Latest news with #Echols
USA Today
13-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
New Steelers CB labeled ‘waste of money' by FanSided analyst
The Steelers have completely overhauled their secondary in 2025 — but one particular signing has come under scrutiny following the blockbuster trade for Jalen Ramsey. According to Cody Williams of FanSided, Steelers CB Brandin Echols is the odd man out in a loaded secondary — despite signing with Pittsburgh last March. "…It's getting more difficult by the day to see how Echols fits into the mix at all with the Steelers," Williams wrote. "Some combination of Slay, Porter Jr., and Ramsey are expected to start on the outside and in the slot at cornerback. Meanwhile, Beanie Bishop Jr. and James Pierre have the experience in Pittsburgh that gives them some sort of edge as backups, the same of which is somewhat true for Cory Trice Jr. That puts Echols in a position to battle with those three and seventh-round rookie Donte Kent for spots on the depth chart." Echols, who's played in 57 games with the Jets from 2021 to 2024, signed with the Steelers this offseason on a two-year, $6 million deal — with $1.83 million in guarantees. And it's the guaranteed money that Williams believes will keep the Steelers committed to Echols — even if he considers the contract a "waste of money," as written in the headline of his article. Despite the debate over his Steel City future, Echols' arrival served as a turning point for the Steelers' retooled secondary this offseason — which caught the eye of Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase, who recently named three of Pittsburgh's cornerbacks as the best in the NFL. Echols has the perfect opportunity to change the narrative — as Steelers training camp, which kicks off on July 24, could serve as his proving ground. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Audit confirms accurate vote count for Georgia PSC elections, official say
Georgia's top election official has announced that June's primary elections for the Public Service Commission were accurate. The announcement comes after a risk audit of all 159 counties in the Peach State. SEE MORE: Running Georgia PSC runoff election could cost $100 per vote By the numbers Officials with the Georgia Secretary of State's Office say that county election officials audited 328 batches of ballots. Of those, 99.7% had no deviation from the original vote totals. The single batch with a discrepancy was within the expected margin of error for a hand count, officials said. What they're saying "County election offices are in great hands," Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger said. "Georgia's system works. This is exactly why I'm leading the push to see our reforms instituted on a national level. This audit shows that our Georgia leads the nation in free, fair, and fast election results." Why you should care The Georgia Public Service Commission is the body elected statewide that regulates utilities such as gas and electricity. It has power over what Georgia Power, the state's largest electric provider, can charge customers for electricity. What's next In the District 2 Republican primary, incumbent Tim Echols won the primary. Echols has been on the Public Service Commission since 2011. Echols will face Democrat Alicia Johnson, who ran unopposed in the primary, come November. The District 3 Democratic race has been narrowed down to two candidates: Former Atlanta City Council member Keisha Waites and Peter Hubbard. The runoff election is July 15. The Source Information for this story came from a release by the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.
