Olives are the latest South Georgia Crop.

VALDOSTA — South Georgia’s known for a variety of things — education, entertainment, and for Valdosta being crowned TitleTown. Now, the region can add a new item to it’s repertoire: olives.

Ronnie Courson, brothers Jason and Sam Shaw, and Kevin Shaw have collaborated in purchasing land to develop their own Olive Farm in Lanier County.

“Well, the idea to begin an olive farm came from the fact that farmers are looking for other things to farm,” said Jason Shaw. “The blueberry market is saturated and there’s currently a surplus. So, now we’re forced to look for other things to grow. These olive farms initially started out in other parts of the world. Research has shown that there is a huge consumption of olive oil. Numbers reveal that within the next five years, the world is expected to use over 80 million pounds of olive oil, but there’s only 600,000 being produced in the U.S.”

“We hope to plant on more acres and encourage other farmers to do the same,” said Sam Shaw. “We want to press our own olives and bottle the oil to sell worldwide, starting and producing oil from the bottom up.”

Owners suggest that they are not only providing a service to the Valdosta area but to the state of Georgia.

“We plan on expanding to a facility where oils can be produced, which will produce several benefits,” said Jason Shaw. “We can get sales tax generated which will be good for the economy and by opening up a facility, we can increase the number of jobs in South Georgia.”

The planting process began in April and owners expect to undergo full production in its fifth rolling year. By September 2011, oil is expected to be produced and ready to sell.

Sam Shaw provides that there are currently six olive farmers in Lanier with a total of 40 acres of land. The biggest challenges for producing quality product is the harsh weather of South Georgia.

The land will be maintained by the owners. The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the local county extension services’ agent have been working with owners.

For the last 10 years, the olive market has been prevalent within California. Considering olives aren’t cold resistant and can’t be kept below 14 degrees, South Georgia is ideal for harvesting.

Vance Smith interested in vacant Georgia DOT post

State Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, said Tuesday morning he is actively pursuing the vacant Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner’s job.

“I have contacted all the board members,” Smith said. “I feel that I can offer the leadership skills the DOT needs.”

Smith came one vote short of getting the job in October 2007. The 13-member board hired Gena Abraham Evans on a 7-6 vote that split not only the board, but the 5,000-employee state agency.

The board fired Evans, who was strongly supported by Gov. Sonny Perdue, in February on a 9-3 vote. Evans’ tenure had been controversial, and included a romantic relationship with DOT Board Chairman Mike Evans, which later ended up in marriage. Evans, who resigned from the board after the relationship came to light, was one of the seven votes against Smith.

Smith, who is chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said he is the person who can fix the problem that exists in and around the DOT. “I think I can bring all of the people involved to the table and help us move forward,” Smith said. “I am talking about the executive branch -- the governor’s office -- the speaker of the House, the lieutenant governor, the chairmen of the House and Senate transportation committees and the DOT board.”

Smith has a strong ally in DOT Board member Sam Wellborn of Columbus. Wellborn pushed Smith hard the first time around.

“I think Vance is a strong candidate for the position,” Wellborn said. “But we have a board search committee and we are going to go through the process.”

“He’s a leading candidate and I wish he could be commissioner today,” Wellborn said. “He has lots of strengths and I think he could be the catalyst to mend a lot of fences.”

The board meets May 21 and 22 in Douglas. It is possible a new commissioner could be named at that time, but probably unlikely, Wellborn said.

Two Peas in a Pod: Chambliss & Isakson, the two stooges.

The two Stooges sound off with the Augusta Chronicle.

OBAMA'S FIRST 100 DAYS

Everyone knew what Mr. Obama wanted to do when he ran for president, Mr. Isakson said.

"I don't think anybody in Washington expected him to put all of it on the table in the first 90 days," he said, voicing concerns about some of the actions the president has taken. "Government does a lot of things well. Running a business isn't one of them."

His concerns extended to Mr. Obama's budget, especially with the backdrop of the nation's growing debt compared to its gross domestic product.

"It taxes too much, it spends too much and it borrows too much," Mr. Isakson said of the budget.

His colleague shared the concerns, pointing to the $787 billion stimulus package as an example of ill-advised spending.

Mr. Chambliss also said the president's mantra of change hasn't always been apparent, especially when it comes to his cabinet members, who include lobbyists and some who hadn't paid taxes when they were nominated.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

Mr. Chambliss said Republicans need to establish an agenda to move forward.

"Right now, I can't tell you what our agenda is, and I'm right in the middle of it," he said.

