Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 9, 2023
Aug. 9, 2023 Georgia.gov
Georgia Breaks Economic Development Records for Third Year in a Row
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp, in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), yesterday announced that for the third year in a row the state broke records for economic development during Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). Between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, total investments in facility expansions and new locations totaled more than $24 billion, resulting in 38,400 new jobs through 426 projects supported by GDEcD’s Global Commerce team.
Aug. 9, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Economic Development Around the State
Christy Simo reports that Pratt & Whitney is expanding operations in Columbus-Muscogee County. The $206 million investment will add 81,000 square feet to the company’s Engine Center and create nearly 400 new jobs when it’s completed by 2028.
Aug. 9, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cruise now testing self-driving cars in Atlanta
Michael E. Kanell reports that for the moment, there’s still a driver at the wheel, but San Francisco-based Cruise has begun testing its self-driving vehicles in Atlanta. While Cruise intends to eventually operate a ride-hailing service with autonomous vehicles here, a company spokeswoman said a driver would be behind the wheel in the initial phase as its cars roll through parts of downtown, Midtown and Buckhead.
Aug. 9, 2023 Georgia Ports Authority
Growing Big: Georgia Ports Infrastructure Improvements
Staff reports that the Georgia Ports Authority continues to move forward with an aggressive plan to enhance its terminal operations. In fact, GPA anticipates spending $4.5 billion over the next 12 years to expand its container-handling capabilities.
Aug. 9, 2023 Athens Banner-Herald
Politicians tout economic gains at Georgia Chamber luncheon in Athens
Wayne Ford reports that the Georgia Chamber of Commerce held its Congressional Luncheon on Tuesday for the first time in Athens in an event that included U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, Gov. Brian Kemp and three U.S. congressmen. Among the business leaders taking the stage flanked by pulsating blue and red lights were Terreta Rodgers of Amazon, Pedro Cherry of Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas, and Georgia Chamber Chair Neil Pruitt Jr. of Pruitt Health.
Aug. 9, 2023 Savannah Morning News
Agencies map how invasive species take advantage of Georgia floods
Marisa Mecke reports that Coastal Georgia is carved by its winding waters: Tightly knit creeks, streams and rivers surrounded by the low-lying land in between. And nearly every resident of coastal Georgia has seen those waters rise after a hefty rain and sploshed their feet into the spongy, flooded ground.
Aug. 9, 2023 Rome News-Tribune
Rome-based Pirelli North America works toward environmental sustainability projects with new partnership
John Bailey reports that Rome-based Pirelli North America announced this week a partnership with an environmentally friendly highway testbed on an 18-mile stretch of I-85. The Ray, a non-profit based in Atlanta, has partnered with Pirelli to develop an environmentally friendly testbed in west Georgia.
Aug. 9, 2023 WABE
City of Atlanta invests $4 million into new housing plan for homeless residents
Dormiya Vance reports that Mayor Andre Dickens has signed an executive order to move forward with a new $4 million plan to help fight homelessness in Atlanta. The multi-phase rapid housing initiative calls for refurbishing shipping containers into places to live for the unhoused.
Aug. 9, 2023 Marietta Daily Journal
Keep Marietta’s tourism dollars in Marietta, mayor says
Staff reports that the city of Marietta is weighing whether to renew a revenue-sharing agreement which sees a portion of its hotel-motel taxes funneled to Cumberland, supporting the agency which manages the Cobb Galleria Centre and Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. Marietta gives 19.75% of its hotel-motel tax revenue to the authority.
Aug. 9, 2023 The Brunswick News
Port prepares for arrival of two millionth Mercedes
Gordon Jackson reports that a celebration is planned next week to commemorate the arrival of the two-millionth Mercedes-Benz to the Port of Brunswick. Don Asdell, president and CEO of International Auto Processing, said Mercedes-Benz has been a customer at the port since 1997, and the number of vehicles arriving has continued to grow over the years.
Aug. 9, 2023 GPB
New tax credit helps teens transition to independence after aging out of foster care
Donna Lowry reports that each year, about 700 teens age out of the Georgia foster care system — and some become homeless, victims of human trafficking, or turn to crime. A new law, the Fostering Success Act, allows taxpayers to help prevent those outcomes through dollar-for-dollar income tax credits.
Aug. 9, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Kemp touts tort reform as 2024 legislative priority
Dave Williams reports that Gov. Brian Kemp pledged Tuesday to push for tort reform during the next session of the General Assembly this winter. “The laws on our books make it too easy to bring frivolous lawsuits against Georgia business owners, which drive up the price of insurance and stop new, good-paying jobs from ever coming to communities that need them the most,” Kemp told an audience of the state’s political and business leaders at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s annual Congressional Luncheon, held this year at Athens’ Classic Centre.
Aug. 9, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Kemp, Ossoff offer competing visions in possible prelude to 2026
Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy, Tia Mitchell and Adam Van Brimmer report that former President Donald Trump went unmentioned during the Georgia Chamber’s congressional luncheon in Athens. So did overt talk of upcoming elections. But politics loomed over the Tuesday event.
