Augusta

More than 1000 people from Georgia will travel to Washington this week to demand immigration reform. Latino groups say President Obama hasn't followed through on a promise to make it easier for immigrants to stay in the U.S., instead deporting more immigrants at a faster rate than the Bush administration did. "The community is pretty much fed up for immigration reform to happen," says Jerry Gonzalez, director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. "(Obama) promised during the campaign that that was going to happen the first year...and part of the reason that we're going to Washington, D.C., is to ensure that the president doesn't forget his promise." Gonzalez's organization and others from Georgia will join thousands of people from across the U.S. at a march on the National Mall on Sunday, the same day a major congressional vote on health care reform is scheduled.

Democratic Savannah Congressman John Barrow says, he will vote no on the health care reform bill moving through Congress. Barrow voted against the measure when it came up the first time, but refused to say how he'd vote on the critical second vote this weekend until late Friday afternoon. In a statement, the Congressman said, the health care bill puts too much burden on working people. That should please Savannah voter Rome Parham, a self-described healthy 27-year-old who says, he shoudn't be forced into buying health insurance. "If they make it mandatory, it's kind of like a win-win situation, but at the same time, a lose-lose also because some young people like me, we don't get sick," Parham says. "We don't need it." However, other voters who spoke on Friday said, they would vote for a primary challenger if he voted no. "If he can get this done, I think he would gain so much more respect from the people from Savannah," said Pat Gibson, of Savannah, before Barrow's announcement. "It would make me happier to see people get what they need becasue the way they have health insurance now, it's so astronomically high." Barrow faces Regina Thomas in this year's primary and beat her with a sizeable 76% of the vote in the last primary. Barrow is a conservative Blue Dog in a competitive East Georgia district. His last general election victory was 66% against Republican John Stone.

A string of 7 radioactive contamination incidents at the Savannah River National Laboratory resulted in what officials call a “time out”. The incidents were minor, meaning readings were low and no one was injured. Facilities where radioactive materials are handled were temporarily shut down while officials went over safety guidelines with employees. Angie French is a spokesperson for the Savannah River Lab. She says the time out was a voluntary way for officials to fine tune safety measures at the lab. "We are able to maintain our record as the safest national laboratory in the DOE complex because when we see minor events like this we stop and look before it gets to the point where they are major events," said French. The Savannah River Lab tests thousands of radioactive samples each year for Department of Energy projects such as nuclear waste disposal.

State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox says she's confident that Georgia officials this week adequately made their case to the federal government about why Georgia should a cut of $4.3 billion in stimulus money. Georgia is a finalist for the competitive funding, known as Race to the Top, along with 14 other states and Washington, D.C. Cox says that comes in part because Governor Sonny Perdue wants pay increases for Georgia teachers to be based on a controversial merit system. Cox and Perdue and were among a five member team that went to Washington this week, making presentations to a panel that will decide who gets the money. The finalist states are being judged on education reforms and innovation. The U.S. Department of Education will award the stimulus funds.

The bad economy and high unemployment are affecting hospitals in small towns like Millen. With so many people out of work, few people there have insurance. Jenkins County Hospital is increasingly treating poor people who can’t afford care, absorbing the costs and causing thousands of dollars in shortfalls. "The hospital is a vital part of the community, and a vital part of helping draw new industry and we need to keep it there and keep it strong," says King Rocker, the mayor of Millen. "Really and truly the only thing that can help that is some new industry to help put people back to work." The small hospital already can’t afford to do procedures such as colonoscopies or minor surgery. Full-time employees have a bigger workload since the hospital laid off all part-time staff a couple of years ago. Funding from the Jenkins County commission has helped plugged the hospital's shortfalls. Hospital officials, however, say they'll make another request for more dollars sometime during the current fiscal year due to the budget woes. Rocker estimates that only half of Millen's residents have health insurance. Hospital officials say the number of people with full-coverage private health insurance is far smaller, with most of them being teachers or state employees. The unemployment rate in Jenkins County in January was 21.8 percent, one of the highest in the state.

