PolitiFact Georgia last week took a break from the weighty issues of guns, ethics and government spending, recent fodder for the AJC Truth-O-Meter.
We instead checked out a claim about chicken, Georgia’s most popular poultry, and whether the birds were carrying harmful bacteria. We researched a statement about the number of daily marijuana arrests in the state. And we returned to the proposed new Atlanta Falcons football stadium to review a claim about the longevity of other city stadiums.
Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below. Full versions can be found at: www.politifact.com/georgia/. The website also features ongoing fact checks of claims made by state lawmakers during the legislative session, and a roundup of checks on same-sex marriage.
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James Bell: Every day, “about 100 people will be arrested for possession of marijuana in Georgia.”
Bell, a marijuana legalization advocate, made this claim earlier this month during Cannabis Awareness Day at the state Capitol.
Bell’s claim is based on FBI crime report arrest data. Using that data from the years 2008 through 2010, an average of about 28,000 possession arrests were recorded in Georgia each year. Dividing the average annual possession arrests by 365 days results in about 76.7 marijuana possession arrests each day.
Bell uses that arrest data to estimate the number of people arrested for the violation. But the FBI clearly states this type of estimation that Bell claims is not reflected in the agency’s numbers. Individuals can be arrested multiple times for the same infraction, so the FBI’s arrest data indicates the number of arrests — not the number of people arrested — for any particular infraction.
Bell was close on the number of arrests, but used the data in a different way than it was originally collected and presented.
We rated Bell’s claim Mostly False.
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Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: “[A] 2009 USDA study found that 87 percent of chicken carcasses tested positive for generic E. coli … just prior to packaging.”
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, as part of a campaign to reduce fecal contamination in the nation’s food supply, made this claim in a letter earlier this month sent to U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop. Bishop, a Democrat from southwest Georgia, is co-chairman of the Congressional Chicken Caucus.
The organization’s claim is based on accurate data. But we believe there’s substantial context missing. Experts say the amount of E. coli in chicken per gram has declined in recent years, a major improvement in food safety.
Also, the USDA study cited by the committee represents a very small sample of the billions of chicken processed each year in the U.S. It’s difficult to draw broad conclusions from such a small sample.
We rated the group’s claim Half True.
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Atlanta City Councilwoman Cleta Winslow: “In this city, there hasn’t been a stadium that’s lasted more than 27 years.”
Winslow made this claim during a City Council meeting earlier this month in which she voted in favor of the financial framework for a new Atlanta Falcons football stadium. The measure passed 11 to 4.
Some critics of the proposed $1 billion stadium in downtown Atlanta have questioned the need for a new stadium when the existing Georgia Dome is still operable. The Georgia Dome, opened in 1992, may seem spry to some, but in stadium years, it’s pretty old, Winslow argued.
Winslow’s claim referred to sports facilities used by professional teams. Our research found that most pro football stadiums are younger than the Georgia Dome.
In Atlanta, Winslow was correct on the Omni Coliseum, built in 1972 and former home of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and former Atlanta Flames hockey team. The Omni lasted 25 years. But Winslow was off by five years when you consider Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, former home of the Atlanta Braves, which opened in 1965 and lasted 32 years.
We rated Winslow’s claim Half True.
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