MLK statue bill gets final approval

Legislation to allow a privately funded statue of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Capitol grounds is on its way to Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk.

House Bill 1080 received final approval in the House on Tuesday by a vote of 171-2. Rep. Charles Gregory, R-Kennesaw, and Rep. Sam Moore, R-Macedonia, were the lone votes against it.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus,would create a special committee to plan the monument and to approve the design.

The Legislature earlier gave final approval to HB 702, which would allow a Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol.

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Aaron Gould Sheinin

Crowded field vies for metro Senate seat in Nov. 18 special election

Six candidates are vying to complete the Senate term being vacated by former state Sen. Jason Esteves. The special election is Nov. 18.

Georgia Democrats decry House vote to reopen federal government

The U.S. House has signed off on a funding bill that will end the government shutdown but all Georgia Democrats were opposed.

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UGA to pay $100K H-1B visa fee only ‘in exceptional circumstances’

The University of Georgia could soon limit the number of foreign workers it employs, a result of the $100,000 fee imposed on some H-1B visas.

Georgia judges deal blow to ICE’s new mandatory detention policy

The ruling is a first-of-its-kind to come out of Georgia’s Middle District.

At the Cobb jail, a new kind of rehabilitation starts at the horse barn

Joshua Arp is one of two Cobb County jail detainees taking part of the sheriff’s office new equine therapy program meant to help him stay out of jail.