Month: March 2012
Olens: ‘Encouraged’ following Supreme Court arguments
ATLANTA — After three days of oral arguments before the Supreme Court over whether the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act — known as Obamacare by opponents — is constitutional, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens said he is “encouraged.” Georgia is one of more than two dozen states challenging the law that Congress passed and President Obama signed into law in March 2010. The Supreme Court will hear six hours of oral arguments between Monday
Ga. Senate passes measure to curb pill mills
ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate has approved a measure aimed at stemming the spread of pill mills in the Peach State. The Senate voted 49-3 in favor of House Bill 972. Under the measure, which the state House previously approved, the Georgia Composite Medical Board would have the power to license and regulate pain management clinics. “Prescription drug abuse in Georgia has increased at an alarming rate in recent years, wreaking havoc in communities across
Feds: JetBlue pilot from Georgia charged
A JetBlue pilot from Georgia faces a federal charge of interference with a flight crew after telling his colleagues “things just don’t matter” and leaving the cockpit mid-flight. Clayton Frederick Osbon, 49, of Richmond Hill, on Tuesday was assigned to JetBlue Flight No. 191 from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York to Las Vegas. However, according to federal authorities, Osbon was late arriving to JFK and missed a crew briefing. According to an FBI
Court: Pre-trial motion in death penalty case premature
ATLANTA — The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld a Peach County court’s denial of a pre-trial motion filed by a woman facing the death penalty. The woman — Lillian Walker of Montezuma — argued she should be acquitted because her right to a speedy trial has been violated. But, Justice David Nahmias wrote that under state law, the woman filed her motion prematurely. Walker, 54 at the time of her arrest, was arrested on June 12, 2009,
Court: Perdue should not have removed school board members
ATLANTA – Former Gov. Sonny Perdue did not have the authority to remove from office three members of the Warren County Board of Education, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled. The court unanimously reversed a Fulton County court decision and ruled that state law grants the governor authority to remove members of any “board, commission, or authority” created by statute who have violated the state’s code of ethics law. However, “county school boards are creations of the