Georgia Trend Daily – April 16, 2020
April 16, 2020 Gainesville Times
Fla. Objects to latest water wars findings
Jeff Gill reports that at Florida’s request, the U.S. Supreme Court has given Georgia and Florida more time to file briefs responding to a special master’s report ruling against Florida. The state filed a brief Monday, April 13, asking justices to reject a Dec. 11 reports by a special master who recommended that justices not grant Florida’s request for an equitable apportioning of waters in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, which includes Lake Lanier.
April 16, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
At Issue: Blue State Exodus
Kerwin Swint reports that as most people who follow Georgia politics know, the state’s demographics have been shifting in significant ways. These population changes will invariably affect voting patterns in state politics. One of the largest drivers of demographic and population changes is the influx of people moving to Georgia from other states.
April 16, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Relief loan program frustrates Georgia small business owners
Andy Peters reports that about 60 buses sit idled at Samson Tours in Hapeville, because schools are closed, the military has halted in-person recruiting and group vacations have been canceled. Most of Samson’s 72 workers are idle, too.
April 16, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Mohawk Industries calls former CFO out of retirement to navigate flooring giant through challenging times
David Allison reports that Georgia-based flooring giant Mohawk Industries Inc. has called its longtime former chief financial officer out of retirement to help lead it through the business disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Calhoun, Ga.-based Mohawk (NYSE: MHK) said Wednesday it’s named Frank Boykin to be its CFO, effective immediately.
April 16, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Georgia well represented on new Trump economic advisory team
Dave Williams reports that eight top executives of Georgia-based companies are among dozens of CEOs, economists and scholars President Donald Trump has appointed to look for ways to smoothly reopen a U.S. economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Members of the advisory group represent a variety of industries from agriculture and banking to transportation and sports.
April 16, 2020 WABE 90.1
A Sign Of Spring In Georgia: Vidalia Onions Set To Ship
Molly Samuel reports, it feels in some ways like the world has stopped — or, at least, like everything is different — but a lot out there is still proceeding more or less as it has. The flowers and the pollen are going crazy in peak Atlanta springtime fashion.
April 16, 2020 Georgia State University
Georgia State Researchers Find Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Is Effective Against Coronavirus
Jennifer Rainey Marquez reports that Auranofin, a drug approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is effective at inhibiting the novel coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, Georgia State University researchers have found. The researchers tested the drug as part of a project to screen FDA-approved medications for their potential use against SARS-CoV-2.
April 16, 2020 Brunswick News
Tourism ‘devastated’ by COVID-19
Gordon Jackson reports that the coronavirus outbreak has impacted local tourism in ways unimaginable two months ago as the peak season was beginning in early March. Back then, tourists were flocking to the Golden Isles, hotels and motels were reporting occupancy rates between 80 and 90 percent, restaurants were packed and business was good.
April 16, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Feds open Okefenokee mining plan to another round of public input
Stanley Dunlap reports that fans of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Area will get more than six additional weeks to express their opinion about a proposed strip mine near Trail Ridge, an extension to give federal officials time to hold a virtual public meeting next month and then gather more public input.
April 16, 2020 GlobalAtlanta.com
Kia Extends Factory Closure for Two Weeks
Trevor Williams reports that the Kia Motors plant in West Point remains closed today after the company extended a suspension of operations for an additional two weeks. Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia was slated to reopen April 13, but the company once again cited supply-chain concerns and the ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia as it pushed back the reopening to April 27.
April 16, 2020 Rome News-Tribune
DPH director predicts peak in the next two weeks and discusses aftermath with commissioners
Olivia Morley reports that the projected peak of COVID-19 cases in Northwest Georgia is expected in the next two weeks, the Department of Public Health director for this region told county commissioners. “We’ve seen a slowing in the numbers at this point; we think the peak may be coming in the next two weeks,” said DPH Director for the Northwest Georgia Health District Dr. Gary Voccio.
April 16, 2020 Georgia.org
Dublin Highway 257 Rail Property Certified As ‘Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development’ (GRAD) Site
Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) today announced with the Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority that the county’s Highway 257 Rail Site is officially a “Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development” (GRAD) Certified property, with the new “Select” status.
April 16, 2020 The Center Square
Assessments vary on health of Georgia’s unemployment insurance trust fund
Nyamekye Daniel reports that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has created a record demand for unemployment benefits in Georgia, and it’s unclear how long the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund will last. According to a U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) assessment of Georgia’s unemployment trust fund, the state has adequate funding to weather a recession.
April 16, 2020 Washington Post
Democrats eye tantalizing Senate prize in Georgia but face doubts about seizing it
Mike DeBonis reports that two years ago, Georgia Democrats captured a House seat Republicans held for 40 years, came within 320 votes of flipping another, and saw their gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, make the best showing for that office they had seen in 20 years. In this year’s elections, that rising Democratic tide is meeting a tantalizing political opportunity: Voters will select not one, but two U.S. senators for seats now held by Republicans — contests that could radically alter the battle for the majority of a closely divided Senate.
April 16, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ballot drop boxes approved for Georgia voters during coronavirus
Mark Niesse reports that the State Election Board voted unanimously Wednesday to allow Georgia voters to turn in their absentee ballots at drop boxes, an option that avoids human contact during the coronavirus pandemic. Drop boxes can be set up on government property before Georgia’s primary on June 9.
