Georgia Trend Daily – March 5, 2019
March 5, 2019 Georgia.gov
After Severe Storm, Kemp Declares State of Emergency in Grady, Harris & Talbot Counties
Staff reports, yesterday, Governor Brian P. Kemp issued an Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency in Grady, Harris, and Talbot Counties to deploy state assistance in the wake of severe thunderstorms, excessive precipitation, and tornadoes. This declaration activates the Georgia Emergency Operations Plan.
March 5, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
40 Under 40 nominations open today
Karen Kirkpatrick reports, each year Georgia Trend honors 40 of the state’s best and brightest under the age of 40. Whether you know someone who’s making a difference on the national stage or is a mover and shaker in his or her corner of the state, if they are under 40 years old as of Oct. 1, 2019, we want to hear about them.
March 5, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Joint venture to launch Buckhead’s tallest tower since recession
Scott Trubey reports that a pair of Atlanta-based development firms are joining forces with a Dallas company to build the tallest tower in Buckhead since the Great Recession. On Monday, Regent Partners and Batson-Cook Development said they have formed a partnership with TIER REIT to develop 3354 Peachtree Road, a planned 44-story speculative office and condo tower overlooking Ga. 400 and the Buckhead financial district.
March 5, 2019 Atlanta Business Chronicle
London-based staffing agency picks Ponce City Market for first U.S. office
Eric Mandel reports that Atlanta’s fast-growing fintech market and co-working space opportunities has gained some attention across the pond. London-based Global Accounting Network, a staffing and recruiting firm that focuses on finance and accounting professionals, told Atlanta Business Chronicle it’s putting its U.S. home base inside Ponce City Market.
March 5, 2019 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Community talks of blessings even after Gov. Kemp declares state of emergency
Miranda Daniel reports, after viewing storm damage of Harris and Talbot counties by helicopter Monday morning, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp did an on-the-ground tour of the damage caused by a tornado in Talbotton and declared a state of emergency for Harris, Talbot and Grady counties.
March 5, 2019 WABE 90.1, Atlanta Business Chronicle
AT&T Deal Means Breaking Up Turner Broadcasting
Mark Meltzer reports that AT&T Inc. started reorganizing its WarnerMedia unit Monday, a move that includes breaking up Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting, The Wall Street Journal reports. The consolidation could force more jobs to relocate from Turner’s longtime base in Atlanta, where AT&T had already been closing offices in its own telecom division before the merger, choosing to focus on its Dallas headquarters as well as growing its growing presence in New York and Los Angeles, the paper says.
March 5, 2019 Savannah Morning News, Bryan County Now
Bryan County tourism grows, adds to payrolls
Rick Lott reports that visitors continue to bring growth to support more jobs in Bryan County, according to recently released statistics. $1.4 million in local tax revenues was generated for Bryan County and its cities this year, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
March 5, 2019 University of Georgia
UGA sea turtle research wins international recognition
Sandi Martin reports that over the past decade, researchers at the University of Georgia have been genetically fingerprinting loggerhead sea turtles, vital to the conservation of the endangered animals. Now they’ve been recognized for their work that has spanned more than a thousand kilometers of coastline every nesting season.
March 5, 2019 Savannah Morning News
Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter ‘all in’ on addressing climate…
Mary Landers reports that climate change is real, human activity is contributing to it, and it’s a crisis, Coastal Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter said Monday after his recent appointment to a bipartisan climate committee. Carter is among six Republicans joining the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis formed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in January.
March 5, 2019 WABE 90.1
Georgia Legislature Considers Railroad Safety Bill
Emma Hurt reports, these days, there are usually two crew members manning freight trains. But just as car and truck companies are talking about autonomous driving technology, so are railroads. The next step could be a one-man crew, with a monitoring system.
March 5, 2019 Cartersville Daily Tribune News
State Sen. Thompson sponsoring ‘Tim Tebow Act’
James Swift reports that a piece of legislation sponsored by a state senator from Bartow County would open the gates for homeschooled students to participate in a number of “extracurricular and interscholastic activities” within Georgia’s public school systems. Senate Bill 163 proposed by District 14 State Sen. Bruce Thompson (R, White) would amend a section of the state code pertaining to educational programs falling under the Quality Basic Education Act.
March 5, 2019 New York Times
Stacey Abrams, After Narrow Loss, Has Some Decisions to Make
Susan Chira reports, pick a strategy Democrats are considering ahead of 2020, and Stacey Abrams’s narrow loss in the Georgia governor’s race serves either as a blueprint or a warning sign. Democrats are debating how much voting issues can swing an election, whether identity politics are energizing or polarizing, and if it is better to double down on politically engaged women, people of color and left-leaning voters or tack to the center.
March 5, 2019 Brunswick News
‘Religious freedom’ bill indefinitely delayed
Wes Wolfe reports that another attempt at a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, filed last week and scheduled for consideration Monday in a state Senate committee, may not get considered this year thanks to its sponsor asking for and receiving an indefinite delay on a hearing.
March 5, 2019 Newnan Times-Herald
Medical cannabis bill hits roadblock in House
Sarah Fay Campbell reports that a bill to allow for regulated cultivation and production of medical cannabis was headed for a floor vote Monday before it was recommitted to the House Rules Committee. House Bill 324 passed out of the House Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee Friday and the Rules Committee Monday.
March 5, 2019 Georgia Health News
Bill would protect tenants facing unhealthy living conditions
Andy Miller reports, water leaks and sewage overflows. Rampant mold. Rat infestation. Residents’ descriptions of such conditions in some Cobb County apartment complexes recently underscored the breadth of environmental hazards that tenants can face.
March 5, 2019 Saporta Report
Georgia bill would set aside funds from Uber, Lyft, taxis for mobility and “innovation”
Maggie Lee reports that a major new bill aims to get Georgians who don’t have cars on the road, even if they don’t live in transit-dense metro Atlanta. As much as $60 million per year to fund it all would come from folks taking Uber, Lyft, taxis and limos.
March 5, 2019 GPB
Crossover Day: What To Expect
Stephen Fowler reports that it’s crunch time at the state Capitol as the legislative session barrels towards Crossover Day on Thursday. That’s essentially the last day a bill has to pass out of either the House or the Senate to be considered through the rest of the 40-day session.
March 5, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Senate backs analysis of proposed tax breaks ahead of vote
James Salzer reports that the Georgia Senate approved legislation Monday that would mandate that the state do an economic analysis of any new special-interest tax break before the General Assembly votes on it. The measure, Senate Bill 119, was paired with Senate Bill 120, which passed last week and would mandate a similar review of tax breaks before they could be considered for renewal in the future.
