Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 10, 2020
Feb. 10, 2020 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Ft. Benning a finalist for Army leadership headquarters. Here’s how many soldiers could come.
Nick Wooten reports that Fort Benning is one of three finalists to become a new Army leadership headquarters — a move that could bring more than 600 soldiers to the area. The post was recently selected as a finalist for the Army’s fourth corps headquarters, which is needed to fulfill requirements of the National Defense Strategy, according to a statement from U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s office.
Feb. 10, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Heart to Heart
Mary Anne Dunkin reports that heart disease was once thought of as a man’s disease or an older person’s disease. But recent research confirms it is both of these – and a whole lot more. A large, multistate study published in the November 2018 edition of the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation, found that while the rate of heart attacks among 35- to 74-year-olds as a whole has declined in recent decades, the percentage of younger people having heart attacks is increasing. And the greatest increase is in young women.
Feb. 10, 2020 Saporta Report
John Lewis to receive Lifetime Achievement Award from ADL Southeast Region
David Pendered reports that Congressman John Lewis is to receive the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Anti-Defamation League Southeast Region at its 23rd Annual Jurisprudence Luncheon, on March 16. This is Lewis’ first award from the ADL in Atlanta, and he’s to be recognized with two others for their public service.
Feb. 10, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett won’t take $3.6 million in federal funds due to requirements
Arielle Kass reports that Gwinnett County plans to rescind acceptance of $3.6 million in federal grant funds because of onerous reporting requirements. Most of the money hasn’t been spent, and the county will only have to repay $37,468, according to county grants manager Shannon Candler.
Feb. 10, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Former Delta Air Lines exec lands as president of IBM
Maria Saporta reports that a former Atlantan, Jim Whitehurst, is the newly-named president of IBM. It’s an interesting twist of fate for Whitehurst, who left Atlanta in 2007 after not being selected to become the CEO of Delta Air Lines.
Feb. 10, 2020 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp Seeks to Reduce High-Stakes K-12 Testing
Staff reports that Governor Brian P. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp were joined on Friday by State School Superintendent Richard Woods, Senator P.K. Martin (R – Lawrenceville), members of the General Assembly, and other special guests to announce legislation to reduce high-stakes K-12 testing in Georgia. “Too often, our educators – who are literally on the front lines of serving the next generation – feel like they’re not heard,” said Governor Kemp.
Feb. 10, 2020 University of Georgia
The Woodroofs: Two lives dedicated to feeding the world
Carolyn Crist reports, as the story goes, the first time University of Georgia horticulturist Jasper “Guy” Woodroof saw his future wife Naomi Chapman in 1924, she was strolling among the rows of plants at the Georgia Experiment Station in Griffin, writing notes on leaves and walking around barefoot. That caught his attention.
Feb. 10, 2020 Savannah Morning News
Growth continues in Savannah industrial market
Katie Nussbaum reports, from Plastic Express expanding operations with two new manufacturing facilities at the Savannah Port Logistics Center in Pooler to A&R Logistics leasing 600,000 square feet at the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub in Effingham County, the area industrial market showed no signs of slowing in 2019.
Feb. 10, 2020 Georgia State University
Biomedical Sciences Researcher Gets $1.67 Million Federal Grant to Study Gut Immunity
LaTina Emerson reports that Dr. Tim Denning, professor and associate director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, has received a four-year, $1.67 million federal grant to study how an immunological pathway influences inflammatory signaling in the intestine that can lead to chronic human diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.
Feb. 10, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Bottled water and blood tests: Coal ash fears grow near Plant Scherer
Jill Nolin reports that John Dupree and his family of seven switched to bottled water a few weeks ago over fears that the water flowing from their faucet could be loaded with dangerous toxins. A recent at-home test confirmed he has reason to worry: It showed excessive levels of hexavalent chromium, which is a known carcinogen at the center of the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich.
Feb. 10, 2020 11 Alive
Federal district judge deals blow to Gov. Kemp on voter roll purge
Michael King reports, a federal judge, this week, ruled against Gov. Brian Kemp in a lawsuit filed against him in 2018, while he was still Secretary of State. The federal lawsuit was initiated by freelance journalist Greg Palast along with Helen Butler, executive director of Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda.
Feb. 10, 2020 All on Georgia
Recess Bill Back Again After Kemp Veto Last Year
Jessica Silagyi reports that State representative Demetrius Douglas is one persistent legislator. The lawmaker from Stockbridge has once again filed his recess legislation. The measure, HB 83, passed through both chambers in 2019 after three years of trying but was vetoed by Governor Kemp.
Feb. 10, 2020 The Center Square
Georgia bill aims to curtail short-term rental ban, regulations by local governments
Nyamekye Daniel reports that a bill on the move in the Georgia House of Representatives would stop local governments from regulating short-term rentals. House Bill 523 was re-introduced by Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, after stalling in the last legislative session. The bill is a response to several bans and registration requirements that have been enacted by local governments throughout the state.
Feb. 10, 2020 Rome News Tribune, Capitol Beat News
Bill to abolish county police limited in scope
Beau Evans reports that county police departments that work alongside city police and sheriff’s offices in Georgia could be dissolved at local governments’ choosing or by voters under a bill that passed out of a state Senate committee this week. “I’m very supportive of county police, but we’ve got a situation in one county where a legislator says he really needs our help,” said state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome.
Feb. 10, 2020 Newnan Times-Herald
Singleton introduces bill to stop ‘sanctuary cities’
Sarah Fay Campbell reports that Rep. Philip Singleton has introduced a bill that will penalize Georgia cities and counties that refuse to comply with federal immigration orders. House Bill 915, the “Georgia Anti-Sanctuary Act,” was introduced Feb. 5.
Feb. 10, 2020 Capitol Beat
Car title loans face interest rate caps in Georgia Senate bill
Beau Evans reports that the practice of pawning one’s car title to make ends meet could get a bit more restrictive in Georgia under a bipartisan bill filed in the 2020 legislative session. Using a person’s vehicle as collateral, auto-title loans provide small sums of money to cash-strapped borrowers quickly, without the need for a credit check.
Feb 10, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Potential conflicts of interest pose test for Kelly Loeffler, new Georgia senator
Alan Judd reports that the images sketch the life of a small-town girl in Middle America. She rides a tractor. She shows her prize cow. Wearing a pink-and-white striped apron, she volunteers at the local hospital. But it is Loeffler’s big-city career in finance, mostly at the Atlanta-based owner of the New York Stock Exchange, that propelled her to the Senate – and into one of the trickiest ethical dilemmas in recent congressional history.
