Georgia Trend Daily – July 9, 2020
July 9, 2020 Albany Herald
Frito-Lay announces $200 million expansion, 129 jobs in Perry
Staff reports that Gov. Brian Kemp today announced that Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo and a leading snack manufacturer, will expand its operations in the city of Perry, town of Kathleen, creating 120 new jobs and investing $200 million in the Houston County project. “Frito-Lay is one of the most recognizable U.S. brands, and we are proud that that this corporate partner continues to find success in Perry,” Kemp said in a news release.
July 9, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Business Casual: Protests and Protesters
Susan Percy writes, the distance from my living room couch to Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park is just under seven miles, but it felt both nearer and farther away as I sat there watching TV coverage of the first night of the local protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.
July 9, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia companies accused of federal violations got COVID relief loans
Johnny Paine reports that the U.S. Justice Department wants to shut down Atlanta-based EcoVest Capital for an alleged “abusive tax scheme” involving land preservation deals and overvalued appraisals. At the same time it is suing the company, the federal government just handed it hundreds of thousands of dollars in coronavirus relief funds to help it stay in business through the pandemic.
July 9, 2020 Brunswick News
Energy company considering Camden site
Gordon Jackson reports that a site in Camden County has made the third cut by a sustainable energy company looking for a location to build a new facility. James Coughlin, director of the Camden County Joint Development Authority, said he was not at liberty to identify the company, but it would be a second facility to expand existing operations.
July 9, 2020 Savannah Morning News
New Hyatt hotel announced for Easter Wharf development
Staff reports that the Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced plans for a new Thompson Hotel at the Eastern Wharf development on east President Street. The Thompson Savannah, along with the Thompson Buckhead, will mark the brand’s entry into Georgia.
July 9, 2020 Gainesville Times
Amazon confirms facility in Buford/South Hall will open this year
Jeff Gill reports that Amazon confirmed Wednesday, July 8, that it is opening a delivery station this year in Buford in South Hall County. Amazon Logistics, the delivery arm of the online shopping giant, has signed leases for three new delivery stations in metro Atlanta in 2020, with the other two located in Atlanta and Fairburn, according to a company statement.
July 9, 2020 Georgia.org
Georgia Council for the Arts awards 148 grants to arts organizations
Staff reports that the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA), a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, today announced the recipients of its Partner, Project and Arts Education grants as part of its initial disbursement of grants for fiscal year 2021.
July 9, 2020 Emory University
Largest individual gift in Oxford’s history will have lasting impact
Staff reports that a newly received landmark donation will play a vital part in the student experience at Oxford College of Emory University and the preservation of its historic campus. The estates of Emy and Duane Blair have given funds to Oxford College in the amount of $8.4 million, the largest individual cash gift in its history.
July 9, 2020 University of Georgia
Lee Nunn named 2020 Georgia Farmer of the Year
Josh Paine reports that Lee Nunn of Madison, Georgia, planted his first wheat crop on 50 acres of his wife’s family farm when it became available to rent just over a dozen years ago. He quickly realized his passion for farming and began renting more land, now growing wheat, soybeans, field peas, corn and cotton on more than 1,500 acres.
July 9, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Georgia’s Legal Elite nominations close tomorrow
Karen Kirkpatrick writes, who do you think is the state’s most effective lawyer? Now through tomorrow, Friday, July 10, 2020, you can tell us. Georgia Trend magazine’s annual Legal Elite listing will highlight the state’s most effective lawyers in 16 different practice areas.
July 9, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Q&A: State House budget czar calls Great Recession lesson for 2020 pain
Stanley Dunlap reports that last August, the Georgia lawmaker with prime oversight over state spending kicked back in the office behind his Auburn home and recalled his trial by fire when he took on the job during the worst of the Great Recession.
July 9, 2020 Capitol Beat
Perdue kicks off general election ad campaign
Dave Williams reports that U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., goes after the “radical left” and the defunding the police movement with two 30-second TV ads released Wednesday. In the first ads of the general election campaign between Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, the first-term GOP senator asserts that, contrary to the message delivered during the recent street protests, America remains “the shining city on the hill,” an example other nations admire.
July 9, 2020 New York Times
Republican Senators in Arizona and Georgia Have a Problem: The Base
Astead W. Herndon reports, as Representative Doug Collins went booth to booth at a recent Republican jamboree in northeast Georgia’s Rabun County, he was a hero, not an insurgent. No one knocked him for splitting the party with his bid against the state’s junior senator, Kelly Loeffler, who is also a Republican.
July 9, 2020 GPB
Message to GA Senator Kelly Loeffler From Female Sports Stars: ‘Sell Team Today’
Donna Lowry reports that fans of women’s sports are learning female players can hit just as hard with words as they do with their athletic pursuits. The latest target is Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the Georgia Republican who owns a stake in the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, for her comments regarding the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
July 9, 2020 The Center Square
Georgia ranks high in analysis of taxpayers’ return on investment
Jason Schaumburg reports that a new analysis by the personal finance website WalletHub ranks Georgia in the top 10 in the U.S. for taxpayers’ return on investment. Although federal tax rates are uniform across the country, states receive different amounts of federal funding and state and local government tax rates vary across the country.
July 9, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia tries to avoid calamity, fix election problems
Mark Niesse and Amanda C. Coyne report that the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office is working with county elections officials to avoid a repeat of June’s chaotic primary elections that included hours-long lines to vote. Poll worker jobs will be advertised through social media, newspaper and radio.
