Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 30, 2020
Dec. 30, 2020 Savannah Morning News
Fourth right whale calf spotted off Georgia coast
Mary Landers reports that another baby right whale has been spotted off the Georgia coast, this one off Sapelo Island on Monday. While flying their surveys for north Atlantic right whales, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute team spotted a 27-year-old female right whale nicknamed Nauset and her new calf.
Dec. 30, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Georgia Grown 2020
Georgia’s Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black writes, despite significant challenges over the last few years, agriculture remains the driving force for local economies across our state with production and related industries representing $76 billion in output and more than 399,000 jobs.
Dec. 30, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pandemic housing market solid for metro Atlanta
Michael E. Kanell reports that despite the pandemic and the economic upheaval it’s causing, metro Atlanta home prices have risen 6.8% over the past 12 months, according to a much-watched national report. The region’s home prices have doubled since hitting bottom in 2012 and are 21% higher than they were at the previous market peak, in July 2007, just before the burst of the housing bubble, according to the monthly index released by S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.
Dec. 30, 2020 Brunswick News
Final spaceport decision coming
Gordon Jackson reports that Camden County launched a bid to establish a spaceport in January 2014, saying the project could create 2,500 jobs and an annual economic impact of more than $200 million. Nearly seven years have passed since county officials announced those plans. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to make a decision on a license to operate a spaceport in March, with no further public comment accepted.
Dec. 30, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Chick-fil-A poised for expansion to Puerto Rico
Eric Mandel reports that Chick-fil-A is adding another island to its expansive coop. The Atlanta-based chicken chain said it will join the Puerto Rico market, with plans to open two restaurants in late 2021 or early 2022.
Dec. 30, 2020 Augusta Chronicle
Local startup incubator awarded Georgia Power grant
Joe Hotchkiss reports that an Augusta high-tech business incubator has received its second grant this month to help foster entrepreneurship in technology. The Georgia Power Foundation has awarded a $10,000 grant to theClubhou.se, a nonprofit founded in 2012 that provides workspace and guidance for people to develop businesses involving technological breakthroughs.
Dec. 30, 2020 Rome News-Tribune
SPLOST funded medical facility at the Floyd County Jail opened, construction of mental health wing underway
Doug Walker reports that the first phase of a decade-long effort to deal with the ever expanding need for medical and mental health beds at the jail is complete. The jail has been a de facto facility to house people with mental health issues since the closing of Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital in 2011.
Dec. 30, 2020 All On Georgia
Georgia shrimp season extended into 2021
Staff reports that Georgia’s commercial and recreational shrimpers will have more time this season to harvest food shrimp after the state Department of Natural Resources extended the shrimping season Monday. State law normally closes the shrimp fishery Dec. 31, but the Commissioner of Natural Resources can lengthen the season if data show shrimp are abundant and likely to rebound the following year, explained Eddie Leonard, a biologist with DNR’s Coastal Resources Division, which manages marine fisheries in Georgia.
Dec. 30, 2020 GPB, GA Today
BATTLEGROUND BLOG: Loeffler, Perdue Signal Support For $2K Checks
Sarah Rose and Ga. Today staff report that Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue have both tweeted that they will support President Donald Trump’s push to increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2000, a stunning about-face after days of silence from both candidates. Their moves now increase focus on what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to do in the Senate after both the president and House Democrats came together in a rare moment of unity to support increasing the individual stimulus check amount.
Dec. 30, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Academic studies differ on impact of Trump tax cuts
Dave Williams reports that the tax cuts President Donald Trump steered through Congress in 2017 will save the average Georgia household more than $39,000 over their lifetime, a new study has found. But according to another broader study of tax cuts in multiple countries going back to 1965, tax cuts provide a huge windfall to big corporations and wealthy individuals without producing long-term economic growth or sustained business investment.
Dec. 30, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Trump, Biden, Harris to return to Georgia in final push for Senate candidates
Greg Bluestein reports that the Georgia Democrats racing to flip control of the U.S. Senate are getting a final boost from President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the last two days before the high-stakes runoffs. Biden is set to campaign in Atlanta on Monday – the day before the Jan. 5 runoffs – for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
