Georgia Trend Daily – April 8, 2024
April 8, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Time runs short to comment on state permits to mine near Okefenokee as environmental groups blast plan
Jill Nolin reports that more than 70,000 comments have already poured into the state Environmental Protection Division as the public comment period wraps up on draft permits greenlighting mining near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Tuesday is the last day to submit a written comment on Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals’ plans to mine Trail Ridge, which is seen as an important barrier for the swamp, for titanium, staurolite, and zircon.
Paul Kooistra, left, New Creation Soda Works Founder and CEO and Head Brewer Alex Harding, accept a plaque from Nick Place, dean and director of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences for PECHES, a hand-crafted peach soda that was the Grand Prize winner in the 2024 Flavor of Georgia contest. | Photo credit: Linda Erbele
April 8, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
2024 Flavor of Georgia Contest Winners Announced
Linda Erbele reports that a handcrafted peach soda, appropriately named PECHES, was the Grand Prize winner in the 2024 Flavor of Georgia contest. Paul Kooistra, founder and CEO of New Creations Soda Works, said the soda is made from cane sugar, carbonated water and Georgia peach juice.
April 8, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Airport MARTA station closing for 6 weeks starting Monday: What you need to know
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that thousands of airport workers and travelers will see disruptions on their route to the world’s busiest airport, with the temporary closure of the MARTA station at Hartsfield-Jackson International starting Monday. The Airport station is one of the busiest in the rail system, transporting an estimated 11,000 riders a day.
April 8, 2024 The Brunswick News
Darien holds 56th Blessing of the Fleet
Terry Dickson reports that Darien ended its annual three-day Blessing of the Fleet Sunday with its namesake event, the speaking of blessings over the shrimping vessels moored in Darien and nearby fish docks. The crowd of at least 1,000 watched from the bridge, city docks, hotel balconies and the northern banks of the Darien River as the shrimp boats idled up to the bridge against a strong outgoing tide for a sprinkling of holy water and words of benediction for safe passages and a bountiful catch.
April 8, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb Seeks to Avoid DOJ Lawsuit Over Hiring Practices
Jake Busch reports, after a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the Cobb County Fire Department’s hiring practices, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will consider entering into an agreement with the justice department to avoid potential litigation. The investigation, initiated in November 2019, did not find evidence of intentional discrimination in the department’s hiring practices from 2016-2020, though it did find that a couple of practices “had a disparate impact on African-American firefighter applicants during that time period,” according to county attorney William Rowling.
April 8, 2024 The Current
Hinesville adds more special conditions to mobile home park deal
Robin Kemp reports that Hinesville City Council voted 4-1 at its April 4 meeting to approve a plan to rezone, redevelop, and annex the Georgia Homes at Live Oak Mobile Home Park, but only after adding a requirement for the property owner, Newbridge Residential Parks LLC, to meet with residents and local officials. Several residents at the meeting said they had yet to hear from the owner’s representatives about plans to close the park and relocate residents, along with 22 mobile homes they own, to another park in Walthourville.
April 8, 2024 GPB
A second chance at life for rehabilitated sea turtles released off Georgia coast
Sofi Gratas reports that last week, Jekyll Island saw the largest release of rehabilitated sea turtles in the island’s recorded history. On the island’s South Beach, the sky cleared just in time for the transport and release of 33 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles — plus one green sea turtle — flown in from New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
April 8, 2024 Newnan Times-Herald
Public comments sought on proposed Plant Yates upgrades
Jeffrey Cullen-Dean reports that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division is seeking public comments before the potential construction of new turbines at Plant Yates creates an increase in emissions. Plant Yates seeks to construct three advanced-class dual-fired simple cycle combustion turbines to provide 1,000-1,400 megawatts to meet the State of Georgia’s rising energy needs.
April 8, 2024 State Affairs
Harried homeowners relieved to see bill criminalizing squatting
Jill Jordan Sieder reports that a bill passed by the General Assembly would make squatting a misdemeanor criminal offense, punishable by up to a year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. Squatters who forge fake leases could be charged with a felony. And judges can impose more fines based on the fair market value of rent that landlords lose.
April 8, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Georgia braces for another round of election law changes
Dave Williams reports that for the second election cycle in a row, the ground rules will be different when Georgia voters head to the polls in November. The General Assembly passed the most far-reaching election law changes last month since 2021, when the legislature’s Republican majorities enacted a sweeping election system overhaul following Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the Peach State in 2020 and the capture by Democrats of both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats in January 2021 runoffs.
April 8, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Legislature bills focus on taxes, law enforcement and elections
Phoebe Quinton reports that state lawmakers introduced more than 2,000 bills in the two-year legislative cycle that ended last month, most of which died before the final gavel. But of the approximately 725 pieces of legislation that passed both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly, almost half dealt with taxes, the courts and how government — and especially elections — operates, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis.
