Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 26, 2022
Oct. 26, 2022 GPB
Hyundai breaks ground on $5.5 billion, 8,100-job factory in north Bryan County
Benjamin Payne reports that Hyundai Motor Group officially broke ground Tuesday on its planned $5.5 billion electric vehicle factory in Bryan County, poised to become the largest economic development project in Georgia history and the South Korean automaker’s first fully dedicated facility for EV manufacturing. Dubbed by Hyundai as the “Metaplant,” the company says it will create more than 8,100 jobs in Bryan County, just west of Savannah.
Oct. 26, 2022 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Catching up with…Bill Bolling
Karen Kirkpatrick reports on the man who founded one of the earliest food banks in the nation, who calls himself a convener. Now retired from the ACFB, Bolling is spending his social capital to make Atlanta a better place to live for everyone.
Oct. 26, 2022 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hyundai presses U.S. government for flexibility with EV tax credits
J. Scott Trubey and Drew Kann report that Hyundai and other manufacturers that build EVs overseas in August lost eligibility for federal EV tax credits in President Joe Biden’s landmark health and climate law. Changes to the $7,500 tax credits are intended to boost domestic EV production.
Oct. 26, 2022 Athens Banner Herald
Plans to expand: Nearly $9 million grant helps build new facility for Athens food bank
Wayne Ford reports that the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia recently welcomed a state official to their headquarters, who arrived with a millionaire’s calling card. Georgia Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Christopher Nunn presented the Food Bank with a large symbolic check representing the $8.9 million the state is granting the organization for a new facility.
Oct. 26, 2022 Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta City Council OKs $2M in business funds
Malia Thomas reports that the city is going to cut checks totaling $2 million to local small businesses. The funds are part of the Valdosta portion of the American Rescue Plan Act allocation for a Small Business Grant Program as a counterpart to the nonprofit grant program set back in April.
Oct. 26, 2022 The Brunswick News
Coast Guard replacing range towers in St. Simons Sound
Terry Dickson reports that a $1.5 million navigation project is underway in St. Simons Sound. A U.S. Coast Guard contractor is replacing the range towers that stood in shallow water off the southwestern tip of St. Simons Island near the mouth of Kings Creek.
Oct. 26, 2022 Albany Herald
CAES partners with Dalan Animal Health to advance world’s first honeybee vaccine
Jordan Powers reports that vaccines are a proven benefit in the world of animal science. People have vaccinated both pets and livestock for decades. Soon beekeepers may be able to protect their colonies through vaccination.
Oct. 26, 2022 The Center Square
Report gives Georgia prison system poor grades for its compassionate care release program
T.A. DeFeo reports, a national advocacy group gave Georgia a failing grade for its compassionate release programs. The Families Against Mandatory Minimums report graded compassionate release programs for incarcerated people struggling with “extraordinary circumstances,” including terminal or age-related illnesses.
Oct. 26, 2022 Georgia Recorder
Georgia Supreme Court hands supporters of Confederate statues in public squares partial setback
Stanley Dunlap reports that the Georgia Supreme Court just handed a mixed bag to supporters of keeping monuments commemorating the Confederacy on their historic courthouse lawn perches at public expense. On Tuesday, the justices upheld a state Court of Appeals’ dismissal of lawsuits filed by Sons of Confederate Veterans against Newton and Henry county commissioners over their removal of Confederate monuments because the organizations lacked standing to sue the counties since they have not shown that its members live in those communities.
Oct. 26, 2022 Augusta Chronicle
Augusta’s 5th Street Bridge could become “Freedom Bridge,” removing Confederate ties
Miguel Legoas reports that Augusta’s newest pedestrian attraction still recognizes the president of the Confederacy, but that could change in the near future. On Tuesday, Augusta’s Engineering Services Committee voted unanimously to rename the 5th Street Bridge “Freedom Bridge,” removing the historic “Jefferson Davis Memorial” moniker and the signage that still stands.
Oct. 26, 2022 Capitol Beat News
Mental health advocates urge Georgians to “vote for mental health”
Rebecca Grapevine reports that mental health advocates urged Georgians Tuesday to “vote for mental health” at a press conference at the state Capitol. “Mental health is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It is a Georgia issue,” said Kim Jones, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Georgia.
Oct. 26, 2022 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sinners’ reformation: Ex-Trump staffer turns to Georgia elections job
Mark Niesse reports that before his conversion, Robert Sinners worked as a campaign operative for Donald Trump, served as a notary public on a lawsuit to decertify Georgia’s presidential election and told fake electors to conceal their schemes. Today, Sinners says he has changed. He rejects election conspiracies after seeing firsthand that they weren’t true.
