Augusta, GA

Ga. court leaves question open on locally drawn electoral maps

Published

2 years ago

May 12, 2024

Ga. court leaves question open on locally drawn electoral maps

ATLANTA (AP) — In a move that could have ramifications in Richmond County, the Georgia Supreme Court agrees that someone needs to issue a legally final ruling on whether county commissioners can draw their own electoral districts.

But the nine justices on Thursday also agreed it would be improper to rule on that question in a lawsuit brought by two Cobb County residents, reversing a lower court judgment that had thrown out the county commissioners’ own map.

The ruling that Catherine and David Floam weren’t qualified to get a declaratory judgment means that, for now, residents in Georgia’s third-largest county will elect two county commissioners in districts mapped by the Democratic-majority Cobb County Commission, and not under the earlier map drawn by the Republican-majority legislature. Voting is underway in advance of May 21 primaries.

“To be clear, the fact that there are two competing maps does create significant uncertainty for many,” Justice Nels Peterson wrote for a unanimous court in explaining why the couple didn’t qualify for declaratory judgment. “But the Floams have not shown that this uncertainty affects their future conduct. They have not established that they are insecure about some future action they plan to take.”

The dispute goes back to Republican lawmakers’ decision to draw election district lines for multiple county commissions and school boards that were opposed by Democratic lawmakers representing Democratic-majority counties.

In most states, local governments are responsible for redrawing their own district lines once every 10 years, to adjust for population changes after U.S. Census results are released. But in Georgia, while local governments may propose maps, local lawmakers traditionally have to sign off.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announces on Feb. 13, 2024, that the Georgia National Guard will be...

If Cobb County wins the power to draw its own districts, many other counties could follow. In 2022, Republicans used their majorities to override the wishes of local Democratic lawmakers to draw districts in not only Cobb, but in Fulton, Gwinnett, Augusta-Richmond and Athens-Clarke counties. Democrats decried the moves as a hostile takeover of local government.

But the Cobb County Commission followed up by asserting that under the county government’s constitutional home rule rights, counties could draw their own maps. After Cobb County Superior Court Judge Ann Harris ruled the move unconstitutional in January, the ruling was stayed pending appeal. That led to candidates trying to qualify under both sets of maps, with elections officials ultimately deciding the county-drawn map was still in effect.

Ray Smith, the lawyer who represented the Floams, said he thought his candidates did qualify for declaratory judgment.

“I think it’s going to lead to more chaos,” Smith said, although he predicted that eventually someone who qualified would bring a case to the Supreme Court and it would overturn the commission’s action. Another lawsuit is pending from Alicia Adams, a Republican who tried to qualify as a commission candidate under the legislative map lines but was rejected because she lived outside the commission-drawn district.

“Cobb County should not be out celebrating,” Smith said. “They should be concerned that they have problems and they’re going to have problems until they resolve this.”

Indeed, in a concurring opinion, Justice Charlie Bethel seemed to implore commissioners themselves to seek a court judgment, warning that if the commission ultimately loses, commissioners could be thrown off the board.

“A delayed loss by Cobb could give rise to calamitous consequences inflicting serious expense and practical hardship on its citizens,” Bethel wrote. “Accordingly, I urge Cobb to act with all dispatch in obtaining a final answer on the legal merits of its chosen path.”

But Ross Cavitt, a county spokesperson, indicated it’s unlikely the county will take action.

“The county attorney’s office does not believe there is a proper action to file,” Cavitt wrote in an email.

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Augusta, GA

Augusta man missing off Georgia coast as search continues

Published

5 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Augusta man missing off Georgia coast as search continues

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Coast Guard and McIntosh County Fire Department continued searching Friday for an Augusta man who went missing off the Georgia coast, as a body was found Thursday.

Roman Waldera’s daughter spoke about the last conversation she had with her father before he disappeared while fishing.

