Georgia Trend Daily – June 11, 2020
June 11, 2020 GPB
Georgia Could Raise $600 Million In Revenue By Raising Cigarette Tax, Analysts Say
Ellen Eldridge reports that the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute is asking the state to increase Georgia’s tobacco tax in order to avoid deep budget cuts. Gov. Brian Kemp is asking all state agencies to trim up to 14% from their budgets as a result of falling revenues following the coronavirus pandemic.
June 11, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Business Casual: The Other Side
Susan Percy writes, the branches on the old willow oak that soars a good 60 feet outside my front window were practically bare the day, many weeks ago, that the world – and I – got serious about facing the enormity of the COVID-19 pandemic and accepting it as a governing force in our lives.
June 11, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Metro Atlanta Chamber promotes Katie Kirkpatrick to CEO
Andy Peters reports that Atlanta’s business leaders have played different roles in the city’s struggles with racial justice—sometimes partnering behind the scenes, sometimes leading in a more public way, and other times only after some arm-twisting. Following days of citywide protests of how African Americans are treated by police, the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s new CEO, Katie Kirkpatrick, said business leaders will be closely involved in how the city once again deals with the issue of race.
June 11, 2020 Savannah Morning News
Hotel/motel tax increase on tap for City of Savannah
Katie Nussbaum reports that the Savannah City Council will consider a resolution to increase the hotel/motel tax from 6 percent to 8 percent during their meeting on Thursday, meaning Savannah visitors could soon find themselves paying a few dollars more for overnight stays. Under state law, counties and municipalities are allowed to raise their hotel/motel tax up to 8 percent, with the additional funds allocated toward tourism product development.
June 11, 2020 Marietta Daily Journal
Lockheed Martin grants $450,000 to expand COVID-19 testing capacity for Grady Health System
Staff reports that Lockheed Martin Corporation has awarded $450,000 to Grady Health System to increase COVID-19 testing capacity and reach. The enhancement of in-house testing comes at a pivotal time as Grady is testing all admitted patients and making it available to more of its employees, making it one of the first health systems in Georgia to proactively test both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.
June 11, 2020 Brunswick News
Lifting lugs in place as Unified Command gets closer to cutting up Golden Ray
Larry Hobbs reports that all 16 of the hulking lifting lugs are now in place on the exposed starboard side of the shipwrecked Golden Ray, the 656-foot-long freighter that has foundered in the St. Simons Sound for eight long months, said U.S. Coast Guardsman John Miller, spokesman for Unified Command. And crews have already reached the halfway point on installation of an encompassing expanse of mesh netting, the primary defense in the environmental protection barrier that will surround the shipwreck, he said.
June 11, 2020 Georgia Health News
Public Health hopes to spare vital HIV center as budget cuts revised
Andy Miller reports that the Trump administration last year laid out an ambitious plan to reduce new HIV infections. Among 48 U.S. counties targeted for special federal help on HIV were four populous counties in metro Atlanta: Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett.
June 11, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Less-bad budget cuts pitched for public health, child welfare in Georgia
Beau Evans reports that state officials overseeing mental health, child welfare and elderly services in Georgia at risk of deep budget reductions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic pressed lawmakers Wednesday to ease up on some spending cuts amid less dire tax revenue collections.
June 11, 2020 WABE 90.1
Jon Ossoff Wins Georgia’s Democratic Senate Primary
Elena Moore reports that Jon Ossoff has won Georgia’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, The Associated Press projects. Votes continued to be counted Wednesday across Georgia following its Tuesday primary, which was plagued with long lines and voting machine issues.
June 11, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s election problems blasted as November vote looms
Mark Niesse reports that Georgia’s messy election day once again put the state’s voting struggles in the national spotlight, highlighting the need for improvements before a high-turnout presidential election in November. Several voting rights groups summed up the election in one word: “unacceptable.”
