CCG intends to issue $50 million of taxpayer-backed bonds to renovate Golden Park for MiLB Minor League Baseball without any referendum. To top that off, the project’s laughable details have been kept hidden from the public in private meetings — so we’re leaking them for you. Explore the full story to see CCG’s term sheet for using $50 million of your dollars to subsidize Minor League Baseball without bothering to ask you first.

After City Manager Isaiah Hugley’s questionable actions regarding the city’s former police chief in April, a local news reporter did their job and contacted his office looking for answers. However, in response to that reporter asking questions and looking in places Hugley didn’t like, a leaked email shows Hugley contacted that reporter’s employer in an effort to silence the press. Explore the full story to see Hugley’s email in which he bad-mouthed a reporter and weaponized their employment in hopes of shutting them up.

On September 17, after a month of debate by officials over the city’s waste management programs, a massive explosion at the Radius Recycling Plant in Columbus, Georgia shot a fireball and mushroom cloud thousands of feet into the air. However, closer inspection reveals that a separate fire also happened at the Waste Management building on Veterans Pkwy just days prior on September 7. Explore the full story to see the questionable details as local media outlets and city officials continue to remain silent on the suspicious issue.

Colin Scroggins of CNAW News 2 has been dubbed by many as ‘Columbus, Georgia’s Favorite Nephew’ for his work as the region’s youngest and arguably most successful crime reporter. However, the acclaimed CNAW Facebook page suffered serious technical issues on September 15. Explore the full story for the details on what was allegedly preventing you from finding his content on Facebook.

A few weeks ago, we revealed that the local United Way is forcing Columbus nonprofits to ask local kids about their sexuality or lose their funding. Now, leaked documents including funding contracts obtained by the Muckraker undeniably prove it. Explore the full story to see the documents for yourself, along with how the United Way knowingly lied to City Councilors’ faces in an effort to cover it up.

The percentage of Columbusites who are gainfully employed has consistently fallen for the past 23 years to a rate far below the rest of the nation. Now, data shows fewer Columbusites are willing to go to work as the city faces serious staffing challenges. Explore the full story to see the data yourself.

Each year, the city manager’s office is responsible for issuing business licenses and collecting occupational tax. However, despite it now being the ninth month of the year, Isaiah Hugley still has not delivered this year’s licenses to local businesses. Explore the full story to see how staggeringly low the city’s occupational tax has fallen on Hugley’s watch, along with how officials called him out.

There isn’t a headline we would be more pleased to write than this. After only a few months of effective leadership, the Columbus Police Department saw an uptick in recruitment that exceeded goals for the current academy class. Now, CPD is seeking motivated candidates for the next class. Explore the full story for the details on how your skills and dedication are in high demand to protect our community.

Things are bad, but not *that* bad. In a wildly-misleading article, news outlet WTVM published that ‘40% of all deaths’ in Georgia are homicides. However, homicides accounted for a mere 1% of all deaths in Georgia last year, despite WTVM claiming it was 40x worse. Explore the full story to see the data yourself, along with how your local ‘news leader’ didn’t correct the claim after we exposed it.

Having Ralston Towers up to code isn’t some magical thing — it's the absolute bare minimum required. However, after standing idly by for decades without bothering to fix it until a man died from the atrocious conditions, local officials are now abhorrently applauding one another for solving a problem their offices perpetuated in the first place. Explore the full story to see why having local officials do the bare minimum required isn’t worthy of an ‘attaboy.’

Fulton County’s indictment of former President Donald J. Trump includes 30 unindicted co-conspirators who allegedly helped ‘subvert’ the 2020 election results. One of those alleged accomplices is the new treasurer of the Youth Orchestra of Greater Columbus. Explore the full story to see how Columbus local Joseph Brannan is ‘Individual 9’ in one of the nation’s most controversial conspiracies.

Since its original publishing in July 2022, the words of this article unfortunately continue to be proven true with each passing day. Though Columbus says it wants to retain talented and educated people, its actions continue to drive them away. Explore the full story to see how this irony may provide the valuable insight needed to get it right.

For the last four years, a member of the Golf Authority board simultaneously operated a business that illegally conflicted with her role as a public official. When the rest of the board discovered it, they unanimously requested city council remove her from the board for cause. Explore the full story to see how council flexed their powers against illegal conflicts of interest in a rare public hearing.

At Mayor Henderson’s request, the city approved $740,000 of ‘crime prevention’ grants from taxpayers’ money. However, with 44 local organizations receiving the funds ranging from the Columbus Symphony Orchestra to a fraternity‘s shell company registered at the City Manager’s own house on Steam Mill Road, the credibility of ‘crime prevention’ is laughable. Explore the full story for the details.

Are you ready to step up and make a difference in our community? The Columbus Police Department is hosting a dynamic hiring event on August 19 at 510 Tenth Street from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Interested applicants are required to register prior to the event. Explore the full story for the details to see how your talent can help build one of the best police departments in the country.

