Yarbrough: Timber owner claims mining ban unconstitutional

Joe Hopkins is among the names frequently mentioned in the controversy regarding the possible permitting by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals to mine titanium dioxide on Trail Ridge at Georgia’s historic Okefenokee Swamp.

Yarbrough: Once again, no Nobel

It is my sad duty to tell you, dear readers, that I have once again been denied the Nobel Prize in Literature that I so richly deserve, along with the 11 million Swedish krona (about $1 million), which I would have donated to my favorite charity – me.

Yarbrough: Not so crazy after all?

You have to be very careful when tossing out opinions in this business. You can get yourself in trouble if you say the wrong thing. This is a litigious world in which we live.For example, if I say that I think Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is as crazy as a bedbug, I might face a libel suit.

Yarbrough: Florida sheriff walking tall

I have a new hero. His name is Mike Chitwood, and he is the sheriff of Volusia County, Florida, which includes an area known as Daytona Beach. I assume you have heard of the place.

Yarbrough: Goodbye, Helene, and good riddance

Hello, Hurricane Helene. Goodbye, Hurricane Helene. Please pardon us for showing a lack of Southern hospitality, but you were not welcome to come in the first place, and we will be glad to see you go. Speaking of hospitality, you didn’t show much yourself.

Yarbrough: Kindness is needed daily

Can we do it? You and I? Can we be kind? More importantly, can we be kind at least once a day for a month? I didn’t think of this idea, but I wish I had because it’s a great and much-needed one.

Yarbrough: Happy to be living in such a happy state of mind

Are you happy? If so, I am so glad. But you and I might be exceptions.I just read a report by WalletHub, a personal finance company, that ranks the 50 states on various metrics to determine which states are the happiest.Georgia is listed as the 20th most-happy state.

Yarbrough: Okefenokee drag-mining controversy continues

Since we last discussed efforts to drill in our Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for titanium dioxide so that mankind will never experience life without toothpaste whitener, nothing has changed – except a lot.What hasn’t changed?Gov.

Yarbrough: Sing a song to September

Oh, it’s a long, long while from May to December. But the days grow short when you reach September. Truer words were never spoken – or sung. I wish I had written those words, but they come from playwright Maxwell Anderson for the 1938 Broadway production of “Knickerbocker Holiday.

Yarbrough: Presidential politics with Skeeter Skates

Uh-oh! The sound of the phone told me who was on the other end: Skeeter Skates, owner and operator of Skeeter Skates Tree Stump Removal and Plow Repair in Ryo, Georgia. When Skeeter calls, the phone doesn’t just ring. It jumps.Skeeter can do that to phones – and people.