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David Poythress to Announce for Governor on Monday
David Poythress is expected to announce on Monday that he will be a candidate for Governor of Georgia in the 2010 election. Poythress is scheduled to speak before the Annual Clonference of the Peace Officers Association of Georgia at Jekyll Island on Monday, August 25.
Poythress, a Democrat, formerly served as Secretary of State of Georgia, Commissioner of Labor, and most recently as Adjutant General – the commander of the Georgia National Guard. Poythress, who is generally credited with transforming the Georgia National Guard into one of the top rated military organizations in the country, was first appointed by Governor Roy Barnes, a Democrat, and reappointed by Governor Sonny Perdue, a Republican. In 2006, Perdue promoted Poythress to Lieutenant General, making him the first three-star general in the history of the Georgia National Guard.
Poythress and his wife Elizabeth have three grown children and eight grandchildren. The General is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the USA. The Poythress’s are members of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta.
North Carolina Attorney General Welcomed to Georgia
Roy Cooper, right, Attorney General of the State of North Carolina, was welcomed to a luncheon in his honor at noon Thursday at the 191 Club in Atlanta by Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, left. . Cooper, who is currently running for re-election, is scheduled to be chairman of the National Attorney General Association. (Georgia Beat Photo>)
Posted August 14, 2008
Governor
Sonny Perdue Announces
“The Forestry
Commission has the critical job of protecting and managing one of
Farris has served as
Interim Director of the Georgia Forestry Commission since December 2006.
Farris oversees the state agency’s leadership, service, and education of
“
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Posted July 1, 2008
Governor
Perdue Announces Judicial Appointment
“The residents of the
Alapaha Judicial Circuit have suffered, knowingly and unknowingly, through what
appears to have been gross abuses of judicial power. I am troubled by the
numerous federal indictments and other allegations coming from the Circuit, and
I am further concerned that it took a Judicial Qualification Commission
investigation and federal law enforcement efforts to out the alleged
wrongdoing,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “Judges wield awesome power.
Consequently, it is understandable that some may fear reprisal and retaliation
for standing up to members of the bench. Times like these, however,
highlight the duty of members of the bar and, perhaps more appropriately the
judiciary, to demand that their peers on either side of the bench never betray
the public’s trust. In choosing Howard McClaine, it was very important to
me that he publicly planned to offer himself as a candidate against the
incumbent judge in November. I believe this appointment is a step in the
right direction for the Circuit; Mr. McClaine has the trust of the community
and the integrity to institute the necessary, culture-changing reforms. I
am proud to appoint him as Superior Court Judge, and I trust that he will
exercise the judicial integrity the community deserves.”
A brief biography is
provided below:
Howard E. McClaine, 63, Adel –
McClaine serves as the attorney for the Cook County Board of Education, City of
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Posted June 20, 2008
David
Poythress Plans Governor’s
Race
One of Georgia’s best known political leaders is making it known he plans to run for governor in the next election. David Poythress, a Democrat, who has been Secretary of State, State Labor Commissioner and Adjutant General has recently been talking politics with a large number of Georgia friends told Georgia Beat this week, "This is something I am prepared for and ready to do."
A Major General in the Georgia National Guard, Poythress has enjoyed a distinguished career that includes military service, public service and private law practice. He is currently working in the banking industry with American United Bank in Lawrenceville.
General Poythress, a native of Macon, served four years on active duty with the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate officer, including one year as Chief of Military Justice at DaNang Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam. As Adjutant General, he traveled to Iraq to meet with Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team.
General Poythress and his wife, Elizabeth, have three grown children and three grandchildren. He is a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the USO. He has served on the board of directors of Wesley Homes and the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women, and also served two terms as Chairman of the Board of the State YMCA of Georgia
Posted June 17, 2008
Governor Perdue
Announces over $7 million in OneGeorgia Awards
STATESBORO, Ga –
Governor Perdue and members of the OneGeorgia Authority Board met today at
“The investments we
are making today will assist with a variety of economic developments and pay
dividends by retaining and creating jobs, stimulating private investment and
enhancing regional competitiveness,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “The
OneGeorgia Authority is a valuable resource for rural
The Equity Fund is
designed to assist communities and regions in building the necessary infrastructure
to support economic development. The program’s flexibility also provides
financial assistance to enhance publicly-owned tourism initiatives, workforce
development opportunities and downtown revitalization projects. In addition,
loan funds are available through the Equity Revolving Loan Fund to assist small
business owners with business growth and expansion opportunities.
