Georgia Trend Daily – April 28, 2020
April 28, 2020 Georgia.org
Amazon Announces New Fulfillment Center, Creating 800 New Jobs in Columbia County
Staff reports that Governor Brian P. Kemp announced yesterday that Amazon will further expand its Georgia presence with a new fulfillment center planned in Appling, Georgia. The new, multi-level operations facility will feature innovative Amazon robotics technology and create 800 new, full-time jobs.
April 28, 2020 Georgia Trend -Exclusive!
CyberKnife® M6 —Reimagining Cancer Treatment
Julia Roberts reports, imagine battling cancer not once, but twice. It’s a daunting prospect for anyone, but that was the situation facing Fernandina Beach, Florida resident, Phil Whitaker. In 2016, Whitaker was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
April 28, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Delta to manufacture mobile hospital care pods for military aircraft
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that Delta Air Lines plans to manufacture mobile hospital care pods for the U.S. military to fly home deployed members who have contracted the coronavirus. Atlanta-based Delta said its Technical Operations division and its advanced manufacturing subsidiary Delta Flight Products plan to convert dozens of 40-foot shipping containers into reusable hospital care pods that can be placed inside military transport planes.
April 28, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
A $100 million redevelopment of a contaminated downtown site seeks tax breaks
Douglas Sams reports that a plan to convert the former Simmons Plating Works site near downtown Atlanta’s Garnett MARTA station is up for almost $5 million in property tax breaks. Fulton County development authority officials are scheduled to consider the incentive Tuesday.
April 28, 2020 Macon Telegraph
Kemp doubles down on reopening Georgia despite criticism from Trump, COVID-19 experts
Allie Dean reports that Governor Brian Kemp defended his choice to begin opening the Georgia economy during an hour-long press conference on Monday, bristling at questions about criticisms from President Donald Trump and statements from health experts that state data and models do not support Kemp’s decision. Kemp was widely criticized last week for the move, which has allowed for nonessential businesses such as hair salons, gyms and bowling alleys to reopen as well as the dining rooms of restaurants.
April 28, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Coastal businesses hesitate to reopen despite lost spring break tourism
Wes Wolfe reports that seven weeks ago, people with a thumb on the pulse of Georgia’s coastal tourism industry got strong signals that the 2020 spring break season wasn’t going to come close to the usual rush of tourists renting hotel rooms, sipping umbrella drinks at the local tavern and feeding families at the island fish shack. Organizers of Jekyll Island’s annual Turtle Crawl canceled the March 14 road races just before the island-wide fundraiser.
April 28, 2020 Augusta Chronicle
Plant Vogtle reports 145 COVID-19 cases, 48 recovered
Miguel Legoas reports that Plant Vogtle has had 145 workers test positive for coronavirus. Georgia Power spokesperson Adrienne Tickle said, of those 145, 48 have recovered and received clearance by on-site medical professionals to return to work.
April 28, 2020 Saporta Report
Gwinnett County transit drivers to halt work Thursday, citing fears of COVID-19
David Pendered reports that Gwinnett County bus drivers plan to stop operating the service on Thursday, they notified the transit operator that oversees the system. Drivers on Monday cited fear for their safety and the federal ‘right to refuse’ work during hazardous conditions. The transit operator of GCT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
April 28, 2020 Law.com/Daily Report
Supreme Court tears down paywall for Georgia’s annotated codes
Scott Graham reports that the state of Georgia cannot copyright the annotations in its official annotated code, the Supreme Court held Monday in a 5-4 opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court that the so-called government edicts doctrine, which holds that nonbinding, explanatory legal materials created by judges are not copyrightable, also applies to legislative bodies.
April 28, 2020 Georgia Health News
Kemp says COVID tests available, maintains there’s no rift with Trump
Andy Miller reports that any Georgian with COVID-19 symptoms can now get tested, Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday. “We have the tests, we have the physicians, we have the sites, and we have the bandwidth. What we need now is more Georgians to participate,’’ Kemp told reporters at a press briefing at the state Capitol.
April 28, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Gov. Kemp undecided on when to end Georgia shelter-in-place
Beau Evans reports that head of an April 30 end to the state’s shelter-in-place order, Gov. Brian Kemp urged Georgians to continue social distancing and to seek testing if they experience common coronavirus symptoms like coughing, fever and shortness of breath. At a news conference Monday, Kemp did not say whether he will extend the statewide shelter-in-place order beyond Thursday, when it is set to end.
April 28, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia election fraud task force appointed
Mark Niesse reports that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Monday appointed prosecutors and election officials to his newly created group that will investigate absentee voting fraud in Georgia. Raffensperger said his Absentee Ballot Fraud Task Force will help protect an election with large numbers of absentee voters.
