Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 20, 2021
Aug. 20, 2021 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp Announces Advanced Modular Structures LLC. to Create 200 Jobs, Invest $14 Million in Atlanta
Staff reports that Governor Brian P. Kemp announced on Thursday that Advanced Modular Structures LLC., a modular building enterprise affiliated with Atlanta-based real estate developer The Integral Group, LLC., will create 200 jobs and invest more than $14 million in a new manufacturing facility in unincorporated Fulton County.
Credit: Contributed
Aug. 20, 2021 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Catching up with Veronica Womack
Susan Percy reports that Veronica Womack’s research includes the Pigford cases, settled in 1999 and 2010, under which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledged it had discriminated against Black farmers and agreed to financial compensation. She founded the Black Farmers Network to provide education and advocacy.
Aug. 20, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia job growth surged again in July, unemployment rate fell
Matt Kempner reports that Georgia saw another surge in new jobs in July, just as the delta variant began to sharpen concerns about more pandemic pain. Extending a summer boom, the state added 43,600 jobs last month on top of revised figures for June of just over 40,000 jobs, according to data released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor.
Aug. 20, 2021 University of Georgia CAES
UGA food scientists get creative with Georgia commodities
Ligaya Figueras reports that as farmers across the state swelter in the summer heat tending crops and livestock, food scientists inside a state-of-the-art 14,500-square-foot facility on the University of Georgia campus in Griffin are laboring over a different side of the agricultural equation: How can we get the biggest bang for the buck from Georgia’s food commodities?
Aug. 20, 2021 Capitol Beat News
Top state elected officials break ground for new law enforcement headquarters
Dave Williams reports that Georgia’s top elected leaders used a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday to thank state troopers for their contributions during last summer’s civil unrest and during the more recent crime wave. “I don’t believe it’s ever been harder to wear the badge than it is now,” Gov. Brian Kemp told an audience of troopers before turning a shovel on a new $55 million Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) headquarters building in southeast Atlanta.
Aug. 20, 2021 GlobalAtlanta.com
Georgia Nonprofits Respond as Haiti Reels From Dual Disasters
Trevor Williams reports that Georgia-based nonprofits find themselves in a tragically familiar position this week, sending emergency relief to Haiti as the country reels from a string of new natural disasters. Nearly 2,000 people have been confirmed dead after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit in the southwestern part of the country Aug. 14.
Aug. 20, 2021 11 Alive
Gov. Kemp signs executive order to ‘protect Georgia businesses’
Jonathan Raymond and Jessica Brown report that Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Thursday to “protect Georgia businesses.” During a 3 p.m. press conference at the State Capitol, Gov. Kemp said Georgia’s unemployment rate has dropped for 15 straight months and remains the lowest of the 10 most populous states.
Aug. 20, 2021 Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.Fl. News
Georgia adds nearly 12,000 virus cases
Bryce Ethridge reports that Georgia reported an increase of nearly 12,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past couple of days, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health Thursday. The state has reported 1,012,809 cases, an increase of 11,937 cases since Tuesday, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Aug. 20, 2021 WSB Radio
GHCA president has ‘one concern’ on new vaccination mandate for GA’s nursing homes
Veronica Waters reports, with President Biden’s administration set to tie nursing home Medicare and Medicaid funding to mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for their staff, the president of a statewide trade group tells WSB Radio that he ultimately has just one concern on the new mandate. Tony Marshall, president of the Georgia Health Care Association, is a firm believer in the evidence behind the COVID-19 vaccine working as intended.
Aug. 20, 2021 Albany Herald
Ocilla’s Tyler Harper garners endorsements from state senators
Staff reports that Republican candidate for Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper announced a major round of endorsements from nearly every Republican member of the Georgia State Senate. This group features a cohort of conservative legislators and leaders in their communities who have served alongside Harper.
Aug. 20, 2021 GPB
State Appoints Bipartisan Panel To Review Fulton Election Board’s Actions
Stephen Fowler reports that the Georgia State Election Board has appointed a bipartisan three-member panel to initiate a performance review of Fulton County’s elections board, the latest step in a lengthy process allowed under a new GOP-backed state law overhauling elections. Gwinnett County Elections Board member Stephen Day, Catoosa County Elections Board chairman Ricky Kittle and Secretary of State general counsel Ryan Germany will begin a review of Georgia’s most populous county after a number of Republican lawmakers initiated complaints about the 2020 election cycle in late July.
Aug. 20, 2021 Georgia Recorder
Sickle cell research chair named for state Rep. Smyre threatened by budget squeeze
Jill Nolin reports that a proposal that would boost research for sickle cell anemia in Georgia could offer an early glimpse of some of the funding fights to come next year. A research chair named in honor of long-time state Rep. Calvin Smyre was announced in Columbus earlier this year with the governor and other state officials on hand after $500,000 was included in this year’s budget.
Aug. 20, 2021 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
A Georgia high schooler saw a need for an interstate. His fight helped bring it to Senate
Nick Wooten reports, if an interstate makes its way through Columbus, Macon and Augusta, it will be in part thanks to the efforts of Frank Lumpkin IV. The 23-year-old, second-year University of Georgia law student began lobbying city leaders in Columbus about Interstate 14 as a high schooler in 2017.
Aug. 20, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: David Perdue, with Trump’s support, could give Kemp something to fear
Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Greg Bluestein report that Former President Donald Trump’s political advisers seem to be trying to convince ex-U.S. Sen. David Perdue to enter the race for governor. So far, the Republican has expressed no interest in challenging Gov. Brian Kemp and ruled out a Senate comeback bid.
