Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 12, 2019

Sept. 12, 2019 Albany Herald

State net tax collections down in August

Staff reports that Georgia’s net tax collections for August totaled roughly $1.75 billion for a decrease of $50.3 million, or -2.8 percent, compared to August 2018 when net tax collections totaled slightly more than $1.80 billion. Year-to-date, net tax revenue collections totaled nearly $3.59 billion for an increase of $5.4 million, or 0.2 percent, compared to FY 2019 after two months.

Sept. 12, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

From the Publisher: Workforce and Immigration

Ben Young writes, the immigration debate has warped into a sort of culture war that promises to bulwark against change, damn the consequences. Science fiction tropes have emerged as popular “fact,” as the ramifications of a nation without immigrants are swept under a flying carpet to doomsday. As of 2015, there were a million immigrants in Georgia contributing billions to the economy and comprising nearly 40 percent of the labor force in farming, fishing and foresting, according to the American Immigration Council.

Sept. 12, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia boat-building industry’s confidence dented by trade wars

Christopher Quinn reports that Georgia’s large boat-building industry is facing growing headwinds from President Donald Trump’s import tariffs and trade wars. Builders were able to navigate retaliatory tariffs from Mexico, Canada and the European Union last year, but this fall’s escalating row between the U.S. and China is taking uncertainty and costs to a higher level.

Sept. 12, 2019 Atlanta Business Chronicle

Georgia tourism industry posts record 2018

Dave Williams reports that tourists spent $31 billion in Georgia last year, a 4.8% increase over 2017. The Peach State welcomed a record of 111.67 million visitors in 2018, supporting 475,000 jobs and generating $66.2 billion in economic impact, up 4.7% compared to the previous year.

Sept. 12, 2019 WABE 90.1

‘State-Of-The-Art’ ICE Training Facility To Come To Fort Benning

Emma Hurt reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wants to build a “state-of-the-art tactical training facility” featuring “hyper-realistic training devices, a tactical training warehouse, classroom facilities, and vehicle assault training area” at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. Fort Benning is already home to ICE’s Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs.

Sept. 12, 2019 Clayton News-Daily

Georgia attorney general joins Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, state regulators to launch financial network

Staff reports that Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced this week that the state will join the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s American Consumer Financial Innovation Network. The purpose of the ACFIN is to enhance coordination among federal and state regulators and facilitate financial innovation.

Sept. 12, 2019 GlobalAtlanta.com

What a new imperial era in Japan means for Georgia

Trevor Williams reports, with the accession to the throne by Crown Prince Naruhito in May, a literal and figurative new era has begun in Japan. And while the start to the Reiwa Era may seem far removed from Georgia, the stability of Japan’s royal family has given its companies a long-term outlook that has benefited the state immensely over the last half-century.

Sept 12, 2019 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Columbus hospital looks to improve quality of care with new Emory Healthcare affiliation

Allie Dean reports that St. Francis Hospital announced Wednesday it will become an affiliate of Emory Healthcare Network with the goal of improving “quality outcomes” and making “care more affordable for the region,” according to a press release. St. Francis started a partnership with Emory Clinic’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery three years ago and this announcement expands the relationship between the two medical institutions.

Sept. 12, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

Dalton design awards

Mary Ann DeMuth reports that Healthcare Design magazine recently bestowed its highest award on Hamilton Health Care System’s Anna Shaw Children’s Institute building in Dalton. The publication, which is an information source for architects, interior designers and hospital officials, will present its Award of Merit to the Children’s Institute at its November Healthcare Design Showcase program in New Orleans.

Sept. 12, 2019 WABE 90.1

After Some Wild Times, Georgia’s Insurance Marketplace Starts To Settle Down

Sam Whitehead reports that Georgians who buy Obamacare health insurance have been through some rocky times since the marketplace launched back in 2013: insurance providers have come and gone, premiums have fluctuated dramatically. As of late, a relative calm has settled upon the marketplace, but there are still many for whom coverage is still out of reach.

Sept. 12, 2019 Augusta Chronicle

Big grant helps Georgia Cancer Center reach across the state

Tom Corwin reports that a new $6 million grant will allow Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University to not only partner with other sites across the state but to increase the number of rural and minority patients being able to access clinical trials and cutting edge treatment closer to home, officials said. The center is one of 14 National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Minority/Underserved Community Sites across the country and will use the six-year grant to partner with others in the state and one site in Mississippi to open up access to clinical trials and also look at issues such as prevention or interventions that could help patients avoid cancer, said Dr. Jorge Cortes, the center’s new director.

Sept. 12, 2019 GPB

U.S. Senate Confirms Former Prosecutor To A Seat On Atlanta Federal Bench

Robert Jimison reports that a focus of President Donald Trump’s administrative agenda, reshaping the judiciary, moves forward in Atlanta with the latest conservative jurist set to take a seat on the federal appeals court in Atlanta. Former federal prosecutor Steven Grimberg was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 75 to 18 in the U.S. Senate Wednesday.

Sept. 12, 2019 Georgia Health News

Hospitals anxious as state crafts rules on disclosing their finances

Andy Miller reports that nonprofit hospitals in Georgia soon will face tough new financial transparency rules, under a law passed earlier this year by the General Assembly. The new law will require disclosure of data on executives’ compensation and the financial holdings of hospitals.

Sept. 12, 2019 Georgia Recorder

Time running out for public to weigh in on Okefenokee area mining plan

Stanley Dunlap reports that a proposed mining operation near the Okefenokee Swamp is sparking a great deal of interest with thousands of organizations and people sounding off on the plan ahead of tomorrow’s public comment deadline. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers logged more than 12,000 public comments on the Twin Pines Minerals’ application to conduct deep-surface mining along Trail Ridge, an eastern barrier of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Sept. 12, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Two dozen black Georgia lawmakers back Biden’s 2020 bid

Greg Bluestein reports that more than two dozen black state legislators endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign on Thursday ahead of the third presidential debate in Houston. The 26 endorsements include state Rep. Billy Mitchell, the president-elect of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, state Rep. Karen Bennett, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus Chair and state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, the former No. 2 Democrat in the state House.