“I actually spoke to my dad in the morning he went missing. We talked back and forth a little bit and then he told me, well, I’m on the boat. I’ve got to get going. We’re going to start fishing. And I was like, all right, we’ll be careful. I love you,” she said.

The Coast Guard called her after Waldera went missing.

“After we got the call, my first goal was to get down there and start searching the island of Blackbeard,” she said.

Community joins search efforts

Shellman’s Fish Camp and other local boat owners joined the search in Sapelo Sound.

“I mean, everybody in the area who had a boat, they were on the sound, and it ended up, I was coordinating with the Coast Guard this whole time,” Waldera’s daughter said.

She said her father’s teachings motivated her to take action.

“So my dad raised me and my grandparents to get it done. Don’t wait around. Don’t sit around. Don’t wait for someone else to do the work. If someone’s going to make it happen, it’s going to be you. And I just, I thought, what would my dad want? He’d want me down there and he would want me looking,” she said.

She described what she would do if reunited with her father.

“I think I just hugged him. I think he just hugged me because I think he knows that I was down there. I was all alone doing that, looking for him all day long. I slept in his room. I think he knows. I think he knows everything, and I don’t think there need to be any words. I think we just love each other,” she said.

The Coast Guard asks anyone with information about the disappearance to call 843-453-1261. Officials said crews not part of the official search can create unsafe conditions and hinder response efforts.

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Augusta, GA

Former WWE stars involved in ‘Wrestling for a Cause’ event in Augusta

Published

17 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Former WWE stars involved in ‘Wrestling for a Cause’ event in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The community wrestled for a cause at the Georgia-Carolina fairgrounds Saturday night.

Famous wrestlers from the WWE came to the CSRA for the show.

Silent Fights raised money for a local family that lost their home to a fire, as well as former WWE star Toni Rose, who is battling cancer.

Former WWE stars like Johnny Swinger and Heath Slater made appearances.

We spoke with these headliners and CSRA Championship Wrestling about the event.

This is definitely the biggest card of the year. WWE star here, Heat Slater, myself, TNA, WWE, all the major organizations. And we got some good young up and coming talent here that’s going to go out there and tear it up and do the best that we can,” said Swinger.

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Augusta, GA

Is weed legal in Georgia after Trump signs order to reclassify marijuana?

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Is weed legal in Georgia after Trump signs order to reclassify marijuana?

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday, Dec. 18, reclassifying marijuana as a Scheduled III narcotic, a drop from the more severe Scheduled I narcotic it had been classified in for nearly 6 decades.

Since 1970, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug, the same category as heroin, LSD, methaqualone and ecstasy. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) describes Schedule I substances as having no “medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

A review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found “scientific support for its use to treat anorexia related to a medical condition, nausea and vomiting, and pain,” Trump said in the executive order.

That review came after former President Joe Biden suggested his administration take a look at reclassifying the drug in 2023. The Department of Health and Human Services also recommended that year that marijuana be reclassified based on widespread use of medical marijuana across 43 U.S. jurisdictions for more than 6 million registered patients to treat at least 15 medical conditions, the EO said.

Is marijuana now legal in Georgia?

Not yet. In fact, it’s only in the infancy of review at the federal level. Lawmakers in Georgia will have to decide if it will allow marijuana at a state level.

Many states, however, 24 to be exact, have already legalized marijuana before Trump’s order, although Georgia remains on the sidelines.

While 24 states have adopted laws allowing adults to purchase and consume cannabis for non-medical use, Georgia continues to prohibit it.

But what does the Peach State allow medically?

Has Georgia legalized recreational marijuana?

No, Georgia does not allow adult-use of cannabis.

According to NORML, possession for personal use, even under an ounce, is punishable as a misdemeanor with up to 12 months in jail or up to a $1,000 fine.

Possessing more than an ounce is a felony, carrying penalties of 1 to 10 years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.

Does Georgia allow marijuana medically?

Georgia allows marijuana for medical purposes only, and exclusively in the form of low-THC oil (5% THC or less). Registered patients can possess up to 20 fluid ounces.