Associated Press
01-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Regulators approve plan for Georgia Power to freeze base rates through 2028
ATLANTA (AP) — Utility regulators on Tuesday approved a plan for Georgia Power Co. to freeze base power rates through the end of 2028, although opponents argue that customers could face risks later if costs to serve new computer data centers pile up. The five Republicans on the Georgia Public Service Commission voted unanimously for the plan after regulatory staff and the company agreed to it earlier. 'Freezing these rates shows that we're listening to ratepayers and we're doing all we can to protect them and continue to grow this economy in this state,' Commissioner Tim Echols said after the vote. Rates could still go up next year when commissioners consider how customers will pay for $862 million in storm damage, mainly due to 2024's Hurricane Helene. In testimony, Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer Aaron Abramovitz said the company hopes any rate increase to repay the damage could be offset with a decrease in the charge customers have been paying since 2023 to make up for higher costs of buying natural gas and coal. Customers have seen bills rise six times in recent years because of higher natural gas costs and construction projects, including two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta. A typical Georgia Power residential customer now pays more than $175 a month, including taxes. The agreement allows Echols and Commissioner Fitz Johnson to seek reelection this year without a rate increase threatening their campaigns. Echols will face Democrat Alicia Johnson in November. Democrats Peter Hubbard and Keisha Sean Waites are vying in a July 15 runoff to face Fitz Johnson in the general election. Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene called the rate freeze a 'great result for customers, balancing the mutual benefits of extraordinary economic growth among all stakeholders and helping to ensure that we remain equipped to continue supporting growth in this state.' Opponents said the deal didn't do enough to contain the high profits of Georgia Power, a unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co, and doesn't provide enough scrutiny of the company's operations. Commissioner Lauren McDonald on Tuesday unsuccessfully attempted to limit how much the company can earn on the money it has invested — called return on equity — to 11.5% instead of 11.9%. Return on equity is the key driver of the company's profits. Georgia Power is the state's only privately owned electrical utility, serving 2.3 million customers statewide. Last year, Georgia Power collected $11.3 billion in revenue and contributed $2.5 billion in profit to Southern Co. The company predicts rapidly increasing demand from computer data centers. Georgia Power has said regular customers won't pay for power plants and transmission lines needed to electrify data centers, a pledge now backed by commission rules. But the company said in talks with commission staff that it could ask for a rate increase of up to $2.6 billion over three years. Instead, the company and staff hashed out a deal for the company to use tax credits and other financial maneuvers to boost its return on equity without raising rates. Opponents noted that the company had promised 'downward pressure' on rates last year when the commission approved an unusual request for Georgia Power to build more power plants outside the regular schedule. They asked why rates were staying flat instead of going down. John Wilson, an expert witness for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other environmental groups, called it a 'rate increase hidden in the shadows.' Some advocates had called for Echols, McDonald and Commission Chair Jason Shaw to recuse themselves from the vote, saying they violated the commissioners' quasi-judicial role by supporting the deal before hearing evidence. Shaw and Echols spoke in favor of the agreement and McDonald appeared at a news conference but didn't speak. All three commissioners declined to recuse themselves, saying they had done nothing wrong. The deal comes even as commissioners are still considering Georgia Power's three-year plan to generate enough electricity to meet the state's needs. That plan foresees a very large increase in electrical demand, requiring new power plants or new purchases from existing plants. Typically, a rate plan is approved after the integrated resource plan, ensuring the utility can pay for improvements. Instead, Georgia Power will either absorb the costs or seek to pass them on to customers beginning in 2029.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
MPD: Home burglarized while suspects were live on Facebook
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman was arrested earlier this year after she was accused of burglarizing a woman's apartment while being live on Facebook. Shaniya Echols, 20, is facing multiple charges for the April incident. On April 13, deputies responded to a burglary in the 8300 block of Bogey Drive. When they arrived, deputies spoke with the victim, who said that someone had broken into her home and vandalized her property. The victim said she saw a Facebook Live video approximately two hours before deputies arrived, where she saw multiple suspects at her home. She said she could hear one of the suspects allegedly repeatedly saying, 'I just kicked this h– door in. End the live.' The video ended shortly after they made entry into her home. The victim told deputies that when she arrived back at home, she noticed that her front door lock was damaged and her door was kicked in. Man wanted for shooting repo man in Horn Lake: Police She also saw that her living room was ransacked, drawers were left open, a baby swing was knocked over and a glass table was broken inside the kitchen. According to the victim, the only thing she noticed missing was $1,000 from her kitchen drawer. She said $3,500 worth of damage was done to her home. In the police report, deputies said they did notice the broken lock, damaged front door, ransacked living room and a broken glass table in her kitchen. The Facebook Live was given to a detective and they were able to identify Shaniya Echols as a suspect. The victim was also able to positively identify Echols. Echols has been charged with aggravated burglary, theft of property $1,000-$2,500 and vandalism over $1,000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia Public Service Commission races focus on high power bills
