Georgia Trend Daily – May 3, 2019
May 3, 2019 WABE 90.1
For Southwest Georgians, Stalled Federal Aid Affects Everyone
Emma Hurt reports that this week a group of Southeastern Senators, including Georgia’s renewed efforts to pass a federal disaster relief package. For months it’s been stalled in a partisan debate over how much money should be included for Puerto Rico. In Southwest Georgia, farmers have been waiting for the aid since October, when Hurricane Michael devastated the region.
May 3, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Political Notes: Ups, Downs and In-Betweens
Susan Percy reports, former Georgia Republican Congressman John Linder, Duluth, has been selected by President Donald Trump to be the U.S. representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member intergovernmental organization based in Indonesia. Over his nine terms in the U.S. House, Linder, 76, represented Georgia’s 4th, 7th and 11th districts. In his new job, he will have the rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
May 3, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anthem to anchor second Midtown Atlanta tower
Scott Trubey reports that developer Portman Holdings announced this week it has formally started construction on the company’s third office tower at Midtown Atlanta’s Technology Square. Health insurance giant Anthem will anchor the new tower at 712 West Peachtree Street, which is expected to open in 2021.
May 3, 2019 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Power makes first foray into battery storage
Dave Williams reports that Georgia Power Co., which prides itself on a diverse portfolio of energy generation sources, is about to add another. The latest 20-year energy production plan the Atlanta-based utility has submitted to the state Public Service Commission (PSC) calls for the addition of 50 megawatts of power generated through battery storage.
May 3, 2019 Georgia Economic Development
Security Intelligence Leader Exabeam to Open New East Coast Office in Atlanta, Create 20 New Jobs
Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Economic Development announced today that Exabeam, the California-based Smarter SIEM ™ company, will establish an East Coast presence in Midtown Atlanta and create 20 new jobs. “When innovative companies like Exabeam choose Georgia it bolsters our status as a hub for international cybersecurity companies. Exabeam will have access to a highly sophisticated technology infrastructure, talented workforce and accessibility with regular non-stop flights to their home base,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson.
May 3, 2019 WABE 90.1
Why Atlanta’s A Key Part of Tech Company Pandora’s Expansion
Candace Wheeler reports, Oakland-based music streaming platform Pandora has had an office in Atlanta’s Atlantic Station for the past 10 years, and, recently, the company announced plans to expand to another building in Midtown. While many still point to locales like Silicon Valley for examples of a thriving tech culture, Shalya Fortè, Pandora’s director of sales for the southeast, said Atlanta has a major role in the industry.
May 3, 2019 Newnan Times-Herald
Plant Yates drains last ash pond
Sarah Fay Campbell reports that Georgia Power is gearing up to drain the remaining coal ash pond at Plant Yates. Once the pond is fully “dewatered,” there will be no more wet storage of ash on the plant property, eliminating the risk of a catastrophic discharge of coal ash into the Chattahoochee River from a dam failure.
May 3, 2019 Georgia Health News
Emory plans major medical development in Brookhaven
Andy Miller reports that the city of Brookhaven may be getting a second new hospital. Emory University announced Thursday that it’s planning a $1 billion development for Executive Park, which would include a 140-bed hospital. That facility would focus on orthopedics, according to an article in the Reporter Newspapers. It would not have an emergency room.
May 3, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Appreciating customers
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that Forbes magazine recently named United Community Bank (UCB) one of the top five U.S. banks on its list of the World’s Best Banks. The coveted ranking was based primarily on customer service, and this month UCB celebrates its patrons with Customer Appreciation Days throughout Georgia, many of which are being held today. (Check with your local branch to find out when its Customer Appreciation Day will be held.)
May 3, 2019 Athens Banner-Herald, Savannah Morning News
Georgia plans to name football field after Vince Dooley
Marc Weiszer reports that the field where Vince Dooley walked the sidelines for 25 seasons during a career in which he won more games than any Georgia football coach should soon bear his name. Vince Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium will become the official home of the Bulldogs, pending approval by the University of Georgia and the University System Board of Regents.
May 3, 2019 GlobalAtlanta.com
Canada’s New Export Finance Office in Atlanta Is a Rebuke to Zero-Sum Trade Policy
Trevor Williams reports, when Canada opened its first-ever U.S. office for the country’s export credit agency in Atlanta last week, it was making a multilayered statement on its trade philosophy. The message? The country is both bullish on the U.S. South and committed to the idea that Canadian and American firms (and their economies) work better when they work together.
May 3, 2019 Macon Telegraph
Tourism brings more than $600 million to Middle Georgia. Here’s why.
Stanley Dunlap reports that hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to attend the Georgia National Fair in Perry in October. The 11-day event with its amusement rides, livestock competitions, concerts and more is one of the major tourist attractions in Middle Georgia. The fairgrounds is a cog in Georgia’s $63 billion tourism industry and in the midstate’s two biggest counties — Bibb and Houston — had a combined $629 million in direct tourism spending in 2017, according to a report from the U.S. Travel Association.
May 3, 2019 Brunswick News
Local opioid lawsuit filed against large distributors, local pharmacies
Wes Wolfe reports that the damage opioid addiction cases to families and society as a whole has state and local governments attempting to move with unusual quickness, and there continues to be work to pass meaningful legislation through Congress. Already, courthouses coast to coast are hearing cases brought by state and local governments against pharmaceutical companies. But the lawsuit filed April 17 in Glynn County is a little different — there are 22 different plaintiffs, many of whom are minor children of alleged victims.
May 3, 2019 Gwinnett Daily Post
Danny Porter to seek re-election as Gwinnett DA in 2020 — but may switch parties
Curt Yeomans reports that Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter pledged Thursday to run for reelection next year for one final term as the county’s top prosecutor. Whether he’ll do that as a Republican — which he has done every time he’s run since he was first elected in 1992 — or flip parties and run as a Democrat remains to be seen. As Gwinnett’s political demographics change, he’s not ruling out either party for his run in 2020.
May 3, 2019 Marietta Daily Journal
Kemp signs bills introducing dyslexia support, computer science curriculum
Thomas Hartwell reports that Gov. Brian Kemp chose Wheeler High School as the stage for Thursday’s signing of eight education bills into law, including a bill that advocacy groups say will substantially improve success in students with dyslexia. The governor also signed a bill requiring the introduction of required computer science curriculum in the state, among others.
May 3, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta may let residents decide which projects get tax dollars
Raisa Habersham reports that Atlanta residents could get a more direct say in how to spend some of their tax dollars under a new “participatory budgeting” plan. Under the proposal being developed, residents could cast votes to determine how up to 2% of the city’s annual budget — roughly $13 million currently — is spent. The program is modeled after similar ones in Seattle, New York, and Durham, N.C.
