open 90 percent of the outer continental shelf to oil drilling. But the governor's office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this month that he had raised concerns about the drilling plan and he intended to discuss them with the state's congressional delegation. Other governors, including Rhode Island's Gina Raimondo, Massachusetts' Charlie Baker and New Hampshire's Chris Sununu, have all called on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to exempt them from the Trump administration's plan — as he recently did for Florida.
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