Good morning – I hope you will pause when you read this to pay a few moments of respect for State Representative Mickey Stephens, who died on August 14, and who will be laid to rest this week in Savannah. There will be a public memorial service this evening in Savannah at Tiger Arena, and the Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist. Both events will be livestreamed, and you can find the obituary for Rep. Stephens as well as the links to the livestreams here.
Rep. Stephens will be dearly missed in the House, and by all who loved him.
- The COVID-19 situation in Georgia remains “dire,” and doctors at Phoebe Putney, which has borne so much of the the COVID tragedy in Georgia, is deploying its own social media strategy to fight the misinformation that is so profligate on social media.
- Hospital workers throughout Georgia battle increasing frustration as the fourth surge rages and vaccination rates – while increasing – continue to lag in the state.
- Two professors at the university of North Georgia resigned rather than teach in what they believed to be unsafe conditions.
- Voting rights groups in Georgia continue to fight the takeover of the Fulton County’s elections board.
- “Virgil, quick! Come see!” And thus changeth the logo of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association.
- The New York Times featured an in-depth overview of the conflict between supporters of Spaceport Camden and the residents on the coast who oppose the project (as well as stunning photos of the barrier islands).