Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 5, 2023
Oct. 5, 2023 Newnan Times-Herald
Representative gives preview of FREYR Battery in Coweta County
Clay Neely reports, nearly a year ago, FREYR Battery announced a stunning $2.57 billion investment, with the goal of creating more than 700 new jobs in Coweta County over the next six years. FREYR’s senior vice president of business development, Jason Peace, talked about the company at a Coweta County Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday.
Oct. 5, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Legal Reforms in Georgia
Ben Young writes, as Georgia enjoys runaway success in economic development, now is the time for spirited debate over the role of law and policy in achieving and maintaining that reputation. Recently Gov. Brian Kemp announced he would pursue tort reform in 2024; Georgia hasn’t updated its laws since 2005.
Oct. 5, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Power says it may need more electricity capacity and soon
Drew Kann reports, just over a year ago, state regulators approved Georgia Power’s plan to meet customer’s electricity needs for the next two decades, which called for shuttering most of its coal plants and replacing them with huge amounts of solar and gas. Now, a new notice published recently by Georgia Power suggests the company thinks it needs more power sooner than expected to feed demand from residents and businesses.
Oct. 5, 2023 Augusta Chronicle
Augusta awarded $6 million to purchase electric buses, now must get infrastructure in place
Erica Van Buren reports, in an effort to go green, the city of Augusta was awarded $6.2 million to purchase new electric buses to replace the diesel vehicles the city is currently operating. City officials now are planning the needed infrastructure improvements and training to operate the all-electric fleet.
Oct. 5, 2023 Gwinnett Daily Post
Gwinnett seeking federal grant to spur development along BRT routes
Curt Yeomans reports that Gwinnett County leaders are pursuing federal funding to help spur economic development along planned bus rapid transit lines in the county. County commissioners voted on Tuesday to apply for as much as $1 million through the Federal Transit Administration’s Transit-Oriented Development Development Planning pilot program.
Oct. 5, 2023 Albany Herald
Public comments sought for GBI re-accreditation
Staff reports that Georgia Bureau of Investigation is seeking re-accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA). Part of maintaining its national accreditation is providing a portal for the public to comment on the agency’s service.
Oct. 5, 2023 WSB-Radio
EV battery manufacturing energizes southern communities in “Battery Belt”
Ben Tracy and Analisa Novak report, in in towns like Commerce, Georgia, a manufacturing boom is taking place, reinvigorating the local economy. The town with a population of 7,700 — and steadily growing — is seeing a resurgence of business activity.
Oct. 5, 2023 WABE
Georgia hospital system takes a new approach to maternal mental health
Jess Mador reports, in Georgia, mental health conditions are the second-leading cause of pregnancy-related death. But mental health is often overlooked during and after pregnancy. Now, the Northside Hospital system is trying a new approach, offering a program of parent-infant psychotherapy to care for women’s mental health, in hopes of also promoting their infants’ development.
Oct. 5, 2023 Macon Telegraph
Telegraph climate change reporter named to 2023 Chips Quinn Scholars Program
Staff reports that the Freedom Forum, a Washington-based nonprofit focused on promoting First Amendment awareness, today announced its 2023 class of fellows for the Chips Quinn Scholars Program for Diversity in Journalism, an annual initiative that provides mentorship and training for early career journalists. The forum selected Telegraph climate change reporter Gautama Mehta as one of the fellows in the 2023 class.
Oct. 5, 2023 GPB
McIntosh County cancels next board meeting, one month after violating Georgia’s open meetings law
Benjamin Payne reports that Southeast Georgia’s McIntosh County has canceled the next public meeting of its board of commissioners, originally scheduled for Oct. 10, following a recent vote by the five-member body to rezone the historic Gullah Geechee community of Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island. The county violated Georgia’s open meetings law multiple times last month by prohibiting the public from recording three public meetings regarding the rezoning of Hogg Hummock, where descendants of enslaved West Africans have owned land and homes for generations.
Oct. 5, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Bill aimed at closer scrutiny of Georgia film tax credit paying off
Dave Williams reports that a bill the General Assembly passed three years ago bringing additional scrutiny to Georgia’s film tax credit is reducing the program’s impact on state tax revenues, witnesses testified at a legislative committee hearing Wednesday. House Bill 1037 requires all film productions located in Georgia to undergo mandatory audits by the state Department of Revenue or third-party auditors selected by the state agency.
Oct. 5, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Georgia Senate Democrats chided for across-the-aisle chumminess
Adam Van Brimmer, Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell report, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones could run for governor in 2026. He could also still be charged in Fulton County’s sprawling election-interference case against former President Donald Trump and allies. And he could push Republican policies hotly opposed by Democrats in next year’s legislative session.
