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Augusta, GA

Mayor’s vote now takes effect in Augusta commission

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Mayor’s vote now takes effect in Augusta commission


AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – In May, voters decided to to change the charter by voting yes to giving the mayor a vote on the Augusta commission.

Monday is the first day the vote takes effect.

In May’s election, 74% of voters said yes to the referendum question, compared to 26% who said no.

Up until the election, the mayor was only able to vote to break a tie. But frustrated with political maneuvers that avoided a tie and kept him from voting, Mayor Garnett Johnson proposed a change giving him a full vote.

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How did we get to this point?

The charter was created when Richmond County and the city of Augusta became one government nearly three decades ago.

Think of it as the game rules for the Augusta government — game rules are very different than any other consolidated government in the state of Georgia.

Politics is like tennis.

It’s your play when the ball is in your court. But Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government rules of the game are like no other in Georgia.

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Players can skip a match to delay the game.

In January 2023, Commissioner Bobby Williams chose not to vote.

Voting no would have given an even split, giving the mayor the tie-breaking vote. A yes vote would have approved the contract but since he abstained, he stopped dead in the water.

In 2023, a standstill over naming an ambulance provider last year.

In 2024, there was a standstill over naming a city administrator.

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“We went through the process of hiring an administrator through the process that’s in the charter, and we followed it to a T,” said Commissioner Sean Frantom.

The charter: A legal playbook of power born from a marriage between city and county 27 years ago.

In a May commission meeting, Commissioner Bobby Williams said: “You had basically five white districts and five Black districts, and to get the sixth vote, someone had to work across the aisle.”

Augusta-Richmond County is one of eight consolidated governments in Georgia — one of the four with a mayor.

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The balance of power varies.

The mayors of Athens-Clark and Macon-Bibb have veto powers over the commission.

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Mayors of Augusta-Richmond and Columbus-Muscogee have limited power, but Columbus has a county manager responsible for the hiring, firing and management of department heads.

That power falls on our commissioners, meaning each department head answers to ten bosses.

Meaning commissioners only answer to commissioners.

For more than two years, an interim administrator has led the city. For more than two years, an interim director has led Central Services in her absence.

The longer time goes by, the longer the line of dominoes.

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In the beginning of May, another resignation — the city attorney.

Four of the city’s top leadership positions are now empty, left to commissioners to fill.

The Carl Vinson Institute of Government presented information to commissioners about changing the role of administrator to county manager in the charter.

A year later, there’s been no movement by commissioners.

Now, there’s a new idea and a new game rule.

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“This allows the voters of Richmond County to decide what’s best for their government, not the Commission,” said Mayor Johnson.



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Augusta, GA

Verizon Customers Report Outage in Georgia and Other Cities

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Verizon Customers Report Outage in Georgia and Other Cities


Verizon customers in Augusta, Georgia, and other cities are reportedly experiencing network issues after their devices continue to flash an SOS message.

According to Downdetector, more than 1,200 users reported Verizon service outages before 3 p.m. ET. Throughout the downtime, Verizon Support has been actively assisting customers on X. According to reports, the outage began at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Verizon responded shortly about the issues.

LEVITTOWN, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: A general view of a Verizon store on September 15, 2022 in Levittown, New York, United States. Many families along with businesses are suffering the effects of inflation as the economy is dictating a change in spending habits.
(Photo : Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The company posted the notice about the problem on its website Tuesday afternoon. It stated that data, voice, and text are limited in Augusta, GA, due to a known issue in the area. The company reassured customers, however, that they are working on a solution.

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The business added that most of these problems can be fixed in 12 hours, while the majority of 5G problems can be fixed in 48 hours.

Read Also: New Study Reveals T-Mobile Is Top US Carrier for Network Performance, Customer Satisfaction 

International Outage

Before the Verizon outage, issues had plagued the three major US service providers for only a few days. On June 28, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T customers were all reportedly experiencing issues with their various phone plans. The primary telecom carriers were having problems due to an international roaming outage. 

Due to the disruption, some users who are currently traveling overseas may not be able to use cellular internet, send texts, or make phone calls.  

Sources claim that Syniverse, the third-party organization in charge of overseeing international roaming services for all three carriers, is experiencing connectivity issues, which are causing the outage.

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Though the exact cause is still unknown, some speculate that it could be related to changes in how carriers manage their old 2G and 3G networks as they transition to 4G and 5G.  

Consumers bemoan the issue in mobile community forums, Reddit, and social media. The outage also impacts different users in different ways; some report never having broadband, SMS, or cellphone connection, while others can only connect occasionally. The problem was first discovered late on Wednesday.

At the time, it was claimed that massive international outages were affecting all three of the main US carriers, generating connectivity problems for Americans worldwide. Every carrier’s clientele faced difficulties.

Therefore, no particular location or service is affected by the recent blackout. Reports of problems have come from Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. 

Outages in AT&T

The worldwide outage also comes just a few weeks after AT&T is said to have fixed a recent outage that occurred in early June and prevented users’ calls from connecting to other networks. This demonstrated that there was a network problem rather than a user-related one. 

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An AT&T representative stated that the other carrier and the mobile network worked together to find a solution. Additionally, the spokesman announced that the problem with carrier compatibility has been fixed. The business also expresses gratitude to its customers for their understanding during this time. 

Related Article: HSBC, Barclays, Virgin Money Hit by Massive Payment Glitch, Thousands in the UK Miss Payday Deposits 

Written by Aldohn Domingo

ⓒ 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.





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Augusta, GA

Verizon customers throughout the CSRA lose service

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Verizon customers throughout the CSRA lose service


Memes sprang up all over social media making fun of Verizon’s ad line “can you hear me now,” as thousands of customers across the CSRA lost mobile, text and data capability.

However, those who rely on their mobile phones to conduct vital business were not laughing.

Verizon customers from Aiken to Grovetown reported they had lost service.

According to Down Detector, problems began in the early morning hours and spiked around 3 p.m. as the system seemed to collapse with users getting an ‘SOS” message.

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The city of Augusta sent out a notice on social media that claimed even the “SOS” functions on the phone were disabled and could not link to either the “311” or “911” systems. The message urged citizens to report emergencies on a landline or seek out a neighbor using a different carrier.

Some calls could make it through to 911, but data, such as the caller’s address and phone number did not appear on the dispatcher’s screen, meaning they could not call back if the signal dropped suddenly.

The message also urged the following:  “Officials ask customers not to call 911 to test service.”

Users can connect to a Wi-Fi service to make calls and texts.

Service appears to have been restored as of 9 p.m. The company has not released an official statement on what caused the outage.

Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com

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Augusta, GA

Former AU basketball, soccer coach dies at 91

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Former AU basketball, soccer coach dies at 91


AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A former Augusta University women’s basketball and men’s soccer coach has died, according to reports.

Augustajags.com reports that 91-year-old Lowell Barnhart died on June 28.

From 1986 to 1999, Barnhart served as the head women’s basketball coach at Augusta College, according to augustajags.com.

He won the PBC Coach of the Year award in 1992 and 1995.

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Barnhart also served as the head men’s golf coach at Augusta College for 10 years.

According to Barnhart’s obituary, Barnhart was inducted into the Kosciusko County Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2011.

His obituary says he was an avid golfer and a long-term member at Forest Hills Golf Course.

A memorial service was held on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Storey Chapel at First Baptist Church of Augusta.

Barnhart’s obituary says memorial contributions may be made in memory of Coach Barnhart to Augusta University Athletic Department CFH 214, 1120 Fifteenth Street, Augusta, GA 30912.

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