From the city manager trying to block budget requests for our city’s law enforcement and courts, to CCG itself admitting the mayor did not have the power to appoint a police chief without council’s vote, to a local firefighter saving the day and becoming a bona fide hometown hero, here’s all the muck that’s fit to print from the Columbus, Georgia area, along with a look at what to expect in the week ahead.

An off-duty firefighter of Columbus Fire & EMS was out with his family when he spotted two women in distress, with one of them trapped under a large object. Taking the initiative, Columbus Firefighter Eddie Ramirez was able to rescue the trapped woman, who turned out to be the mother of Sheriff Greg Countryman’s wife. Explore the full story for the details and see how Ramirez’s heroic actions earned him a medal and commendation from the MCSO.

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.

We emailed CCG and asked point-blank if Mayor Henderson had the power to unilaterally appoint a police chief without City Council’s approval. The response we received confirms CCG knows the Mayor overstepped his legal authority, but has taken no action to correct it nor to hold the Mayor accountable. Explore the full story to see the entire email thread for yourself in CCG’s own words, proving our city currently does not have a legally-appointed police chief.

This story from December 2022 is about to become very relevant again, as CCG clearly has not learned how to behave. Despite federal law prohibiting governments from curating speech online, the Columbus Government deleted our comments that challenged their narrative and then banned us from commenting in the future. Explore the full story to see how CCG already has a demonstrated track record of illegally censoring speech in violation of federal law, along with the photographic evidence they can’t avoid.

When councilors take office, they swear an oath to uphold our City Charter, granting them more power and responsibility than any other local elected official. However, it seems councilors may need a gentle reminder of what that oath empowers them with and requires of them. Explore the full story to see the full oath sworn by our city councilors, along with what its wording actually means.

During the recent budget review committee meeting, city councilors voted to approve funding for our city’s law enforcement to fight our outrageous crime rates. However, city manager Isaiah Hugley tried to block the funding, speaking out against council’s vote. Explore the full story to see how several city councilors stepped up to put Hugley in his place as the overpaid and underperforming employee that he is.

From the Sheriff’s Office receiving an additional $1.5M to cover expenses, to the city ironically celebrating their ‘tourism success’ on the site of a recent double-shooting, to city council taking no action to hold the mayor accountable for his unilateral appointment of a police chief, here’s all the muck that’s fit to print from the Columbus, Georgia area, along with a look at what to expect in the week ahead.

Though Stoney Mathis’ credentials make him a prime candidate, Mayor Henderson overstepped his legal authority by appointing a new police chief without city council’s approval. Without council’s vote, there legally is no chief of police at all, since the mayor doesn’t have the power to appoint one on his own. Explore the full story to see how every action Mathis takes as chief could easily be challenged in court, leaving a huge legal liability for the city.

A technical document shows three different mayors knew the government center building wasn’t being maintained since at least 2007, but CCG blamed the building’s ‘old age’ for 16 years instead. Taxpayers are now left with the bill to replace the building. Explore the full story to see the document yourself.

Mayor Henderson recently overstepped his legal authority by unilaterally appointing a city officer without first getting a vote of approval from city council. Despite councilors’ quiet outrage, none of them have taken any action to correct the overreach and hold the mayor accountable. Explore the full story to see how councilors remain too concerned with appearances to actually speak up and do their jobs as our elected legislators.

Violence continues to increase throughout the Fountain City as officials begin to finally realize our epidemic of deadly crime requires their full attention. However, those efforts may need to be expedited before it’s too late. Explore the full story to see how current projections show our city is on-track for a huge increase in violent crime this year if we don’t prevent it right now.

VisitColumbusGA, the branch of the Columbus government that believes ‘tourism’ is going to save a city with a third-world homicide rate, recently held an event to celebrate their ‘success.’ However, the event was ironically held where two people were shot just days prior. Explore the full story to see how a toxic culture of self-congratulatory idiots continues to ignore reality as our city continues to decay.

Over the past year, Columbusites have experienced the effects of rising costs on everything from groceries to their power bills as they’re forced to do more work for fewer dollars. Now, those same effects have taken root in the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office on everything from basic materials to gasoline for their vehicles. Explore the full story to see the breakdown of why MSCO needed an additional $1.5 million added to their budget this fiscal year.

From our mayor unilaterally appointing a chief of police without first getting a legally-required vote of approval from city council, to city councilors voicing their outrage of the mayor’s tyrannical overreach, to officials finally saying it’s time to get serious about combating crime, here’s all the muck that’s fit to print from the Columbus, Georgia area, along with a look at what to expect in the week ahead.

