Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 25, 2023
Aug. 25, 2023 Dalton Daily Citizen
Georgia’s regional commissions see decline in July unemployment
Staff reports that Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson said Thursday that all of Georgia’s regional commissions reported a decline in July unemployment rates. “Georgia’s labor market continues to stand strong as a beacon of hope and prosperity,” said Thompson.
Totally Unique:
Bennish Brown, president and CEO of the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau (Destination Augusta)
at Humanitree House, which is part of the experiences tour: photo Hillary Kay.
Aug. 25, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Augusta Experiences
Jennifer Hafer reports, from its fun and creative logo, to a series of excursions being billed as “Authentic Augusta Experiences,” the Garden City of the South is inviting visitors and locals alike to become acquainted with the city in exciting new ways.
Aug. 25, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta-based Roark Capital buys Subway chain; price not disclosed
Michael E. Kanell reports that Atlanta-based Roark Capital, a massive private equity firm, has agreed to buy Subway, a global chain of franchised sandwich shops, according to a statement by Subway. “The transaction is a major milestone in Subway’s multi-year transformation journey,” the company said in a statement that made no mention of a purchase price for the chain.
Aug. 25, 2023 Macon Telegraph
Feds rejected Alabama’s toxic waste disposal plan. What that means for Georgia’s coal ash
Mehta reports that Georgia Power’s plans for disposing of toxic industrial waste at a handful of coal plants across the state have been the subject of a years-long controversy. Critics of the utility’s plans have long hoped the Environmental Protection Agency will intervene to require that Georgia Power change its plans to comply with a federal rule barring permanent storage of coal ash — a byproduct of the coal power process — in contact with groundwater, where it could contaminate drinking water with toxic heavy metals.
Aug. 25, 2023 The Current, WABE, Grist
Growing Georgia citrus farms pass winter’s tough test
Emily Jones reports, on a punishingly hot August morning, University of Georgia Extension Agent Jake Price walked through his rows of citrus trees, tucked in the back corner of a field behind a Valdosta elementary school. They look like an image right out of a Tropicana commercial: lush, leafy trees, many of them laden with plump little tangos – one of the easy-to-peel varieties of citrus sold in stores as Cuties.
Aug. 25, 2023 Savannah Morning News
Welcome: Visit Savannah hosts nearly 1,300 travel marketing professionals for annual conference
Amy Paige Condon reports, for the next five days, Visit Savannah is rolling out the welcome mat for more than 1,200 of its closest colleagues in the tourism marketing business as the U.S. Travel Association’s 39th annual ESTO Conference arrives in town. ESTO is the annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations – the marketing professionals from cities, states and regions that entice convention organizers, trade associations, travelers and influencers to come to their communities and stay for a while.
Aug. 25, 2023 Saporta Report
Georgia Trust to kick off preservation of Warm Springs’ historic African American school
John Ruch reports that the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is planning a Sept. 7 ceremonial kickoff for the preservation of a Warm Springs school built for African American children with the backing of President Franklin Roosevelt. The Eleanor Roosevelt School at 350 Parham St. was built in 1936 as the last school backed by the Rosenwald Fund, a grant program that created schools for African American children in the rural South in that time of racist segregation.
Aug. 25, 2023 Rome News-Tribune
Jobless rates rise across Northwest Georgia even as more people than ever had jobs in July
John Druckenmiller reports that even with a record number of people employed in July, Floyd County’s jobless rate inched up last month vs. reports from a year earlier. That was similar to three other area counties as nearly 5,100 people were identified as out of work, up around 500 or 10% over 12 months.
Aug. 25, 2023 State Affairs
Where Are the Kids? Georgia has spent over $10 million to track down unaccounted-for schoolchildren post-COVID. Will the trend continue?
Tammy Joyner reports, Lumpkin County School Superintendent Robert Brown first noticed something was amiss in the fall of 2021. Enrollment in the district’s high school, middle school and three elementary schools had dropped from about 3,840 in the spring of that year to 3,740 in the fall.
Aug. 25, 2023 The Center Square
Trump surrenders on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election
T.A. Defeo reports that former President Donald Trump surrendered to Fulton County authorities Thursday on charges he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Fulton County authorities charged Trump and 18 others, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former state Republican Party Chair David Shafer, as part of the effort.
Aug. 25, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Georgia Medicaid agency asking to add oversight workers
Dave Williams reports that atate agency that runs Georgia’s Medicaid program is asking for $7.2 million for a new initiative aimed at improving oversight of the private sector companies that manage health care for the state’s Medicaid recipients. The Georgia Board of Community Health voted unanimously Thursday to seek the funds as part of the Department of Community Health’s (DCH) fiscal 2024 mid-year budget request.
Aug. 25, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Why Kemp went to Milwaukee to call Trump a ‘loser’
Adam Van Brimmer, Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy and Tia Mitchell report, Gov. Brian Kemp has been quick to downplay speculation about a possible run for president in 2024, particularly with the clock ticking toward the Iowa presidential caucuses in January. But that didn’t keep the Georgia Republican from making a surprise trip Wednesday to the site of the first presidential debate in Milwaukee.
