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News

• GBI probing Buie: Downtown chief’s former girlfriend says he took $1,600 from ADICA
• City may kill sign code: Enforcement moratorium proposed
• Phoebe appoints chief operating officer
• Phoebe’s Allen gets ‘award of distinction’
• Lem Griffin: Scouts Honor; Boy Scout facility named after community leader
• Darton’s Hilyard wins state honor

Analysis

• Kevin Hogencamp: Inside Albany
• WhatchaSay, Albany?
• Our perspective: City should enforce or change its laws – after getting input
• Dr. Harry Dorsey: AMA exists to help doctors help patients
• Adventures of Stickman: The Search for the City Commission’s Brain
• Jim Wilcox: County police officers shortchanged
• Jim Wilcox: Police need to be more visible
• Mike Sabot: Bishop betrayed constituents for money
• Ted Anderson: Personal attacks – for just expressing my opinion?

Features

• Kristen Taylor: Dynamic ‘healers’ coming to Albany/Benefits of Thai Yoga bodywork
• Beverly Sutton Herman: City promoting green buying, living
• Junior Miss contestants preparing for pageant Happy Independence Day. Lots of fun is on tap.
• A gift from Brooks Furniture
• Jim Hall: Computer Geek to Regular Speak!
• The Good Life: The Best Local Calendar in Albany
• Nite Trax: Albany’s top guide to nightlife and good food

Sports

• Albany native may be Green Bay’s best back
• Tim Dix: Florida 62, South Georgia 45
• Baseball: Red Sox win YMCA championship
• Baseball: Lee County Highjackers place third in world series

Faith

• Church Briefs: The Pointe, Byne Memorial Baptist, Sherwood Baptist, Baconton United Methodist
• Rev. James Snyder: Let’s have a Fourth of July picnic
• Obituaries: Randy Delico, Troy Dean Ford, Sue Grippando, Brantley Lewis Humphreys Jr., Afton Poe Hurley, Dean L. Kistler, Alice Frances McManus, Gut Pierce Odom Jr., Helen Lee Thornton Ravitch, Lum E. Story Sr.

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City may kill sign code

Enforcement moratorium proposed

By Kevin Hogencamp

Loud and clear, Albany commissioners are getting the message from business operators about the city’s new sign ordnance: It’s time to go back to the drawing board.

Indeed, on Tuesday, the commission will consider setting a moratorium on sign code enforcement until after the 2009 election. Meanwhile, Commissioner Morris Gurr, Assistant City Manager James Taylor and other city staffers will meet with business operators at 3 p.m. today (Wednesday, July 1) in room 120 of the Government Center to hear their concerns about the city’s sign regulations.

During a six-month enforcement hiatus, commissioners may “tweak” the ordinance, said Gurr, whose first four-year term representing Ward 3 expires at the end of the year.

“After I had several businesses -- used car dealerships, drive-thru restaurant, a mattress store, and other types -- voice concerns about the enforcement of the sign ordinance, I took the initiative to ask them if they would agree to participate in a forum with city staff to voice their concerns,” Gurr said. “My main purpose in this is that each one I talked to had a little bit different angle on how the sign ordinance was affecting them.

“So, rather than deal with these concerns one at a time I thought it prudent to bring them to the table all at once for staff to hear and then to make possible recommendations on changes to the sign ordinance. I told every business I talked to that I was just one vote but that I believed they deserved a voice to validate their concerns. It would be up to the entire commission to ‘tweak’ the ordinance and make any changes it may deem necessary. My role at the Wednesday meeting is to only give a short welcome and introduction.”

Murr said he will mull whether to support a sign code moratorium after Wednesday’s meeting.

The sign ordinance also is now on the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce’s radar. Katherine Glover, the chamber’s president, said that two weeks ago, “we picked up a copy of the sign ordinance, and our advocacy team has reviewed all 18 pages.”

“As an organization, we’re in a position now that we’ve not been in prior to 2009, as we now have a registered lobbyist on staff that works not only on the State level, but also on the local level,” Glover said in an e-mail to a chamber member. “We’re therefore now able to better address the advocacy needs of the regional business community.

“Our next step will be to send an electronic communication out to our membership early next week, through our weekly e-newsletter to ascertain which local issues directly impact their business. We’ll then act accordingly once we receive input from the close to 1,200 businesses that we serve in this region.”

After City Manager Alfred Lott refused to enforce the city’s sign ordinance for several years, the sign code was refined last year without an effort to involve businesses affected by changes. Indeed, in reviewing the sign ordinance, city officials set their sights largely son electronic billboards that had illegally sprung up over the last four years while city commissioners and staff looked the other way, saying that its law was unconstitutional. But the billboard industry successfully lobbied commissioners – and the electronic message boards were legalized.

Albany retiree celebrates birthday and Father's Day with $1M lottery win

An Albany retiree’s birthday and Father’s Day were a million times more special this year. Bobby Lee Morgan won a $1 million Georgia Lottery prize within days of his 72nd birthday and Father’s Day.

