Georgia Trend Daily – May 4, 2023
May 4, 2023 WABE
Mining debate brings personal ties to the Okefenokee Swamp into focus
Emily Jones reports that as the battle has unfolded over the last four years, a truth has emerged. The swamp elicits powerful feelings. For thousands of years, people have found solace and sustenance in the Okefenokee.
May 4, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
From the Publisher: Let’s End Wishful Recycling
Ben Young writes, far as the processing end of recycling goes, business is booming. In addition to Novelis, many other recycling companies are based in or have big operations in Georgia, and the sector is only getting bigger.
May 4, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Black-owned tech firm Greenwood acquires digital banking rival
Mirtha Donastorg reports that Atlanta-based Greenwood, the digital banking services company founded for Black and Latino individuals, announced Tuesday it has acquired Kinly, a rival fintech firm also aimed at serving Black customers. Both companies’ missions center around closing the racial wealth gap in the U.S.
May 4, 2023 GPB
Farmers looking for organic certification can apply for share of $70M in USDA assistance
Benjamin Payne reports that a fresh batch of federal funding is being made available to Georgia farmers who are in the process of transitioning to organic crop production and seeking USDA-certified organic status. The deadline to apply is June 15.
May 4, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Georgia Power fuel costs recovery plan comes under fire
Dave Williams reports that a parade of expert and citizen witnesses asked the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) this week not to let Georgia Power recover 100% of higher fuel costs incurred during the last couple of years from customers. While the witnesses blamed the increased costs on the Atlanta-based utility’s overreliance on natural gas, a witness for Georgia Power cited factors beyond the company’s control as driving up the costs of the fuel it uses to generate electricity.
May 4, 2023 Georgia Recorder
State regulators hear pleas for relief from rising electric bills in Georgia Power fuel rate case
Stanley Dunlap reports that 76-year-old Evelyn Jackson was among a host of Georgia Power ratepayers who urged the Georgia Public Service Commission to stem the tide of power bill rate hikes as commissioners are set to vote May 16 on a fuel rate case that could have the average household spending $16 more on monthly utilities over a three-year period beginning in June.
May 4, 2023 GlobalAtlanta.com
Delta Will Again Fly Vets Back to Normandy for D-Day Anniversary
Trevor Williams reports that Delta Air Lines Inc. for the second straight year will fly American World War II veterans back to the beaches of Normandy, where they will receive a hero’s welcome from the French region they liberated nearly eight decades ago. The Atlanta-based airline is chartering a jet to carry the few living veterans from the pivotal D-Day landing back to the place where they turned the war’s tide through a bloody amphibious assault that displaced occupying German forces.
May 4, 2023 The Center Square
Georgia governor signs six workplace bills
T.A. DeFeo reports, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a series of bills he said will “help us further connect Georgians with lifelong opportunity and build that workforce of tomorrow.” Among the bills Kemp, a Republican, signed is Senate Bill 3, the “Reducing Barriers to State Employment Act of 2023.”
May 4, 2023 State Affairs
Kemp signs bevy of bills, many related to health care
Tammy Joyner and Issac Morgan report, the bills signed into law at the state Capitol on Tuesday resulted from a wide range of legislation. The new laws let pharmacy techs administer shots, require potential would-be fathers to submit to genetic testing to determine paternity, expand public aid to expectant mothers, provide more access to health care and allow homeowners to use their gas-powered leaf blowers to their hearts’ content.
May 4, 2023 GPB
Kemp signs near-total ban on outside money for Georgia elections offices
Stephen Fowler reports that Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a measure that virtually eliminates the ability for local elections officials to receive third-party funding to help cover their costs. Under Senate Bill 222, it is now a felony for local government officials or election workers to ask for or receive money to pay for elections except for funds that come from the state or federal government.
May 4, 2023 Savannah Morning News
Effingham approves industrial rezoning next to tri-county water intake
Marisa Mecke reports that the Effingham County Planning Board approved a zoning change for a controversial warehouse development next to the drinking water intake for Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties despite warnings of pollution to the natural resource. The zoning change is for about 100 acres in Effingham County to build a warehouse development with a 25-foot buffer to Abercorn Creek, the tributary of the Savannah River in which the City of Savannah operates its drinking water intake.
May 4, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Warnock pushed for gun control an hour before Atlanta shooting
Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report, since taking office in January 2021, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has at times quietly seethed about the inertia of Congress. He lamented to colleagues and advisors about how partisan divides and longstanding practices like the filibuster often got in the way of what he hoped to accomplish.
