Georgia
Georgia Senate passes new Cobb school board districts, but Democrats say they don’t end racial bias
(AP) – The Georgia state Senate has passed a bill to redraw school board districts in Georgia’s second-largest school system after a federal judge ruled they were unconstitutionally discriminatory.
But Democrats warn that the Republican-backed map doesn’t fix the racial discrimination that led U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross to order the Cobb County school district to not use the map in the May 2024 election, when four board seats will be contested. The districts had produced a 4-3 Republican majority even though a majority of Cobb voters have backed Democrats in recent statewide elections.
The lawsuit, which was filed by group of Cobb County residents and liberal-leaning political groups, alleges that Republicans illegally crammed Black and Hispanic voters into three districts in the southern part of the suburban Atlanta county, solidifying Republicans’ hold on the remaining four districts.
Ross agreed, finding the people who drew the map relied too much on race.
Cobb County school districts thrown out as unconstitutional
Republican Sen. Ed Setzler of Acworth said the map would maintain core communities from current districts, calling it “the work of a very thoughtful process.” But Democratic Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta, who represents parts of Cobb County, said Setzler and Republicans short-circuited the normal local legislative process to try to maintain a Republican majority.
“This map and the proposal in the bill violates the clear provisions of the federal court order that was issued late last year,” Esteves said. “This map continues the packing of Black and brown voters in Cobb County, particularly on the south side of the county, limiting their influence.”
The map moves on to the House for more debate. If lawmakers give it final passage, Ross would have to decide if it passes legal muster. If lawmakers don’t act quickly, Ross could draw a map without legislative input.
“This is not something we need to wait around until March to do,” Setzler said. “There’s an election coming up in May.”
Any new map could upset the Republican majority on the board. The 106,000-student district has been riven by political conflict in recent years, with the GOP majority often imposing its will over the protests of the three Democratic members.
The district has alleged the plaintiffs are pursuing a Democratic takeover of the board through the lawsuit and appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a confusing pair of rulings last week, one three-judge panel on the appeals court refused to reinstate the school board, while another three-judge panel on the same day stayed Ross’ injunction.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The Texas Longhorns continue to be in control of their own destiny, needing to win out to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff, but that is a task easier said than done. Fresh off a bye week and looking healthy, they hit the road to take on the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
What has been viewed as a “monkey on their back” opponent, after going 0-2 against Kirby Smart and his team, including the SEC Championship loss that left a sour taste in their mouth, the rematch comes at a pivotal time for both teams. Can the Longhorns continue rolling and get their first win over the Bulldogs since joining the SEC last season?
Here’s how to watch one of week 12’s most exciting matchups.
The Bulldogs this season aren’t the same team they have been this decade. While generally known for their toughness and ability to defeat, this season they have shown that they do have chinks in their armor, especially on the defensive side of the ball, which is unlike what fans are accustomed to from them.
They are fourth in the conference in opponent yards per game, allowing 310.78, while being seventh in the SEC on the offensive side, averaging 436.33 yards per game. However, the biggest defense is what used to be the best defensive front in the conference, which ranks dead last in sacks this season with only 11, compared to the Longhorns, who are tied in first with 36.
The Bulldogs only have one loss this season, a 24-21 loss to the red-hot Alabama Crimson Tide. Still, they have played close games against other teams in the conference, including wins against the Florida Gators, Tennessee Volunteers, and the Ole Miss Rebels by a combined 15 points.
Georgia Tech is fresh off a bye week and will face Boston College on Saturday. At 8-1 and 5-1 in the ACC, everything is ahead of the Yellow Jackets with three games left in the regular season. The Yellow Jackets control their own destiny. They are a strong favorite to make the ACC championship with the highest odds in the conference. Georgia Tech has one of the best offenses in football and has leaned on it for one of its best seasons in the Brent Key era.
Coming into the matchup against the Eagles, Georgia Tech is highly favored.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Georgia Tech is a 16.5 favorite and the over/under is at 58.5 as the opening odds. Boston College is 1-9 and has lost nine consecutive games this season. The Eagles are still in search of their first ACC win this season. Despite the record, Boston College will be playing with no pressure and house money, going up against ranked Georgia Tech, looking to put a wrench into their season. Georgia Tech will have to come in and be ready to go.
The practices have produced good results during the bye week, and Georgia Tech is looking to be healthier in the contest on Saturday.
“So this time of year, it’s a good combination of getting healthy, getting players back healthy and mending up things that you’re not doing well or didn’t do well and improving on that and adding complementary things to your offense defense, kicking game and improving overall as a team,” said head coach Brent Key.
/ Brett Davis-Imagn Images
There was no big difference in the schedule for the Yellow Jackets, they still had practice on their regular days and ran a lot of good on good. Similar to what they did in fall camp in preparation for the season. With a focused bunch and corrections throughout the bye week, it should be a formula for success for the Yellow Jackets.
“You have certain days that we’re going to go out and practice. We tweak and alter and change the practice based on what we need. We’re going to practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday regardless. Now it changes a little bit depending on when your game is the following week. Sometimes you have Thursday or Friday, or Saturday, depending on that. But the schedule is the same. The schedule is the same. What you do within that time, yeah, that changes. Going back to what you’re self-scouting, you’re recruiting. The amount of practice you need, the things you need to get done, yet you also have to get guys healthy and get them back. So it’s all in all. You get in the back part of the season, right? That goes the same for any week,” said Key.
Georgia Tech will be back in action on ACC Network at 3:30 PM against Boston College.
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A cluster of thunderstorms developed around 2:30 PM on Saturday in western Hall County. As they moved to the east, they strengthened with one cell eventually becoming severe warned from east of Gainesville to the South Carolina line.
Heather Gwaltney shared this photo with us on Facebook of prolific hail in Oakwood.
As the storms marched east, they continued to produce hail with quarter-size hail reported in both Bowman and Elberton in Elbert County.
Gusty winds accompanied the storms, and officials reported a tree on a power line near Tara Place in Commerce.
The storms pushed into South Carolina and became more numerous, but calmed down over Northeast Georgia into the evening hours.
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