Open letter to Peachtree City Manager Jim Pennington

Jim, Jim, Jim ... I feel sorry for you! You must be worried and exasperated because you are expected to allocate a portion of your busy staff’s time to research the pros and cons of permitting back yard hens and chicken coops in Peachtree City.

City Council members could have hired a chicken consultant but they threw it in your lap. Although hen house research is a really “chicken” assignment, I am confident you will scratch up enough relevant information for the council to consider as it deliberates this highly critical issue. Read More»

My predictions for 2012 resulted in the mixed bag of “hits” and “misses” featured in my last column. Friends seem to point out the misses more often than they comment on the hits.

Foretelling the future is risky but the reactions to my off-the-wall predictions are as funny as watching the sneezing monkey on the David Letterman show. Here are my 2013 predictions: Read More»

The beginning of a new year is the time to face the music about the accuracy of my predictions featured in this column one year ago. Here are the 2012 predictions and self-assigned grades evaluating my effectiveness as a forecaster:

• The Atlanta Braves will win the National League pennant and lose to the Los Angeles Angels in the World Series.

Grade: An F is the correct grade because neither team made it to the World Series. Some generous readers will justify a C for effort since the Braves made the wildcard playoff spot and the Angels narrowly missed. Read More»

The year will end soon and it is time to reflect on the best and worst events of 2012. The worst of 2012 are:

• The evil murder of 20 children and six adults last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

• The horrible midnight massacre in the movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

• The sad day in January when Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who received a bullet in the head during an assassination attempt, announced that she would not seek reelection to her seat in Congress. Read More»

Last Friday, the Fayette County Board of Commissioners and the Fayette County Water Committee hosted dedication ceremonies for the newly constructed Lake McIntosh. Quite a few politicians, water czars and sewer boys were in attendance. Local lakes, drinking water, sewer service, storm water fees and other associated costs of clean water have been front page news in Fayette County for several months. Read More»

There has been a trend to create new cities in the north metro Atlanta suburbs during the past five years. The newly incorporated cities of Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Johns Creek, Milton and Brookhaven seem to have appeared overnight.

Grass-roots efforts helped establish the new charters through enabling local legislation by the General Assembly followed by an affirmative vote by residents of the proposed cities.

The shiny new cities have promptly elected mayors and councils, hired employees and selected private companies to provide key services to constituents. Read More»

The meaning of words and expressions from yesterday has changed to the extent my grandmother, Mattie Paulk Loyd, would have difficulty communicating today. She was born in 1877 and lived to be more than 100 years of age.

Grandmother Mattie told me that Aunt Tessie was a poor woman. Her definition of poor had nothing to do with Tessie’s income or financial condition. She meant Tessie looked pathetically skinny and malnourished.

She criticized Uncle Jake for being a gay bachelor in his early adult life. Gay was not a reference to sexual preference in her vocabulary. Read More»

The number of unopposed incumbents qualifying for office in Fayette County indicates residents are either apathetic or just plain happy with elected officials.

Candidates for the majority of Fayette County posts are unopposed in the upcoming election and will be swept into office without the benefit of public debate, consideration of qualifications or any other meaningful community discourse.

The sample ballot for the McIntosh voting precinct reveals that 14 of the 25 races to be decided by voters in the July primary are uncontested. The uncontested races are: Read More»

The state constitution specifies that every child in Georgia is entitled to free public education. It describes education as a responsibility of the state and function of local school systems. Public school budgets and policy decisions are under the control of locally elected boards of education as long as minimum state requirements are met. Read More»

Last year was characterized by news of scandal, failed government programs, negative politics, natural disasters and other unforeseeable events.

The new year promises to be equally unpredictable. Foretelling is risky for a columnist because readers have the advantage of hindsight and tend to have long memories. I knowingly take the risk of being wrong and offer the following predictions for next year:

• The Atlanta Braves will win the National League pennant and lose to the Los Angeles Angels in the World Series. Read More»