But the Democratic majority in Congress isn't solid, the senator said, adding that Democrats up for re-election might begin voting against their party.

Despite the perception portrayed in the media, Mr. Isakson said Republicans aren't the "party of 'No.' "

"This business of we're the party of 'No' is wrong," Mr. Isakson said, listing Republican proposals, including ways to address the housing market and ways to stimulate the economy.

Both of these jokes vote the same, talk the same, & act the same. Both voted for the TARP back in 2008, with Isakson having a role in the creation of that bill. These are the same senators who co-sponsered the Gang of 10, which contained a $38 million Tax Increase on the american taxpayer. These two are big government republicans who contributed to the doubling down of the national debt & deficits under Pres. Bush. We missed an opportunity to get rid of Chambliss, I hope we don't miss out on Isakson.

Regional Water Council to meet.

REGIONAL WATER COUNCIL MEETINGS BEGIN SOON, ARE OPEN TO PUBLIC -- Regional Water Council Meetings across Georgia are set to begin in early May and will be open to the public. Each water council is made up of 25 individuals appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Georgia Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson. The councils also include three alternates and an ex-officio member from the Georgia House and Senate.
The appointments were announced Feb. 11. On March 13, an orientation for the appointees was held at the Georgia Aquarium where Gov. Perdue addressed them.
The councils will work together to oversee preparation of regional water plans as mandated by the Comprehensive Statewide Water Plan passed last year by the Georgia General Assembly. The water plans will focus on issues such as the quantity and quality of water, forecasts of future water supply and wastewater treatment needs.
Georgia Farm Bureau played an important part in the formation of the water councils. Of the 88 individuals nominated by GFB, 42 were appointed and five were named alternates.
Each meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The date and location for the regional council meetings are as follows:
Upper Flint - May 1, One Griffin Center Commissioner’s Meeting Room in Griffin.
Coastal Georgia - May 4, J.F. Gregory Park’s Stevens Wetlands Education Center in Richmond Hill.
Altamaha - May 5, Southeastern Technical College at the Vidalia Economic Development Center in Vidalia.
Lower Flint-Ochlockonee - May 6, Mitchell County EMC in Camilla.
Suwannee-Satilla - May 6, C.E. Weir Center in Douglas.
Savannah-Upper Ogeechee - May 7, Savannah Rapids Pavilion in Martinez.
Coosa-North Georgia - May 8, Appalachian Tech in Jasper.
Upper Oconee - May 8, Rock Eagle 4-H Center’s Rich Building in Eatonton.
Middle Chattahoochee - May 13, The Dogwood Room of the Mountain Creek Inn at Callaway Gardens.
Middle Ocmulgee - May 14, the Amerson Water Treatment Plant in Macon.
For more information visit www.gawaterplanning.org or contact the GFB Legislative Department.

44th annual Georgia Peacn Growers Association Conference to be held on May 7 at Ga. National Fairgrounds

Registration begins at 8 a.m. Conference starts at 8:30 a.m. The conference will include business reports from the Georgia Pecan Commission and Georgia Pecan Growers Association, a legislative update and research presentations. For more information contact Janice Dees at (229) 382-2187.

Baker’s bid could face trouble

Attorney General Thurbert Baker’s quest to become Georgia’s first black governor could hinge on Democratic primary backing from the state’s large African-American population.

But positions he’s taken as the state’s chief lawyer for the last 12 years could jeopardize that support, which should be a cornerstone of his campaign.

“I think it probably will have an impact,” said state Sen. Emanuel Jones, chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus. “There are a lot of issues where those of us in the African American community were on the opposite end as our attorney general was and you have to wonder why.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Baker said that his job as the state’s attorney requires him to follow the letter of the law, regardless of whether it hewed to his personal beliefs

“I can’t pick and choose statutes that I like or dislike,” Baker said. “I took an oath when I became the attorney general to be the state’s lawyer, to defend the state.”

And Baker said he thought voters were smart enough to be able to make the distinction.

“I think voters understand more than some people give them credit for,” he said.

Still Baker — who endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary — is taking steps to mend fences with black leaders with whom he has not always seen eye to eye. Jones said Baker plans to sit down with members of the black caucus and other black leaders.

Black support will almost certainly be critical in determining who wins the July 2010 Democratic primary. Blacks currently comprise about half of the Democratic primary vote in Georgia, and that number has only grown in recent elections.

Baker is currently locked in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination to replace Sonny Perdue, who is prevented by term limits from seeking a third term.

