Tag: Athens-Clarke County

Georgia Senate Passes Bill to Defund Sanctuary Cities

Debra McClure
Randy Robertson

A bill to strengthen immigration enforcement and accountability passed the Georgia Senate by a vote of 33-18 last Thursday. HB 301 would remove funding from sanctuary cities refusing to follow immigration laws within the state. The bill awaits transfer to the House for further consideration.

The measure aims to hold officials accountable and allow local “governing bodies” to lose eligibility for “certain state and federal funds” when “the prohibition on immigration sanctuary policies” is violated.

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Father of Laken Riley Demands Gov. Kemp Declare Illegal Immigrant ‘Invasion’ in Georgia Senate Speech

Tom Pappert
Laken Riley's Dad

The father of Laken Riley addressed the Georgia State Senate on Wednesday with a call for lawmakers and Governor Brian Kemp to “declare an invasion” following his daughter’s murder.

Invited to address the legislators by Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton), Jason Riley called on lawmakers and the governor to recognize the severity of the illegal immigration crisis in Georgia and “protect citizens from this illegal invasion.”

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Athens’ Homeless Problem Could Lower University of Georgia’s Enrollment Numbers, One Resident Says

Chris Butler

Athens-Clarke County officials use taxpayer money to lure in greater and greater numbers of homeless people from around Georgia, but the consequences to the county and to the University of Georgia (UGA) are too great to ignore. This, according to two Athens residents who said they have observed the city’s homeless epidemic up close.

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Georgia District Attorney Disparages Conservative Oconee County Constituents as White Supremacists

Chris Butler

The district attorney for Georgia’s Western Judicial Circuit last month compared her constituents in Oconee County to white supremacists, and she said they wish to do her harm. That woman, Deborah Gonzalez, represents a district that includes not only Oconee but Athens-Clarke counties. Athens-Clarke County’s political climate is strongly liberal. Oconee County’s political climate, meanwhile, is very conservative, according to BestPlaces.net

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Georgia Bill Would Restrict Local Government’s Power to Defund the Police

Chris Butler

Six members of the Georgia House of Representatives have responded to the “Defund the Police” movement and filed a bill that would prohibit local governments in the state from cutting more than 5 percent of their police budgets. State Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens), the bill’s primary sponsor, said Tuesday that his legislation would, if enacted into law, exempt local governments that lose more than 5 percent of their budget revenues.

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