Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 3, 2023
Aug. 3, 2023 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp Announces New Environmental Protection Division Director
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp yesterday announced that the Board of Natural Resources (DNR) voted unanimously to approve Jeff Cown as Director of the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), effective August 16. Jeff Cown has been with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and has served as the Director the State Parks and Historic Sites Division since September of 2018.
Aug. 3, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Fast-casual Indian bowls at NaanStop
Sucheta Rawal reports, a new breed of fast-casual Indian restaurants have popped up around Atlanta, recreating the thali experience but this time in a bowl. Among these is NaanStop, with locations at Atlantic Station, Buckhead and Downtown.
Aug. 3, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta-based private aviation startup Volato to go public
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that an Atlanta-based private jet startup announced that it plans to go public. The company, Volato, launched in 2021 to sell fractional shares of private aircraft, using a fleet of four-seat HondaJets. Last year, Volato acquired Houston aircraft management company Gulf Coast Aviation.
Aug. 3, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta gets historic preservation grant
Terry Richards reports that the City of Valdosta was one of seven governments in Georgia to receive a grant for historic development recently. The 2023 Historic Preservation Fund grants facilitate historic preservation planning initiatives and projects such as historic resource surveys, outreach efforts and brick-and-mortar projects throughout Georgia, according to a statement from the state Department of Community Affairs.
Aug. 3, 2023 Georgia Secretary of State
Secretary Raffensperger Recoups Lear Capital Fees for Georgia Investors
Staff reports that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that Georgia investors who purchased retail precious metals from Lear Capital will receive compensation as part of Lear Capital’s bankruptcy plan. The Secretary of State’s Securities Division was part of a multi-state effort investigating Lear for deceptive securities and commodities activities and misleading marketing at the time Lear Capital declared bankruptcy.
Aug. 3, 2023 Macon Telegraph
‘The Enslaved People Project’: Historic Macon-Bibb courthouse records on view at the Tubman Museum
Eliza Moore and Macon Magazine report that a new exhibit at the Tubman Museum in Macon showcases research for The Enslaved People Project, an ongoing effort to digitize slavery transaction records found in the Bibb County clerk’s office. The records will be uploaded to a searchable database available to the public, allowing many people to have access to their family genealogy for the first time.
Aug. 3, 2023 The Center Square
Atlanta mayor wants $4 million for homeless ‘quick-delivery housing’
T.A. DeFeo reports, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens plans to use $4 million to develop “quick-delivery housing” for homeless people in the city. Dickens issued an executive order directing the city’s chief financial officer to fund a new “Rapid Housing” initiative.
Aug. 3, 2023 The Brunswick News
Williams talks new job one month into JIA director role
Lauren McDonald reports that Mark Williams spent many summer vacations during his childhood on Jekyll Island while his parents — both educators — attended the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders conference on the island. During those summer trips, he spent time at Jekyll’s amphitheater, an old structure that sits unused on the island today.
Aug. 3, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Georgia DAs challenge new law allowing state oversight of their prosecution choices
Stanley Dunlap reports that four Georgia district attorneys filed a lawsuit this week to stop the creation of a new disciplinary committee that has the power to remove county prosecutors from public office. The plaintiffs in the state lawsuit accuse Gov. Brian Kemp and other GOP lawmakers of passing legislation this year that creates an oversight commission that they say unconstitutionally undermines discretion of local prosecutors and the voters who put them in office.
Aug. 3, 2023 Gwinnett Daily Post
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says Trump indictment was expected
Curt Yeomans reports, although the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday on allegations that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election has been called “unprecedented” in the press, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was not totally surprised by it.
Aug. 3, 2023 Augusta Chronicle
Change Georgia laws for better health care access, advocates urge in Augusta meeting
Joe Hotchkiss reports that several of Georgia’s regulations governing hospitals should be changed or scrapped to give patients better access to health care, advocates and policy analysts told a state House committee in Augusta. The Georgia House Study Committee on Certificate of Need Modernization convened at Augusta University on Tuesday morning to hear testimony and question experts about the current efficacy of, and possible improvements to, the state’s certificate of need process.
Aug. 3, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Former Trump Cabinet members voice misgivings about his candidacy
Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report that some of the politicians who know former President Donald Trump the best are steering clear of his comeback bid as he faces mounting legal issues, including a federal indictment this week and likely Fulton County charges later this month. Most of Georgia’s top Republican politicians have avoided talking about Trump’s candidacy.
