Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 30, 2019
Dec. 30, 2019 New York Times
John Lewis, Congressman and Civil Rights Icon, Has Pancreatic Cancer
Emily Cochrane reports that Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia and an icon of the civil rights movement, announced on Sunday that he had advanced pancreatic cancer, but planned to return to Washington to continue work and begin treatment.
Dec. 30, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Trendsetters: Aggressor Adventures
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that Wayne Brown, chair and CEO of Aggressor Adventures, loves to travel. “After seven or eight days at home, I start to get antsy,” he says. That’s why, in 2007, it made perfect sense for the former Taco Bell franchisee to buy the company that had taken him on a couple of scuba diving trips.
Dec. 30, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgians’ holiday spending helps buoy retailers, especially online
Tamar Hallerman and Ernie Suggs report that Pat Darden was in her element Thursday afternoon as she weaved her way through the throngs of customers at Perimeter Mall. Though post-holiday bargains were plentiful online, she wanted to peruse the merchandise in-person.
Dec. 30, 2019 Atlanta Business Chronicle
UPS expects to process record 1.9 million returns on Jan. 2
David Allison reports that United Parcel Service Inc. is predicting a seventh consecutive record-breaking National Returns Day on Jan. 2, with consumers expected to deposit 1.9 million returns packages into the UPS network – a 26% spike from last year’s peak returns day.
Dec. 30, 2019 Georgia.org
Mitsui Kinzoku Die-Casting Technology America, Inc. to build new facility, create more than 30 jobs in Spalding County
Staff reports that Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced recently that Mitsui Kinzoku Die-Casting Technology America, Inc. (MKDA), a Japanese-based automotive parts manufacturer, will build a new manufacturing facility in Griffin, creating over 30 new jobs and investing $20 million in the project.
Dec. 30, 2019 Athens Banner-Herald
Athens biotechnology company wins grant for stroke research
Caitlin O’Donnell reports, every year, about 800,000 people have strokes. It is the leading cause of extended hospital stays. There are treatments to remove or dissolve blood clots associated with strokes, but there are no treatments to repair the brain damage that strokes cause. That is why the National Institutes of Health awarded Athens-based Aruna Bio Inc. a $4.5 million Phase II Small Business Innovative Research Grant to research an investigational new drug (IND) to repair stroke-related brain damage.
Dec. 30, 2019 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Georgia Fare: Chuck’s Fish – Good Stuff
Krista Reese writes, I sip a bit of icy Nama sake from a tiny cup and nestle into the cushioned corner of our banquette. In front of us, a beautiful rainbow sushi roll – misheard by our waitress instead of the eel roll we ordered over the increasing din of arriving guests, but delicious nevertheless.
Dec. 30, 2019 Clayton News-Daily
Georgia State Supreme Court rules Athens medical clinic can be sued
Staff reports, in what may be the first large data-breach case to reach the Georgia Supreme Court, the high court has ruled that patients of a Clarke County medical clinic whose computer databases were hacked may proceed with a lawsuit against the clinic. With a unanimous ruling, written by Justice Nels S.D. Peterson, the Supreme Court has revived the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, which had been dismissed by an Athens-Clarke County trial court.
Dec. 30, 2019 Washington Post
Federal judge will not reverse Georgia’s decision to purge 100,000 voters
Hannah Knowles reports that Georgia does not have to reinstate almost 100,000 voters removed from its rolls this month, a federal judge ruled Friday, backing the state over activists who said the purge violates people’s rights.
Dec. 30, 2019 Georgia Recorder
Teacher pay raises, school vouchers top k-12 legislative watch list
Stanley Dunlap reports that Georgia’s school and teacher organizations are gearing up for a busy 2020 legislative session with state lawmakers potentially taking up on school vouchers, the Teacher Retirement System, dual enrollment, teacher pay raises and much more. Below is a watch list of big public education policy and funding priorities the Georgia Recorder will track in 2020.
Dec. 30, 2019 Valdosta Daily Times
From Farm to Table: Loeffler says life has prepared her for Senate
Chris Herbert reports that Kelly Loeffler is merely weeks away from becoming the second female U.S. senator from Georgia, taking over for Sen. Johnny Isakson. Gov. Brian Kemp tapped Loeffler as Isakson’s replacement following the senator’s announcement he will step down at the end of 2019 due to health problems. The Valdosta Daily Times sat down with Loeffler for a short interview during her visit to Homerville.
Dec. 30, 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s school turnaround chief a finalist for Wisconsin job
Ty Tagami reports that the man who was hired two years ago to bolster Georgia’s underperforming schools is a finalist for a job in another state. Eric Thomas was selected as Georgia’s first chief turnaround officer in the fall of 2017, just months after the Georgia General Assembly created the position at the request of then-Gov. Nathan Deal.
