Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 5, 2021
Feb. 5, 2021 Capitol Beat News
Initial unemployment claims down again in Georgia
Dave Williams reports that first-time unemployment claims in Georgia continued to decline last week, as the state Department of Labor worked to implement system changes allowing benefits authorized by legislation Congress passed in December. Additional requirements in the bill must be integrated into labor department systems before eligible payments can be released.
Feb. 5, 2021 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Celebrating Black Americans’ groundbreaking achievements
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that February is Black History Month, the annual recognition of African Americans’ achievements and their role in U.S. history. The celebration dates back to 1915, 50 years after the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery
Feb. 5, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Travel tech industry developing health passport apps
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that travel technology companies are developing health passport apps to allow travelers to verify test results or vaccinations for international flights. SITA, a travel technology firm with its U.S. offices in Atlanta, said Thursday it has started trials of technology enabling airlines and passengers to share COVID-19 test results or vaccination history with authorities to meet government requirements.
Feb. 5, 2021 Fox 5 Atlanta
Bakery plant to close in southwest Atlanta after nearly 40 years
Aungelique Proctor reports that more than 400 jobs will be lost when the Mondelez International Nabisco manufacturing plant closes its doors this summer. The news came Thursday afternoon when the company gathered its employees under a huge tent in the company parking lot after 80 years of operation.
Feb. 5, 2021 Saporta Report
Atlanta’s Center for Civil and Human Rights launching $50 million campaign
Maria Saporta reports that the $17 million gift from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights is part of a $50 million capital campaign to expand the Center’s offerings. Jill Savitt, president and CEO of the Center, said during a press briefing Thursday afternoon the $50 million capital campaign is currently in a quiet phase.
Feb. 5, 2021 Atlanta Business Chronicle
How the pandemic affected Aflac’s sales in 2020
Grace Donnelly reports that the Covid-19 pandemic made selling insurance a challenge. For Columbus, Ga.-based insurance giant Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL), sales in the U.S. dropped by more than 27% in the fourth quarter of 2020 to $388 million, compared to $534 million during the same period in 2019.
Feb. 5, 2021 GlobalAtlanta.com
Korean Prime Minister Urges Settlement in Case That Could Stymie Georgia Battery Plant
Trevor Williams reports that as a final decision looms, one of South Korea’s top government officials has called for a resolution to a dispute that could stymie Georgia’s largest-ever foreign investment. SK Innovation is plowing ahead with its $2.6 billion electric-vehicle battery complex in Commerce, Ga., despite its ongoing legal dispute with LG Energy Solutions, formerly LG Chem, which alleges SK stole its trade secrets.
Feb. 5, 2021 GPB
Georgia Leaders Recognize Addiction Recovery Community As Overdose Deaths Rise
Ellen Eldridge reports that roughly 180,000 Georgians struggle with opioid use disorder, Attorney General Chris Carr said. That’s more people than live in the entire city of Macon, Carr said during the annual Addiction Recovery Awareness Day on Tuesday.
Feb. 5, 2021 Capitol Beat News, Albany Herald
No more video-only final visits for dying COVID-19 patients in Georgia bill
Beau Evans reports that hospitals and nursing homes would have to allow in-person family visits during public-health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic under a bill filed in the General Assembly. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, would prohibit Georgia hospitals and nursing homes from limiting patients’ ability to visit with family members in the event treatment or hospitalization lasts more than 24 hours – including during any “declared public health emergency.”
Feb. 5, 2021 Newnan Times-Herald
Bill would ban transgender girls from Ga. school sports
Staff reports that legislation blocking boys from playing in girls’ sports in Georgia and giving athletes cause to sue in court over violating that ban is up for debate in the General Assembly, sparking outrage from transgender rights groups. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Phillip Singleton, R-Sharpsburg, the bill would prevent “biological males” from playing in school sports with “biological females,” halting children of different sexes or gender identities from playing in the same leagues.
Feb. 5, 2021 Georgia Recorder
Ga. House committee advances bill to set earlier ballot request deadline
Stanley Dunlap reports that a new state legislative committee focused on election changes passed a bill Thursday that will keep Georgia voters from requesting absentee ballots the week before Election Day. House Bill 270 would set a deadline of at least 10 days before Election Day for election workers to issue absentee ballots instead of the Friday before as allowed now.
Feb. 5, 2021 The Center Square
Appropriations Committee advances Senate’s amended 2021 budget proposal
Nyamekye Daniel reports that Georgia Senate budget writers presented their recommended changes to the state’s spending plan for the rest of fiscal year 2021 on Thursday. The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the proposed Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) budget, which redirects $11 million in bond financing for the Georgia Department of Public Health, $150,000 for nursing staff and $7.5 million for the governor’s emergency fund.
Feb. 5, 2021 Dalton Daily Citizen-News, CNHI
Greene says some conspiracy theories don’t represent her district, but loses committee assignments anyway
Riley Bunch reports that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been stripped of her House committee assignments. After days of demands from House Democrats to their Republican colleagues to remove Greene from the committees themselves, a full vote of the House was held to remove Greene from the House Education and Labor and the Budget committees.
Feb. 5, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘A mess.’ Georgia politicians prepare for brutal 2022 battles
Greg Bluestein reports that Georgia’s election season is hardly a month in the rearview mirror, but already the battle lines are being drawn for a full slate of statewide elections and another bruising fight for the U.S. Senate. Gov. Brian Kemp is preparing for a reelection campaign with his head on a swivel.
