Georgia Trend Daily – June 19, 2023
June 19, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Opponents of titanium mine near Okefenokee focusing on mining company’s qualifications
Dave Williams reports that opponents of a proposal to mine titanium near the Okefenokee Swamp have long concentrated their fire primarily on the environmental degradation it would wreak on the largest blackwater swamp in North America. Now, they’re also building a case against the mine based on what they say are Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals’ (TPM) alarming lack of qualifications to carry out the plan.
June 19, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Red, Blue & You: A Stone Mountain for All
Tharon Johnson writes, Stone Mountain is one of the most iconic natural features in Georgia. Sitting just over a dozen miles outside of Atlanta in DeKalb County, the park is among the most visited tourist attractions in the state and Southeast, attracting over four million visitors per year pre-pandemic.
June 19, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of Plant Vogtle’s new nuclear units is delayed again
Drew Kann reports that the completion of one of the two new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle is delayed again, Georgia Power announced Friday afternoon. The latest setback is due to a “degraded hydrogen seal” on the generator side of the unit — not the reactor where uranium atoms are split to produce heat.
June 19, 2023 Macon Telegraph
FedEx plans to close shipping center in Macon this fall, eliminating more than 60 jobs
Gabriel Kopp reports that FedEx plans to close a shipping center in Macon this fall, impacting 62 jobs, according to a notice the company sent to the state earlier this month. The move will largely affect couriers, as well as three managers at the center located in south Bibb County at 4560 Houston Ave.
June 19, 2023 Gwinnett Daily Post
Fortune Magazine names Peachtree Corners one of the best places to live in the U.S.
Curt Yeomans reports that Peachtree Corners found itself in rare air this past week. It was the only Georgia city that made Fortune Magazine’s list of the 50 best places in the U.S. for families to live, coming in at No. 19 nationally. Nearly 1,900 cities were evaluated and considered for inclusion on the list.
June 19, 2023 Savannah Morning News
Checking out? Developer won’t move forward with planned hotel next to Convention Center
Adam Van Brimmer reports that the developer of a new 400-room hotel next to the Savannah Convention Center has shelved plans for the project, exacerbating concerns over whether the area’s existing hotel room inventory can support larger exhibitions and meetings that the expanded facility is meant to attract.
June 19, 2023 Albany Herald
Trail linking Albany State to downtown nearly one-half completed
Alan Mauldin reports, walking from Albany State University’s East Campus to downtown Albany quicker and more safely is closer to becoming a reality, with work on a Flint River Trail project running ahead of schedule. The 1.3-mile section of trail will link the ASU campus with Oglethorpe Boulevard. Concrete already has been poured underneath the bridge and on other portions of the project.
June 19, 2023 Milledgeville Union-Recorder
Noris Price Day’ proclaimed as Superintendent named to state board
Matthew Brown reports that the Georgia Legislature, in 2023, established the Georgia Council on Literacy with the passing of SB 211. Among the 24 members of this council, Gov. Brian Kemp appointed a former winner of the State School Superintendent of the Year honor, Baldwin County School District Superintendent Dr. Noris Price, on June 1.
June 19, 2023 The Center Square
Debate continues over taxpayer funds for historic sites, memorials
T.A. DeFeo reports, an Atlanta suburb is spending $125,000 to erect a monument to a local civil rights icon, the latest in an ongoing public discussion about who deserves a memorial and whether tax dollars should pay for such monuments. A memorial honoring Fanny Williams comes after officials in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna razed a historic cabin named after Williams.
June 19, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Ossoff backing bill to increase military housing allowance
Dave Williams reports that junior enlisted military personnel would receive a higher housing allowance under bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress this week by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. Ossoff led an eight-month investigation last year that called attention to the poor condition of privatized housing at the Army’s Fort Gordon near Augusta.
June 19, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A year later: Dobbs decision paved way to limit abortion access in Georgia
Maya T. Prahbu reports, nearly a year ago, women across the country learned they no longer had a guaranteed right to get an abortion if they wanted. And in Georgia, it meant it was only a matter of time until access was vastly limited. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, decided there is no constitutional right to abortion when it ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning a nearly 50-year-old decision saying the opposite.
