Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 1, 2023
Sept. 1, 2023 Savannah Morning News
‘Transformative’: Another $2 billion investment in Hyundai metaplant to add 400 more jobs
Latrice Williams reports that the job market at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America just got bigger. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday announced Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution will invest an additional $2 billion in their battery cell manufacturing joint venture, bringing the investment to more than $4.3 billion.
Sept. 1, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Saving Georgia’s Farmland
Don Sadler reports, Georgia has become a destination of choice for people and businesses across the country. Our population grew by 10.6% between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Georgia now ranks as one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S.
Sept. 1, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia labor market remains strong, but there are signs of slowing
Michael E. Kanell reports, the labor market see-saw generally tilts to the advantage of employers. Companies typically ride high, setting the terms for pay, benefits and work conditions. The recovery from the pandemic changed all that, leaving workers sitting pretty.
Sept. 1, 2023 Rome News-Tribune
Switch’s plan for new $772 million data center will boost investment in Bartow
John Druckenmiller reports that a $772 million data center identified as a “north campus” for an even larger complex in Douglas County is planned near LakePoint in southern Bartow County. Switch KEEP 2.0 Atlanta North Campus, as planned, would boost the announced investment in Bartow to nearly $8.5 billion in roughly nine months, following the battery plant off U.S. 411 and solar panel complex off I-75.
Sept. 1, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Hurricane Idalia cleanup underway in South Georgia
Dave Williams reports that utility and highway crews fanned out across South Georgia Thursday restoring power and clearing roads in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, which tore across the region for hours on Wednesday. “We are fortunate the storm was narrow and fast-moving,” Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters Thursday during a news conference at the Georgia Capitol. “But if you were in the path, it was devastating.”
Sept. 1, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times
Idalia next step: Valdosta-Lowndes moves from response to recovery
Kasmira Smith reports that Valdosta and Lowndes County have transitioned from the response phase of Hurricane Idalia to the recovery stage. Lowndes County and Valdosta officials held a press conference Thursday afternoon to address residents’ concerns and to give updates on the Hurricane Idalia aftermath recovery plans.
Sept. 1, 2023 The Covington News
Newton County Chamber of Commerce restarts Small Business Resiliency Fund to assist businesses affected by Aug. 25 fire
Phillip B. Hubbard reports, on the evening of Aug. 25, a fire broke out in the Covington Square area that, as a result, has left a lot of businesses devastated. To help those businesses in their recovery, the Newton County Chamber of Commerce has restarted the Small Business Resiliency Fund (SBRF).
Sept. 1, 2023 Saporta Report
Congresswoman Williams secures $750,000 for Buckhead’s HUB404 project
Hannah E. Jones reports that today, Georgia 400 is a bustling freeway that splits Buckhead’s east and west sides. But local leaders are working on a project — HUB404 — that will transform the area and reconnect Atlanta neighborhoods.
Sept. 1, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Georgia behavioral health officials push for more workers and beds as people languish in jail
Jill Nolin reports that Georgia will need to build five more behavioral health crisis centers and free up about 120 additional beds in the state hospital network for people in the criminal justice system – all by 2025. But the state must also shore up its workforce so the existing crisis beds and other resources can be fully used, especially as the new national three digit dialing code – 988 – increases demand for state services.
Sept. 1, 2023 The Center Square
Lawsuit over Georgia’s district maps set for trial next week
T.A. DeFeo reports that a federal trial over Georgia’s state legislative district maps is set to kick off next week in Atlanta. In 2021, several Georgia residents and groups, including the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Sixth District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, filed suit against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Sept. 1, 2023 Savannah Morning News, USA Today
Gov. Brian Kemp rejects calls to discipline or remove Fulton County DA Fani Willis after Trump indictment
Rachel Looker and Phillip M. Bailey report that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is rejecting calls to discipline or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from her position following the fourth indictment of former President Donald Trump. Willis, a Democrat and the first Black woman to serve in the position, has become a lightning rod for attacks by supporters of Trump, who was indicted by grand jury along with 18 others in a case Willis brought alleging a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Sept. 1, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Dozens of Georgia mayors call for legislation to curb gun violence
Adam Van Brimmer, Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report that a group of 46 Georgia mayors have penned a plea to Gov. Brian Kemp and the General Assembly for new gun safety measures in the state. The mayors represent a cross section of communities, from Democratic cities such as Atlanta and Savannah to towns in conservative rural areas of the state — Adel to Blakely and Hiawassee to Young Harris.
