Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 17, 2020
Sept. 17, 2020 Macon Telegraph
Kemp’s new COVID-19 order to allow in-person visits at some long-term care facilities
Nick Wooten reports that Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday extended many of Georgia’s existing coronavirus restrictions, but paved the way for in-person visitation at the state’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities if certain public health guidelines are met.
Sept. 17, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Economy: Money on the Table
Jeffrey Humphreys writes, postsecondary education pays off. That’s true for Georgians who earn college degrees as well as for Georgia’s economy as a whole. And it’s true during good economic times and bad ones. Despite COVID-19, the payoff is likely to increase in the decades to come.
Sept. 17, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Expecting bad news, Georgia ports instead hit a record
Michael E. Kanell reports that Georgia ports recorded their busiest month ever in August, much to the surprise of state officials who have been bracing for a significant drop in business since the coronavirus pandemic began. Wednesday’s unexpectedly glowing report came after July’s prediction from Georgia Port Authority officials that the pandemic’s thrashing of the global economy would likely mean a decline in shipments through much of this year.
Sept. 17, 2020 Covington News
Facebook adding more buildings to Newton Data Center
Tom Spigolon reports that Facebook announced yesterday it will add three more buildings to its Newton Data Center complex by 2023, a company official said. Combined with two buildings now under construction, it will give the social media company a total of five buildings with 2.5 million square feet and represent a total $1 billion investment.
Sept. 17, 2020 The Center Square
Georgia federal prison stays open, temporarily halting massive job loss
Nyamekye Daniel reports that a rural town in Georgia no longer will be losing its biggest employer, at least for the next four months. The D. Ray James Federal Corrections Facility, which was scheduled to close this month, will remain open until January, Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter said.
Sept. 17, 2020 Albany Herald
University System of Georgia elects officers
Staff reports that the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has elected Regent Sachin Shailendra to a second one-year term as the board’s chairman and Regent Cade Joiner to a one-year term as the vice chairman. Shailendra will serve as board chair through Dec. 31, 2021.
Sept. 17, 2020 GlobalAtlanta.com
London-Atlanta Tech Links Remain Strong Amid Pandemic, Brexit
Trevor Williams reports that the particulars of across-the-pond collaboration may look vastly different, but links between Atlanta and London remain strong even as headwinds from the pandemic and Brexit continue to buffet companies on both sides.
Sept. 17, 2020 Saporta Report
Georgia utility sees credit boost by winning dispute with partner at Plant Vogtle
David Pendered reports that a credit upgrade for a Georgia utility is the latest outcome of the resolution of a contract dispute among partners building the only nuclear facility under construction in the nation, Plant Vogtle. The dispute was part of the ongoing challenge that has become Plant Vogtle, the long-delayed project that has $12 billion in federal loan guarantees that began under the Obama administration.
Sept. 17, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Tell us what you think
Karen Kirkpatrict reports that September marks Georgia Trend’s 35th anniversary of delivering stories and news about the broad and diverse state in which we live and do business. Our goal is for these stories to help support local economies, businesses and careers.
Sept. 17, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Georgia groups push Kemp for virtual-learning microgrants
Beau Evans reports that several groups are pressing Gov. Brian Kemp to start divvying out small federal grant funds aimed at helping families pay for school supplies, child care and other expenses while their children are taking online classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sept. 17, 2020 Valdosta Daily Times
Georgia Supreme Court hears county SDS lawsuit
Chris Herbert reports that the Georgia Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday for one element of the Lowndes County’s lawsuit over Service Delivery Strategy – a disagreement that has stretched into years between Lowndes County and Valdosta as well as other Lowndes municipalities on shared services.
Sept. 17, 2020 New York Times
Inquiry Ordered Into Claims Immigrants Had Unwanted Gynecology Procedures
Caitlin Dickerson reports that the Department of Homeland Security is investigating allegations that immigrant women detained at a privately run detention center in Georgia underwent gynecological procedures without fully understanding or consenting to them.
Sept. 17, 2020 Georgia Recorder
State budget faces ‘steep cliff’ without renewed weekly jobless pay
Jill Nolin reports that the state’s revenues were up about 7% last month over the pre-pandemic August of last year, allowing Georgia to chalk up a second consecutive month of positive revenues that seemed unlikely a few months ago. But without additional federal aid, the run of promising revenue news could be short-lived, says Danny Kanso, tax and budget policy analyst with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
Sept. 17, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With big political rallies, Kemp defies own coronavirus rules
Greg Bluestein reports that hours after Gov. Brian Kemp appeared at a campaign rally full of hundreds of unmasked Georgians crammed in close quarters outside a Forsyth County barn, he renewed a coronavirus order that bans gatherings larger than 50 people. It’s not the first time Kemp didn’t abide by his own restrictions at a political stop.