Ten Equity awards
totaling over $5.2 million were made today. These awards include:
§ Road and rail
construction to assist
§ Equity Grant
Award: $500,000 / Total Project Cost: $5,248,245
§ Create 50 new
jobs in two years
§ Construction of
12,600 linear foot railroad passing siding alongside the 182-mile Norfolk
Southern (NS)
§ Equity Loan
Award: $1,000,000 / Total Project Cost: $4,198,634
§ Water
infrastructure improvements and rail construction to serve Plastic Tubing
Industries
§ Equity Grant
Award: $500,000 / Total Project Cost: $4,897,193
§ Create 24 new
jobs in two years
§ Building
renovation of the Greensboro Gymnasium into a
§ Equity Grant
Award: $500,000 / Total Project Cost: $3,126,939
§ Acquisition of a 41,800
square foot packing facility, office building and 17 acres of farm land in
Claxton/Evans County for the expansion of BFG Produce, LLC.
§ Equity Loan
Award: $300,000 / Total Project Cost: $1,050,000
§ Create 20 new
jobs in two years
§ Acquisition of
174 acres for a new industrial park in
§ Equity Grant
Award: $500,000 / Total Project Cost: $3,178,714
§ Create fifteen
new jobs
Development Authority of
§ Construction of a
4-lane divided median entrance road that will extend 5,000 linear feet into the
new Georgia Regional Industrial Park – a 962-acre industrial park in the southern
tip of Jones County.
§ Equity Grant
Award: $500,000 / Total Project Cost: $3,970,458
City of
§ Construction of
two ten-unit aircraft t-hangars at the Dalton Municipal Airport in Whitfield
County in order to comply with FAA safety regulations.
§ Equity Loan
Award: $472,010 / Total Project Cost: $1,155,860
§ Street, water and
sewer improvements to serve a 400-acre addition to the
§ Equity Grant
Award: $500,000 / Total Project Cost: $2,299,000
§ Construction of a
rail spur off the
§ Equity Grant
Award: $500,000 / Total Project Cost: $11,106,913
§ Retain 134 jobs;
Create 45 new jobs in two years
Company officials and
local leaders associated with the most recent EDGE awards were recognized at
today’s meeting. The five EDGE awards, totaling $1,350,000, are leveraged
against more than $88 million in total project costs and are projected to
create over 445 jobs within the next three years.
The EDGE recipients
include:
Douglas-Coffee County Industrial
Authority / Premium Waters, Inc.
§ Building
acquisition for the location of Premium Waters, Inc. (PWI), a bottled
water production facility. PWI will locate on a 56-acre site in the
§ EDGE Award:
$500,000 / Total Project Cost: $40,500,000
§ Create 100 new
jobs in three years
Development Authority of
LaGrange / DaeLim
§ Site preparation
costs in support of the location of a 90,000 square foot injection molding
facility for DaeLim USA (DLU) to LaGrange.
§ EDGE Award:
$250,000 / Total Project Cost: $11,629,081
§ Create 75 new
jobs in two years
Rockmart Development Authority /
Engineered Fabrics Corporation
§ Building construction
in support of the expansion of Engineered Fabrics Corporation (EFC), an
aircraft equipment manufacturer with 514 existing jobs.
§ EDGE Award:
$200,000 / Total Project Cost: $6,200,000
§ Create 200 jobs
in two years
Griffin-Spalding County Development
Authority / Sumika Polymer Compounds America, Inc.
§ Land acquisition
of 30 acres in the
§ EDGE Award:
$200,000 / Total Project Cost: $30,049,000
§ Construction a
70x100x30 foot metal building with a 70x100 foot mezzanine for 14,000 square
feet of usable space to accommodate the expansion of D & J Plastics
(DJP), a manufacturer of fishing lures.
