Georgia Trend Daily – March 20, 2019
March 20, 2019 GPB
Georgia Pecan Farmers Say Woes Persist Following Hurricane Michael
La’Raven Taylor and Virginia Prescott report that it takes about a decade to grow a productive pecan tree and a matter of minutes to take one down. A University of Georgia specialist estimates Hurricane Michael’s 100 mph winds left 75 percent of pecan crops unharvestable in several south Georgia counties. UGA also estimates a total of $2 billion in losses to the state’s agriculture industry.
March 20, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Small Business Rock Stars
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that Gov. Brian Kemp has declared this week, March 18-22, Georgia Small Business Week. Highlighting the importance of the 800,000 registered small businesses in our state, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced the 2019 Small Business Rock Stars on Monday at a luncheon co-sponsored by the Georgia Economic Developers Association.
March 20, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Morris Brown College to seek accreditation
Eric Stirgus reports that Atlanta-based Morris Brown College’s new leader is working on a plan to regain its accreditation, more than a decade after losing it due to financial aid fraud that nearly caused the school to shut down. “We will restore Morris Brown College,” Kevin James, who became interim president March 1, said in a meeting with college supporters that was posted on the school’s Facebook page Monday.
March 20, 2019 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Jones Lang LaSalle to purchase Atlanta’s largest commercial mortgage banker, HFF
Douglas Sams reports that HFF has been a major player in Atlanta’ s commercial real estate business for more than 20 years. It’s known for high-profile listings including the recent marketing of The Shops Buckhead Atlanta on behalf of the project’s current owner, an affiliate of Brookfield Residential Properties Inc.
March 20, 2019 Gainesville Times
Gov. Kemp, secretary of commerce joins SK Innovation for groundbreaking on $1.67 billion factory
Kelsey Richardson reports, launching what should be a long partnership, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Gov. Brian Kemp joined SK Innovation on Tuesday to break ground on what’s billed as Georgia’s largest single foreign investment. SK Innovation, a Korean developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, initiated the construction of its $1.67 billion new electric vehicle battery factory located on 1523 Steve Reynolds Industrial Parkway in Commerce.
March 20, 2019 Albany Herald
Southwest Georgia Farm Credit returns $5 million in profits to borrowers
Staff reports that Southwest Georgia Farm Credit, a customer-owned financial institution, announced Monday plans to distribute $5 million of its 2018 profits in cash to those who borrow from the association. Officials said the association has returned more than $126 million in member dividends since 1991.
March 20, 2019 Savannah Morning News
Skidaway Island residents vote down incorporation effort
Eric Curl reports that Skidaway will remain an unincorporated community within Chatham County after about 63 percent of voters opposed the referendum to form their own city. About 73 percent of the island’s 8,069 registered voters participated in the referendum, with about 37 percent casting ballots during early voting or by submitting absentee ballots.
March 20, 2019 Gwinnett Daily Post
Gwinnett back at square one after MARTA rejected in key vote
Curt Yeomans reports that Gwinnett County leaders will be looking at what comes next today as they process the defeat of a proposed contract with MARTA to provide transit services to the county. Opponents of a proposal to expand MARTA into Gwinnett County prevailed over pro-MARTA forces in the county’s transit referendum on Tuesday.
March 20, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
At Issue: Affording College
Kerwin Swint reports that one of the keys to Georgia’s future will be how successful we are in assuring broad access to high-quality college education. We are one of many states facing a mounting challenge of controlling costs at public institutions while maintaining, actually increasing, the quality of that education.
March 20, 2019 Georgia Health News
Improving kids’ bodies – and minds – by requiring recess
Andy Miller reports that kids love school recess: Kicking a soccer ball, clambering up a jungle gym, chasing each other on a playground. And such unstructured play is not just fun, researchers say. Recess can help improve academic performance and reduce fidgety behavior and negative conduct in the classroom, health experts say.
March 20, 2019 WSB Radio, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New law would let judges override lawmakers’ court delays
Chris Joyner and Johnny Edwards report that Georgia lawyer-legislators would no longer be able to automatically delay court hearings for their private clients any time they want under a proposal by a panel appointed by House Speaker David Ralston, who has come under fire for his use of legislative delays. The new law, if approved, would empower judges to overrule a legislator if they determine that his or her legislative business isn’t as crucial as the court case at hand.
March 20, 2019 Brunswick News
Shore protection bill passes Senate panel on tight vote
Wes Wolfe reports that one vote was all that stood between a controversial revision of the Shore Protection Act and a possible vote of the full state Senate, but the bill got that vote in Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee.
March 20, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trump taps ex-Delta executive to lead crisis-stricken FAA
Tamar Hallerman and Kelly Yamanacouhi report that President Donald Trump tapped a former Delta Air Lines executive to lead the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday, a move that comes as the agency faces renewed scrutiny of its safety standards. The White House said it planned to nominate Steve Dickson for a five-year term to lead the nation’s top airline safety regulator, a position that requires Senate confirmation.
