Forum redux

If you recall, I was kinda hard on Doug McKillip during the campaign season. I still stand by much of my questioning, but it's worth noting that McKillip answered much of those questions. And it's also worth noting that he's done a pretty darn good job in his short time in Atlanta so far.

Last night, both he and Rep. Keith Heard chatted with some folks about some of the upcoming plans at the Georgia General Assembly. It was a pretty good crowd. Some of the highlights ...

- McKillip pointed out how much of the burden for paying for services is being shifted from the state level to the local level, to which Mayor Heidi Davison concurred adding that the state is also taking measures to handicap how revenues are raised to provide those services;

- McKillip, who is serving on the Natural Resources and Environment Committee, briefly discussed how there's the possibility some what to 'redefine' what a marshland is to open them up to development ... how you 'redefine' a geological feature is beyond me;

- Heard is opposed to Sunday sales of alcohol in Georgia and plans to vote against any bill which permits its sales while McKillip supports it;

- Large portion of discussion focused on the governor's proposal to invest in biomedical training and resources in Athens-Clarke County, something which both McKillip and Heard hope to see happen but cautioned that the budget will go through some changes before it's all said and done.

Check out Blake's story on the forum.