§ EDGE Award:
$200,000 / Total Project Cost: $601,098
The Regional E-911
Fund has provided grants over the last five years for costs associated with
the start-up of E-911 emergency services in
Details of the award
include:
Miller and
§ Expansion of
§ E 9-1-1
Award: $399,790 / Total Project Cost: $471,385
Governor Perdue and the
board recognized the most recent recipients of technology grants from the BRIDGE
(Broadband Rural Initiative to Develop
The award recipients
included:
City of
§ Feasibility study
for the design and engineer of a high speed wireless broadband network between
the City of
§ BRIDGE
Award: $39,440 / Total Project Cost: $49,300
§ Georgia Institute
of Technology TechSmart study by Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to
facilitate a planning process to create an information infrastructure
“technology roadmap” for each of the four northwest
§ BRIDGE
Award: $32,000 / Total Project Cost: $40,000
The board also received
an update from Ken Stewart, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic
Development on the department’s community-based Entrepreneur Friendly
program. Colquitt,
Governor Perdue and the
board also recognized the recipients of research grants provided under the
Centers of Innovation program. The Centers of Innovation program, funded
by the OneGeorgia Authority, connects world-class researchers at
The most recent research
grants awarded include:
Recipient: Georgia Tech – Industry
partner: Impact Technologies, LLC – $14,419
Project Description:
Development of a Proof of Concept Condition Based Maintenance System for a
Machining Center
Recipient: Georgia Tech – industry
partner: nGimat – $30,000
Project
Description: Development of Tunable Filters for Weather Monitoring Radars
Recipient: GA Electronic Design
Center/Georgia Tech–industry partner: ID Technologies –$30,000
Project
Description: Multi-hopping Antennas for Improved Logistics Communication
Recipient: Georgia Tech – industry
partner:
Project
Description: Seaport Simulation Model and Technology Test Bed
Recipient: Enterprise Innovation
Institute/Georgia Tech – industry partner: AgriO3 and Ozomax –$50,000
Project
Description: Water Recycling Prototype for Processing Plants
The
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Posted June 1, 2008
Representative Jimmy
Pruett Named House Floor Leader
Pruett joins
Representative Rich Golick (District 34) who serves as Administration Floor
Leader and Representative Jim Cole (District 125) who serves as Assistant
Administration Floor Leader. Pruett is filling the vacancy created by Representative
Vance Smith. Smith, who also serves as House Transportation Chairman, stepped
down as Floor Leader to focus his efforts on the growing time requirements his
chairmanship demands.
“Jimmy is an
excellent addition to our team of floor leaders,” said Governor Sonny Perdue.
“As a freshman legislator, he has already impressed his colleagues with his
integrity and his work ethic. I look forward to working with him as he advances
this administration’s initiatives.”
Pruett represents
District 144 which includes Dodge, Bleckley and Wilcox counties and portions of
Ben Hill and Pulaski counties. Rep. Pruett owns a successful commercial and
residential air conditioning services business, and he is actively involved in
industry recruitment resulting in bringing companies to his hometown
communities. Pruett serves as the Secretary of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs
Oversight Committee, and as a member of the Economic Development and Tourism
Committee, Natural Resources and Environment Committee and the Industrial Relations
Committee.
“I am excited about
the opportunity to serve
Posted June 1, 2008
Governor Suspends
Scheduled Increase in Gas Tax
July 1 increase would have raised gas taxes by 2.9
cents per gallon, diesel taxes by 4.2 cents
“Georgians are
already facing record gas prices, and raising taxes even higher would put
further strain on families’ budgets and on our economy,” said Governor Perdue.
“Suspending these tax increases will benefit some of our most important
industries, including agriculture, tourism, aviation and logistics, as well as
every Georgian that buys gasoline.”
Legislation passed in
2004 requires the Department of Revenue to use recent gas prices to recalculate
the state motor fuel and state sales taxes on fuels every six months. That
percentage-based tax is converted to a per gallon rate which is readjusted
every January 1 and July 1. Record gas prices at the pump over the past 6
months meant Georgians would have faced higher gas sales taxes at the pump.
Without today’s
action, the state motor fuel and state sales taxes on gasoline would have risen
on July 1 by 2.9 cents per gallon to 13.9 cents, a 26 percent increase.
Governor Perdue’s order will hold the tax at 11 cents per gallon, which is
combined with an excise tax of 7.5 cents per gallon.
The suspension also
freezes state motor fuel and state sales taxes on other categories of fuel,
including diesel, aviation gasoline, liquid propane gas and “special fuels”
which includes compressed natural gas. Taxes on diesel were set to rise 4.2
cents a gallon to 16.5 cents and taxes on aviation gasoline would have
increased by 3.6 cents per gallon to 20.9 cents. Propane taxes would have risen
0.8 cents a gallon to 8.2 cents and taxes on compressed natural gas would have
increased 2.9 cents per gallon to 13.8 cents. The suspension does not freeze or
apply to any local sales and use taxes.
Pursuant to state
law, the tax will remain frozen until the Georgia General Assembly meets again.
The legislature has adjourned its regular 2008 session, which means the next
meeting of the General Assembly is expected to be in January 2009.
Today’s action
follows last month’s suspension of the state sales tax on off-road diesel used
by farmers and timber owners, as well as off-road diesel used for mining and
construction purposes.
