Panel wants another pay raise for judges, DAs

A state commission is recommending big pay raises for Georgia judges and district attorneys a year after the General Assembly approved pay hikes for the same group.

The compensation commission, made up of judges, lawyers, state officials and others, recommended the base state pay for Superior Court judges jump by nearly a third and Supreme Court judges get 12.5 percent increases.

The commission also made it clear it would like to see the eventual end of “local supplements,” which friendly lawmakers and local officials tack onto the pay of Superior Court judges and district attorneys. Such supplements have made Superior Court judges in the Augusta area — at $207,000 a year — the highest paid trial court judges in the country, the commission report said. Metro Atlanta judges have also gotten big pay boosts from the supplements.

Under the commission’s proposal, which lawmakers would have to approve, pay for members of the Georgia Supreme Court would jump from roughly $175,000 to $200,000, with the chief justice receiving $205,000. Appeals Court judges salaries would go from $174,500 to $190,000, with the chief judge getting $195,000.

Read entire story: on-ajc.com/ GAjudge_pay_raise

Georgia’s utility regulator approved a settlement on the Vogtle nuclear power plant’s cost overruns that the agency says will save Georgia Power’s customers about $325 million.

But those savings won’t be particularly obvious to customers.

Their bills won’t go down next year as a result of the deal, unanimously approved Tuesday by the Georgia Public Service Commission’s five-member board. They just won’t go up.

And their bills still are expected to go up by about 2.5 percent once the delayed, over-budget nuclear power plant expansion is completed — now set for the end of 2020. Customers’ bills have already gone up about 4.5 percent due to financing costs for the Vogtle expansion, according to Georgia Power.

The deal, approved after a one-day hearing earlier this month, is the result of a settlement the PSC’s staff negotiated with Georgia Power, the lead partner in the project to build two new reactors at the Vogtle complex near Augusta.

Read entire story: on-ajc.com/Vogtle

Former police officer gets life prison sentence

A former East Point police officer was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for murder and another was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the death of a man who died after he was repeatedly tased.

Fulton Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk was obligated to sentence former East Point Police Department Sgt. Marcus Eberhart to life after he was convicted Friday of murdering Gregory Towns in April 2014. But the judge had latitude in deciding the punishment for former police Cpl. Howard Weems, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and violation of an oath by a public officer.

Newkirk said once Weems has completed his 18-month prison term, he must spend 31/2 years on probation during which time he must speak to at least 10 police agencies about the dangers of using a shock device like a Taser.

Read entire story: on-ajc.com/ EastPoint_tasing