First week of May was fifth-coldest on record
A break from mild spring temperatures won’t last long, as more rain and below-normal temperatures could return to the Augusta area, weather forecasters said.
“Keep your jacket handy. You aren’t going to be 90 degrees and hot yet,” said Bill Murphey, Georgia’s state climatologist.
The first seven days of May were the fifth-coldest on record, Murphey said. The average temperature was 62.2 degrees, or 5.1 degrees below normal.
Downtown Augusta is safe, community leaders say
Augusta leaders and members of the downtown community concluded at a gathering Wednesday that downtown is safe, but admitted that, unfortunately, perception is reality.
Augusta Commission member Corey Johnson said he was “very disturbed” by the events that taken place downtown, but “this is nowhere near as bad as it seems.”
“Let me say this for the record: Downtown is not a dangerous place,” Johnson said. “But these things happen, and it’s unfortunate they happen here.”
Georgia Court of Appeals upholds Scott Dean conviction
The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected former Harlem Mayor Scott Dean’s contention that he was unfairly tried and convicted of child molestation in Columbia County in 2011.
In an order released Tuesday, the appellate court denied Dean’s appeal.
Dean, also a former Columbia County commissioner, was convicted by a Superior Court jury. Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. sentenced him to 20 years in prison, followed by 20 years’ probation.
Dean’s supporters’ contention that the victim has recanted her accusations was not brought up.
Ga. tax collections up 13%
ATLANTA -- An improving economy pushed Georgia tax collections up 13 percent in April, Gov. Nathan Deal’s office announced Wednesday.
He let the news slip a day earlier when he signed the $19.9 billion budget into law in his Capitol office before a dozen reporters. He was asked if future budgets would include the 3-percent cuts most agencies are getting in next year’s spending plan.
He said, “I have never been one to subscribe to the terms ‘this is the new normal,’” mentioning the 13-percent boost in the previous month’s collections.