Morgan was watching TV late at night when he scratched his lucky Extreme Green instant ticket.

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” he said.

The top prize ticket was purchased at Family Pantry, 4324 Radium Springs Road, Albany.

Morgan, a retired mechanic, is married with three children and what he describes as “a bunch of grands.”

He’s looking forward to traveling with his wife, Elizabeth, a teacher.

“We may get ourselves something to travel around in and go visit people,” he said.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned over $10.8 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program. More than 1.1 million students have received HOPE, and more than 940,000 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.

Retail gasoline prices decline and should move lower approaching Independence Day weekend

The national average price of gasoline fell by 5-cents per gallon in the past week. Fuel prices in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are down by 3-cents, 4-cents and 5-cents per gallon respectively during the same period.

With high oil inventories and weak demand, 21 of 38 analysts (55%) surveyed by Bloomberg each Thursday say they expect oil futures to decline in the week ahead. Only eight of 38 expect prices to increase. (Nine remain neutral.)

Additionally, falling wholesale prices point to further drops ahead for retail prices, according to Retail Fuel Watch, an oil industry weekly published by Oil Price Information Service.

“Last year at this time, we saw the national average price of gasoline increase from $4.07 to $4.10 on July 4. Fortunately, it’s a much different story this year. All the indicators reflect that the peak price is behind us and we can now expect retail gasoline prices to edge downward, even as we approach the Independence Day weekend,” said Gregg Laskoski, managing director of public relations, AAA Auto Club South.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil closed Friday at $69.16 per barrel and continues to decline from the highest week-ending price seen so far this year of $72.04 per barrel on June 12.



CURRENT AND PAST PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline

Current Week Ago Month Ago Year Ago
National: $2.643 $2.693 $2.467 $4.072
Florida: $2.683 $2.716 $2.446 $4.036
Georgia: $2.511 $2.558 $2.314 $3.990
Tennessee: $2.494 $2.540 $2.317 $3.906

AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report (fuelgaugereport.com) is updated each day and is the most comprehensive; reflecting actual prices from credit card transactions within the past 24 hours at two-thirds (100,000 stations) of the gasoline stations in the U.S. Its accuracy is unparalleled.

How much are you paying for gasoline taxes in Florida/Georgia/Tennessee? Use this link: http://www.aaasouth.com/acs_news/gas_taxes.asp to find out.

Next Fuel Price Brief: Sunday, July 5, 2009

Wildcats win would clinch playoff berth

Tim Dix, the South Georgia Wildcats' top-notch media relations manager, says that af2 officials informed the team today that South Georgia would clinch a playoff win with a victory Saturday over the Florida Firecats.

Go (Wild)Cats!

Our Wildcats are on the road this weekend and next, and return to the Albany Civic Center on July 11 to take on the Firecats.

Assistant Chief, accused of theft of services and lying about it, keeps job

Albany City Manager Alfred Lott has ruled that Assistant Fire Chief Rod Jolivete, who was accused of theft of services by having firefighters clean out his relatives' home, may keep his job.

Jolivette will be suspended for 30 days rather than fired, and he will be demoted.

WALB has posted Lott's decision at http://files.walb.com/Jolivette.pdf.

See this Wednesday's Albany Journal for more information and perspective.

Get your paper today!

Here's some of what's in this week's Journal:

News and Features

• City to OK swim cost: $60 per day per child. By Kevin Hogencamp
• A miracle in the making? Community rallying to help 3-year-old cancer victim Ward Wright; fund-raising golf tournament set for June 22. By Kevin Hogencamp
• South Georgia Wildcats news and notes. By Tim Dix
• Church briefs
• A Healthy Albany: Swimsuit season -- don't run for cover! By Kristen Taylor
• Run a 5K in 5 weeks. By Paula Bacon
• Computer Geek to Regular Speak. By Jim Hall
• On Faith: Don't give me any of that doubletalk. By Rev. James L. Snyder
• Noise: Hearing loss and other effects. By Henry and Margarita Ilecki
• New York Times crossword puzzle
• The Good Life: The best local calendar in Albany
• Nite Trax: A guide to Albany's nightlife

Opinion
Our viewpoint: Sign law -- From farce to fiasco
Water customers need assistance. By Rodney Evans
Legal bribery root of nation's woes. By Jim Finkelstein
At $63 per day per child, stop waste at Carver Pool. By Jim Wilcox
Good news from City Hall. By Roger Marietta
What's wrong here? By Ted Anderson
Tax hikes are all around us. By Mike Sabot
A case for partisan elections. By Tom Knighton
Inside Albany. By Kevin Hogencamp
Whatcha-say, Albany? community forum

Obituaries

• Dora W. Beasley
• Arnold Edwards
• Martha Sorrells Young Hymerling
• Wanda M. King
• Mary Frances (Brad) Rakel
• Derby Thompson
• John Peter Weise Sr.

Father's Day is around the corner. Advertisers, get in on the great action and our great rates. Call Kevin Hogencamp today at 407-0982.