Georgia Trend Daily – June 3, 2020
June 3, 2020 Brunswick News
Public comment period for mining project generates large response
Gordon Jackson reports that the Army Corps of Engineers has been inundated with responses to a proposed heavy minerals mine near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Two public comment periods have generated more than 60,000 comments, many in opposition to the proposal by Twin Pines Minerals to mine on a 12,000-acre site near the world-famous swamp that attracts more than 600,000 visitors annually.
June 3, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Outside the Box
Patty Rasmussen, Lee Smith and Mary Welch report that responding to active shooters, training firefighters, keeping babies and seniors healthy, ensuring the privacy of citizens and getting folks from here to there, these are all things that fall to counties – often to counties with limited resources. Leaders in six Georgia counties have found creative solutions to these challenges that save money, serve more people and help improve the lives of local residents.
June 3, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Delta flies MD-88s and MD-90s into sunset
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that Delta Air Lines’ MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft were noisy, aging and nearing the end of their usefulness before the coronavirus outbreak. But the pandemic sped up the retirement of the “Mad Dog” jets, which took their final flights Tuesday to an airplane boneyard.
June 3, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Atlanta payments processing companies’ role in the federal distribution of stimulus funds through prepaid debit cards
Grace Donnally reports that the U.S. government began sending out prepaid debit cards on May 18 for the $1,200 Economic Impact Payments sent to Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic through the CARES ACT. Payments companies based in Georgia’s “Transaction Alley” played a pivotal role in instituting this.
June 3, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Beach conference season ebbs as pandemic keeps pols, lobbyists at bay
Wes Wolfe reports that this is usually the beach convention season time of year for lobbyists, state lawmakers and members of affinity groups who gather on Georgia’s coast for a chance to network, share a beverage or two and angle for a little inside information. An industry lobbyist might hear of an opportunity in a hotel breakout room from a state official talking about upcoming plans to spend money to boost rural Georgia.
June 3, 2020 University of Georgia
UGA bioplastics technologies fuel state’s economy
Heather Skyler reports that RWDC, a company to commercialize microbially degradable polymers, which are combined with other materials to make resins, from which single-use articles are made, will bring 200 jobs to Athens. It is an essential university partner.
June 3, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Companies pivot to make much-needed supplies
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that more than 220 Georgia companies have gotten creative, retooled machines and worked together to produce protective supplies for healthcare facilities and businesses that are reopening. Newly manufactured products include everything from masks, sanitizer and face shields to gloves, gowns and thermometers needed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
June 3, 2020 Gwinnett Daily Post
Gwinnett gets nearly $307K to expand senior meal delivery during coronavirus pandemic
Curt Yeomans reports that Gwinnett County has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in coronavirus assistance from the Atlanta Regional Commission to help ensure seniors in the county have access to meals. The ARC awarded $306,915 to Gwinnett as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act so the county can expand its meal-delivery services to older adults.
June 3, 2020 Emory University
Emory, partners receive $31 million COVID-19 testing grant
Shannon McCaffrey reports that Emory University is sharing in a $31 million federal grant designed to rapidly transform innovative technologies into widely accessible COVID-19 diagnostic testing. The supplemental award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will go to researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
June 3, 2020 The Center Square
Possible budget reductions could lead to delays in Georgia courts
Nyamekye Daniel reports that proposed budget cuts could cause delays in Georgia’s judicial system, representatives for the state’s courts told lawmakers Monday. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Judicial Subcommittee heard presentations from juvenile and business courts, the supreme court and the court of appeals about their plans to reduced spending by 14 percent in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1.
June 3, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘A precarious point’ Kemp calls for calm in Georgia ahead of more protests
Greg Bluestein reports that Gov. Brian Kemp said Georgia will “do whatever is necessary to keep the peace” and prevent protests demanding racial justice from turning into violent demonstrations, and he committed to holding a dialogue with organizers when the situation calms.
