http://www.macon.com/203/index.xml News, sports and entertainment from Macon Telegraph en-us Copyright 2009 Macon Telegraph Opinion 60 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:01:48 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's PubSys feedback@macon.com http://www.macon.com/203/story/923698.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/923698.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:51 EST Macon City Council appears to have reverted to its old tricks earlier this week when it rejected Mayor Robert Reichert’s choice for director of the city’s Emergency Management Agency. This was an action that appears grounded in political payback, and it is one that deprived Macon of hiring someone who, from all appearances, was the best candidate for the job. http://www.macon.com/203/story/923846.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/923846.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:13 EST It’s hard for me to imagine what growing up would have been like without “the mall.” http://www.macon.com/203/story/923697.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/923697.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:38 EST Assuming you are reading this sometime Friday, I’ll be on Sean Hannity’s show tonight at 9:30 p.m. http://www.macon.com/203/story/923694.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/923694.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:46 EST Last Sunday night I was doing what I am almost always doing on Sunday nights this time of year — watching NFL football. This week’s Sunday night game was the Colts versus the Patriots. It’s usually a good game when those two teams get together, and this year’s contest was certainly no exception. It wasn’t decided until Peyton Manning threw a touchdown pass, leading the Colts to a 35-34 victory with only 13 seconds left in the game. http://www.macon.com/203/story/923695.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/923695.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:41 EST With our state government in a budget crisis, the pressure is now on local and county governments to raise taxes. Hancock County has raised assessments and the millage rate. Twiggs County has pretty much done the same. Local property owners are outraged over the unwarranted tax increases, and rightfully so. http://www.macon.com/203/story/922162.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/922162.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:01 EST A report by a government panel this week that recommends drastic changes in procedures to test for breast cancer has created a major controversy among women and the doctors who treat them. The report, by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government panel of scientists and physicians, says women should wait until age 50 to begin getting mammograms. The panel, citing as the prime reason that getting mammograms at age 40, as the American Cancer Society and The Society for Breast Imaging recommend, is that early and frequent screenings often lead to false alarms and unneeded biopsies without substantially improving women’s odds of survival. http://www.macon.com/203/story/922161.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/922161.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:01 EST In a recent Telegraph, the article regarding the tax assessments quoted Commissioner Joe Allen saying, “I’m not breaking the law for them or anybody else.” Allen made that statement in response to property owners being urged to contact their county commissioners regarding unfair property tax appraisals. http://www.macon.com/203/story/922443.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/922443.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:05 EST An opinion column in Wednesday’s Telegraph was mistakenly labeled as a column by Eugene Robinson. It was written by Leonard Pitts Jr. http://www.macon.com/203/story/920683.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/920683.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:35 EST It’s a troubling headline that appears much too often, and it usually says something like this: “Student suspended after bringing a loaded gun to school.” Readers saw such a headline in The Telegraph again Tuesday over a story about a Dublin middle school student who is accused of bringing a pistol to school in his book bag Nov. 12, an action that might have been sparked by a schoolyard altercation. Whatever the reason, there can be no possible justification for an eighth-grader to be in possession of a loaded handgun, either on or off school property. The child was suspended, a correct response, but one that is somewhat akin to closing the barn door after the animals have escaped. http://www.macon.com/203/story/920682.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/920682.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:35 EST Years ago, back in the ’50s, a precious uncle gave me a ring. I was about 10, I suppose, and the ring was smooth and looked like one of those rings people used to make out of nickels but that was illegal — so this ring was not one of those, but smooth and comfortable nonetheless. Perhaps that’s why it fell off my finger one afternoon somewhere near a stable in Rapid City, S.D. We boys were playing around the salt licks and horses and it just “slipped away” is how I explained it to Mom. http://www.macon.com/203/story/919459.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/919459.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:48 EST Attention, National Board Certified teachers in Georgia who got hosed by the state in the last legislative session: I think I have found the guy in the white hat who plans to ride to the rescue. And he is a good one to have on the horse. http://www.macon.com/203/story/918436.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/918436.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:04 EST As the leaves fall and we prepare our homes for Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season, you may not be aware there are several thousand citizens whose only home is one of Georgia’s seven regional mental health hospitals. Many of these patients have lived in the hospitals for decades and have little, if any, support from friends or family. http://www.macon.com/203/story/916023.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/916023.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:35 EST The recession has finally hit home for city of Macon employees. While the nation has shed more than 1.4 million jobs this year, city employees have been spared. They dodged the furlough bullet during the last budget cycle, but the financial condition of the economy — and the city — has not improved. And while it would be easy to lay blame on the recession, the woes of Macon’s finances were only exacerbated by the economic slowdown, not created by it. Macon’s financial issues can be traced back to 2002 when the sales-tax split between the city and Bibb County changed from a 80/20 favoring the city to 60/40. http://www.macon.com/203/story/916029.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/916029.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:35 EST Sidney Lanier was much more than just a poet, albeit he has been known as Georgia’s and the South’s greatest poet, and even erroneously hailed as the poet laureate of both. http://www.macon.com/203/story/916025.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/916025.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:35 EST The aging Bibb County courthouse in downtown Macon — with its inadequate security — could be replaced with a more modern facility subsequent to a recent vote of the Bibb County Commission. http://www.macon.com/203/story/916030.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/916030.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:50 EST Inherently, this community wants to support the public school system. People understand the connection between a strong public school system and a thriving — not just surviving — community. http://www.macon.com/203/story/916027.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/916027.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:35 EST By Ryan Williams http://www.macon.com/203/story/914608.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/914608.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:25 EST As retailers look with trepidation at the upcoming holiday shopping season, they are not the only ones hoping the economy turns around faster in a positive direction. In a report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, “The State of Working Georgia 2009,” there are a few grim facts pointing to the pain many Georgians are experiencing. http://www.macon.com/203/story/914623.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/914623.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:30 EST Only a month or so ago, The Telegraph quoted Mayor Robert Reichert as feeling “isolated and alone” or some such way of expressing his detachment in office. It has not been an easy ride for Mayor Reichert as a City Council intended to be weak has become strong and stubborn. http://www.macon.com/203/story/914607.html http://www.macon.com/203/story/914607.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:25 EST Veterans Day is two days past, but for this college teacher every day is veterans day, for a number of my students, male and female, have come home from Iraq, Afghanistan or from stateside military service.