Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 6, 2021
Oct. 6, 2021 Capitol Beat News
Georgia ranks high in food deserts and insecurity, senators told
Tim Darnell reports that Georgia has one of the highest densities of so-called food deserts in the nation, several experts told a state Senate committee Tuesday. “One in eight Georgians face hunger, and one in seven are children,” the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Joy Goetz told the Senate Study Committee on Improving Access to Healthy Foods and Ending Food Deserts.
Oct. 6, 2021 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Political Notes: Ups, Downs, and In-betweens
Susan Percy reports on the new Georgia College president, another U.S. Senate candidate, census data, a presidential award winner and more.
Oct. 6, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State labor department spent $1 million on free meals for employees, audit finds
Chris Joyner and Bill Rankin report that a state audit obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found labor department employees received a daily free meal beginning in March 2020 and continuing for more than a year, violating state purchasing rules. Until it was discontinued this summer, the pandemic-long feast cost taxpayers more than $1.1 million in state and federal money, much of which was earmarked for unemployment benefits.
Oct. 6, 2021 Savannah Morning News
‘The future has landed’: Gulfstream announces two new private jets
Zoe Nicholson reports that Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., the county’s largest private employer and manufacturer of private aircraft, unveiled the latest additions to its fleet: the G-400, a 12-passenger plane that’s the first new product in its class in decades, and the G-800, the longest-range plane in the company’s history that can travel faster than the speed of sound.
Oct. 6, 2021 Brunswick News
Symrise expanding operations at Colonel’s Island
Gordon Jackson reports that Symrise AG has announced plans to invest $18.6 million to expand its Brunswick facility at Colonel’s Island. The Golden Isles Development Authority approved a bond resolution at Tuesday’s meeting that will give Symrise a 10-year property tax savings that will save the company, based in Germany, $573,000.
Oct. 6, 2021 GPB
Film workers’ union votes to strike over long hours. Georgia’s ready to join in
Sarah Rose reports that one of the nation’s largest film and television unions voted Monday to authorize a strike, which could have a huge impact on Georgia’s film industry. In an overwhelming turnout of nearly 90% of its membership, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees moved ahead with the action following complaints of long work hours and poor working conditions across the country.
Oct. 6, 2021 Georgia Dept. of Education
Georgia Department of Education awards SUCCESS grants to support school improvement work
Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Education is awarding $4.9 million in competitive grants to support school improvement efforts in 14 school districts and state charter schools. Districts with at least one school identified for Comprehensive Support & Improvement (CSI) or Targeted Support & Improvement (TSI), or state charter schools identified for CSI or TSI, were eligible to apply for SUCCESS (School Improvement Supporting Unlimited Critical and Comprehensive Educational Success for Students) Grants.
Oct. 6, 2021 Savannah Morning News
Coastal Georgia school receives Gannett Foundation grant to assist those in poverty
Adam Van Brimmer reports that the Civil War was a recent memory when the first Freedmans School opened in Brunswick. Over the 151 years since the establishment of the educational mainstay, the school has grown and evolved to serve the city’s African American children. With a $100,000 grant from the Gannett Foundation’s A Community Thrives initiative, the school’s mission is set to expand again as the home of a Head Start program and several other nonprofits dedicated to providing social services to the community.
Oct. 6, 2021 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb school board member Dr. Jaha Howard enters race for Georgia schools superintendent
Aleks Gilbert reports that Cobb school board member Dr. Jaha Howard, a Democrat, has registered to run for state school superintendent, a position currently held by Republican Richard Woods. The superintendent is the chief executive officer of the Georgia Department of Education and oversees a multi-billion dollar budget, one of the state’s largest.
Oct. 6, 2021 Georgia Recorder
State lawmakers protest Georgia labor department’s new secrecy rules
Stanley Dunlap reports that Georgia state House Democrats are expressing outrage over a state Department of Labor pilot program they claim unfairly burdens efforts to assist Georgians seeking unemployment benefits. Georgia House Democrats are calling on Republican Labor Commissioner Mark Butler to press pause on a new online portal that requires legislators to sign a confidentiality agreement to obtain unemployment information about constituents who ask for help securing benefits.
Oct. 6, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Brian Kemp headed to Texas border with nine GOP governors
Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report that Gov. Brian Kemp is headed back to the U.S. border with Mexico, this time with nine fellow Republican governors to urge President Joe Biden to take more aggressive action to curb illegal immigration. It’s Kemp’s third trip to the border since December.
