Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 22, 2020
Dec. 22, 2020 Georgia DOE
State Board of Education approves Superintendent Woods’ .01% EOC proposal
Meghan Frick reports that the State Board of Education (SBOE) today voted unanimously to approve State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ recommendation of a .01% course grade weight for Georgia Milestones End-of-Course (EOC) exams for the 2020-21 school year. Today’s vote means students’ course grades will not be negatively impacted by their score on the Georgia Milestones EOC.
Dec. 22, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
2020 Top Hospitals
Mark Thompson reports, this year, the coronavirus has upended all parts of the state, especially hospitals. As healthcare providers and administrators have struggled to manage a growing workload, shrinking supply of personal protective equipment and a pandemic that just won’t quit, they have also continued to provide efficient and quality patient care.
Dec. 22, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Georgia daycares, low-income families set for more COVID-19 relief
Beau Evans reports that Georgia children and their families are set to benefit from a boost in funding for daycare centers and scholarships for struggling parents to cover child-care costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. More than $92 million to help offset attendance losses has been sent to thousands of daycare centers by the Georgia Department of Child Care and Learning (DECAL), the agency announced this month.
Dec. 22, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta tech startup OneTrust attracts $300 million in funding round
Christopher Quinn reports that Atlanta-based startup OneTrust, which makes privacy, security and data governance technology, said it is getting a $300 million third round of funding, bringing the total it has raised in 18 months to $710 million. “This gives us a war chest so we can think more strategically about the long term and about acquisitions,” said OneTrust Chairman Alan Dabbiere, adding the company is “growing very quickly.”
Dec. 22, 2020 WABE 90.1
New Georgia Power President Discusses Pandemic Response, Corporate Social Responsibility
LaShawn Hudson reports that the newest leader of Georgia Power says the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with protests following the police killings of unarmed Black people, has made 2020 a difficult and challenging year. “Kind of the worst of times, but I think we are learning to learn from it and trying to be better from it, and I am looking forward to a bright future,” said Chris Womack, president of Georgia Power.
Dec. 22, 2020 GlobalAtlanta.com
Merger Combines Atlanta Exporter With European Video Game Innovator
Trevor Williams reports that Atlanta-based KontrolFreek, a provider of gaming gear available in 9,000 stores across 40 countries, has been acquired by a Danish innovator helped usher in the age of e-sports. SteelSeries, which emerged in Copenhagen in 2001, makes mice, keyboards, headsets and other peripherals, including controllers.
Dec. 22, 2020 Rome News-Tribune
Sunrise Manufacturing to build new plant in Floyd County Industrial Park
Doug Walker reports that Sunrise Manufacturing revealed plans Monday to purchase 10 acres in the Floyd County Industrial Park for a new facility. The company is currently based in a small building on 2.16 acres at 1900 Parrish Drive in the Gateway Industrial Park off U.S. 27 South.
Dec. 22, 2020 Augusta Chronicle
Augusta brick plant involved in corporate sale
Joe Hotchkiss reports that General Shale announced Friday that it had signed a purchase agreement to acquire Meridian Brick, the largest masonry manufacturer in the United States. One of Meridian’s 17 U.S. plants is on Arthern Road, near Gordon Highway and across Laney-Walker Boulevard from east Augusta’s May Park neighborhood.
Dec. 22, 2020 Albany Herald
Pilot program would assist the elderly in Albany, southwest Georgia region
Alan Mauldin reports that Macon-Bibb County owns the distinction of being the first AARP-approved age-friendly community, but southwest Georgia could earn another first with the program by becoming the first region to attain that status. On Thursday the board of the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission approved a resolution stating its intent to approve AARP’s proposal.
Dec. 22, 2020 The Center Square
Georgia experiences year-over-year tax revenue increase through first 3 quarters of 2020
Nyamekye Daniel reports that Georgia collected 1.6% more in tax revenue during the first nine months of 2020 than in the same period in 2019 despite the economic challenges caused by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Georgia was one of only 10 states to see a year-over-year increase in tax revenue through three quarters, according to analysis from the Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy nonprofit.
Dec. 22, 2020 GPB
Georgia Environmental Issues Wait In Limbo During Senate Runoff, Presidential Transition
Emily Jones reports that the avalanche of mailers and TV ads about Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff would have you believe we’re headed for utopia or apocalypse, depending on who controls the Senate. But while the stakes are high, the reality is a lot more complicated.
Dec. 22, 2020 Facing South, Just Media
In the Georgia runoffs, ‘poll chaplains’ continue King’s legacy
Deirdre Jonese Austin reports that the countdown is on for Georgia’s runoff elections on Jan. 5, pitting incumbent Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler against their Democratic challengers, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock. With mail-in and early voting in full swing, Georgians of faith are working around the clock to mobilize their communities to vote.
Dec. 22, 2020 New York Times
Senate Candidates Duel in Georgia as G.O.P. Voters’ Anger Persists
Astead W. Herndon and Rick Rojas report that five Republicans spoke at a rally on Monday in suburban Atlanta, including two state lawmakers, Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, and Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser. None acknowledged President Trump’s defeat, or the reality of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory and his incoming Democratic administration.
Dec. 22, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lawmakers overwhelmingly support latest round of coronavirus stimulus
Tia Mitchell reports that every member of Georgia’s congressional delegation except one, U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, voted in favor of the latest round of coronavirus relief. The Senate approved the measure as a single package late Monday night.
