Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 8, 2023
Aug. 8, 2023 Georgia.gov
Georgia Takes Lead in Preparations for Hydrogen Fueling Stations
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp, on Monday, announced that he has instructed the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to begin the process of working with private sector partners on how best to approach deployment of hydrogen fueling stations for commercial vehicles in the state. As a first step to this multi-stage process, GDOT has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to seek feedback from businesses operating in this space on how to progress in the development and construction of hydrogen fuel stations.
Aug. 8, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Political Notes: Ups, Downs and In-Betweens
Susan Percy reports, Tyrone Democrat Derrick Jackson, who formerly represented District 64 in the Georgia statehouse, now represents District 68, having won a special runoff election in June by some 15 votes. His opponent was former City of South Fulton Council Member Mark Baker.
Aug. 8, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wood pellet mills’ air violations raise concerns over biomass industry
Meris Lutz reports that a south Georgia wood pellet mill was recently fined nearly $52,000 for a series of state environmental violations, including bypassing its air pollution controls. While the fine represents one of the larger penalties issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) for air pollution in recent years, advocates say it’s a paltry sum.
Aug. 8, 2023 Marietta Daily Journal
Marietta to consider 328-home development at former Harry’s Farmers Market site
Hunter Riggall reports that the Marietta City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to approve a mixed-use development at the site once occupied by Harry’s Farmers Market. Atlanta-based developer Westplan Investors is proposing 300 apartments and 28 townhomes for the 19.25-acre site near the corner of Roswell and Powers Ferry Roads, for a density of 17 units per acre.
Aug. 8, 2023 Union-Recorder
Georgia Trust, preservation partners ask for demo reprieve
Gil Pound reports that a letter dated Tuesday from The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, co-signed by 11 other organizations, asks state Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities board chair David Glass to consider a 180-day reprieve from moving forward with any efforts to demolish the Jones, Green, Walker, and wash house buildings on the CSH campus.
Aug. 8, 2023 The Brunswick News
Challenges await new Cumberland superintendent
Gordon Jackson reports that the next superintendent of Cumberland Island National Seashore will face issues that require immediate attention. David Kyler, executive director for the Center for a Sustainable Coast, said the new superintendent will have the same mandate as others: honor the Congressional designation of Cumberland Island and its stated purpose as a National Seashore by acquiring remaining privately owned holdings and do as much as possible to prevent further private development.
Aug. 8, 2023 The Current
2024 elections: ‘Hold on tight,’ Raffensperger says
Craig Nelson reports, it’s tough being a man in the middle. At least that’s how Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sought to portray himself in a speech yesterday to the Savannah Rotary Club.
Aug. 8, 2023 GPB
Battleground: Ballot Box | How Georgia’s recent elections planted seeds for future conspiracies
Stephen Fowler reports that in the aftermath of 2018, where then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp narrowly defeated voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams in their first face-off for governor, Abrams and her allies alleged there were issues with Georgia’s voting machines and rules that prevented people from casting their ballots — but even so, they did not try to overturn the results of the election.
Aug. 8, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Fulton indictment in 2020 Georgia election probe could increase polarization going into 2024
Stanley Dunlap reports that Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is upping its security presence around the downtown Atlanta courthouse through Aug. 18 as District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to present to a grand jury evidence of multiple individuals with ties to the former president allegedly attempting to circumvent Trump’s 2020 presidential election defeat in Georgia to Democratic nominee and former vice president Joe Biden.
Aug. 8, 2023 The Center Square
Gambill: State lawmakers might act on property tax increases
T.A. DeFeo reports, earlier this year, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 118 and House Bill 622 to triple Bartow County’s homestead tax exemptions for school and county ad valorem taxes. But property owners across the Peach State have seen their property tax bills balloon.
Aug. 8, 2023 Capitol Beat News
State Senate to target teenage social media use, cyberbullying
Dave Williams reports that the Georgia Senate will take up legislation this winter aimed at protecting teenagers from cyberbullying and other negative effects of social media use. Numerous studies have found overuse of social media to pose a significant danger to young people, particularly girls, increasing their risk of suicide.
Aug. 8, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Democrat aims for swing metro Atlanta district in Georgia House
Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy, Tia Mitchell and Adam Van Brimmer report that State Rep. Deborah Silcox lost the closest legislative race in Georgia in 2020, falling to a Democratic opponent by just 377 votes. Two years later, the Republican won a newly created north Atlanta district by a slightly more comfortable 1,496-vote margin.
