Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 16, 2023
Feb. 16, 2023 Augusta Chronicle
Report: Georgia nearly last in health insurance coverage, trailing Southeast
Abraham Kenmore reports that a new report recently released by a leading Georgia medical university ranks the state among the worst in the nation for health insurance coverage. Georgia ranks 49th in the U.S. for residents without health insurance, according to a report from Augusta University. A major reason, say experts, is because Georgia has not expanded Medicaid.
Significant Land: One of the mounds at the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park
Photo: Contributed
Feb. 16, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Organizations: Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative
Candice Dyer reports, for more than 10 millennia before White settlers arrived in 1823, various groups of indigenous people occupied the land along the Ocmulgee River in Georgia. They built seven mounds and left behind at least 3 million artifacts.
Feb. 16, 2023 Atlanta Journal Constitution
Georgia ports traffic down, but exports up in January
J. Scott Trubey reports that Georgia Ports Authority said Wednesday it saw overall traffic drop in January compared to the same month a year earlier as fewer goods from other countries passed through the Savannah harbor. Total traffic declined 11.5% last month compared to January 2022, the authority said, citing “reduced orders in retail and manufacturing” for goods made overseas.
Feb. 16, 2023 WABE
Cumberland Island National Seashore to expand
Emily Jones reports that Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore will soon expand when the National Park Service (NPS) acquires an additional 173.7 acres of the island. Congress allocated $8.7 million for the land acquisition in the omnibus appropriations bill that passed in December.
Feb. 16, 2023 The Brunswick News
City stops short of opposing Okefenokee mining effort
Taylor Cooper reports that Brunswick City Commission declined to throw its lot in Wednesday with those supporting the Okefenokee Swamp’s designation as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mayor Cosby Johnson led most of the discussion, saying that he wanted to weigh evidence from both environmental advocates and Twin Pines Minerals as to whether a plan to mine titanium at the periphery of the swamp would harm the ecosystem.
Feb. 16, 2023 The Center Square
Georgia’s Ossoff expresses concerns about proposed mine near the Okefenokee
T.A. DeFeo reports that Georgia officials are accepting public comments on a proposed strip mine in Charlton County near the Okefenokee Swamp, and a U.S. senator from Georgia is elevating his concerns about the plan. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is weighing a draft Mining Land Use Plan submitted by Twin Pines Minerals.
Feb. 16, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Tough-on-crime theme of 2023 Georgia Legislature underpinned by proposed new bail requirements
Stanley Dunlap reports that the Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee Wednesday advanced a bill that would add bail requirements to a laundry list of criminal offenses in order to get released from jail. In the coming days the full Senate chamber could take up the Republican-backed measure, criticized by criminal justice reform organizations and Democratic legislators for its potential to undermine the legal system, target the poor and increase the likelihood of re-arrest.
Feb. 16, 2023 GPB
Lawmakers: Senate addresses telemarketing, dog fighting and vaping in public on Day 19
Sarah Kallis reports that the Georgia Senate passed bills to address telemarketing, vaping in public and dogfighting on Day 19. Senators passed a bill that would restrict e-cigarette use in public. SB 47, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R – Rome) would extend current indoor smoking restrictions to vaping.
Feb. 16, 2023 11 Alive
Georgia lawmakers propose 3 key police accountability bills
Staff reports that Georgia lawmakers are pushing for more police accountability and have put forth three bills to do it. After the video release of the brutal police beating of Tyre Nichols, Georgia Rep. Sandra Scott, Rep. Kim Schofield and Rep. Viola Davis sponsored three House bills aimed at preventing police killings, streamlining crime reporting and documenting law enforcement misconduct.
Feb. 16, 2023 Marietta Daily Journal
Setzler resurrects ‘religious freedom’ bill
Chart Riggall reports that State Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, filed legislation this week he said would expand state religious protections to mirror those imposed by a 1993 federal law. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, SB 180, borrows from existing federal legislation on religious liberty, and renews the debate over constitutional rights nearly seven years after a previous bill was vetoed by former Gov. Nathan Deal.
Feb. 16, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Georgia Senate unanimously approves bill widening Georgia’s “do not call” law
Rebecca Grapevine reports that the state Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would expand Georgia’s law governing telemarketing calls. The bill would allow Georgians to hold companies liable for telemarketing calls made by third-party contractors as well as pursue class-action lawsuits against telemarketers.
Feb. 16, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Bee Nguyen to join Warnock’s staff as top state aide
Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report, the hardest question for any candidate to answer after a losing race is usually not, “Why did you lose?” but, “What are you going to do next?” Former Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen, who lost a nationally watched contest against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2022, now has an answer about her future plans.
