Georgia
General Assembly’s silence is deafening – Georgia Recorder
Listen.
Can you hear it?
What?
Two things in Atlanta.
Clink, clink, clink and tick, tick, tick.
Cocktail glasses of Georgia Power, Twin Pines Minerals LLC and their lobbyists are clinking so loudly that you don’t have to be in Atlanta to hear the unmistakable sounds. The reasons for celebrating are different, but they are really the same. Hold that thought. I’ll explain.
Well, what about that ticking?
Feb. 29 (Leap Day) is Crossover Day in the General Assembly. That means proposed legislation in the House of Representatives must be approved and recommended to “cross over” to the Senate by Feb. 29.
Otherwise, the measure likely dies for 2024. Ditto for Senate-approved legislation that needs a vote in the House.
The Crossover Day clock is ticking—loudly—for two significant environmental issues that are likely to be lost this session in both chambers under the Gold Dome.
And Georgia Power appears to be escaping, again, without any interference from lawmakers who could force the behemoth utility to be more responsible with its storage of millions of tons of dangerous industrial waste—coal ash—that is leaching into ground water.
Twin Pines, the Alabama mining outfit that wants to dig for minerals on the “eastern hydrological boundary” of the Okefenokee Swamp, has—like Georgia Power—spent enough lobbying dollars to convince General Assembly powerbrokers that money is more important than factual science and environmental risks.
As you can see, the two issues are very different. But the silence on both issues is the same. The General Assembly found time to vote for cornbread as the “official bread” of Georgia, but it can’t seem to find room on the agenda to deal with the threat of Georgia Power’s coal ash poisoning our state’s drinking water.
Oh, I’m a fan of hot-buttered cornbread, too. Same goes for just-out-of-the-oven cathead biscuits. But I’d like to have clean water in my tea or coffee to wash down the official state bread. Wouldn’t you?
For years, I’ve been talking about Georgia Power’s bottom-line-driven strategy that prioritizes profits over common sense when it comes to safe handling/storage of coal ash. The heavy metals in coal ash are proven to make you sick and/or kill you. Yet legislative attempts to force Georgia Power to do what’s right are squashed, year after year.
Can you hear the cocktail glasses clinking?
My questions are:
Don’t the families of Democrats, Republicans and Independents all deserve clean, safe water to drink?
If so, what’s the problem?
The silence is deafening.
Now, about the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge—which is under threat from a seems-likely-to-happen mining operation of Twin Pines Minerals LLC.
The Alabama miners say, “Trust us. We know what we are doing.”
Others, who know more than I do, counter, “We can’t trust Twin Pines. Its plan will do irreparable harm to an irreplaceable ecosystem.”
This I do know. There’s only one Okefenokee Swamp in the world, and most of it is in Georgia. Why wouldn’t we want to safeguard this environmental treasure?
One clue is that a piece of protective legislation—with overwhelming bipartisan support—won’t even be brought up for discussion in the House’s committee on environment and natural resources. That nonaction appears to have given Twin Pines what it wanted: a draft permit for mining, courtesy of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD).
Josh Marks, president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, believes, “The EPD may have signed the death warrant for the Okefenokee Swamp, our state’s greatest natural treasure.”
Can you hear the cocktail glasses clinking?
But wait.
The EPD has declared a 30-day public comment period, even though it earlier promised 60 days. If you have concerns about the proposed titanium dioxide mining, submit your statements to [email protected]. There’ll be a virtual public hearing on March 5 at 6 p.m. Don’t let your silence send the wrong signal.
The disturbing common denominator in both of these environmental issues—coal ash and the Okefenokee—is the deafening silence of Georgia’s General Assembly.
But it might not be too late.
Talk to your representative or senator.
Just remember that Crossover Day is Feb. 29.
Tick, tick, tick.
Georgia officials are asking some residents to evacuate after a fire at a chemical plant started spreading toxic smoke on Sunday.
The fire began at the BioLab plant in Conyers – which is located around 32 miles southeast of Atlanta – at 5 a.m. on Sunday, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. BioLab is a company that produces pool chemicals, according to its website.
BioLab told Fox News Digital that they are “actively responding” to the incident.
“Our employees are accounted for with no injuries reported,” a spokesperson said. “Our team is on the scene, working with first responders and local authorities to assess and contain the situation. As always, the safety of our community remains our top priority.”
