Atlanta Unfiltered

Georgia has the longest waiting list in the nation — 1,348 — for people with HIV to get government drug assistance. Most of those on the waiting list are getting help from pharmaceutical company’s low-income assistance programs, one advocate said, but “there are a lot of concerns that people are falling through the cracks.’’ Full Story

A DeKalb County fire captain won his job back today as the Georgia Supreme Court ruled CEO Burrell Ellis must abide by decisions of a hearing officer, the county’s Merit System Council and a Superior Court judge. Capt. Sell Caldwell III was one of several firefighters who were dismissed after a fatal 2010 house fire in Dunwoody. Full Story

Investigators have reportedly questioned Atlanta’s Stan Thomas about possibly illicit payments tied to development of a proposed Cayman Islands resort. Thomas has been in the headlines in recent years for his relationship with former Gov. Sonny Perdue and the somewhat spectacular collapse of his real-estate empire. Now, according to news reports, Royal Cayman police say they are investigating allegations that Thomas paid Cayman premier McKeeva Bush as much as $375,000 in 2004. Full Story

An Agnes Scott College researcher has found that chimpanzees that are good at throwing feces have better communications skills than those who aren’t. Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, however, thinks taxpayers shouldn’t have footed the bill to find that out. Full Story

Dec. 15, 2011 — Linda Schrenko, Georgia’s disgraced ex-school superintendent, says the feds owe her $195,000 taken as partial restitution for the money she stole from deaf kids. The Justice Department took the money in an illegal garnishment of her $4,500 monthly pension, said her attorney, former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr. Schrenko also complains that inadequate medical care in prison for her sleep apnea has left her in “a severely debilitated state of health.” Full Story

Dec. 14, 2011 — Remember the Georgia Legislature’s promise last year to impose tough new penalties for violators of campaign finance laws? Not gonna happen — at least not yet.

Starting this year, candidates could be fined $1,375 for filing a financial disclosure 45 days late. But legislators didn’t provide the money to pay for late notices, so the maximum fine for now is just $125. Full Story

Georgia Inspector General Deron R. Hicks says his staff found no evidence that his boss, Gov. Nathan Deal, pressed for the firing of the top two investigators at the ethics commission. The question is: How hard did he really look? Hicks’ inquiry did not address important disputed points, including whether the commission’s chairman, after being reappointed by Deal, had truly recused himself from an investigation of the governor’s campaign finances. Full Story

Two Atlanta attorneys who paid runners at least $276,000 over several years to bring them personal-injury clients were stripped of their right to practice law today by the Supreme Court of Georgia. Lawyers Steven C. Freedman and Thomas C. Sinowski, who had “zealously” litigated the case against them for 10 years, argued that even a one-year suspension was too much. Full Story

A coastal Georgia judge whose actions drew national attention now must defend herself against formal charges that she denied a suicidal defendant and others the right to due process and ignored conflicts of interest with her family members. Judge Amanda Williams’ conduct amounted to “tyrannical partiality,” the Judicial Qualifications Commission said today. Full Story

Eight years after the fact, former Fulton County Sheriff Jacqueline Barrett is off the hook for accepting $40,000 in illegal campaign contributions that played a part in her removal from office. The Georgia Campaign Finance Commission, acknowledging procedural errors, dismissed a complaint over the donations, which were associated with a shaky $7.2 million investment made with money under her control. Full Story

Amy Howell, the first woman to head the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, is stepping down after just 10 months on the job. Gov. Nathan Deal has named her general counsel for the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities to help oversee a federal mental health settlement. Full Story

Delta Air Lines posted third-quarter profit of $549 million today, thanks to fare increases and strong corporate travel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. So why exactly did Delta need a $15 million-a-year exemption from sales taxes on jet fuel? You’ll have to ask the Georgia General Assembly Full Story