Georgia Trend Daily – May 16, 2023
May 15, 2023 Georgia.org
Anovion Technologies to Create Over 400 Jobs in Bainbridge, Invest $800M in Manufacturing Facility
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp announced on Monday that Anovion Technologies (Anovion), a supplier of premium synthetic graphite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, will build a new manufacturing facility in Bainbridge. The project will create more than 400 jobs and over $800 million in investment in Decatur County.
May 15, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Peach Plate: Successful Pairing
Sucheta Rawal reports, on the Georgia coast sits a white ranch-style house with picnic benches on a wraparound patio. The small, wood-paneled and homey interior feels like a watering hole created in your grandma’s living room. Hardwood floors, neon lights, pink drapes, disco balls and random knickknacks such as pineapple-shaped mirrors, baking molds and nautical-themed paintings recall what you would find in a home from the ’50s.
May 15, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Blue Bird workers vote to join Steelworkers union
Michael E. Kanell reports, blue-collar workers at the Blue Bird Corp. factory in Fort Valley, one of the nation’s premier bus manufacturers, voted late last week to unionize, one of the largest victories in years for organized labor in Georgia. The roughly 1,400 factory employees will join the United Steelworkers.
May 15, 2023 The Center Square
Georgia education board opts to eliminate Common Core standards
T.A. DeFeo reports that the State Board of Education has approved changes to the state’s K-12 English Language Arts Standards, a move officials said eliminates the last vestiges of Georgia’s Common Core standards. State education officials said the agency revised the standard via a “citizen-led, student-focused effort” that Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, announced in 2019.
May 15, 2023 University of Georgia CAES
Agriculture project wins $1M NSF development award
Michael Terrazas reports that the University of Georgia has been awarded $1 million from the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines program for the Next Generation Agriculture project, a broad collaboration intended to help Georgia farmers move toward “Ag 4.0”—the fourth agricultural revolution—in their practices. Next Generation Agriculture, or NextGA, will leverage the strengths of more than 30 public and private organizations to work with farmers in a 20-county region of south Georgia to build an infrastructure for integrative agricultural innovation “in place.”
May 15, 2023 Rome News-Tribune
Bordeau Metals CEO says Lindale metal recycling site to be open to the public soon
John Bailey reports that the CEO of a Tennessee metal recycling company said they’ve recently purchased scrap metal and are planning to reopen their Lindale site despite the county’s assertion that the site was purchased with a limited use. Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord said there are deed restrictions on the location, and that the site cannot be used for metal recycling except for metal brought from Plant Hammond for purposes of recycling.
May 15, 2023 The Brunswick News
Coastal Georgia’s ecology given B grade
Michael Hall reports that the overall health of Coastal Georgia’s ecosystem was considered moderately good in 2022 based on a report card released recently by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Resources Division. The Coastal Georgia Ecosystem Report Card for 2022 gave Coastal Georgia a grade of B, or 74%, down a bit from the A grade, or 81%, the region earned in 2021.
May 15, 2023 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb hearing scheduled for lawsuit pitting 185 Methodist churches against denomination
Hunter Riggall reports that the first hearing in a lawsuit between 185 Methodist churches and their local governing body is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Cobb Superior Court. The churches, which include nine Cobb-based congregations, are suing the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
May 15, 2023 WABE
Georgia hospitals create police forces to stem growing violence against staff
Renuka Rayasam reports that this May, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed a law that boosts criminal penalties for assaults against hospital workers and allows health care facilities in the state to create independent police forces. In enacting the law, Georgia joined other states attempting to reverse a rise in violence over the last several years through stiffer criminal penalties and enhanced law enforcement.
May 15, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI News
Black Americans continue to lag behind in homeownership
Asia Ashley reports that despite having a job that qualifies for student loan forgiveness, Candice Drummond and her husband are still burdened by debt, preventing them from purchasing a home closer to their family. Drummond, an employee for New Georgia Project, an Atlanta-based nonprofit voter advocacy group, had approximately $175,000 in student loans forgiven under the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which has helped them afford to live in metro Atlanta, she said.
May 15, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Raffensperger launches professional licensing reform effort
Dave Williams reports that a new commission formed by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to look for ways to reform a business licensing process critics say is hampering workforce development held its first meeting Monday. The GA Works Licensing Commission includes Raffensperger; Gabriel Sterling, interim director of the secretary of state’s Professional Licensing Division; Republican and Democratic state lawmakers; and economic development leaders.
May 15, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Former Kemp adviser helping launch Pence run for president
Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Greg Bluestein report that former Vice President Mike Pence’s allies launched a new super PAC to back his expected run for the 2024 presidency. The group’s executive director, Bobby Saparow, is a former Brian Kemp strategist who plans to export the governor’s playbook to a national race.
