(GA. NEWS NETWORK)
*Gov. Brian Kemp has suspended a south Georgia mayor. The action comes after Camilla mayor Kelvin Owens, Interim City Manager Cheryl Ford, and former Election Superintendent Rhunette Williford were indicted on election interference charges in late May. Prosecutors say Ford resigned the day before the November 5th election in 2024 in an effort to stop voters from voting and Williford willfully attempted to defraud electors and voters by not posting required notices. WALB reports Owens was accused of discouraging the opening of the polls claiming no one there was qualified to run the election. The suspension is effective immediately.
*Georgia Power customers are playing more than ever before on their bills. A series of rate hikes and fuel costs over the past few years has caused an average increase of 43 dollars a month, according to the AJC. There have been reports of residents receiving bills of at least 500 dollars this summer. July’s excessive heat likely caused the price to jump quickly as well, because rates in summer months almost double once a certain amount of kilowatt hours have been used.
*Some nurses are showing up in Atlanta to rally against federal cuts to Veterans Affairs. Eleven Alive says a group showed up to protest outside the Atlanta VA officers yesterday. National Nurses United claims 55 percent of the nursing staff in mental health intensive case management will be cut. As many as 30-thousand jobs are estimated to be terminated by the end of the fiscal year.