Chancellor wants veto of higher education bill
ATLANTA - The chancellor of Georgia's university system has taken the rare step of asking the governor to veto a higher education bill.
Chancellor Erroll Davis said in a letter to Gov. Sonny Perdue that the veto is necessary to protect academic integrity.
But the bill's sponsor said the chancellor's real concern is money.
In the letter, Mr. Davis said it would be "a step backwards" to sign the legislation, which would give 24 hours of college credit to high school seniors who complete the two-year International Baccalaureate diploma program, now offered at 22 Georgia high schools.
Doctor is convicted on child porn charges
ATLANTA - A federal jury on Thursday found a Georgia doctor guilty of six counts of downloading child pornography and taking sexually explicit pictures of boys younger than 18.
Gregory Kapordelis, 46, of Gainesville, faced seven counts of child pornography in U.S. District Court for acts that allegedly happened between 2001 and 2004.
Dr. Kapordelis was found not guilty of owning a video of himself having sex with a person younger than 18.
Error in court reduces officer's life sentence
SPRINGFIELD - A former Savannah police officer's sentence of life in prison was reduced to 20 years because of a judicial error.
Albert Luther Jeffcoat, 55, was convicted last September of kidnapping with bodily injury.
During a hearing this week, Superior Court Judge William Woodrum Jr. ordered the sentence changed to kidnapping after finding that the jury was not properly instructed. Kidnapping, with a maximum sentence of 20 years, carries a shorter sentence than kidnapping with bodily harm.
Judge Woodrum presided over the September trial.
School bus fire delays students' ride home
SAVANNAH - Eight students from Heard Elementary School were late getting home this week after their school bus caught fire, but officials said nobody was injured.
The bus was traveling west on Interstate 16 near Dean Forest Road at about 3:40 p.m. when it ignited, said Savannah-Chatham Public Schools spokesman Bucky Burnsed.
By the time firefighters arrived, the bus driver and the riders had exited the bus safely.
- Edited from wire reports
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