Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 31, 2020
Aug. 31, 2020 Georgia.gov
Governor Kemp to Make Economic Development Announcement
Staff reports that on Tuesday, Sept. 1, Governor Brian P. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp will join local leaders and state officials to make an economic development announcement at Amazon’s new fulfillment center in Gwinnett County.
Aug. 31, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Get on the Good Foot in Augusta
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that Augusta’s own Godfather of Soul, James Brown, lives on through a new dedicated walking tour around town. The James Brown Journey takes visitors along the paths and streets he frequently traveled, telling the story of the life he once lived in the eastern Georgia city.
Aug. 31, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coca-Cola to cut thousands of jobs in major reorganization
Matt Kempner reports that Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. announced Friday a major global reorganization of its workforce that will include job cuts, both voluntary and involuntary, for thousands of employees in the U.S. and elsewhere. The beverage giant said it will offer voluntary separation packages to 4,000 people in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico — nearly 40% of its 10,800 employees in those areas.
Aug. 31, 2020 Augusta Chronicle
AU, Columbia County still looking forward to hospital despite opposition
Tom Corwin reports, as she stands in front of a sign announcing the future home of Columbia County’s first hospital, Katrina Keefer glances behind her and sees the construction of an extension of Gateway Boulevard that will link up with Wrightsboro Road. Almost exactly a year ago, Keefer was in her first board meeting as CEO of AU Health System when the board approved giving the county right-of-way through its 82-acre hospital site in Grovetown to build the extension, she noted.
Aug. 31, 2020 GlobalAtlanta.com
SK Battery Installs Immigration Checks Amid Criticism of Hiring Practices at Korean-Owned Plant
Trevor Williams reports that SK Innovation is taking new steps to ensure immigration compliance at its $2.6 billion project in Jackson County amid growing evidence that foreign workers are displacing Americans during the construction process. The Korean electric-vehicle battery maker instituted daily document checks Thursday, a week after Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican whose district encompasses the plant, first asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement for an investigation into hiring practices there.
Aug. 31, 2020 Saporta Report
Georgia Research Alliance names new president – Susan Shows
Maria Saporta reports that Susan Shows, senior vice president of the Georgia Research Alliance since 2008 and with the organization since 2001, has been named its new president by the board of the public-private entity, effective Sept. 1. Shows succeeds Russell Allen, who has been president of the Alliance since September 2018.
Aug. 31, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Volunteers clean tire dumps this summer, voters can add heft this fall
Stanley Dunlap reports that last week, helpers from a high school football team helped the Chattahoochee River Keeper haul away 640 tires dumped along a Gwinnett County road near the river. The plant overgrowth around the tires indicated a tire shop owner probably tossed them there years ago, said Kevin Jeselnik, the environmental group’s general counsel.
Aug. 31, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Sports Desk: The Lead Dawg
Loran Smith reports that for the past 64 years when the University of Georgia (UGA) football team has taken the field, the lead Dawg has been its nationally acclaimed mascot, Uga, an all-white male English bulldog. The current Uga, Roman numeral X, is in the prime of life and always ready to wave a paw at his contingent of adoring fans, not just in Athens, but across the national landscape.
Aug. 31, 2020 The Center Square
Georgia Department of Labor pushes back on unemployment fraud
Nyamekye Daniel reports that the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) has formed a task force with state and federal agencies to crack down on the fraud that has caused delays in unemployment compensation. GDOL said it has had to sort through thousands of invalid claims that have flooded the agency’s system in the several weeks.
Aug. 31, 2020 Fox 5 Atlanta
New protocols for Georgia absentee ballots
Brook Zauner reports, almost two months away from Election Day. Election officials estimate a record number of voters this November. That’s why the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office says it’s making it easier for people to get their absentee ballots.
Aug. 31, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Georgia tourism industry ravaged by coronavirus showing signs of rebirth
Dave Williams reports that Georgia’s economy ground to a virtual standstill after Gov. Brian Kemp issued a stay-at-home order to discourage the spread of coronavirus, the hospitality industry was hit the hardest by far. Hotel room occupancy across the state plummeted by 62%. More than 187,000 leisure and hospitality jobs went away in March and April, and the state lost more than $3 billion in travel spending from mid-April through mid-May.
Aug. 31, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why the battle for Loeffler’s U.S. Senate seat is about to intensify
Greg Bluestein reports that a few balmy hours on the Georgia campaign trail underscored the magnitude of the Republican rift in the race for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s seat. This week will ratchet up the tension between her and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins even more.
