Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 30, 2021
Sept. 30, 2021 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp and Visa Announce New Office Hub in Atlanta Will Create 1,000 Jobs
Staff reports, “It’s always great to see a world-renowned company like Visa capitalize on the exceptional pool of diverse talent in Georgia and choose to invest in our state,” said Governor Kemp.“Georgia is a growing hub for the FinTech industry thanks in part to our strategic investment in workforce development initiatives, and I look forward to seeing the countless opportunities this significant expansion creates for hardworking Georgians.”
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Sept. 30, 2021 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Organizations: YIMBY Georgia
Candice Dyer reports that the mission of YIMBY Georgia is right there in the acronym: Yes, In My Backyard. The Atlanta nonprofit works in direct, hands-on ways to help people experiencing homelessness – and helps the rest of us assist them, too.
Sept. 30, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Asbury Automotive acquires auto dealership chain in $3.2 billion deal
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that Duluth-based Asbury Automotive, which owns auto dealerships around the country, said it will acquire Larry H. Miller dealerships and related service contract business Total Care Auto for a total of $3.2 billion, to become the fourth-largest U.S. auto retailer. The acquisitions announced Wednesday will add about $5.7 billion in annual revenue to Asbury’s business, which brought in $7.13 billion in revenue in 2020 and has 91 locations.
Sept. 30, 2021 Reporter Newspapers
DeKalb County film, television productions expected to bring in nearly $1.38 billion over five-year period
Sammie Purcell reports that film and television productions in DeKalb County are expected to bring in $1.377 billion in economic output from 2018 to 2023, according to a new report from the Atlanta Regional Commission. The metro planning agency joined forces with the DeKalb Entertainment Commission to generate the report.
Sept. 30, 2021 11 Alive
Georgia State aiming to prevent sexual violence with the opening of unique research center
Joe Henke reports that preventing sexual violence is the goal of a unique center opening at Georgia State University. Behind the scenes, researchers have been working for several months and the university officially announced the new National Center for Sexual Violence Prevention on Wednesday, in connection with GSU’s School of Public Health.
Sept. 30, 2021 Albany Herald
ABAC/UGA-Tifton grant aims to bring veterinarians to rural Georgia
Staff reports that Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has been awarded a three-year $297,000 collaborative grant with the University of Georgia-Tifton Veterinary Diagnostic and Investigational Laboratory to encourage more veterinary medicine students to practice in rural south Georgia.
Sept. 30, 2021 Georgia Recorder
Spaceport Camden launch delayed again as FAA extends license review
Stanley Dunlap reports that the Federal Aviation Administration postponed for at least another month a decision on a license for a controversial spaceport on the Georgia coast. The federal agency in charge of reviewing the project dubbed Spaceport Camden now plans to reveal its decision by Nov. 3 with continuing consultations forcing plans beyond Thursday’s planned announcement.
Sept. 30, 2021 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Addressing Georgia’s primary care physician shortage
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that trend of physicians-in-training choosing lucrative subspecialties is nothing new. It’s been going on for decades. In Georgia, the shortage is worse than the national average.
Sept. 30, 2021 Gwinnett Daily Post
Lawrenceville accepts $5 million grant to work with youth, families and city employees
Curt Yeomans reports that Lawrenceville officials recently accepted a $5 million grant to address youth involvement, create an internal diversity committee for city employees and expand efforts by the city’s police department to improve how it responds to calls that involve mental health crises. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration awarded the Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma, also known as ReCAST, grant to the city, and the City Council voted this week to accept it.
Sept. 30, 2021 Milledgeville Union-Recorder, CNHI
Fair districts: Redistricting proposal should show more majority-minority districts
Asia Ashley reports that as legislators prepare for redistricting in Georgia, nonpartisan redistricting groups expect to see increased representation of majority-minority districts as the partisan gap has narrowed since the last redistricting cycle 10 years ago. Fair Districts GA and the Princeton Gerrymandering Project analyzed 2020 Census data, redistricting maps and election data from the last 20 years to determine what Georgia’s redistricting committee should present for fair representation among voters.
Sept. 30, 2021 The Center Square
Georgia’s debt burden at $3,500 per taxpayer, report finds
Nyamekye Daniel reports that Georgia’s overall fiscal health worsened during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report shows. Despite revenue growth fueled by federal aid, financial watchdog Truth in Accounting (TIA) said the state has not adequately funded its pension and health care plan, which places a debt burden of more than $10 billion on future taxpayers.
Sept. 30, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Biden nominates public defender, advocate to Atlanta-based federal court
Tia Mitchell reports that President Joe Biden has nominated two women to fill open seats on the U.S. District Court in Northern Georgia: a criminal defense attorney and a lawyer who works for a nonprofit that advocates for prison reform. Victoria Calvert is set to become the circuit’s second Black female district judge and the first former federal defender to serve in the role. Sarah Geraghty is senior counsel of the Southern Center for Human Rights, an organization that has been involved in lawsuits regarding the conditions and treatment of prisoners in Georgia.