Georgia's Public Service Commission gets a rare turn at the top of the ballot in 2025, a chance to focus public attention on a regulatory body that sets rates and oversees generation plans for Georgia Power, which serves 2.3 million customers statewide. Four Democrats and two Republicans are running in June 17 primaries. Early voting has begun and continues through June 14. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Georgia Power customers have seen bills rise six times in recent years because of higher natural gas costs, construction projects including two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, and other factors. A typical Georgia Power residential customer now pays more than $175 a month, including taxes. All the challengers are calling for change, while Republican incumbent Tim Echols defends his record. The five-member commission, currently all Republicans, also oversees some natural gas rates for Atlanta Gas Light and Liberty Gas. Through Wednesday, turnout has been microscopic, with 15,000 ballots cast on the Democratic side and fewer than 10,000 in the GOP race. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] There are two separate primary elections taking place. A voter can choose either a Republican ballot or a Democratic ballot. In each race, candidates must live in a certain district, but run statewide. In the District 2 race, Lee Muns of Harlem is challenging Echols, who lives in Hoschton. Echols has been on the Public Service Commission since 2011. The winner will face Democrat Alicia Johnson in November. In the District 3 race, four Democrats are vying to challenge Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in November. They are Daniel Blackman, Peter Hubbard and Keisha Waites of Atlanta and Robert Jones of Brookhaven. If no Democrat wins a majority June 17, a runoff will be held July 15. Georgia usually doesn't have statewide elections in odd-numbered years, but these were pushed back after elections were delayed by a lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the statewide voting scheme as discriminatory to Black people. No Georgia Public Service Commission elections have been held since 2022 because of the lawsuit. Johnson was appointed to the commission in 2021 by Gov. Brian Kemp and has never faced voters. He was supposed to run for the last two years of his predecessor's term in 2022. Instead, the District 3 winner can run again next year for a six-year term, after lawmakers rewrote the terms. Echols was supposed to run for a six-year term in 2022. Instead, the District 2 winner will serve for five years, with the next election in 2030. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger disqualified Blackman from the ballot, ruling he hadn't moved into Fulton County, part of District 2, before the required year before the election. But a judge decided Blackman could remain on the ballot until the judge rules on Blackman's appeal. Blackman lost a 2020 race for the commission and was appointed by President Joe Biden as southern region administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Blackman said he moved to Atlanta in October. But he voted in Forsyth County in November and didn't switch his registration to Fulton County until April. Blackman said he's not backing down, though. 'There's a legal ongoing process happening right now,' he said. 'We have been deemed to be back on the ballot.' Echols touts a three-year freeze in rates agreed to by Georgia Power and commission staff, calling it 'the most important thing the commission can do right now.' 'The inflation in this economy has been brutal and put many people in a difficult situation,' Echols wrote in a statement. But Muns and the Democrats running in District 3 argue bills are too high. Some of them say the commission will give Georgia Power a free pass if its approves the freeze. Blackman says the company should agree to extend the rate freeze to five years 'if they really want to be serious about addressing high power costs in Georgia.' Muns, who founded a construction company and previously served on the Columbia County school board, is among candidates who say the commission should lower the financial return that Georgia Power is allowed to earn on money it has invested in power plants and transmission lines. That rate of return drives the $2.5 billion in profit that Georgia Power contributed last year to its parent, Atlanta-based Southern Co. Jones, who worked for California's utility regulator, a phone company and Microsoft, called the rate freeze 'atrocious' saying it props up Georgia Power's rate of return. 'I feel the commission is not doing enough deep scrutiny of the operating expenses and of the financials of the company,' Jones said. Hubbard, a green energy advocate, said it would be cheaper to shift toward solar power stored by batteries, instead of building more natural gas plants. 'Renewables, battery storage, some of these other solutions, are the fiscally conservative, least cost, most economical options,' Hubbard said. Waites, a former state House member and former Atlanta City Council member, said she's not an energy expert. 'But I am someone that just like you works hard, and at the end of the day, I just want to get a fair return in terms of what my cost is in terms of what I am paying,' she said at a recent candidate forum.
