Georgia Trend Daily – July 13, 2023
July 13, 2023 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp: Kia to Invest Over $200 Million in EV9 Production Expansion
Staff reports that Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that Kia will invest more than $200 million and create nearly 200 new jobs at its West Point plant to accommodate assembly of the company’s highly anticipated all-electric 2024 EV9 three-row SUV.
July 13, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Tackling the “Summer Slide”
Ben Young writes, by now we’re entering a part of the summer where laziness has perhaps taken hold. It’s perfectly understandable and hearkens back to a time when businesses would shut down half the week in many Georgia communities.
July 13, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Delta reports record second-quarter revenue as travel demand soars
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines brought in a record second-quarter revenues of $15.6 billion, as the number of people taking to the skies to travel reaches new heights. Demand is particularly strong for international travel, said Delta CEO Ed Bastian in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
July 13, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Georgia reports giant budget surplus despite June revenue drop
Dave Williams reports that Georgia tax collections fell slightly last month compared to June of last year, but the state closed out fiscal 2023 with a huge surplus for the third year in a row. The Georgia Department of Revenue brought in $2.84 billion in taxes in June, down 0.4% from the same month a year ago.
July 13, 2023 GlobalAtlanta.com
DHL’s $84.5M Americas Hub Promises New Cargo Flights for Atlanta
Trevor Williams reports, already promising easier access for shippers into Europe and beyond, DHL’s new Americas cargo hub in Atlanta also carries the possibility of bringing multiple new freighter services to the city. Long the world’s busiest passenger airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has lagged when it comes to cargo, and DHL presents a big win for the airport’s efforts to use its considerable freight capacity more productively.
July 13, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Nearly 100,000 low-income Georgians lost Medicaid health coverage last month
Jill Nolin reports that more Georgians who went through the Medicaid unwinding process last month lost their coverage than kept it, with nearly 100,000 people dropped from the public health insurance program in just one month, according to new state data released Wednesday. The people who went through Medicaid redetermination last month represent the largest group yet to go through the process in Georgia.
July 13, 2023 Savannah Morning News
Gymnasium, water park and added police top Bloomingdale residents’ improvements wish list
Latrice Williams reports that Bloomingdale has seen explosive growth over the last five years, particularly in terms of warehouses and other industrial uses. Looking ahead to the next five years, residents have other priorities.
July 13, 2023 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb Republican commissioners oppose $340K study of county purchasing disparities
Jake Busch reports that Cobb’s two Republican commissioners reiterated their opposition to a study of disparities in the county’s procurement practices at this week’s commission meeting. Commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill said they did not support paying consultant Griffin & Strong $342,000 to examine purchasing in the county.
July 13, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta suffers second wastewater spill in a month
Terry Richards reports that nearly 200,000 gallons of wastewater was released in the second reported spill within the City of Valdosta in the past month. On July 6, a city employee saw a wastewater overflow near the 1800 block of East Park Avenue, according to a city statement released this week.
July 13, 2023 11 Alive
Georgia Rep. among lawmakers to introduce bills that would help repair credit history for student loan borrowers
Staff reports, on Wednesday, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), with Congresswomen Haley Stevens (D-MI) Alma Adams (D-NC), and Deborah Ross (D-NC) introduced a package of bills that would remove default records from your credit history — if you’ve worked to get back on track with repayment. The bills introduced are the Clean Slate Through Rehabilitation Act, the Clean Slate Through Consolidation Act and the Clean Slate Through Repayment Act.
July 13, 2023 The Current, ProPublica
TitleMax demands high-interest payments from borrowers in bankruptcy
Margaret Coker, Joel Jacobs and Mollie Simons report, in Georgia, these “title pawns,” as they are known, are allowed to carry much higher interest rates than traditional loans, and defaulting on them means the company can repossess the car, a vital lifeline for rural families like Christina Cooper’s. The working mother of three didn’t know how to make the math work to pay what she owed.
July 13, 2023 The Center Square
Ossoff introduces bill targeting fentanyl trafficking
T.A. DeFeo reports, on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, announced the Fentanyl Trafficking Prevention Act, which could slap social media companies with criminal penalties of up to $10 million for facilitating the illicit distribution or dispensing of cocaine, methamphetamine, opioids and synthetic opioids. According to a news release from Ossoff’s office, these actions already run afoul of service providers’ terms of service.
July 13, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Legislators, activists continue push to regulate drug pricing middlemen
Davis Giangiulio reports that for the past two years, attempts by the Georgia General Assembly to regulate drug pricing middlemen have faced strong headwinds and powerful lobbying opposition. But that isn’t stopping legislators and activists from planning yet another push next year.