Also running are House Minority Leader DuBose Porter and former Georgia National Guard Commander David Poythress. Former Gov. Roy Barnes has said he will decide by June whether to jump in the race.

Porter said he’ll win support from blacks because of his record in the state Legislature.

“I know that Thurbert may have some problems from the positions that he’s taken as AG,” Porter said.

Poythress said he expected that candidates should be held accountable for their records.

“In the Genarlow Wilson case, the (Georgia Supreme) court said he was wrong and I agree with it,” Poythress said.

The Wilson case is still a sore spot for some.

Black leaders rallied angrily outside Baker’s office in 2007 after his office appealed a judge’s ruling ordering Wilson’s release from prison. Wilson, who is black, was serving a 10-year mandatory prison sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. Some blacks saw the case as emblematic of a system that is all too willing to lock up young black men and throw away the key.

From Tom Crawford of Capitol Impact: The political landscape in Georgia is changing

Out of the many emails that were zinging around Georgia’s political community last week, one in particular caught my eye.

Clint Austin, a lobbyist and consultant who’s worked in a lot of Republican campaigns at a relatively young age, sent an email to his friends urging them to "resist the urge to fracture and unite behind a tested leader who can win the battle that is to come to hold the Governor’s Mansion in Georgia."

Austin noted: "The political challenges that have plagued Republicans around the country are only one election away from plaguing Georgia Republicans. Assuming that ‘any Republican who wins the primary will win the general election’ is assuming too much, even in Georgia."

Austin may or may not be right about the identity of the Republican nominee for governor next year. Time will tell us whether that candidate is Secretary of State Karen Handel or Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine or someone else.
What intrigued me was his assertion that GOP voters should not automatically assume that "any Republican who wins the primary will win the general election." That’s a recognition I’ve seen not only in Austin but other political experts as well: Georgia has been a strong Republican state for the past few election cycles, but that dominance won’t last forever.

You can see it in the numbers.

In the fall of 2002, when Republican Sonny Perdue was campaigning against Democrat Roy Barnes in the governor’s race, about 71 percent of Georgia’s registered voters were white and less than 27 percent were black. Hispanic voters barely totaled 14,000 in the whole state.

Perdue upset Barnes in that race as conservative white voters in rural counties, angered by Barnes’ attempts to reform public education and change the state flag, surged to the polls to vote for the Republican challenger. Over the next two years, Republicans swept the Democrats out of majority control of the General Assembly as well.

Those couple of elections may represent Georgia Republicans’ high-water mark in political dominance, however.

The latest voter registration totals show that whites now make up less than 63 percent of the state’s electorate while blacks are right at 30 percent. There are now more than 84,000 voters who self-identify as Hispanic and if you include those who classify themselves in other ethnic categories, the number of Hispanic voters very likely exceeds 100,000.

As Georgia’s population gets more diverse, there are fewer whites who tend to vote for Republicans and more blacks, Latinos, and Asians who tend to vote for Democrats. This was dramatically illustrated in the last two presidential elections: John Kerry lost to George W. Bush by nearly 550,000 votes in 2004, but Barack Obama cut that margin to about 200,000 votes last year.

Those rural counties that were so important to electing Perdue are becoming less politically powerful as the population shifts to urban areas.

Consider the 15 counties that are centered around Fulton County and the city of Atlanta. This is the population center of Georgia and makes up a larger share of the vote in every election. In 2002, those 15 counties combined cast just over 50 percent of the state’s total votes. That share has been growing by about 1 percent in each succeeding election cycle as the metro Atlanta population grows and the population of rural counties shrinks.

The population center around metro Atlanta is also becoming more diverse and Democratic-leaning.

Douglas and Rockdale counties went for Perdue in the 2002 and 2006 races for governor, but voted for Obama by narrow margins in 2008. The populous counties Cobb, Gwinnett, and Henry also went Republican in the last two races for governor, but in 2008 Obama carried more than 44 percent of the vote in each of those counties.

The state’s political landscape is slowly but inevitably changing because of the demographic shifts that are transforming the electorate. You would still be safe betting on voters to lean Republican, but that is not such a sure thing anymore.

Georgia hasn’t switched from red to blue just yet, but it appears to be changing enough to ensure that we have a very competitive race between the two major parties for governor in 2010. It doesn’t look like a slam dunk for the Republicans anymore.

• Tom Crawford is editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia Report. Email: tcrawford@capitolimpact.net.