Georgia Trend Daily – May 4, 2020
May 4, 2020 The Center Square
Georgia agencies directed to reduce spending by 14 percent
Nyamekye Daniel reports, state agencies in Georgia have less than three weeks to find a total of more than $3.6 billion in cuts in their 2021 fiscal budgets. In a memo sent by state budget officials Friday, agency heads were instructed to reduce their spending plans for the fiscal year by 14 percent to brace the state coffers for COVID-19 economic downturn.
May 4, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Enhancing quality of life around the state
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that thirteen communities throughout the state are receiving $5.1 million in grant funds from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) 2020 Community HOME Investment Program (CHIP). The funds are part of an annual allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
May 4, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coronavirus creates glut for Georgia vegetable growers
Christopher Quinn reports that cows are munching down zucchini, yellow squash and cabbage that Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable farms grew and picked for restaurants and other institutions. It’s one way the company is trying to make use of the glut of south Georgia vegetables caused by the closure of dining spots, schools and other big buyers.
May 4, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
For Atlanta arts organizations, tech is the stage
Janet Jones Kendall reports that along with the rest of the world, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra had to quickly switch gears in March and adapt to a virtual operation platform. “Thankfully, we did have some performances to place on our new virtual stage,” said Tammy Hawk, vice president of marketing and communications.
May 4, 2020 Georgia Southern University
Parker College of Business students receive $15K in scholarships
Staff reports that two accounting students in the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University received individual scholarships totaling $15,000 to help with their academic careers. Gabrielle Beasley, a junior accounting student from Powder Springs, Georgia, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and Roy Willamson, an accounting major from Statesboro, Georgia, received $5,000 from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Foundation.
May 4, 2020 WABE 90.1
All Delta Passengers Now Must Wear Masks Or Face Coverings
Maria White Tillman reports that Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is now requiring all passengers to wear a mask or face covering when flying. The airline says the move was made to add an extra layer of protection to customers and employees during the coronavirus pandemic.
May 4, 2020 Athens Banner-Herald
Oconee man, N.M. researcher: Rubella vaccine may help against coronavirus
Wayne Ford reports that an Oconee County resident with an expertise in analyzing data and a veterinary medicine researcher in New Mexico believe they may found a possible breakthrough in a defense against the coronavirus. “I really think this is a huge discovery. Is there something we’re missing? I don’t know. I am a researcher and I know how to look at studies … it looks so real, but it has to be taken to the next level,” Dr. Larry Tilley said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
May 4, 2020 Savannah Morning News
Congressman Buddy Carter advocated for spaceport near $2 million property he bought
Mary Landers reports that Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) bought a large undeveloped piece of land down the road from a proposed spaceport in Camden County in May of 2018. A month later he led the U.S. House of Representatives Georgia delegation in urging the Federal Aviation Administration to move the project forward.
May 4, 2020 Clayton News-Daily, Gwinnett Daily Post
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins says post-COVID-19 economic recovery will take time
Curt Yeomans reports that while some states, including Georgia, are beginning to allow some businesses to reopen amid the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Rep. Doug Collins said that alone may not be enough to help those businesses right away. He said things might be sluggish for at least a little while after businesses begin reopening and that the U.S. House and Senate will need to keep an eye on that as they tackle the economic recovery.
May 4, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Sen. Perdue to introduce bill to address shortage of doctors, nurses
Dave Williams reports that U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., is planning to introduce bipartisan legislation aimed at relieving the nation’s shortage of doctors and nurses critically needed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The bill would recapture and reallocate 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 for doctors and instruct the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to expedite processing them.
May 4, 2020 All On Georgia
Perdue, Loeffler, Carter Push Savannah As Home To New Air National Guard Fleet
Staff reports that U.S. Senators David Perdue (R-GA) and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA-01), are urging the Pentagon to consider Savannah as home to a new fleet of C-130Js. In a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, Perdue, Loeffler, and Carter encouraged the Air Force to select the 165th Airlift Wing (AW) to transition to C-130Js.
May 4, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia coronavirus costs escalate as revenue plummets
David Wickert and James Salzer report that Georgia’s bill for fighting the coronavirus pandemic is escalating at a time when state revenue is plummeting. Though the full cost of the pandemic to date is not known, a single state department — the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency — has authorized $85.3 million in spending to combat the coronavirus through mid-April, documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show.
