Georgia Trend Daily – July 27, 2020
July 27, 2020 WXFL-TV
Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center announces hospital closure
Ariel Mallory reports that the Randolph County Hospital Authority announced Friday that the hospital in Cuthbert would be permanently closing. It was unanimously voted to close the Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center after years of financial hardships.
July 27, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Atlanta Land Trust receives funding for affordable housing development
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that the nonprofit Atlanta Land Trust (ALT) has received new funding to help purchase land for development of up to 50 permanently affordable housing units near the city’s BeltLine and in other targeted high-growth areas. The Kendeda Fund, a foundation dedicated to advancing equity throughout Atlanta’s housing, transportation and educational systems, is awarding ALT a $895,000 grant over two years.
July 27, 2020 Georgia.org
German Automotive Parts Manufacturer GEDIA to Locate First Southeast U.S. Site in Whitfield County, Create 200 Jobs
Staff reports that Governor Brian P. Kemp Friday announced that GEDIA Automotive Group, a family-owned international company that specializes in making state-of-the-art automotive parts, will build an advanced manufacturing facility that will begin production with a focus on parts for electric vehicles. GEDIA will invest $85 million in this project, delivering 200 jobs to the greater Dalton area at a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certified property in Whitfield County.
July 27, 2020 WABE 90.1
In Selma, A ‘Final Crossing’ For John Lewis Across The Edmund Pettus Bridge
Matthew S. Schwartz reports that the body of John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge one last time on Sunday in what organizers described as “The Final Crossing,” part of a multiday celebration of the life of the civil rights icon. Lewis’ flag-draped casket was pulled across the bridge by a pair of horses, as a crowd of onlookers gathered at the side of the road.
July 27, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia economy braces for impact as pandemic jobless payment ends
Michael E. Kanell reports that Georgia’s storm is about to get worse – for the jobless, for social and government agencies and for the struggling economy. Emergency $600-a-week payments from the federal government to unemployed Americans have ended, which means there will soon be a rush of cash-strapped families looking for help at already stressed charities.
July 27, 2020 GPB
‘Wake Up People!’ Emory, Georgia’s Largest Health System, Sees COVID-19 Cases Jump 5X Since June
Wayne Drash and Ellen Eldridge report that the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized inside Emory Healthcare has jumped nearly fivefold since early June, straining the state’s largest health system as its doctors, nurses and staff work around-the-clock tending to sick patients, according to data shown to GPB News. Emory CEO Jonathan Lewin on July 1 expressed fears of a large surge of COVID-19 patients — and it appears that wave is here.
July 27, 2020 Dalton Daily Citizen-News
Greene candidacy for Congress draws national attention, but some local Republican leaders say aren’t aware of her views
Staff reports that Marjorie Greene said she got involved in politics because she is “sick and tired of President Trump being attacked every single day for the crime of beating Hillary Clinton.” Her candidacy for the 14th Congressional District seat has drawn national attention because Greene, a Republican and the favorite to represent the district that includes Whitfield and Murray counties, is an advocate for QAnon, a discredited conspiracy theory, and because of “hours of Facebook videos” of Greene that Politico said show her expressing “racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views.”
July 27, 2020 Augusta Chronicle
Confederate’s name may come off Fort Gordon; Augusta opinions vary
Susan McCord reports, passage by the U.S. House and Senate of bills this week could change the name of Fort Gordon, the Army installation in Richmond County named for Confederate Lt. Gen. John Brown Gordon. The Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act spending bill Thursday.
July 27, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Congress passes landmark open space preservation measure
Dave Williams reports that both environmental groups and businesses are hailing congressional passage this week of legislation aimed at preserving the scenic beauty of America’s public parklands into perpetuity. “Protecting and enhancing our public lands is an essential part of the American ethos,” said Jeannette Gayer, executive director of Environment Georgia.
July 27, 2020 Savannah Morning News
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter tried to speed review of spaceport with amendment
Mary Landers reports that late last month, Congressman Buddy Carter proposed an amendment to a transportation bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. It doesn’t mention the proposed Spaceport Camden near Woodbine by name, but critics of that effort — which has already cost Camden County taxpayers $8 million — say the amendment seems tailored to solve issues it’s encountered.
July 27, 2020 New York Times
Anatomy of an Election ‘Meltdown’ in Georgia
Danny Hakim, Reid J. Epstein and Stephanie Saul report that last month, Daryl Marvin got his first taste of voting in Georgia. Mr. Marvin had previously lived in Connecticut, where voting was a brisk process measured in minutes.
July 27, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Ga. congressman wants to block aid for schools without in-person classes
Daniel C. Vock reports that U.S. Rep. Rick Allen introduced legislation Thursday that would block federal education funds for any school “that does not provide an option for students to attend classes, safely and in-person, at the beginning of [the 2020-2021] school year.”
July 27, 2020 The Center Square
Taxpayers could bear brunt of depleted Georgia unemployment trust fund
Nyamekye Daniel reports, with Georgia seeing record numbers of people filing for unemployment benefits since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in March, the state’s unemployment trust fund is running low. Georgia’s unemployment trust fund had a $2.5 billion balance March 24.
July 27, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Loeffler’s campaign ups attacks on Collins’ legal record despite criticism
Greg Bluestein reports that U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is intensifying her attack on Republican rival Doug Collins’ record as a criminal defense attorney despite criticism from his campaign and allies who say he’s being unfairly targeted for fulfilling his constitutional duty.
