Family and friends of John Lewis gathered with community members in Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on Friday to celebrate the first day of sale of a forever stamp honoring the late congressman.

But the event was more than just that. It was the first public memorial for Lewis’ life and legacy since his death from pancreatic cancer three years ago Monday.

“It is a moment in which we get to say thank you,” said Michael Collins, a former chief of staff to Lewis and the chair of the John and Lilian Miles Lewis Foundation. “We get to remember, we get to think about the good work, the great work, the necessary work of Congressman Lewis’ life and legacy… and recommit ourselves to the work ahead.”

https://www.ajc.com/politics/stamp-ceremony-gives-community-chance-to-reflect-on-john-lewis-legacy/RPUPVDMEH5GCFDP7NKLWX45NTY/

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is returning to the White House in a new role within President Joe Biden’s administration.

Bottoms, who served as mayor from 2018 through 2021, has been appointed as a member of the President’s Export Council, which serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade, the White House announced last Friday.

Specifically, the White House said the Council advises the president on government policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems in the business, industrial, agricultural, labor, and government sectors.

https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/former-atlanta-mayor-keisha-lance-bottoms-gets-new-white-house-job/4JZJJIBB6NHORP76WXFK3O5MJE/

In a blow to Democrats in Georgia and across the South, the Democratic National Committee selected Chicago as the site of its 2024 convention despite a strong push for Atlanta to host the political spectacle.


Party officials announced that Chicago would host the convention, dashing hopes of top state Democrats who had lobbied President Joe Biden and his allies relentlessly for the quadrennial event.

They hoped it would showcase Georgia’s growing political importance as one of the nation’s premier battleground states. But instead the convention went to Chicago, the biggest city in one of the nation’s most solidly Democratic states.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/atlanta-loses-bid-for-democratic-national-convention-to-chicago/GLMOV35VZNFJVNDIMDDHT4YZPA/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_6592859

Thursday was a day of somber remembrance in Atlanta for the victims of a violent rampage two years ago that shook Asian American and immigrant communities across the city, state, and country. Six of the eight killed at three Atlanta-area spas on March 16, 2021, were Asian women. Among them was Yong Ae Yue, 63, a Korean immigrant who moved to the U.S. in the 1980s.

On Thursday, her son, Robert Peterson, was part of a group of advocates and lawmakers gathered at the Georgia State Capitol to mourn the victims and reflect on the battles and advocacy of the past two years.

“When a family member dies in a mass shooting, our families lose the right to grieve in privacy. But we are not alone. We are grieving together as a community,” he said.

“Today is a day to reimagine and redefine what it means to be Asian American. To show we are no longer invisible and quiet, but we are now … loud and proud.” He added: “We are no longer satisfied with thoughts and prayers.”


https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/its-still-painful-family-members-mourn-victims-of-spa-shootings/R7ITNA5SR5BYRLPFTXMP5SRCV4/

https://www.gpb.org/news/2023/03/10/what-do-the-proposed-georgia-prosecutor-oversight-bills-do-explainer?utm_source=GA+Today+Newsletter&utm_campaign=3adf1d319a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_08_04_04_27_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c2024aa7e2-3adf1d319a-1412945147

https://www.ajc.com/politics/kemp-signs-midyear-budget-with-an-almost-1-billion-property-tax-break/7S3LPYNW3BGGVL5UMJRJ7RO7ZE/

Under the spending plan, homeowners will receive an extra one-time exemption on the value of their homes at tax time, a move that Kemp said in January would save those Georgians, on average, about $500. It will cost the state about $950 million.

Under the separate bill the Senate is expected to approve, many Georgians would also receive an income tax rebate, as they did last year. Married couples who file jointly would receive a maximum of $500. Someone who files as head of a household would get up to $375, and single filers could get as much as $250 for single filers.