Ga. governor delays opening of state government

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has delayed the opening of state government until 10 a.m. tomorrow, giving agency heads the discretion to close offices in areas with significant power outages and allowing employees to telework where their commute is dangerous.

Earlier today, Deal extended the state of emergency for three additional days, through Sunday night, to assure that all necessary resources are available for state agencies and local governments to clear roads and all other winter storm-related obstacles.

Deal spoke this afternoon with the secretary of U.S. Homeland Security and the FEMA administrator to thank them for their ongoing cooperation with the state of Georgia. GEMA and FEMA have started the process of conducting a joint assessment of the costs associated with the storm to determine if it rises to level needed for federal financial assistance.