By the afternoon, the smoke clouds were emanating from the facility and huge billows of multicolored clouds still polluted the air.
During a press conference on Sunday morning, Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel said that a sprinkler head at the facility malfunctioned and “caus[ed] a mixture with a water reactive chemical.”
Social media video of the fire shows gigantic clouds of smoke visible from I-20, which had been blocked off between Salem Road and Turner Hill on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities say that those who live south of I-20 are safe, but those who live north of I-20 or between I-20 and Sigman Road are asked to evacuate.
“Please evacuate the area if you are inside this zone,” Rockdale County officials said in a Facebook post. “I-20 will be blocked off in both directions between Salem Rd and Turner Hill.”
During a Sunday press conference, Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett told residents that “this is not the time to do any type of sightseeing.”
“We are strongly encouraging everyone, no matter where you’re coming from, but especially Rockdale residents, to stay out of this area for the safety of yourself, and for the safety of all personnel that are out here already that have to work this type of incident,” the official advised.
The Rockdale County Animal Services asked residents within the evacuation area to bring their animals along with them.
“Please, if you’re in the evacuation area, take your pets with you. Please do not leave them behind,” the organization said. “We are loaded and getting the 50+ shelter animals out of the area and to safety.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office for additional information.
Fox News Digital’s Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.
Georgia
Georgia Tech vs Duke: Yellow Jackets Open as Favorites Against The Blue Devils In Week Six Matchup
Georgia Tech was off last weekend, but they are going to be back at it next Saturday at home vs an undefeated Duke team. The Blue Devils fell behind early vs North Carolina on Saturday, but Manny Diaz found a way to get his team a victory over their arch-rivals and Duke reached 5-0. According to Fanduel Sportsbook, Georgia Tech is going to open as a 7.5-point favorite vs the Blue Devils and the total has been set at 55.5.
The game will kick off at 8:00 p.m. and will be on the ACC Network. This will be the second time that Georgia Tech has gotten the prime-time kickoff on the ACC Network this season (Georgia State in week one).
The primetime selection is Georgia Tech’s fifth in its last six home games, and the fourth time in that span that it will be featured in the ACC Network’s top-tier 8 p.m. timeslot.
In addition to hosting the primetime game broadcast, Tech will also welcome ACC Network’s ACC PM and The Huddle to its campus for live programming throughout the weekend. ACCN’s set will once again be located on Tech Tower Lawn as part of Georgia Tech’s Helluva Block Party. The Yellow Jackets have been 5-0 since the beginning of last season when The Huddle airs live from the location of a Georgia Tech game.
While the two teams did not face off last year, they are plenty familiar with each other. Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 54-35 and the Yellow Jackets have won the last three meetings, including the last two in Atlanta. The last time that Duke beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta was 2018. Brent Key did get a win vs Duke while he was the interim coach in 2022.
Under Brent Key, Georgia Tech has been good about bouncing back from a loss and they have had two weeks to digest the loss to Louisville. Duke is going to want to keep their undefeated season alive next Saturday night and it will be up to Georgia Tech to put the previous loss behind them and take down the Blue Devils.
What do Army, Navy, Indiana, James Madison, Duke, BYU, UNLV and Rutgers have in common?
They are all — shockingly enough — undefeated more than a month into the college football season. Those eight schools are 35-0: two military academies, a private religious-affiliated university in the mountains of Utah, three basketball schools, a Big Ten cellar-dweller located in New Jersey and a school in Virginia named after the fourth U.S. president.
But after another wacky Saturday in college football, these programs sit among the list of 18 total FBS unbeatens.
Army and Navy are 4-0 for the first time since World War II. Indiana is 5-0 for the first time since the Vietnam War. JMU, in just its second year in FBS, sits at 4-0. BYU leads the Big 12 with an undefeated record. Rutgers is 4-0 for the first time in more than a decade.
UNLV, without QB Matthew Sluka, cruised to a 59-14 trouncing of Fresno. Down 20-0, Duke stormed back to beat North Carolina to improve to 5-0 in Manny Diaz’s first season.
Who woulda thunk it?
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Mark Stoops’ Kentucky Wildcats provided the most stunning upset of the day, downing Ole Miss in Oxford. Out West, Boise State running back and Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty continues his early season tear. His 259 yards against Washington State give him 845 on the season. He’s averaging an astonishing 10.3 yards a carry.
