Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 23, 2019
Dec. 23, 2019 WABE 90.1
EPA Signs Off On Georgia’s Plan To Regulate Coal Ash
Molly Samuel reports that the state of Georgia has the go-ahead from the federal government to regulate coal ash, a byproduct from burning coal for electricity that can contain contaminants such as chromium, boron and mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency rolled out national coal ash rules in 2015, after disastrous spills in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Dec. 23, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Healthcare Hacks
Kenna Simmons reports, “Because that’s where the money is.” That’s supposedly what outlaw Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks. If he were alive today, he’d probably be a cyber criminal, and he might be breaching hospitals’ and healthcare systems’ technology. Because that’s where the data is.
Dec. 23, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Gas Light rate increase follows Georgia Power bill hike
Matt Kempner reports, first, elected state regulators approved a rate increase that will hit Georgia Power customers next month. Now, they’ve also OK’d a January hike in bills for 1.6 million Georgians who rely on natural gas.
Dec. 23, 2019 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Portman buys landmark Midtown funeral home, will develop property with multiple towers
Douglas Sams reports that a Midtown Atlanta property known for the landmark Spring Hill Mortuary, which dodged development for years even as new towers soared around it, has been purchased by prominent Atlanta developer Portman Holdings. Portman Holdings bought the nearly 4-acre funeral home property at Spring and 10th streets earlier this month.
Dec. 23, 2019 Fox 5 Atlanta
Georgia state Sen. Greg Kirk dead at 56
Staff reports that Georgia state Sen. Greg Kirk has died after a months-long battle with bile duct cancer. He was 56 years old. Kirk, who represented Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Lee, Tift, Turner, Worth and parts of Sumter and Wilcox counties in the 13th District, was diagnosed with the rare cancer earlier this year.
Dec. 23, 2019 GlobalAtlanta.com
Japan: A Living Lab for Coca-Cola’s Beverage Evolution
Trevor Williams reports, for John Murphy, the business lessons from living in Japan couldn’t have been more instructive. The Coca-Cola Co. executive vice president and chief financial officer spent nearly a decade in the country in two separate stints, first in the early 1990s, and then from 2000-05, with many trips during and since.
Dec. 23, 2019 Athens Banner-Herald
Pet vaccine maker expands Athens plant
Caitlin O’Donnell reports that Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc., a global company that produces vaccines, parasite control and therapeutic products, spent $76 million to expand its Athens plant. The construction added a filling line and two freeze dryers to the site, which doubled the amount of pet vaccines it can produce.
Dec. 23, 2019 Augusta Chronicle
Incentives could draw destination retailers to Columbia County
Erika Wells reports, a recently approved initiative seeks to give Columbia County businesses the help they need to grow while offering something new to the local community and beyond. The county will fund up to $500,000 for the development authority’s destination retail incentive policy.
Dec. 23, 2019 Albany Herald
Paddle Georgia Spring on the Satilla dates announced
Staff reports, as holiday giving trends toward experiences over gifts, Georgia River Network and Satilla Riverkeeper are teaming up to offer the perfect experience for river lovers. For a fifth consecutive year, Georgia River Network and Satilla Riverkeeper are giving river enthusiasts the opportunity for a spring respite on southeast Georgia’s Satilla River.
Dec. 23, 2019 Brunswick News
DNR settles with Honeywell on LCP cleanup
Wes Wolfe reports that Honeywell International agreed to pay $4 million to the state Department of Natural Resources, in a consent decree filed with the federal district court in Atlanta, for cleanup costs related to the LCP Chemicals Superfund site and compensation for lost recreational fishing opportunities because of chemical pollutants released into the marsh and nearby waterways.
Dec. 23, 2019 Rome News-Tribune
Rome officials express frustration to state lawmakers over culture of Coin Operated Amusement Machines
K.T. McKee reports when there are 20 cars in a convenience store parking lot, and only 2 visible patrons in the store, suspicions of illegal activity are aroused in people like Rome Mayor Bill Collins. “How can you not believe it’s back room operations going on in there?” Collins asked during a discussion about the illegal use of gaming machines as local lawmakers gathered with Rome leaders for the annual Hometown Connection Delegation Breakfast at City Hall on Friday.
Dec. 23, 2019 Georgia Recorder
Newly elected lawmaker files bill to restrict transgender athletes
Beau Evans reports that a Republican lawmaker elected in October filed a bill this week that proposes to ban sports teams from using public facilities if transgender children are competing in single-sex events that differ from their biological sex assigned at birth. State Rep. Philip Singleton’s legislation proposes to prohibit people of different biological sexes from interscholastic competition in Georgia athletic events “exclusively for males” or “exclusively for females.”
Dec. 23, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill pushes early admissions preference for Georgia college students
Eric Stirgus reports that a state senator has introduced legislation that would give preference to Georgia students in the highly competitive world of early admissions to some of its top, public universities. The legislation by Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, would require the state’s four research universities offer at least 90 percent of early action admissions to Georgia resident students.
