Georgia Trend Daily – July 5, 2023
July 5, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Several state agencies getting new heads
Dave Williams reports that there’s been some major shuffling of posts inside the Kemp administration. Gov. Brian Kemp Friday named Rick Dunn, currently director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to take the reins at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (OPB). Dunn will succeed OPB Director Kelly Farr, who is leaving state government for the private sector.
Enforcement Arm: Rhett Willis, president and CEO of Savannah- headquartered D.J. Powers, at Georgia Ports Authority: photo Frank Fortune.
July 5, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
An Optimistic Outlook
Phillipa Maister reports that Georgia was on a lot of people’s minds in 2022 as companies and countries jockeyed to find the best markets for their goods and the best sources for their supplies. The result was a record $196 billion in the state’s total trade, up 18% from 2021.
July 5, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia pecan growers rebound from tariffs, a pandemic and hurricanes
Evan Lasseter reports, Scott Hudson is president and CFO of Hudson Pecan Company in Ocilla, more than 180 miles southeast of Atlanta. The company has about 2,300 acres of pecan trees, and China is one of its biggest buyers.
July 5, 2023 WSB-Radio
UPS union unanimously rejects latest package, says negotiations have collapsed
Staff reports that the International Brotherood of Teamsters representing UPS workers announced Wednesday morning that they have rejected the latest contract offer, signaling another step closer toward a possible strike. The union says they felt the latest offer that the Sandy Springs-based company presented to them did not address their needs and negotiations “collapsed” around 4 a.m. Wednesday morning.
July 5, 2023 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
‘A dire situation.’ What caused Georgia’s catastrophic peach crop failure?
Gautama Mehta reports that in a normal year, the Dickey Farms would employ some 80 seasonal farmworkers from Guadalajara, which is the Carrazcos’ hometown. This year, there are around 30.
July 5, 2023 The Current
5 things: Hyundai development
Maggie Lee reports that the Hyundai metaplant is rising in Bryan County. The official announcements came with lots of commas: 8,100 jobs, at least $5.5 billion in construction spending, suppliers that plan to hire thousands more employees. The Current has tunneled into the minutiae of the contracts and promises.
July 5, 2023 Athens Banner-Herald
New head of Dep. of Ag law enforcement says officers will be “subject matter experts”
Abraham Kenmore reports that the Georgia Department of Agriculture is bringing back its law enforcement arm, and the new head, Harlan Proveaux, wants his officers to be the Peach State’s go-to on all aspects of agricultural crime. “Animal cruelty cases, drugs and agriculture arena, agro-terrorism, those type things, we want to be the subject matter experts,” Proveaux told the USA Today Network.
July 5, 2023 Marietta Daily Journal
Farmers have unsung impact, Georgia ag commish tells Cobb County group
Hayden Sumlin reports that farmers play a larger role in the lives of Georgians than people realize, Tyler Harper, Georgia’s agriculture commissioner, told the Cobb County Republican Women’s Club at their monthly luncheon. A former state senator elected as agriculture commissioner last November, Harper reminded luncheon attendees that agriculture is the state’s largest industry.
July 5, 2023 GlobalAtlanta.com
How Newell Brands’ ‘People First’ Approach Spurred Global Growth During a Pandemic
Trevor Williams reports that Newell Brands CEO Chris Peterson may have only taken the helm in May, but he has been no stranger to the Atlanta-based consumer products giant. Mr. Peterson had a key role in a turnaround that has seen Newell return to strength in the aftermath of a pandemic that disrupted global supply chains while dampening in-store shopping.
July 5, 2023 Savannah Morning News
As Clarence Thomas monument considered, donations for art under the Gold Dome seem opaque
Abraham Kenmore reports, if the Georgia State Capitol gets a monument honoring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who grew up in the Savannah area, it is not clear whether the public will know who funded it. Over nearly two months of record reviews and interview requests, the USA Today Network was unable to determine where the money to commission the artwork would come from.
July 5, 2023 State Affairs
What will happen with the Certificate of Need law? Ask 10 people, get 8 different answers
Tammy Joyner reports that the state’s Certificate of Need law (CON) was created 44 years ago as a way to control health care costs and cut down on duplication of services and unnecessary expansions. It determines when, where and if hospitals need to be built. In recent years, however, the regulatory law has proved controversial.
July 5, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times
Work hours must be reported under new Georgia Medicaid program
Asia Ashley reports that low-income Georgians who would not generally qualify for traditional Medicaid can now qualify for a new Medicaid program that adds work-type reporting requirements. Instead of a full Medicaid expansion, Gov. Brian Kemp is preparing to launch the Pathways to Coverage Medicaid waiver program July 1, which is estimated to add more than 60,000 uninsured Georgians to a Medicaid plan.
July 5, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Georgia families make last-gasp attempt to block ban on gender-affirming care
Ross Williams reports that Georgia’s transgender children and their families are hoping a last-minute lawsuit will thwart the state’s proposed ban on gender-affirming medical treatments set to kick in Saturday. The families of four transgender girls from Atlanta and Athens filed the suit in federal court Thursday, two days before the law is set to go into effect.
July 5, 2023 The Center Square
Georgia rolls out new safeguards for unemployment claims system
T.A. DeFeo reports, saying fraud has prompted new protocols, the Georgia Department of Labor has rolled out new safeguards the agency says should protect the state’s employers and taxpayers. After the agency suspended its Employer-Filed (Partial) Claims System last month, citing “the steady increase of fraud nationwide,” the Georgia Department of Labor added the new protocols to the reinstated program.
July 5, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Supreme Court’s gay rights ruling echoes long-running Georgia debate
Greg Bluestein reports that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in favor of an evangelical Colorado web designer who maintained she had the legal right to refuse services for same-sex marriages despite a state anti-discrimination law evokes a long-running Georgia debate over “religious liberty” legislation. Georgia has no such law that forbids discrimination against gay people.
