Political Notes

Executive appointments: Gov. Sonny Perdue named Cumming developer Mike Evans, a former House member from Forsyth County who once chaired the State Transportation Board, to the Board of Community Affairs. Evans stepped down from his seat on the Transportation Board…

On a night when the rest of America was saying “Yes, we can!” to the notion of electing a black man as president, voters in Georgia defiantly replied, “No, we won’t!” The election of Barack Obama as the country’s first…

Over and back: Gov. Sonny Perdue was criticized in some quarters for flying to Spain on an industry-hunting junket while a gasoline shortage was making life miserable for people living in metro Atlanta and north Georgia, but his trip shouldn’t…

I don’t know that there has ever been a Georgia politician who has provided more surprises over the years than Angela Elizabeth Speir, who will soon be stepping down as a member of the Public Service Commission. She came out…

Sam I am?: He obviously wasn’t the pick for vice president, but is there a chance that retired senator Sam Nunn will play any kind of role in Barack Obama’s campaign or administration? “I have made no decision that I…

It has been a long, long journey for George T. Smith – from plowing behind a mule in south Georgia during the 1920s to playing a pivotal role in the state’s most tumultuous political period, to occupying a seat in…

Golden opportunity: You can add the name of state Sen. Tim Golden (D-Valdosta) to the list of possible Democratic candidates for governor. Golden got the word out that he’s giving serious consideration to the race, although he might not announce…

If your only source of information about Georgia’s public schools was the news releases distributed by the office of state school Supt. Kathy Cox, you’d think that our kids are surely being educated in the best of all possible worlds.…

Hail and farewell: Two of the most important figures in the state’s higher education community both retired, coincidentally enough, on June 30: Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough and Georgia State University President Carl Patton (they both ascended to their…

It’s as close to paradise as you can get and still be within the geographical confines of Georgia. I am referring to the scenic beauty of our coast and its Golden Isles, one of the major attractions for tourists who…