Courier Herald column for the week of September 3rd: Labor Day is that paradoxical holiday when we don’t work in order to celebrate working. Some work hard to get the job done.  Others seem to work harder at making things difficult for everyone but themselves. In Georgia state politics the elected official who has most committed himself to this path is State Senator Colton Moore, who is at least for now a member of the Republican caucus residing in Trenton Georgia.  In the last week or so Moore has advocated for defunding the office charged with prosecuting violent crime in the state ..read more

Courier Herald column for the week of August 27th: UGA vs Notre Dame – a 2019 rematch of the 1981 Sugar Bowl The weather says summer, but the calendar says fall.  We know this because the University of Georgia Bulldogs are ready to suit up between the hedges in Athens to defend their National Championship.  Or better said, Championships. Plural. In Georgia there are rules, which are often more clear, easier to understand, and followed more closely than the laws found in the official code.  One of them is that this season is to be revered, and that plans requiring compulsory atte ..read more

Courier Herald column for the week of August 21st: “The 2020 election was not stolen.”  This was the beginning of a tweet from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, in a direct rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s post-indictment screed railing about Georgia’s count of votes during the last presidential contest. The contrast between two statements are stark and meaningful.  Each says a lot about leadership and accountability. Governor Kemp began with that single sentence referenced above, set apart from the rest of his message.  It is clear, unambiguous, and unequivocal.  It’s ..read more

Courier Herald column for the week of August 13th: My friend and Athens radio host Tim Bryant asked a question on his show last week, which he then extended to his Facebook followers.  He wanted to know others opinion as to whether Athens Clarke County would become “more red” or neighboring Oconee County would become “more blue”.  He made it clear he wasn’t talking about either county flipping, as Clarke is a dark blue progressive oasis surrounded by a sea of deep rural Georgia red.  As he noted, neither county is likely to change its partisan identity in a vote for Governor in ..read more

Courier Herald column for the week of August 6th: The research firm Fitch Ratings downgraded the quality of the United States debt last week.  They’re arguably the lesser known of the three main agencies that assign letter grades to denote the likelihood a bond issuer will repay their debt.  A grade of AAA implies unimpeachable credit.  Fitch has now joined Standard and Poor’s, who determined the United States did not deserve a AAA rating back in 2011.  Rating Service Moody’s maintains the highest rating for US Treasuries.  What does this mean, in practical terms?  ..read more

Courier Herald column for the week of July 31st: Even though temperatures are in the high 90’s and the calendar unambiguously says that we’re in the middle of summer, most Georgia schools are beginning their fall semester.  With the summer break over, most adults return to or refocus on work.  This is also true for many of our state senators and representatives. The legislative calendar has some official dates, focused on beginning a legislative session in January and continuing for 40 business days.  This part of their “part-time” job that receives most of our focus, tends to e ..read more

Courier Herald column for the week of June 25th: When you want to explain something to someone, you tell them a relatable story. When you want to prove something to someone, you show them the numbers to back it up.  In the world in which I live, which is a cross section of journalism, public relations, and public policy, the difference between these two concepts is generally referred to as “anecdote versus data”.  Today I’m going to try to illustrate that the two aren’t opposing concepts, but are in fact complementary in understanding the issues of the day.  And yet, are still l ..read more

The press release below was issued by Josh McKoon, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, in response to Rep. Mesha Mainor’s decision to switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Mainor was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2020 and currently represents House District 56. UNEDITED PRESS RELEASE Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon welcomes, Representative Mesha Mainor of Atlanta, to the Republican Party following an announcement from the state house this morning. Mainor, who represents a heavily democratic district, said her decision to join the G ..read more

Courier Herald column for week of June 18th This story got my attention, as many news stories shared via social media are designed to do.  The headline was intriguing.  Some would call it click-bait, but if it works, it works. “Police say a man and his friends ran up a $100 tab, but he left his phone behind and got arrested for murder.”  Ok, I read that tweet and I was intrigued.  The headline on the accompanying story from Atlanta’s WSB TV indicated that the man had “dined and dashed” at a local seafood restaurant and ended up facing murder charges.  To quote Will Far ..read more

Courier Herald column for week of June 11th Last month officials announced federal approval for Georgia’s third “inland port” in Gainesville.  It is a major train to truck intermodal station designed to get containerized freight quickly and directly to and from the Port of Savannah utilizing an express rail network. In addition to making it quicker to deliver freight, a major goal of the growing inland port network is to remove trucks from Georgia’s freeways.  The Gainesville Port and the operational inland port in Murray County near Chatsworth in Northwest Georgia have the specific ..read more