Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 14, 2019
Aug. 14, 2019 Brunswick News
Twin Pines explains plan to mine near Okefenokee
Gordon Jackson reports that the company proposing to mine heavy metals on land near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge held a public meeting Tuesday to explain their plans. The meeting attracted people from as far as Atlanta to learn more about the proposed mining project.
Aug. 14, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Conyers| Rockdale County: Living Large
Linda Erbele reports, Rockdale County may be Georgia’s second-smallest county in area, but in terms of economic development, quality of life and the glamour of the film industry, this county is living large. “Rockdale has convenience and access,” says Marty Jones, executive director of the Conyers Rockdale Economic Development Council (CREDC), of the county’s location along I-20 just outside I-285, east of Atlanta.
Aug. 14, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia farmers, rural communities caught in China trade volleys
Matt Kempner reports that Randy Hudson, a South Georgia pecan farmer, is going back to China in a few weeks. He’s trying to rebuild China’s connection to Georgia’s favored tree nut, a relationship he spent 20 years of his life nurturing.
Aug. 14, 2019 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Atlanta fintech relocating HQ, hundreds of jobs to Bank of America Plaza
Douglas Sams reports that Atlanta fintech company PrimeRevenue Inc. is moving its global headquarters and hundreds of jobs to Bank of America Plaza. PrimeRevenue will lease two floors, or almost 49,000 square feet, at the 55-story tower, which is a block from Georgia Tech’s Technology Square development.
Aug. 14, 2019 Savannah Morning News
Judge: Bryan County ordinances to remain in place
Reports that two Bryan County ordinances will remain in place after a superior court judge ruled against the Home Builders Association of Greater Savannah’s motion to stop the county from operating under the Interim Development Ordinance (IDO) and Development Impact Fee Ordinance (DIFO). The ruling, which was handed down from Chief Judge Robert L. Russell last week, denied the plaintiff’s request to half collection of impact fees, which were passed by Bryan County Commission on Jan. 8 and went into effect April 1.
Aug. 14, 2019 Albany Herald
GDOT replaces 24 bridges in 24 counties using ‘bridge bundles’
Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Transportation has announced that the “bridge bundle” replacements funded in Fiscal Year 2016 are complete and open to traffic. The bridge bundles are state-funded bridge replacement projects that replaced and updated 24 structurally deficient bridges on off-system roads — city or county routes that are not part of the state system — in 24 Georgia counties: Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Coweta, Crawford, Elbert, Grady, Greene, Harris, Hart, Jackson, Laurens, Meriwether, Morgan, Pike, Stephens, Telfair, Tift, Treutlen, Walton, Ware, Wayne, Wheeler and Wilkes.
Aug. 14, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Fighting opioid addiction with DNA
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that Gainesville-based Pro-GeneX and Pro-GeneX Laboratories are working to make a dent in the opioid addiction crisis by offering a tool – for physicians and patients – that will help gauge a person’s propensity for addiction before the prescription is ever written. Pro-GeneX is already making its mark in pharmacogenomics, which is a relatively new field that addresses how genes affect a person’s response to drugs.
Aug. 14, 2019 Augusta Chronicle
Disabled-vehicle provider Adaptive Driving Solutions moving to Martinez
Damon Cline reports that an Augusta company specializing in handicap-accessible vehicles is planning to move its operation to a larger space in Martinez. Adaptive Driving Solutions said it will move from its 7,000-square-foot leased offices at 3027 River Watch Parkway to a new, free-standing 9,000 square-foot building just 2-1/2 miles west at 3585 River Watch Parkway.
Aug. 14, 2019 GPB
The Hidden Price Of Higher Ed In Georgia
Virginia Prescott and Jake Troyer report that as students head back to college this month, a large portion will be taking on loans to help cover costs. At least 1.5 million Georgians — approximately 14% of the state’s population — have some amount of student loan debt, totaling to $58.7 billion.
Aug. 14, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC Interview: Abrams has big plans for national voting rights program
Greg Bluestein reports that Stacey Abrams has ambitious plans for a national expansion of her voting rights program, which is set to train activists to defend against threats of voter suppression in 20 states by next year’s election. In a Tuesday interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Georgia Democrat and her top aide Lauren Groh-Wargo talked extensively about their goals for the Fair Fight 2020 initiative, Abrams’ political future and why they picked a Gwinnett County elementary school to launch the initiative this weekend.
