(GA. NEWS NETWORK UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
*The number of first time filings for unemployment are decreasing across Georgia. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which says for the week ending February 21st, there were just over 39-hundred first time filings in the state, which is several hundred less filings than the week prior.
*The FBI is taking part in a new role for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Georgia. A spokesperson for the Atlanta office told the AJC this week that there is a rotating number of eight agents who help transport immigrants from county jails to federal custody. Former FBI supervisor Vic Hartman says it could be demoralizing for highly-trained agents who work in areas like terrorism and cyber crimes to round up immigrants. He adds the FBI has been told to de-emphasize white-collar crimes in exchange for immigration work.
*A bill has been introduced in the Georgia Senate that would limit early voters to a single precinct. It also calls for switching to hand-marked paper ballots and raising the threshold for automatic recounts. The proposal also calls for the State Elections Board to take over voter challenge authority and require public posting of voter rolls, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats over privacy and access concerns. (SOURCE: Cumming Patch)