Georgia Trend Daily – June 9, 2020
June 9, 2020 Georgia.gov
May Tax Revenues Fall -10.1%
Staff reports that the state of Georgia’s May net tax collections totaled $1.58 billion for a decrease of $178 million, or -10.1 percent, compared to May 2019 when net tax collections totaled nearly $1.76 billion. Year-to-date net tax collections totaled $20.81 billion for a decrease of roughly $857.9 million, or -4 percent, compared to the previous fiscal year when net tax revenues totaled nearly $21.67 billion.
June 9, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Muscogee County | Columbus: Writing a New Chapter
K.K. Snyder reports that as in most municipalities, Columbus leaders have drafted stacks of strategic plans over the years, but this time they were determined to write a new chapter. The result is Columbus 2025, a multi-layered plan for community collaboration to make the region more competitive and prosperous.
June 9, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Vogtle nuclear report: more delays, $1B in extra costs, flaws
Matt Kempner reports, there’s potentially bad news for virtually anyone who pays an electric bill in Georgia: Once again, it is “highly unlikely” the long-troubled expansion of Plant Vogtle will be completed when scheduled, say state regulatory staff and independent monitors.
June 9, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Georgia businesses backing hate-crimes legislation
Dave Williams reports, for the second time in the last two weeks, Georgia’s two largest business organizations are asking the General Assembly to pass a hate-crimes bill when the 2020 legislative session resumes next week. Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and Hala Moddelmog, Clark’s counterpart at the Metro Atlanta Chamber, have joined executives from more than 60 companies in supporting the legislation.
June 9, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
UPS pledges millions to support justice and reform to advance equality
David Allison reports that United Parcel Service Inc. is stepping up its actions in support of justice, reform and equality for black Americans in response to the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. UPS said June 8 it urges immediate passage of the federal Antilynching Act and state-based hate crime bills, including Georgia’s.
June 9, 2020 GlobalAtlanta.com
As Production Returns, Kia’s May Sales Recover Slightly After Brutal April
Trevor Williams reports that Kia Motors America said its sales fell by about a quarter in May compared to the previous year, an improvement from a dismal April in which sales of all the Korean auto maker’s models were down 38.4 percent as the coronavirus pandemic kept buyers at home. One bright spot for Georgia was that three of Kia’s five top-selling models — the Optima sedan, Sorento compact SUV and the new Telluride SUV — are made in the state.
June 9, 2020 WABE 90.1
Georgia Surpasses Record For Primary Turnout, But Lines Are Still Expected For Election Day
Emil Moffatt reports that push to encourage Georgians to vote by mail amid a global pandemic worked to produce the largest primary election turnout in the state’s history. But it still is not likely to prevent long lines on Tuesday.
June 9, 2020 Savannah Morning News
Kemp touts Savannah as contender for Republican National Convention; Mayor Johnson ‘concerned’
Will Peebles reports that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp spent Monday, June 8, in Savannah with representatives from the Republican National Convention, who are considering the site for this summer’s presidential-nominating event. RNC president and CEO Marcia Lee Kelly and her team joined Kemp for the visit.
June 9, 2020 Georgia State University
Biomedical Sciences Researcher Gets $1.95 Million Federal Grant to Study Cause of Autoimmunity
LaTina Emerson reports that Dr. Leszek Ignatowicz, a professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, has received a five-year, $1.95 million federal grant to study what causes autoimmunity in the human body. Autoimmune diseases, which occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own organs, tissues and cells, are the third most common group of diseases in the United States after cancer and heart disease.
June 9, 2020 New York Times
‘The Future Is Blue, Not Purple’: Is This the Year Georgia Flips?
Astead W. Herndon writes, with two Senate seats in play and Mr. Trump on the ballot in November, Georgia Democrats are telling anyone who will listen: This time, it’s real.
June 9, 2020 The Center Square
Proposed Georgia community health cuts spark discussion on health disparities, lack of disability aid
Nyamekye Daniel reports that Georgia lawmakers came face to face Monday with the people behind budget cuts at a committee meeting focused on spending reductions for community health. Phil and Lisa Woody took to the state Capitol from their home in Dunwood to urge lawmakers not to approve the proposed cuts to a Medicaid waiver program that supports people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
June 9, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ga. reps helped lay groundwork for Democrats’ sweeping policing bill
Tia Mitchell reports that some of the initiatives found in congressional Democrats’ new policing bill are proposals U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson authored years ago. The recent willingness by Democrats, potentially some Republicans and members of the public to embrace sweeping changes in how law enforcement officers do their jobs came, in part, because of the graphic video of George Floyd’s final moments.
