Savannah paper criticizes GOP candidates’ responses to Delta-NRA fight
Editorial writers at The Savannah Morning News (savannahnow.com) are calling out the top two GOP candidates for governor, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp, this week. The paper says Cagle and Kemp would be wise to "walk back their Twitter comments and revisit their stances." Cagle tweeted Monday that he would kill any tax legislation that would benefit Delta Air Lines unless the company resumes its relationship with the National Rifle Association. Kemp took to Twitter to oppose a proposed jet fuel tax break that Delta sought , calling it a "raw deal for taxpayers." A subsequent tweet from Kemp called for killing the jet fuel tax break and replacing it with a sales tax holiday targeting firearm sales. The editorial writers say Cagle "needs to show leadership in the Senate" and encourage a vote on the jet fuel tax break "on its merits and stop treating it as a hostage awaiting execution." Kemp, they write, "should bite the bullet, admit his tone-deafness and stop with the firearms sales tax holiday nonsense."
Evans says she’s focused on restoring free tuition for tech college students
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Evans of Smyrna told students at Emory University that she's pursuing the state's highest elected office, in part, due to her commitment to the popular lottery-funded HOPE scholarship program. The Emory Wheel reports that Evans, who resigned from the Georgia House last fall to run for governor, told students: "I realized I had reached the limits of what I could do in the minority party in the Legislature, and, if I was going to continue my fight to restore tuition-free tech college, I was just going to have to become the governor." In 2011, the HOPE program was said to be heading to bankruptcy and changed radically. Imposed for the first time was a required grade-point average for technical college students of 3.0. Hundreds of students lost HOPE as a result, and the GPA requirement was rolled back to a 2.0. for technical colleges.
Story raises questions on Georgia anti-hacking bill
Naked Security, a website focused on computer security, has posted a story that suggests a Georgia anti-hacking bill could criminalize security researchers. State Attorney General Chris Carr is backing Senate Bill 315, saying it is needed to close a loophole that prevents the state from prosecuting somebody who harmlessly accesses computers without authorization. The story says critics believe the legislation is misguided and will hurt the cybersecurity industry in Georgia by penalizing security researchers reporting on bugs. It also suggests this would criminalize innocent internet users engaged in innocuous and commonplace behavior.
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