First Slice 11-2-12: The Economist endorses Obama, barely

• Joeff Davis
• CHARLOTTE, NC - September 5, 2012 - Crowd at the 2012 Democratic National Convention at the Time Warner Cable Arena.

1. If they build it, will they come? Developers reportedly broke ground on the LakePoint Sporting Community yesterday, a 1,200 acre field-of-dreams style, mega sporting and recreation project backed by former Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and others. But they’re not alone. Other developers have their eyes on plots of land across north Georgia with similar visions in mind, including a proposed seven acre, $100 million project near Atlantic Station.

2. In a tale with a lot of unanswered twists, a Clayton County landlord and his wife found themselves in jail after reporting bags of methamphetamines they found in a rental property. The renters had been arrested days earlier on similar charges, and county police and Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents had searched the residents, cleared it, and turned it back over to the property owners. The Keeley family, who owns the property, returned the next day to clean up and found the remaining bags. They allege Clayton County police harassed and ultimately arrested them after an ICE agent left that day, but neither ICE nor Clayton Police were willing to provide a response to the AJC. Yeah, it’s a pretty complicated story. Go read the rest.

4. Georgia’s Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Monday about a Gwinnett county case dealing with immigrants and driver’s license. The way the state statute in question is written allows those charged with driving without a license to avoid prosecution if they obtain a valid license before their court date. But illegal immigrants are barred from getting such a license, and the defense is arguing this contradiction denies them the right to defend their case. Please clarify, all high and mighty state court.

5. Former Penn State president Graham Spanier and a handful of other past administrators were charged with multiple crimes yesterday related to the alleged cover up of Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse case. Investigators said the officials knew of reports that Sandusky showered with boys in 1998 and 2001, but failed to take action.

6. The Economist, a London-based “political, literary and general newspaper” known for its in-depth reporting and analysis on business and politics around the globe, has endorsed Barack Obama for president — but only because it says Mitt Romney is a poorer choice.

... Elections are about choosing somebody to run a country. And this choice turns on two questions: how good a president has Mr Obama been, especially on the main issues of the economy and foreign policy? And can America really trust the ever-changing Mitt Romney to do a better job? On that basis, the Democrat narrowly deserves to be re-elected.