The Governor’s
Executive Order is below:
Whereas:
Motor fuels and aviation
gasoline are essential commodities used by Georgians for transportation; and
Whereas:
The price of gasoline
has increased dramatically since the adjournment of the 2008 General Assembly,
namely rising in price by approximately ten percent from one month ago, and
almost twenty-four percent since last year at this time; and
Whereas:
The increases in the
cost of gasoline and other motor fuels have and will continue to impose
significant financial burdens on all Georgians and Georgia’s businesses; and
Whereas:
This inflated cost can
prevent Georgians from spending on other necessary goods and business
expansion; and
Whereas:
The significant increase
in motor fuel prices will result in a windfall to the State in the form of
surplus state taxes on these commodities; and
Whereas:
Whereas:
Under these
circumstances, relief to the taxpayers of
NOW, THEREFORE, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME AS GOVERNOR OF THE STATE
OF
Ordered:
That the collection of any rate of prepaid state taxes as defined in paragraph
(5.1) of Section 48-8-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, to the
extent it differs from the rate levied as of January 1, 2008 pursuant to
Section 48-9-14 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, be suspended as it
applies to sales of motor fuel and aviation gasoline as those terms are defined
in Section 48-9-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, until the General
Assembly acts upon this Order.
This 2nd day of June, 2008.
___________________________
Governor
Governor Perdue Announces $19.5
Million in Loans and Grants to Finance Water and Sewer System Infrastructure
Improvements
GEFA
Board of Directors Approves Loan and Grant Package Today
“Infrastructure
improvements increase the quality of life for
“GEFA’s programs are a tangible commitment by Governor Perdue and the General
Assembly to assist local governments across the state with their efforts to
provide clean water and sewer improvements,” said
Governor Perdue recommended and the General Assembly approved Amended FY2008 and FY2009 budget appropriations of $120 million for water infrastructure and reservoir development.
“The projects that we agreed to finance today show how GEFA helps communities
of all sizes, in all areas of the state,” said J.C. Warren, chairman of the
GEFA board of directors and a member of the
GEFA helps communities prepare for economic growth and development through the provision of low interest loans and grants. The Georgia Fund is a state funded loan program administered by GEFA for water, wastewater and solid waste infrastructure projects. The loan program has maximum flexibility and accessibility, providing fast loan approvals. The Georgia Fund finances loans to local governments for projects such as water and sewer lines, treatment plants, pumping stations, wells, water storage tanks and water meters. Low interest loans from this program range from $20,000 to $50 million.
The DWSRF and CWSRF are federal loan programs administered by GEFA for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects respectively. Eligible projects include a wide variety of public health-related water supply, wastewater collection and treatment projects.
Details of the loans and grants
approved today are below:
The Madison County Industrial Development &
Building Authority was approved for a DWSRF loan of $1,365,000 and a subsidy of
$385,000 to help finance the construction of new water mains to provide
interconnections to the county’s Hull and Madico systems, the construction of
new water mains to serve additional areas of the county and maintain water
pressures within the system, and the construction of new wells to provide
additional supply. The Madison County Industrial Development &
Building Authority will pay zero percent interest on the 20-year loan.
GEFA is financing the entire estimated cost of $1,750,000.
The Lake
City of
The city of
City of
The city of
City of
The city of
City of
The city of
Cities and counties interested in more information regarding GEFA loans and grants should visit www.gefa.org or call (404) 584-1000.
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Bagdad to Buckhead
The Philips Arena was the gathering place for two thousand Georgians who witnessed the
Second Inauguration of Gov. Sonny Perdue on Monday. Georgia Beat Photo
The big video screens of Philips Arena provided great pictures of the Inauguration Ceremony including the last official act of Secretary of State Cathy Cox, who presented the Great Seal to the Governor. Georgia Beat Photo
The big screens of Philips Arena brought those in attendance this view of Georgia's New Lieutenant Governor, Casey Cagle. Georgia Beat Photo
Posted January 5, 2007
Congressman John Lewis, with a statue of James Madison behind him introduced Georgia's Newest U.S. Congressman on Thursday evening in Washington, D.C. Lewis predicted great years of services for Hank Johnson, seated at right. Johnson was worn in earlier in the day on Thursday to represent the Fourth District of Georgia. Georgia Beat Photo
Fourth District U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson, who was officially sworn in by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at the Capitol on Thursday spoke during a dinner in his honor at the Library of Congress on Thursday evening. He told a crowd of over 200 constituents that he was "honored that they had come all the way from Georgia to be present for his day of a new beginning for the Fourth District. The dinner took place in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress, thus the statue of President Madison looming large behind the podium. Georgia Beat Photo
Posted December 26, 2006
Governor’s
Inaugural Committee Announces Details for Inauguration Day
Prayer Service to
Open the Day, Special Entertainment into the Night