SUMMARY: A tornado watch has been canceled for several counties in northwest Georgia as storms move east. However, a wind advisory remains in effect, with gusts reaching up to 47 mph in some areas, contributing to power outages and tree damage. Although there are no active severe thunderstorm warnings, strong winds and flash flood warnings continue to pose concerns. Troop County officials advise staying home due to downed trees. Authorities are monitoring the situation closely, especially for power outages and flooding risks over the next few hours. High winds remain the primary threat for affected regions.

There are already more than 60000+ customers without power.

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SUMMARY: North Georgia is facing a rare level 4 risk for severe weather, including strong storms, high winds, and possible tornadoes tonight. The weather impact alert is in effect from Saturday evening through early Sunday morning. Storms will reach the region by midnight and continue until sunrise. It’s crucial to have access to weather alerts and know your safe place. Some counties are offering transportation to severe weather centers, while emergency preparedness teams recommend seeking shelter in basements or indoor stairwells. Stay informed with continuous updates on 11 Alive Plus, which will stream coverage throughout the night.

Level 5 extends through Mississippi and Alabama.

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Gold Dome Nuggets: DOGE walking, light side of pink, I got it, you take it

by Ross Williams, Jill Nolin and Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder
March 15, 2025

If a dominatrix went hunting in a Georgia forest, would she wear pink? And who would carry the bill in the Senate?

Belly up to the buffet table, folks. It’s time for another course of Gold Dome Nuggets, post-Crossover Day edition.

Walking the DOGE

If you follow Georgia politics on social media, you may have seen video of an unusual protest at the Capitol Thursday afternoon: a woman dressed in black stockings, high-heel combat boots and a studded silver face mask, in a wheelchair, “walking” leashed actors wearing Donald Trump and Elon Musk masks.

The Recorder caught up with the woman behind the act of protest, Georgia State University art instructor Jessica Blinkhorn on Friday afternoon, when she said video of the performance, titled “Walking the DOGE,” had already topped a million views and been shared tens of thousands of times across various platforms.

Blinkhorn said much of the reaction was supportive and some was less than kind, but she said she’s not bothered by negative comments.

“When you grow up a chubby, gappy-toothed disabled girl in a lower middle class family, people come after you a lot,” she said. “Some to your face and some behind your back. I have more respect for the people that do it to my face, but I have a thick skin because of that, and on top of that, I’m an artist, so I’m born to take constructive criticism, and I learned to acknowledge and absorb and accept the truths that I get from people versus discard the toxic imposed narratives that people throw at my work.”

Blinkhorn has spinal muscular atrophy type 2, a genetic condition which gradually depletes the body of voluntary and involuntary muscles. Her late brother and sister had the same condition. It has changed the way she makes art – Blinkhorn said she is trained in drawing and painting, but took up performance art as a way to continue creating.

She also uses her art to advocate for people with disabilities. She said “Walking the DOGE” grew out of an earlier piece, “Taking a B-tch for a walk,” which featured Trump but not Musk. That performance got her kicked out of the prestigious Art Basel in Miami and the cops called on her last year.

“I think the real reason that people kicked me off property at Basel is people were coming out of Basel to photograph me. I was also topless because – when in Rome – it was South Beach,” she said with a laugh.

The idea came from apprehension of what Trump’s second term could mean for people with disabilities, LGBTQ people and other vulnerable groups.

“The piece ‘Taking a B-tch for a Walk’ was very much reactionary political activism that was based off of fear and passion for putting him in his place and making him feel just as vulnerable in a submissive position as I am in my life every day and usurping that role as the dominant force,” she said.

Blinkhorn said she staged Thursday’s performance for the 35th anniversary of the Capitol Crawl, a pivotal disabilities rights event in which people with disabilities crawled the steps of the U.S. Capitol to highlight the barriers faced by people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. That protest and other acts of advocacy are credited with helping spur the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act a few months later.

Blinkhorn said she hopes to one day take the show on the road – she’d love to perform outside the U.S. Capitol – and to continue to grow her pack of leashed political figures.

“Me and a co-conspirator tossed around the idea of Marjorie Taylor Greene being leashed to the back of my chair – not made to walk on her hands and knees, because no woman should ever bow to a man – but definitely leashed,” she said.

To people upset that they missed Thursday’s performance, Blinkhorn said she has no intention of stopping as long as she can keep going.

“I’ve watched both my siblings die from that disability. I’ve watched multiple friends die from that disability,” she said. “Since I was young – eight years old, I lost my first friend – I’ve always been told, ‘You’re going to get weaker, you’re going to die, you have a looming death date,’ so every f—–g moment counts. I know, more than a lot of people, that every f—–g moment counts. If you die in battle, at least you f—–g die fighting for something. You made it f—–g count.”

