This week’s Courier Herald column: The time between the General Assembly leaving town and Easter provides most that work in and around the area of state politics a bit of much needed down time. There is an exception for those running for office this year, especially those with primary opposition. It seems campaigns are a
This week’s Courier Herald column: It was January of 1975. Wheel of Fortune made its television premier. The Atlanta Falcons used the first pick of the NFL draft to add Steve Bartkowski from UCLA to their roster. And down at the Georgia capitol, 27-year-old Calvin Smyre of Columbus was sworn in for the first time
There will be a lot of institutional knowledge leaving the capitol this evening when the gavels bang Sine Die. None of them have served longer than Representative Calvin Smyre of Columbus. First elected in 1974, he’s served as a member of the majority and minority parties. He’s humble, but wields quiet power when needed and
This week’s Courier Herald column: When the gavels in the Georgia House and Senate signal Sine Die, all of the usual signs of spring emerge. The Masters will be played in Augusta, Spring breakers will populate our beaches, and those that govern will immediately begin asking for our money and our votes. Georgia’s primaries, where
This week’s Courier Herald column: At least we’re fighting. It’s all we seem to know how to do these days. The fights of each party take on different tones and use different weapons. Today’s focus is the fighting nature of Georgia “conservatives”. Air quotes are used because the word seems to have as many meanings
This week’s Courier Herald column: Like many components of household budgets, rents have been increasing. They’re now increasing at increasing rates. Data provided by real estate consulting firm CoreLogic this week revealed that year over year rents for single family homes are showing double digit increases, with demand especially strong across the sun belt. Nationally,
This week’s Courier Herald column: During a primary debate, President Joe Biden was asked “Would there be any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking, in a Biden administration?” Then candidate Biden’s answer was “No. We would work it out…we would make sure it’s eliminated and no more subsidies for either one of those…any
This week’s Courier Herald column: When I write about our state’s government and governing, it is often through the prism of the state’s budget. Like too much of life, money is how we keep score. It shows us what we prioritize in spending, and how much we’re willing to take from our citizens in order
This week’s Courier Herald column: The eighties are on line one. They’ve been on hold for a while, but they’d like to talk about foreign policy. Yes, that is an overt reference to President Obama’s debate retort to Mitt Romney, who had the temerity to remind us in 2012 that Russia was “our number one
This week’s Courier Herald column: When I was a young bank analyst, just out of college, my first real promotion sent me to Mableton Georgia to become a branch manager. I was generally aware of where the community in South Cobb County was but hadn’t spent much if any time there. Settling in and wanting
