Atlanta Unfiltered

The Atlanta-based CDC has reassigned its chief researcher into chronic fatigue syndrome, a longtime target of patient advocacy groups around the country. Outside researchers last fall reported a strong correlation between chronic fatigue syndrome and a retrovirus related to HIV. The CDC’s research, led by Dr. William C. Reeves, had no role in that study, and Reeves was dismissive of its findings. Full Story

DeKalb County Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton says identity theft might be the cause of her recent troubles over bad checks in Gwinnett County. But signatures on the four bounced checks look quite similar to Sutton’s signature on campaign disclosure documents on file at the Georgia secretary of state’s office. See for yourself …

Every two years, U.S. high school students answer questions in a CDC-sponsored survey that helps guide policy on sex education and teen pregnancy. But not in Georgia. The omission impedes public health officials trying to lower some of the nation’s highest teen-pregnancy rates, says advocate Michele Ozumba. It’s “a huge gap,” she says. “To do effective prevention, you have to have solid information.” Full Story

DeKalb County terminated four firefighters Friday for neglect of duty after finding they had left the scene — without leaving their trucks — of a reported fire that killed an elderly Dunwoody woman. Full Story

Glenn Richardson’s political action committee registered as tax-exempt Tuesday, but it’s not clear whether that will defuse an investigation into his transfer of $219,915 in leftover campaign cash to the committee. The State Ethics Commission is looking into the payment of that money from Richardson’s campaign account to the MMV Alliance Fund on New Year’s Eve. The question is: Would a tax-exempt filing in February allow MMV to accept a couple hundred thousand dollars in campaign money five weeks earlier? Full Story

Former House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s transfer of nearly $220,000 to the MMV Alliance Fund, a political committee under his control, is now the focus of a state investigation. The State Ethics Commission opened the inquiry Jan. 27 because MMV does not appear to be among the groups allowed to accept excess campaign funds. Full Story

Three lawyers — including one who used to prosecute other lawyers for ethics breaches — are finalists for the top job at the State Ethics Commission. They are Gene Chapman, 52, former discipline counsel for the State Bar of Georgia; Bryce Farbstein, 37, who manages the Judicial Election Reform Campaign for Common Cause of Georgia; and Stacey Kalberman, a specialist in insurance regulatory law.

Former Superior Court Judge Brooks E. Blitch III of Clinch County was sentenced Tuesday to three years’ probation and fined $100,000 after pleading guilty to fraud in federal court in Macon. Blitch’s crime was punishable by up to 20 years in prison but he avoided prison time under the plea agreement. Prosecutors dropped the remaining charges in a 78-page indictment that accused Blitch, among other things, of appointing friends to judgeships and other court jobs that required little or no work. In his plea, Blitch admitted releasing three criminal defendants from jail in 2006 and 2007 after… Full Story

The Georgia Supreme Court accepted Charles A. Thomas Jr.’s surrender of his law license today. Maybe he can be a “jailhouse lawyer” while he’s serving his six-year prison sentence for theft and forgery. Thomas, a member of the Georgia House from 1979 through 1994, sold title insurance for Stewart Title Guaranty Co. until losing that privilege in 2004. Since then, Thomas continued to offer title insurance to clients, forging the policies and collecting the premiums for himself. Full Story

In 2007, Rudy Eller hid a gun fired by his chief deputy in a domestic dispute and lied to GBI investigators about it. A year later, Eller pleaded guilty to making false statements, tampering with evidence, hindering apprehension of a criminal, and violating his oath of office. Eller’s lawyer and the district attorney asked the judge to show mercy on Eller, who suffers from diabetes and emphysema. But Superior Court Judge Lynn Alderman was unmoved: “The court is in the business of justice. Mercy is for the Lord and other parties who are not here today.” Full Story

Chase Home Finance has rejected some mortgage modifications because it considered the homeowners’ hardships to be temporary. The Treasury Department has since barred that practice, but those homeowners are left struggling to avoid foreclosure.

Dr. Howard Frumkin, the embattled director of a little-known but important division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been reassigned to a position with less authority, a smaller staff and a lower budget. For the past two years he had endured scathing criticism from Congress and the media for the CDC’s poor handling of public health problems created by the formaldehyde-contaminated trailers that the government provided to Hurricane Katrina victims. Full Story

An examination shows how mortgage servicers have created unnecessary hurdles to getting loan-mods and have violated the government’s rules for the program. “There’s a real resistance on the servicers’ part to making permanent modifications,” said Diane Thompson of the National Consumer Law Center.

UGA President Michael Adams on Thursday defended a $90,000-a-year raise awarded to athletic director Damon Evans. With automatic annual raises and a retention bonus, Evans could earn $3.2 million under the five-year deal. Full Story

Dan Graveline, who retired Dec. 31 after 33 years at the Congress Center, earned more than $434,000 in the last fiscal year. He will stay on as a consultant in 2010, helping his yet-to-be-named replacement in a variety of roles.… Full Story