Enough already! It’s on to our rankings.
One last reminder: We do not consider any preseason polls or any past season results. What happened in the past is in the past. It’s who you’ve beaten and how you’ve beaten them!
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
This week: beat Georgia 41-34
Next week: at Vanderbilt
The Tide now own arguably own the country’s best win of the season. Kalen DeBoer’s team knocked around the Bulldogs for a 28-0 lead, got a record-breaking performance from their quarterback, Jalen Milroe, and survived in the end with a pair of incredible catches from two true freshmen. A win at Wisconsin already in the bag, Bama’s got a good enough resume to claim our top spot.
2. Tennessee Volunteers
This week: Bye
Next week: at Arkansas
The Vols got their quality wins against NC State and at Oklahoma — two convincing power conference victories — but they’ll be tested even more in Fayetteville, where the Hogs are feeling frisky after winning at Auburn. It’s a big game for the future of Arkansas coach Sam Pittman. Can Tennessee’s nasty defensive front slow OC Bobby Petrino’s attack with QB Taylen Green?
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
This week: beat Illinois 21-7
Next week: vs. UCLA
After Illinois scored on its first drive of the game, the Nittany Lions defense forced the Illini into four punts, a fumble, interception and missed field goal. They never mounted a drive longer than 50 yards after the opening score. PSU’s win at West Virginia to start the year and its smothering of a previously ranked and undefeated Illinois has them firmly in our rankings.
4. Texas Longhorns
This week: beat Mississippi State 35-13
Next week: Bye
No Quinn Ewers; no problem. Arch Manning started his second straight game and led the Longhorns to victory over a struggling Bulldogs team. Manning misfired on just five passes, threw for 324 yards and tossed two touchdowns. The Longhorns get a bye before their annual clash against Oklahoma in Dallas. That’s plenty of time for Ewers to regain enough strength for a return against the Sooners.
5. Miami Hurricanes
This week: beat Virginia Tech 38-34
Next week: Bye
Survive and advance! The Hurricanes stormed back to avoid what would be a devastating home loss to a Tech team that had already lost two games. And they needed a controversial replay overturn of what would have been a game-winning Hail Mary for the Hokies. Miami QB Cam Ward threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
6. BYU Cougars
This week: beat Baylor 34-28
Next week: Bye
Some within the industry thought coach Kalani Sitake — in his ninth season — needed a strong year to cool his seat after going 5-7 in Year 1 in the Big 12 in 2023. Here the Cougars are, four games into the season, and without a loss. They led 21-0 against the Bears before hanging on for the win. Couple that with victories at SMU and against Kansas State and the Cougars have a pretty strong resume thus far.
7. Iowa State Cyclones
This week: beat Houston 20-0
Next week: vs. Baylor
The Cyclones aren’t splashy. They don’t have an all-world quarterback or truly incredible skill players. But, boy, do they have a defense. Through four games, Matt Campbell’s team has given up a grand total of 29 points. Their one-point win at Iowa looms as one of the best victories of the season so far. Speaking of Campbell, he became the school’s all-time wins leader with Win No. 57. Fifty-seven!
8. Oregon Ducks
This week: beat UCLA 34-13
Next week: vs. Michigan State
The Ducks haven’t necessarily played any top-10 juggernauts, but they have beaten one of the G5’s best (Boise State), dominated at UCLA on Saturday and whipped Oregon State two weeks ago. That’s enough to (barely) move them into the Top 10. The Ohio State game looms in two weeks.
9. Georgia Bulldogs
This week: lost to Alabama 41-34
Next week: vs. Auburn
The Bulldogs become the first team this year to make our rankings despite a loss. Remember, they’ve got a pair of quality victories away from home (at Kentucky, which knocked off Ole Miss on Saturday; and against Clemson in Atlanta). Losing at Alabama — our No. 1-ranked team — is understandable. And the Dawgs almost came back to win!
10. Missouri Tigers
This week: Bye
Next week: at Texas A&M
The Tigers are new to our rankings. While we understand they haven’t played the toughest schedule — or had the most convincing wins — they have beaten a pair of power conference programs in Vanderbilt and Boston College, each of whom have shown flashes of greatness this season.
Dropped out: Utah (4), Illinois (6), Washington State (9)
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