In recent months, the MidTown community has seen an uptick in wannabe criminals misplacing their ‘artwork’ on private storefronts and public infrastructure. When the city wouldn’t keep up, local Chris Harman decided to grab his pressure washer and take care of his community himself. Explore the full story to see how Harman set the example for others to step up and reclaim their neighborhood.

Since January, Joanne Cogle has hounded Isaiah Hugley to maintain basic Uptown infrastructure by repainting parking lines. When Hugley’s excuses persisted, Cogle did Hugley’s job for him, giving him a list of contractors and funding he said couldn’t be found. Explore the full story to see how Cogle’s accountability and initiative got it done in a week, despite the city manager excusing his away.

At Mayor Henderson’s request, the city approved $740,000 of ‘crime prevention’ grants from taxpayers’ money. However, with 44 local organizations receiving the funds ranging from the Columbus Symphony Orchestra to a fraternity‘s shell company registered at the City Manager’s own house on Steam Mill Road, the credibility of ‘crime prevention’ is laughable. Explore the full story for the details.

Every five years, the Columbus Hospital Authority sells tens of millions of dollars in bonds to fund city medical facilities. However, the Hospital Authority didn’t generate enough revenue to pay back the bonds, leaving CCG to bail itself out. Explore the full story to see how CCG just pledged a future four mill property tax increase to bail out the Hospital Authority if the problem happens again.

After decades of willful neglect, the city’s downtown government center building is set to be demolished and replaced with a new $225M structure. However, the project’s increasingly expensive plans lack a designated professional project manager other than the city’s own Director of Inspections & Codes. Explore the full story for a look at the details along with how the costs continue to grow.

As approved in April, the Columbus Golf Authority has conducted a feasibility study for adding nine additional holes to the Oxbow Creek Golf Course. Now, contingent upon a final report from the vendor, officials approved payment for its $26,000 cost. Explore the full story to see how CCG is doubling-down on its ‘master plan’ for golf course expansion while our city’s employment rate continues to plummet.

After the city bailed out the previous owner of Legacy Terrace in 2009, maintenance issues have continued to accrue at rates close to the housing development’s revenue. Now, those maintenance costs exceed the city’s entire fund balance for the housing units by more than 20%. Explore the full story to see how city council just voted to bail out the fiscally insolvent housing project in another example of why subsidized housing isn’t a sustainable plan for our future.

Back in 2021, the Chattahoochee River Conservancy stopped posting its E. Coli contamination data on the searchable internet, opting to only post it locally on their social media pages. However, with Mill Creek chronically showing E. Coli contamination levels several times higher than the EPA’s safety limit, the CRC decided to start publishing the data online once again. Explore the full story to see how you can help the CRC keep our local river clean.

As revealed in recent weeks, CCG issued a request for proposal to local area hospitals to apply for the city’s indigent care program. However, the lack of applicants and anemic results revealed to city councilors that the process was quite obviously bureaucratically botched. Explore the full story to see how councilors have delayed their vote of approval to ensure the city gets the process right and meets the project’s intent.

On July 11, City Manager Isaiah Hugley persuaded councilors to apply for a state grant to bail out failed housing development in South Columbus. To no surprise, the project is having trouble selling the $130/SF ‘affordable housing’ units in the city’s most crime-ridden part of town, causing the project to fall apart. Explore the full story to see how Hugley conned councilors into a state bailout for an insolvent project that isn’t even eligible for the grant.

When traveling on official city business, councilors are authorized reimbursement for their travel expenses. However, that funding doesn’t apply to private conferences on Jekyll Island at a councilor’s leisure. Explore the full story to see how a city councilor just tried to have taxpayers fund his personal trip, along with how he didn’t even bother to recuse himself from voting in favor of his funding.

E. Coli contamination remains dangerously unsafe at the confluence of Mill Creek into the Chattahoochee River with levels 4.3x the EPA’s limit, according to recent data published by the Chattahoochee River Conservancy on July 14. However, the data is only published to local social media pages and remains absent from the entire searchable internet. Explore the full story to see the data visualized, along with a look at what the good people at the CRC had to say.

Back in September of 2021, after willfully failing to maintain the current Government Center building for decades, CCG wished $50 million in government bonds into existence for a new City Hall. Now, with offices in the former downtown Synovus building finally beginning to be occupied, the Mayor and other top desks are set to open for business at the new City Hall on July 18. Explore the full story for the details along with a complete list of where things are within the new City Hall complex.

Each year, the city manager is responsible for implementing the city’s budget in a manner that best serves the city. However, a quick snapshot review of the city’s financial performance over the past fiscal year reveals a few rather serious money-hoarding holes. Explore the full story to see the city’s own snapshot review of its financial performance in FY2023, along with a look at the highlights.

The CCG Board of Tax Assessors tried to charge property taxes to the CCG Hospital Authority for owning Spring Harbor. However, the government-owned retirement community is public property whose revenue is used to repay the bonds that built it. Explore the full story to see how the Tax Board lost three times on final appeal in a landmark case of governmental double-dipping.