Georgia Trend Daily – July 29, 2021
July 29, 2021 The Center Square
Georgia ranked 37th in nationwide prosperity index
Nyamekye Daniel reports that Georgia is the 37th most prosperous state in the country, according to the 2021 United States Prosperity Index. The index created by London-based think-tank Legatum Institute is a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of prosperity, including safety and security, business environment, health and living conditions. It was developed with the help of about 40 U.S. academic and policy experts.
July 29, 2021 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Atlanta Dream receives humanitarian award
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that cable sports network ESPN recently named the Atlanta Dream the Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year at an event in New York City. The WNBA team was recognized for leading change on an array of civil rights and social justice issues.
July 29, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton authority members clash over planned audit, board powers
J. Scott Trubey reports that a testy, three-hour meeting of the Development Authority of Fulton County (DAFC) Tuesday signaled momentum to rebuild public confidence following investigations by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News that revealed legally questionable per diems paid to some board members.
July 29, 2021 WABE 90.1
First Black Woman Selected To Lead Georgia State College of Law
LaShawn Hudson reports that the first Black woman to lead the Georgia State College of Law says every institution of higher education should put its students at the center of everything that institution does. “Our faculty and staff here at the college of law work really closely with our students to prepare them for what they will get out in the world and to make sure they are ready, ” said LaVonda Reed, the new dean of the Georgia State College of Law.
July 29, 2021 Georgia Ports
Port of Savannah moves 5M TEUs
Staff reports, for the first time in its history, the Port of Savannah has moved 5.3 million twenty-foot equivalent container units, growing cargo volumes by 20 percent in FY2021, or nearly 900,000 TEUs compared to the previous year. “American companies continue to choose the Port of Savannah as a critical gateway to global trade,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
July 29, 2021 Covington News
Covington company receives bulk of federal Shuttered Venue grants
Staff reports that a Covington-based company received the bulk of the funding in Shuttered Venue Operators Grants that U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson announced Wednesday. J.D. Entertainment LLC in Covington received $391,798 of more than $542,000 in funds for four entities in the 4th Congressional District.
July 29, 2021 Newnan Times-Herald
Grantville adding solar power for energy needs
Jeffrey Cullen-Dean reports that the city of Grantville is looking to the sun to explore new energy sources. The Grantville city council unanimously approved the purchase of solar power for the city’s energy needs.
July 29, 2021 Capitol Beat News, Rome News-Tribune, Albany Herald
State Department of Education creates new office to focus on rural Georgia
Dave Williams reports that rural education in Georgia is getting special attention in the form of a new office within the state Department of Education that will focus on the needs of rural schools. The Office of Rural Education and Innovation will be headed by Bronwyn Ragan-Martin, a veteran education leader who served most recently as superintendent of the Early County School System and president of the Georgia School Superintendents Association.
July 29, 2021 GlobalAtlanta.com
Angel Oak Acquires Canadian Firm as Part of Tech Push
Trevor Williams reports that Atlanta-based lending platform Angel Oak Companies has invested in two international firms since May, bolstering its technology capabilities as it helps investors tap into new opportunities. The company announced Wednesday that it had acquired Toronto-based Covience, a software and cloud computing firm that helping banks digital services and payment capabilities.
July 29, 2021 Savannah Morning News
How to recruit a business to Georgia: Incentives, incentives, incentives
Abraham Kenmore reports, whether it is a local business seeking to expand an industrial project or state scouts bringing an employer to Georgia, major economic development projects involve close collaboration between local development authorities and the state. “Usually when one organization is notified the other is immediately brought in, because it takes a state and local effort to win these projects,” said Trip Tollison, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority.
July 29, 2021 Capitol Beat News
Kemp puts up more state funds for fighting crime
Dave Williams reports that Gov. Brian Kemp is committing up to $2 million from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to the state Department of Public Safety’s Crime Suppression Unit. Kemp’s announcement Wednesday is the latest initiative he and other Georgia Republican leaders have taken this spring and summer aimed at rising crime across the state but particularly in Atlanta.
July 29, 2021 Georgia Recorder
Georgia asks judge to dismiss U.S Justice Dept. suit against new voting law
Stanley Dunlap reports that Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit claiming the state’s new voting law is discriminatory should be dismissed because it relies on arguments rejected in a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The Republican Carr filed the motion to throw out the Northern District of Georgia case on Wednesday, saying that the federal prosecutors have not proven that the new provisions on absentee ballot drop boxes, voter ID, and others are unconstitutional.
July 29, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Georgia lawmakers plan more election changes ahead
Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report, if you thought Georgia Republicans were finished making changes to the Georgia election system after the 2021 legislative session, think again. House Speaker David Ralston said in an interview that he sees a piece of unfinished business in the way allegations of fraud are currently handled, in which Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office receives complaints and investigates them.
