Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 12, 2023
Dec. 12, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Georgia economy headed for ‘soft landing’ in 2024
Dave Williams reports that the economic growth Georgia experienced this year will slow down in 2024 but not enough to cause a recession, the dean of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia said Monday. “Georgia is well positioned to weather an economic slowdown, and our economy will outperform the U.S. economy,” Ben Ayers told a crowded ballroom at the Georgia Aquarium in the kickoff of UGA’s annual Georgia Economic Outlook series.
Dec. 12, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Economic Development Around the State
Christy Simo reports, Georgia has reached an unprecedented milestone – being named the No. 1 state for business for 10 straight years by Area Development magazine. No other state has achieved this benchmark, which is based on scores from leading site consulting firms.
Dec. 12, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Delta offers employees $1,000 for emergency savings, 33,000 sign up
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that Delta Air Lines flight attendant Loretta Day has dreams of buying a house one day, but she found herself racking up credit card debt while treating herself to Bath & Body Works candles and dining out on trips. An email she got from her employer offered up to $1,000 for an emergency savings fund if she completed a financial education program for employees.
Dec. 12, 2023 Saporta Report
Open AI’s Sam Altman to co-chair AI Ethics Council with Atlanta’s John Hope Bryant
Maria Saporta reports, in his first public appearance since rejoining Open AI as CEO, Sam Altman took the stage at the HOPE Global Forums Dec. 11 to join in a conversation with Operation HOPE’s CEO and founder – John Hope Bryant. Bryant waited until the very end of their conversation to announce that he and Altman will co-chair a new AI Ethics Council – with strong Atlanta representation.
Dec. 12, 2023 Savannah Morning News
New incentives aimed at opening solar to low- and middle-income Savannah residents
John Deem reports that the City of Savannah is offering an extra holiday incentive as it looks to plug an underserved segment of the population into solar power. New Savannah participants in Georgia BRIGHT, which helps households with incomes of $100,000 or less install panels on their homes, are eligible for a $200 gift card if they sign a lease for a new rooftop system by Dec. 31.
Dec. 12, 2023 The Current
Pastors pray for swamp’s protection
Mary Landers reports that representatives from Jewish, Catholic and Protestant faith communities across Georgia gathered at the Okefenokee Swamp on Wednesday for a prayer vigil urging lawmakers to enact Georgia House Bill 71, “The Okefenokee Protection Act,” as part of their upcoming legislative session. The bill would restrict the issuance of mining permits on nearby Trail Ridge.
Dec. 12, 2023 Albany Herald
Sen. Raphael Warnock visits MCLB-Albany for military housing discussion
Staff reports that U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., visited Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany Friday as part of an effort to learn more about military housing currently available to service members in Georgia. “There are roughly 4,000 active-duty service members, civilian Marines and contractors at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany who make it possible every day for the base to achieve its mission,” Col. Matthew McKinney, the commanding officer of MCLB Albany, said.
Dec. 12, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Latino voters concerned about economy, feel neither party pays them close attention, poll says
Ross Williams reports, with less than a year to go before the 2024 election, Georgia’s Latino voters are thinking about economic issues, and while they align more with the Democratic Party on average, majorities say both parties either don’t care too much about or are hostile toward their community. Those are some of the findings of a UnidosUS survey of Latino voters in Georgia conducted last month.
Dec. 12, 2023 The Brunswick News
New voting lines not a done deal
Gordon Jackson reports that the Georgia General Assembly approved new voter district lines during a special legislative session this month, but it doesn’t guarantee the lines won’t have to be redrawn again. State Sen. Mike Hodges, R-St. Simons Island, explained the voting district lines approved by the Republican-controlled legislature had to be redrawn after a judge ruled the new voting boundaries violated federal voting rights act regulations.
Dec. 12, 2023 CNHI News
Attorneys drop lawsuit challenging Georgia’s new prosecutor oversight commission
Asia Ashley reports that Georgia district attorneys suing to overturn a new oversight commission have dropped their lawsuit filed in Fulton County Superior Court. The Dec. 8 decision comes after the Georgia Supreme Court on Nov. 24 declined to approve the commission’s proposed standards and rules as authorized by lawmakers last year via Senate Bill 92.
Dec. 12, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘Limbo’ Georgia candidates — and voters — await fate of political maps
Greg Bluestein reports, when Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson announced her bid for a deeply conservative U.S. House district in September, she and other Democrats were confident the state’s political boundaries were about to be redrawn to boost their chances. The U.S. Supreme Court had just paved the way for a new majority-Black district in Alabama, and a federal judge in Georgia was on the verge of tossing out the state’s maps on grounds that they illegally weakened the voting power of Black Georgians.