Pink Hunting Gear, Part II

Wabbit season, duck season — silly season? That’s what came to the Georgia Senate Thursday during a debate on a bill allowing pink hunting gear for Georgia hunters.

The bill, sponsored by Lyons Republican Rep. Leesa Hagan, would allow hunters the option to wear fluorescent pink in addition to high visibility orange. Supporters say it will encourage more women to get into hunting and increase hunting license sales.

The bill was the brainchild of a Georgia student named Carly who enjoys hunting and the color pink and wrote to her legislator asking for the bill as part of a school project last year.

Democrats used the opportunity raised by the floor debate to talk about issues they’d rather focus on after Atlanta Democratic Sen. Elena Parent gave a speech in support of the bill.

“So while we’re talking about choices for hunters, I’m curious, in your opinion, would you agree that it would be important to make sure that women have choices when it comes to their reproductive rights?” asked Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson.

“I do agree with that, and you know, again, it is Women’s History Month,” Parent said. “I am so glad to see this body moving forward, not just on safety, but in the recognition that there are many women who are hunters, right? And you know, we need to make progress on some of these other issues that also matter to women.”

Sandy Springs Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin used the opportunity to talk about DEI bans.

“I certainly appreciate your passionate presentation, but are you aware that you said the word inclusion a lot during your speech?” he asked. “Are you aware that word has been banned?”

McLaurin joked that Parent might be at risk of losing federal funding.

“I am glad I’m a citizen and not a green card holder,” Parent said. “Because we are worried. I’m not worried about my free speech rights right now. Yes, I might be able to be attacked on my wallet, but I still can stand here in this well, and I am honored and privileged to be a senator and be able to speak on behalf of my constituents, and I do think that that’s what our citizens should be able to do under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Parent was referencing Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with student protests at Columbia University in opposition to Israeli actions in Gaza.

After that exchange, Savannah Democratic Sen. Derek Mallow made a non-serious amendment that would have also allowed lime green as a color that hunters could wear. Mallow said it was in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Savannah is home to one of the country’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

That was a bridge too far for Cataula Republican Sen. Randy Robertson, who demanded an immediate end to the japery.

“This is about gun safety,” he said. “This is about a young lady who wanted to be a part of the political process, and this is about a young lady who looked up to another lady who served in the House of Representatives for the state of Georgia, and this is important to that young lady, and if it makes sense to us, then let’s stop with the silly amendments, let’s stop with the silly comments and give that young lady who loves to hunt her opportunity to see legislation work in a positive way so that she can have stuff to brag about about something that she’s done and hopefully make her a stronger woman.”

The bill passed unanimously after Dallas Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte moved to finish debate.

“I move to call the question to end this mockery to female outdoorsmen,” he said.

It’s not uncommon for senators from both parties to joke around during floor debates. In fact, Majority Leader Steve Gooch made a lighthearted reference to the menstrual cycle earlier in the debate on the same bill.

“Senator, can you tell me what the letters PMS mean to you?” he asked a pink shirt-clad Sen. Drew Echols, the Gainesville Republican carrying the bill in the Senate.

“I can,” Echols answered. “Premenstrual Syndrome.”

“No sir. PMS is called Pantone Matching System,” Gooch said. “It is a color wheel that’s used to match colors for printing materials. So senator, I’m not sure where your mind is this morning, but it’s clearly not on your bill today.”

Whose Bill is it Anyway?

A bill now making its way through the Senate proposes to no longer have magistrate court judges elected as partisan candidates in elections.

This week the Georgia Senate Ethics Committee approved House Bill 426, which would exempt probate court judges from competing in partisan elections. It’s a legislative priority of the state’s councils for magistrate judges and the judiciary, whose supporters argue it would further boost public confidence by adding a layer of impartiality in the judicial system.

After the March 6 Crossover Day deadline, legislators in both chambers begin the process of taking up measures passed by the opposite chamber leading up to the session’s April 4 finale.

A bill’s original sponsor will select a legislator from the other chamber to “carry” the bill across the finish line. And sometimes, the hand-off is less than smooth.

On Wednesday, Ethics Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Rick Williams was surprised to be in charge of presenting the bill to the Senate.

“I think (Minority Leader Steve) Gooch is going to be carrying it in the Senate, is that correct?” Williams said to Villa Rica Republican Rep. Kimberly New, who is sponsoring the bill.

“You are,” she responded as laughter erupted in the meeting room.

Williams, a Milledgeville Republican, said he must’ve misread a text message.

“Let me say this, one of us will carry it,” he said.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

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