Georgia Trend Daily – May 19, 2023
May 19, 2023 Georgia.org
2023 GLOBE Awards Celebrate Georgia Exporters Across Diverse Industries
Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) today announced 27 Georgia business recipients of the 2023 GLOBE Award. Managed by the Department’s International Trade team, this state-led awards program highlights Georgia companies that expanded sales to new international markets in the previous year
May 19, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
How Managed Care Can Help Solve the Mental Health Crisis
Jason Bearden reports that a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 90% of adults believe there is a mental health crisis in the U.S., and more than half of those respondents identified mental health issues among children as the area of greatest concern. While the statistics about mental health across the country are concerning, those in our state should give us all pause.
May 19, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wellstar starts $100M tech fund months after closing Atlanta hospitals
Mirtha Donastorg, Laura Weaver and Michael E. Kanell report that Wellstar Health System, one of the largest hospital operators in Georgia, is now becoming potentially one of the largest health tech funders in the state. Catalyst by Wellstar, the system’s innovation arm, announced Thursday the launch of a $100 million venture fund to invest in early-stage health care startups around the country.
May 19, 2023 Albany Herald, UGA CAES
UGA awarded $4 million to design farm of the future
Jordan Powers reports that researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have been awarded nearly $4 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to develop a climate-smart “4-D Farm.” The project, The Digital and Data-Driven Demonstration Farm (4-D Farm): Juxtaposition of Climate-Smart and Circular Innovations for Future Farm Economies, is part of NIFA’s investment in regional innovations for climate-smart agriculture and forestry.
May 19, 2023 Augusta Chronicle
Augusta agencies awarded more than $10 million in grants for recreation, road projects
Joe Hotchkiss reports that Augusta agencies will receive more than $10 million in state grants to improve local roads and parks. The grants, totaling more than $225 million statewide, are intended to fund “improving or maintaining recreational facilities” or “for repair or maintenance due to significantly greater use of public facilities during the pandemic.”
May 19, 2023 Athens Banner Herald
Athens receiving nearly $2 million in state grants for post-COVID civic improvements
Joe Hotchkiss reports that Athens-area parks and a local nonprofit that fights food insecurity will receive nearly $2 million in state grants. The grants, totaling more than $225 million statewide, are intended to fund “improving or maintaining recreational facilities” or “for repair or maintenance due to significantly greater use of public facilities during the pandemic.”
May 19, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times
Funding More Nurses: VSU awarded $446K grant
Staff reports that the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce has awarded Valdosta State University a $446,000 Nursing School Grant to help ensure all Georgians, especially those in rural and underserved areas, have access to high quality health care, according to university officials.
May 19, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Georgia’s air polluted with fewer emissions as coal-fired electricity production winds down
Jill Nolin reports, a new report released this week offers a rare bit of positive climate news: Overall greenhouse emissions in Georgia declined 5% from 2017 to 2021, due largely to the state’s largest electric utility moving away from coal. And when it comes to per-person emissions, those declined by 8% during that four-year period.
May 19, 2023 Savannah Morning News
Census Bureau: Georgia sees highest voter turnout in South in 2022
Abraham Kenmore reports that Georgia tied for the 14th highest citizen turnout in the country and highest in the Southeast in the November 2022 election, according to a new Census Bureau report. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger this week celebrated the results in a press release.
May 19, 2023 GPB
How a default on U.S. debt could affect Georgians
Peter Biello reports on an interview with Georgia Southern University’s Michael Toma about the effect of a U.S. debt default. He’s Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Economics for Georgia Southern University in Savannah.
May 19, 2023 The Center Square
Georgia Senate study committee to tackle state’s foster care system
T.A. DeFeo reports that a Georgia Senate study committee will explore possible solutions to improve the state’s maligned foster care system. The move follows reports of widespread, systemic breakdowns within Georgia’s foster care system and questions about the agency’s ability to ensure the safety of the children it is tasked with protecting.
May 19, 2023 Capitol Beat News
U.S. Senate confirms Georgia woman to 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
Dave Williams reports that the U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed civil rights lawyer Nancy Abudu of Georgia Thursday to become the first Black woman to serve on the Atlanta-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 49-47 primarily along party lines to confirm Abudu, who faced criticism from Republicans during the confirmation process over her work since 2019 for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
May 19, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Democrat says Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘put a target on my back’
Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s characterization of her argument Wednesday with New York’s U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman has her critics accusing her of distorting the facts and using veiled racist language. Greene, speaking Thursday morning at a previously scheduled news conference, answered a question about Bowman by saying she felt physically threatened by the confrontation.
