Georgia
Georgia Senate gives sports betting legislation a chance to land on November ballot
(Georgia Recorder) — The Georgia Senate approved a plan on Tuesday that would allow Georgians to decide at the ballot box in November whether legalized sports betting should be allowed in the state.
Senate Resolution 579, which would set up a constitutional amendment referendum to sanction sports gambling in Georgia, was passed Tuesday by a vote of 41 to 12. The bipartisan support for Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert’s legislation was comfortably large enough to meet the two-thirds majority required to amend the Georgia Constitution through a ballot referendum.
Cowsert’s resolution calls for the creation of a gaming commission to regulate the sports betting industry that officials are estimating could generate more than $100 million in annual tax revenue for the state.
On Feb. 1, the Senate adopted Sen. Clint Dixon’s SB 386, which established a framework for how sports gambling would operate in the Peach State. The Sandy Springs Republican’s bill proposes that the Georgia Lottery oversee the bidding process to award seven licenses to sports gambling companies. The other licenses would be distributed among Atlanta’s five major professional sports franchises: NASCAR, Georgia Lottery, PGA, and Augusta National. Cowsert successfully amended Dixon’s bill by adding language that required the General Assembly to also adopt the amendment referendum.
Cowsert said Tuesday if Georgians agree to the constitutional amendment, then it helps the new industry withstand legal scrutiny rather than the Legislature unilaterally legalizing an expansion of legal gambling based on the theory that it can be treated the same as state lottery games.
Under Cowsert’s legislation, 80% of tax revenue the state receives would be allocated to the lottery’s education fund, with first priority going toward pre-K programs and leftover money going toward HOPE collegiate scholarships. The other revenue would be split with 15% for educating the public about the dangers of gambling and 5% used to promote major sporting events in the state.
“The ballot question is just as clean and straightforward as it could be,” Cowsert said. “There is no way any voter would be confused by it.”
The measure’s passage in the Senate marked a significant milestone for legalized sports betting in Georgia after several years of unsuccessful attempts to legalize sports betting, horse racing, and casinos in conjunction or as standalones.
Republican Sen. Marty Harbin of Tyrone said the economic benefits of sports betting would be outweighed by the problems associated with gambling addiction that are harming people 30 and younger in states where it’s already legalized,
Harbin said that the state’s $16 billion budget surplus is more than enough to fund pre-K classes across Georgia and to continue supporting HOPE scholarships.
“(Gambling) addiction is a real addiction. It’s an addiction like drugs and alcohol,” Harbin said.
Georgia
Falcons address biggest hole with Georgia prospect in new mock draft
For a long time it seemed the Atlanta Falcons were purposefully avoiding drafting prospects from Georgia for some reason. There are signs that’s changing with the new front office regime, though. Last month Kirby Smart commented on how his program is developing a relationship with the Falcons.
That’s a good sign for Atlanta’s defensive front-seven, because that group needs all the help they can get and it’s where the Bulldogs have thrived the most in recent years. Jalon Walker is helping to reinvigorate their pass rush, and more help could be on the way soon.
In a new five-round mock draft from NFL.com, the Falcons hit up that local resource again and take Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller at No. 48 overall.
At the combine Miller checked in at 6-foot-4, 321 pounds with 33″ arms and 10″ hands. Here’s the highlight reel.
Like most nose tackle prospects, Miller’s college production (four sacks, 11.5 TFL) doesn’t exactly jump off the page.
However, the scouting report on Miller mentions both upper and lower body power in addition to good balance. Those traits should make him a solid nose tackle at the next level.
If the Falcons do end up drafting Miller, he should project to be starting up front in Week 1.
Georgia
6-foot alligator delays Delta flight taking off from Georgia airport
A Delta flight was delayed after a massive alligator plopped itself on the taxiway of a Georgia airport, according to reports.
Recently unearthed air traffic control audio captured the unusual moment the Delta pilot noticed the lazing gator at the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport on the evening of March 20, WDSU reported.
“There’s a six-foot gator sitting on his two legs,” the pilot said over the radio.
“Six foot?” the tower controller asked, to which the pilot replied, “Yeah. He’s about six foot.”
“He just laid down,” the pilot added.
Airport crew responded and safely removed the alligator to the airport, then relocated it outside the airport grounds, the outlet reported.
No one was injured during the incident, authorities added. It’s unclear how the alligator managed to wander into the airport unchecked.
Flight operations resumed shortly after the reptile was removed, the outlet said.
Georgia
Passover ad featuring challah sparks backlash for Georgia Senate candidate | The Jerusalem Post
A Georgia Democratic candidate for the state Senate came under ridicule over the weekend after a Passover ad published in the Atlanta Jewish Times reportedly featured challah, a leavened bread traditionally avoided during the holiday. The controversy spread on Saturday after Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein posted about the ad on X.
Nathalie Kanani is running for Georgia State Senate District 14, and has publicly described herself as a candidate focused on affordability, healthcare, housing, education, and workers’ issues. In a LinkedIn post published about a month ago, she said she had officially qualified to run for the seat.
The issue appears to have stemmed from a holiday greeting in the Atlanta Jewish Times Passover edition, which was published this past week and included a wide range of Passover-themed community content and messages.
Bluestein wrote on X that a Georgia Senate candidate’s Passover ad in that week’s Atlanta Jewish Times “features challah,” adding, “It’s the thought that counts, I guess.” His post helped push the item into broader political and Jewish social media circles.
The mockery built quickly. Raw Story, which aggregated the reaction, quoted conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg joking that the image was like serving a “Yom Kippur BLT sandwich,” while progressive commentator Molly Jong-Fast called it “incredible” and added that “Veep was a documentary.” The same report also cited Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch criticizing the mistake and noting that, as the only Jewish member of the Georgia General Assembly, she was available for “holiday consults.”
During Passover, Jews avoid hametz (leavened grain products), and bread is among the clearest examples of foods excluded from the holiday. Matzah, the flat unleavened bread eaten during Passover, is one of the most recognizable symbols of the festival.
That made challah, a braided bread commonly associated with Shabbat and other Jewish occasions, an especially awkward choice for a Passover greeting. For many Jewish readers, it signaled a basic misunderstanding of one of Judaism’s best-known observances.
As of Sunday, Kanani’s campaign had not issued any publicly visible response in the sources reviewed for this report.
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