After District Attorney Stacey Jackson asked to increase his office’s budget during the recent meeting of the budget review committee on May 9, he was met with what seemed to be strong support from city councilors. In fact, several councilors responded by saying they believe it's time to get serious about crime. Explore the full story for the details and to see what they had to say.

As our city remains at a critical political juncture that may well determine the future direction of Columbus, residents can sometimes forget how important it is to voice their concerns to their elected officials. However, the absence of your voice is often more detrimental than anything else. Explore the full story to see how easy it really is to voice your concerns during the public agenda of a city council meeting.

When District Attorney Stacey Jackson was sworn in last year, he made a promise to rebuild the DA’s office and fill its vacant positions. Now, after already fulfilling that promise, Jackson is looking to increase the DA’s budget to help our city seriously fight gang-related crime. Explore the full story to see how the relatively small budget increase can have a big impact on the safety of our city.

The Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office made one of the largest drug busts in our city’s history, seizing 25.5 pounds of meth valued at over $1.16 million and arresting two validated gang members. However, the insane amount of meth shows the extreme drug and gang-related crime plaguing our city. Explore the full story for the details along with a look at what these criminal scumbags have to look forward to.

According to city ordinances, the mayor cannot appoint a chief of police without first receiving a majority vote from six members of city council, regardless of how short the chief’s ‘interim’ tenure is. Now, as Mayor Henderson has done it anyway, city councilors are not happy about the mayor’s tyrannical overreach. Explore the full story to see what city councilors had to say, along with the city ordinances that explain why it’s such a big deal.

Stoney Mathis’ impressive credentials do appear to make him an ideal candidate for our city’s chief of police. However, his appointment must be made in accordance with proper legal procedure. Explore the full story to see how Mayor Henderson’s tyrannical overreach violated city law by unilaterally appointing a police chief without getting council’s vote of approval first.

From our former police chief brazenly breaking the terms of his $400k severance contract, to a city councilor speaking up about how an assistant police chief was extorting the mayor, to a new interim chief finally being appointed four weeks after the mayor originally said he would, here’s all the muck that’s fit to print from the Columbus, Georgia area, along with a look at what to expect in the week ahead.

After a month of Mayor Henderson denying our police officers the leadership they deserve, the mayor finally decided to act. On May 5, Stoney Mathis of the Georgia Association of Police Chiefs was appointed as the new interim chief of the Columbus Police Department. Explore the full story to see Chief Mathis’ impressive credentials and track record, along with a statement from Mayor Henderson’s office.

Earlier this week, a city councilor came forward to tell the truth about why Mayor Henderson has not yet appointed an interim chief to the Columbus Police Department. Now, officers themselves are finding the courage to speak on the subject, confirming the info received from city council. Explore the full story to see what the officers had to say about the hostile & conniving behavior exhibited by one CPD assistant chief.

Enough is enough for one city councilor when it comes to our city’s crime and the needs of our police force, and the majority of council seems to agree. Councilman Walker Garrett (District 8) bravely decided to come forward and let our city know the truth. Explore the full story to see why our city’s police force still doesn’t have an interim chief, along with how it is affecting the safety of our city.

Gangs. Murder. Robbery. Violence. All of these criminal acts continue to occur throughout Columbus. Now, after a brazen daytime armed robbery at the Peachtree Mall ends with gunfire in front of parents and their children, Columbus families are too scared to go about their daily lives. Explore the full story to see how intolerable appeasement and soft-on-crime policies continue to turn Columbus into Gotham City for its locals, let alone for ‘tourists.’

After a shocking 22-year legal history, a consulting firm found the jail is physically and operationally dangerous once again. Back in January, deputy city manager Pam Hodge presented a plan favoring a rebuild of the entire facility at a cost of more than $250 million. Explore the details complete with extensive photo coverage of the jail’s current state of disrepair.

Last month, former police chief Freddie Blackmon signed a very generous $400,000 severance contract that he wasn't entitled to, offered by the City of Columbus. Now, Blackmon appears to have willingly and openly violated the terms of that contract in several different ways. Explore the full story to see how his several breaches of contract could result in losing his pay and benefits.

From a city councilor receiving honors upon his retirement as a new councilor is sworn-in, to our city’s police force still not having an interim chief as the mayor appeases his own bullying, to a well-needed recap of the former chief’s severance agreement, here’s all the muck that’s fit to print from the Columbus, Georgia area, along with a look at what to expect in the week ahead.

After months of unrest and years of underperformance, former chief of police Freddie Blackmon willingly chose to accept a severance agreement offered by the Columbus Consolidated Government. As with any other contract, the terms and conditions are legally binding and enforceable. Explore the full story for a recap of the terms of Blackmon’s signed and now legally-binding severance agreement with the City of Columbus.