Tiger Woods has confirmed that he will make his major golf tournament debut at the Masters Tournament in Augusta in April after taking a break from golf in the midst of a sex scandal. Below is Tiger's statement from today: Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he will begin his 2010 season at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in April. "The Masters is where I won my first major, and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta. "The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it's been awhile since I last played. "I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and I am continuing my treatment. Although I'm returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life. "When I finally got into a position to think about competitive golf again, it became apparent to me that the Masters would be the earliest I could play. I called both Joe Lewis and Arnold Palmer and expressed my regrets for not attending the Tavistock Cup and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I again want to thank them both for their support and their understanding. Those are fantastic tournaments, and I look forward to competing in them again. "I would also like to thank the Augusta National members and staff for their support. I have deep appreciation for everything that they do to create a wonderful event for the benefit of the game."

Federal officials are trying to determine how much private information about veterans' medical records ended up on the personal laptop of a former physician's assistant. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General has opened a criminal investigation into the matter, which happened at a VA Medical Center clinic in Atlanta. A report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the assistant allegedly told another VA employee she was using the information -- clinical data about the veterans -- for an unauthorized research project. "The results of the investigation and analysis will help determine whether to send notifications and offers of credit protection services to the affected veterans," says a written statement from the VA.

Dr. Dana Bedden is leaving his job as superintendent of Richmond County schools to take a similar post in Texas. Bedden said late last week that he will take a job as superintendent of the Irving independent school district, after overseeing the Richmond County school system for three years. The move comes after a long delay in a contract extension for Bedden. As news of Bedden's candidacy for the job in Texas reached Augusta, some school board members indicated they wanted to give him a raise because they didn't want him to leave. Board members also said that they would otherwise have to fund the search for a new superintendent anyway. But the current economic crisis made any salary increase difficult, financially and politically. Details on Bedden's departure date have not yet been worked out, but he says he expects to be around long enough to help plan the budget for the next school year. "I want to make it clear that this decision has nothing to do with conditions in Richmond County or my relationship with the board and staff. It also has nothing to do with money," he said in a written statement. "The two districts are in different financial situations and (I) never expected the RCBOE to match an offer from Texas. I understood that economic conditions made it difficult for the Board of Education to come to an agreement on the terms of a contract extension. Due to the uncertainty, and the lack of consensus of a contract extension, I chose to apply elsewhere."

State officials will monitor ground-level ozone again this summer, as they have for years. But this year could be crucial in determining which Georgia cities will be designated as air polluters. If they get the federal non-attainment status, cities like Augusta, Columbus and Macon for the first time could have a costly cleanup on their hands. They would likely have to find ways to restrict pollution from cars, power plants and to a lesser extent, industry. Atlanta already deals with such issues, but this time would be the first that mid-sized cities in Georgia reached non-attainment. That's largely due to tougher federal standards implemented in 2008 to curb air pollution. Last year, however, ozone levels dropped and they may be lower again in 2010, says Jac Capp, chief of the state Environmental Protection Division's air protection branch. "Automobile emissions are much lower today than they were years ago...power plant emissions are much lower...and they are going to continue to go down," says Capp. The bad economy has also meant less power consumption by businesses and less traffic, which may have also contributed to the drop. In addition, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama earlier this year proposed even tougher air pollution standards than the ones in 2008. Since the regulations require an average of ozone levels over three years, the proposal gives Georgia an extra year of lower ozone levels to factor into that average. But depending on the EPA's final decision, those standards could possibly be so tough that much of the state could risk non-attainment. Ground-level ozone is a component of smog, which triggers respiratory illnesses.

In an interview Tuesday, State School Superintendent Kathy Cox, said she does not support tax increases. Instead, the Republican says she wants legislators to consider using money from the state lottery and impose user fees on hospitals. Cox also said that the major issue at hand is the significant drop in tax revenue. Local school system officials have argued, however, that a controversial change in the state education formula -- known as austerity cuts -- by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2003 hurt them in the years leading up to the current economic crisis.