Felicia Sonmez and Vanessa Williams report that Democrats have tapped Georgia’s Stacey Abrams to deliver the response to President Trump’s State of the Union address, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced Tuesday. She will address the nation in a prime-time speech shortly after Trump finishes his address to a joint session of Congress next Tuesday night.
Candice Dyer reports, four years ago, Clint, who is on the autism spectrum, was 12 when his mother died of cancer. Soon afterward, he showed up, traumatized and struggling with balance issues, at Reins of Life, a center for equine therapy near Eastanollee in Northeast Georgia.
Matt Kempner reports that the two biggest words in Atlanta over the next few days represent a pot of gold and a minefield for local businesses: Super Bowl. Many including behemoths like Coca-Cola appear to be avoiding the words entirely. The NFL has a history of smacking non-sponsor companies that it believes infringe on the lucrative trademark of its biggest show.
Jessica Saunders reports that Atlanta-based Kabbage Inc. has hired the chief marketing officer at LegalZoom as its new chief revenue officer. Laura Goldberg‘s appointment is effective immediately, according to a Kabbage spokeswoman. Kabbage automates loans online to small businesses and customers.
Lee Shearer reports that Georgia Chamber of Commerce President Chris Clark was in Athens Tuesday morning, spreading the word about the Chamber’s “New Georgia Economy” program, meant to prepare people for the big changes that will shape the economy over the next decade.
David Pendered reports that Hurricane Michael may seem a distant memory, especially with wintry weather wrapping metro Atlanta, but the impact of the October 2018 storm remains so close that cotton awaits harvest in Georgia fields and only on Monday did the nation’s workplace safety agency return to regular enforcement duties in all affected areas.
Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Education is offering training to assist schools, districts and communities coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. Thanks to a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education’s Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (REMS TA Center), training will be provided to address the needs of schools in counties recovering from Hurricane Michael, at no cost to the state or schools.
Diane Wagner reports that the agency that oversees Georgia’s state hospitals is asking for an additional $7 million over the next five months to cover the cost of basic maintenance and operations. “This is the first year DBHDD has felt the gap between what it takes to keep a hospital running and Medicaid funding,” said Commissioner Judy Fitzgerald of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
DeAnn Komanecky reports that the Port of Savannah handled a record annual volume in calendar year 2018, Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the GPA board. The port moved 4.35 million 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in 2018, a 7.5 percent increase over the same period in 2017.
Tony Adams reports that TSYS, the Columbus company that processes credit-card transactions across the U.S. and around the globe, reported Tuesday a fourth-quarter profit of $136.4 million, or 74 cents per diluted share.
Isabel Hughes reports that a local philanthropic family whose business is based out of Norcross has donated $11 million to Piedmont Hospital to establish the Samsky Invasive Cardiovascular Services Center. Brett and Louise Samsky and their son, Connor Samsky, whose $6 million gift established the Samsky Advanced Heart Failure Center at Piedmont Heart in 2015, recently announced the new donation for the center, which will be located within Piedmont Atlanta Hospital’s Piedmont Atlanta Tower.
Gordon Jackson reports that Camden County officials believe a proposed spaceport could become a reality if the Federal Aviation Administration approves a formal application submitted Jan. 29 to be a launch site operator. The submission took more than three years to comply with the regulatory requirement to conduct orbital and suborbital launches from the site in Camden County.
Staff reports that an endangered bird is receiving emergency help in Georgia following Hurricane Michael, thanks to a timely grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Pine woodlands on what is now the state-owned Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area have long been a refuge for red-cockaded woodpeckers, federally listed as endangered since 1970.
Karen Kirkpatrick reports, in case you’ve been living under a rock, Super Bowl LIII is coming to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium this Sunday, Feb. 3. A million people are expected to descend on the city for the game and surrounding events, which are being touted as the biggest thing since the 1996 Olympics. Hotel rooms are sold out, homeowners are cashing in on Airbnb and restaurants have been booked for months.
Jill Nolin reports that nearly $30 million in state funding has been proposed for the construction of a new building at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. The funding is included in the proposed bond package of the budget Gov. Brian Kemp has pitched for next year. State lawmakers must still sign off on the spending plans.
Denis O’Hayer reports that on Jan. 26, Georgia Democrats elected their first-ever black female party chair. Atlanta State Sen. Nikema Williams succeeds Dubose Porter, a former longtime state lawmaker who had led the party since 2013. Williams had been endorsed by fellow Atlantan Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic candidate for governor.
Tamar Hallerman reports, Congressman Tom Graves, the only Georgia member of a new committee tasked with hashing out a deal for President Donald Trump’s border wall, is a conservative firebrand-turned-leadership ally. That background that could put him at odds with other members of the panel as they look to forge a bipartisan funding agreement before a key Feb. 15 deadline.
Meredith Leapley, a 2007 Georgia Trend 40 Under 40 honoree, is celebrating 26 years as founder and CEO of Leapley Construction Group. A Maryland native, Leapley founded her company in 1999 to be a premier commercial interior general contractor. Meredith…
John Ahmann, a 2001 Georgia Trend 40 Under 40 honoree, currently serves as CEO of Westside Future Fund. At the time of his 40 Under 40 honor, he was Senior Vice President for Community Development at the Georgia Chamber of…
