Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 11, 2023
Oct. 11, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Georgia’s 2023 high-school graduation rate ticks up again
Dave Williams reports that Georgia’s high-school graduation rate rose again this year to another all-time high since the state began using an adjusted calculation the federal government first imposed more than a decade ago. The Georgia Class of 2023 recorded a graduation rate of 84.4%, up from 84.1% last year.
Oct. 11, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
The Case for Public Charter Schools
Brian Robinson writes, in the fall of 2014, the approximately 200 students at Utopian Academy knew that then-Gov. Nathan Deal was coming for a visit as they gathered in the lunchroom of the school. They weren’t aware he was bringing a special guest. But when Deal and Atlanta superstar Chris Bridges – better known as Ludacris – walked through the door, the kids’ excitement sent an electric pulse through the room.
Oct. 11, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New York firm expands into Georgia with large vertical farm
Zachary Hansen reports that New York-based Gotham Greens announced Wednesday it opened a large vertical farming facility in Monroe, which employs 100 workers. The $35 million greenhouse is the company’s first location in the Southeast and will join Gotham Greens’ network of vertical farms that can produce up to 100 million heads of lettuce a year.
Oct. 11, 2023 Athens Banner-Herald
University System of Georgia joins effort to make financial aid info clear and standardized
Abraham Kenmore reports that the University System of Georgia recently joined the College Cost Transparency Initiative, joining hundreds of other schools to standardize the language around aid offered to prospective students. The goal is make the cost of college easily understandable.
Oct. 11, 2023 Visit Macon
Visit Macon launches new website
Visit Macon announces a new & improved visitmacon.org. The new website will feature innovative new tools to help visitors plan their visit to Macon, Georgia. “We have combined our fresh, new destination branding with easy-to-navigate listings, the ability to book hotels directly within the site and an improved events calendar,” Visit Macon Director of Marketing Marisa Rodgers said. “This new presence at visitmacon.org will give visitors a glimpse of everything that Macon, Georgia has to offer!”
Oct. 11, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Georgia aims to boost low literacy rate, in part by copying Mississippi’s successful blueprint
Ross Williams reports that one in six Georgia adults have low literacy skills, according to a 2017 Deloitte report. The researchers further found that these adults cost Georgia about $1.26 billion per year, with most of that, $818 million, in paying for people in prison.
Oct. 11, 2023 Gwinnett Daily Post
Former Gwinnett lawmaker Donna Sheldon will join Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission
Curt Yeomans reports that Dacula resident Donna Sheldon, who spent just over a decade representing part of eastern Gwinnett County in the Georgia House of Representatives, has received a new assignment with statewide implications from Gov. Brian Kemp. The governor announced on Friday that he appointed Sheldon to serve on the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission.
Oct. 11, 2023 GPB
Georgia research expert named to lead nonprofit Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research
Ellen Eldridge reports that a Georgia-based research expert is now leading a nationwide nonprofit focused on building public trust in scientific research. Dr. Ivy R. Tillman is the Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research organization’s third executive director since its founding in 1974, and she is the first African American to lead the national organization.
Oct. 11, 2023 Albany Herald
Georgia State receives $10 million artificial intelligence research grant
Staff reports that Jonathan Shihao Ji, a computer science professor at Georgia State University, has received a $10 million grant from the Department of Defense to address critical problems in artificial intelligence and robotics with a focus on human-robot interaction, 3D virtual environment reconstruction, edge computing and trustworthy AI.
Oct. 11, 2023 Augusta Chronicle
Federal funding to stop violent crime comes to Augusta, coastal Georgia
Abraham Kenmore reports, the Augusta area and coastal Georgia is getting nearly $100,000 for a Department of Justice program designed to reduce violent crime. On Tuesday, Sen. Jon Ossoff announced $98,657 in annual federal funding for a program to address violent crime in Augusta as well as Savannah and Brunswick.
Oct. 11, 2023 Athens Banner-Herald
AthFest Educates awards more than $48,000 in grants for music and arts education
Andrew Shearer reports, though AthFest is known as one of the biggest music festivals in Athens, it’s one of two annual fundraisers for AthFest Educates, a nonprofit that uses the proceeds to support music and arts education for K-12 youth in Athens-Clarke County. The organization this week awarded $48,299 in grants to local K-12 educators and youth development specialists for the 2022-23 school year.
Oct. 11, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: At rally, Georgians call on congressional leaders to aid Israel
Adam Van Brimmer, Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy and Tia Mitchell report that an Israel solidarity rally staged Tuesday drew dozens of Georgia elected officials who voiced their support, with many calling on congressional leaders to stand with the Jewish nation and provide aid in the conflict with Hamas militants.
