(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of what we hope will be a regular daily roundup of news from around Georgia. How often each day that it is updated will depend on what we in the business call “the inventory” of stories. While we will continue to focus on local news, we feel that there are those stories from elsewhere in Georgia that might be of interest to you, our readers.)
*The family of an inmate who died at Augusta State Medical Prison has been awarded a $5 million settlement in a lawsuit over his death. His death, a prison watchdog group says, highlights problems in the state’s prison system.
*Online sports betting legislation is once again making its way through discussions at the State Capitol. The state Senate passed a bill yesterday that would legalize online sports betting under the Georgia Lottery. Because of amendments to the bill, both the House and Senate will need two-thirds support for a resolution that would then allow the idea to be put before voters. Sports betting has been a topic every General Assembly for at least the last half-decade.
*The future of Georgia’s voting system is in the hands of a federal judge. Attorneys for an election advocacy group argued in court over the last 17-days that the Dominion touchscreen voting machines are vulnerable to hacking. The state claims no voting machines have been hacked, so there’s no voting rights violations.
*While many eyes were on the North’s Punxsutawney Phil to predict how the weather will go leading up to spring, but since 1981 many Georgians have turned to General Beauregard Lee as the official weather prognosticator. This morning at Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson Beauregard Lee was in line with Phil and did not see his shadow, predicting an early spring.
*The Georgia Poison Center says they are seeing a rise in calls related to water bead ingestion by children. Richard Trumka is commissioner with the U-S Consumer Products Safety Commission and says parents should not trust any non-toxic labeling on water beads.
*Authorities in the City of South Fulton have taken at least 19 people into custody who are suspected to be involved with human trafficking. Meanwhile, in southeast Georgia, 17 men have been arrested in Bryan County on similar charges.