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Crittenton’s complaint, filed Wednesday in the Fulton County Superior Court, claims the officer involved in the wreck was negligent and reckless and that the county and its police department are liable. The lawsuit follows several notices Crittenton sent county officials in 2023 and 2024 outlining his case, including its estimated value of more than $2 million.
More than 298,000 people cast ballots at 40 professional arenas and stadiums used as voting precincts in the 2020 election, according to USA Today Sports. No location had more voters and arguably had a bigger impact than State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, a state with a close presidential count that two upcoming Senate runoff races. Nearly 40,000 of the 315,000 Fulton County residents who voted early did so at the home of the Atlanta Hawks, per USA Today Sports. It was arguably a difference maker as President-elect Joe Biden holds a slim lead of 14,163 votes (0.3 margin) over President Donald Trump as of count totals Friday morning. Both Senate seats will have a runoff in January.
No professional sports arena, however, welcomed more voters than the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena, according to USA TODAY Sports' data. Nearly 40,000 Fulton County residents voted at the arena during early voting in Georgia, a key state in which Joe Biden holds a narrow lead over Donald Trump. The team wanted to provide a non-partisan site without long waiting times. With 302 voting machines at physically-distanced locations, poll workers kept lines moving even when there were 3,000 people per day during the first week of early voting. "The biggest thing for us was taking that initial step," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. "We were the first team to activate our arena. It’s an idea, thought and action item that came to fruition. It started off as idea and then became a no-brainer. ... We were really proud as an organization to pull it off."
Nick Valencia: BREAKING- A pipe burst earlier today at State Farm Arena will delay the counting of absentee ballots in Fulton County GA, one of the biggest in the state, for 3-4 hours. All Fulton County’s absentee ballots are processed at the arena. No ballots or machines were damaged: Official
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Typically this time of year, State Farm Arena is getting ready for preseason NBA games. But when it re-opens to the public Monday, it will be nothing short of the nexus of American democracy. For the next 19 days, the home of the Atlanta Hawks will serve as the largest early voting site in the hotly-contested state of Georgia. It will have 302 voting machines spread across the arena floor and concourse and 60 check-in sites to service any of the nearly 800,000 registered voters in Fulton County who want to cast their ballot before Election Day.
The Hawks are ready for an influx of voters, per Koonin, and are hoping their 700,000 square-foot arena will help provide a quick and safe option for those registered in Fulton County to vote in person. “If we’re as successful as I hope we are and think we are, we might have to rethink, how can we continue this,” Koonin said. “I love the fact that we’re located in the central heart of the city. I love the fact that we’re on rapid transit. I love the fact that there’s no fee to park. We’re trying to knock down all barriers to vote because voting is the one thing that we as Americans have the right to elect our leadership, and we want to make that simple rather than challenging.”
Chris Kirschner: The Hawks announced that the Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections approved the use of State Farm Arena for upcoming 2020 elections, starting with early voting on July 20 for the Georgia General Primary Runoff Election on August 11.
When Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. announced the 11 charges, including felony murder, that will be brought against the Atlanta police officer who killed Rayshard Brooks, the district attorney's nephew was in the courtroom. Dwight Howard, the Lakers' center, wore a white shirt with words formed into wings that said "Breathe again."
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The misdemeanor driving under the influence case against Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer began with the jury selection process Tuesday in Fulton County State Court on Tuesday. The nearly three-year old case will last until at least Monday when former Hawks general manager Danny Ferry is scheduled to testify on behalf of Budenholzer’s defense. Ferry was subpoenaed for the case. The defense filed a motion requesting that Ferry be able to testify by way of Skype, FaceTime or some other digital electronic means since he would be involved with the NBA Draft as part of his role with the New Orleans Pelicans. His appearance in the case Wednesday or Thursday, the day of the draft, was deemed to be a hardship by the defense.
The DUI case against Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer was bound over to the Fulton County State Court at the request of the City of Atlanta’s Solicitor’s office. A future court date will be set at a later time. The motion to have the case moved was filed before Judge Christopher E. Ward in Atlanta Municipal Court Thursday. Budenholzer was not required, nor did he attend, the initial hearing in the case. Budenholzer’s attorney Michael Hawkins appeared at the hearing. According to Hawkins, the defense requested police reports and video from Budenholzer’s arrest and the prosecution made its request for a change of venue.
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