A more than eight hundred thousand dollar settlement has been reached in a case stemming from complaints that Georgia Gwinnett College violated the First Amendment rights of two students.
The dispute began more than five years ago when a campus police officer told then-student Chike Uzuegbunam he couldn’t distribute written materials expressing his Christian faith at an outdoor plaza near the campus library. Another student, Joseph Bradford, who also wanted to preach on campus, later joined the case as a plaintiff.
U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year the students could seek nominal damages even though the college since made changes it believes make it easier for any group to hold an event on its campus. The settlement was finalized last week.
Opponents of the Proposed Rivian Plant Request Overturn of Rental Agreement
Opponents of the proposed Rivian plant in Morgan and Walton counties have asked a judge to overturn a Morgan County board’s approval of a rental agreement with the company, contending it violates the state constitution.
The AJC reports if the court agrees, it could threaten the project and put seven hundred million dollars in future property tax savings in jeopardy.
At issue is a rental agreement between a local development authority and Rivian on about 2,000 acres along I-20 that straddles Walton and Morgan counties where the factory will be located that effectively removes property taxes from the deal.
Lawyers for seven Morgan County residents contend in a court filing dated Tuesday that the Morgan board erred in granting its approval. The Joint Development Authority (JDA) of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties said the legal action is entirely without merit.
Confederate Monuments Relocated
Two Confederate monuments are being moved in Macon after relocation plans were stalled for years by lawsuits.
Crews began moving the monuments Wednesday using $160,000 in private money raised by a community foundation. The monuments are going to a park outside Macon’s Rose Hill Cemetery, where 884 Confederate soldiers are buried, from locations on two downtown streets.
One statue on Cotton Avenue, erected in a different location in the 1870s, represents an anonymous Confederate soldier. Another monument on Poplar Avenue, built by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, was dedicated to “women of the South.” The Macon-Bibb County Commission approved moving the monuments in July 2020.
