Georgia Trend Daily – April 12, 2024
April 12, 2024 Athens Banner-Herald
It’s National Pecan Day: Learn more about the nut that’s so important to Georgia
Erica Van Buren reports that the average pecan harvest in Georgia is about 88 million pounds, enough to make 176 million pecan pies, according to experts. April 14 is National Pecan Day, created by the Shellers Association in 1966 to recognize and honor the workforce behind the cultivation of pecans in America.
April 12, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Unprecedented health equity initiative for HBCU athletes launches in Georgia
Sheryl-Anne Murray reports, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 2,000 young people die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) each year – many without previously known heart issues. SCA occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating, and the condition can be deadly if not immediately treated with CPR or a defibrillator.
April 12, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Aviation industry tackles safety issues as travel picks up
Kelly Yamanouchi reports, a series of troubling airline incidents and upheaval at aircraft manufacturer Boeing have raised questions about air safety, as more travelers take to the skies this spring and look toward summer trips. Aviation industry experts say flying remains one of the safest forms of transportation.
April 12, 2024 WABE
Georgia Tech and NVIDIA forge partnership to empower students with new AI Makerspace
Marlon Hyde reports, the Georgia Institute of Technology and computer hardware manufacturer NVIDIA are joining forces to provide undergraduate students with access to an AI supercomputer. Georgia Tech officials unveiled its new AI Makerspace, which the school says is the first of its kind in the nation, loaded with 3D printers and a sea of servers.
April 12, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Atlanta United Moves Forward With $23 Million Expansion of Marietta Training Facility
Annie Mayne reports that Atlanta United is moving forward with a $23 million expansion on its Marietta training facility on Franklin Gateway. The Marietta City Council voted 7-0 to approve the project Wednesday, which is slated to begin in June and be completed by summer 2025.
April 12, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Steamy, historic Savannah drives Georgia’s inclusion among America’s moldiest states
John Deem reports that Savannah’s sauna-like summers and soaking storms have helped Georgia land near the top of a less-than-flattering list: America’s moldiest states. Rankings by FDP Mold Remediation, a national company specializing in the treatment of infested homes, placed the Peach State at No. 7 in the nation, not far behind America’s fungi frontrunner, Florida.
April 12, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Sustainability in Entertainment
Susana Hills reports, on March 8th, Southface Institute gathered a group of Georgia’s top entertainment leaders at the Fox Theatre for a conversation about how to make the industry more sustainable. Part of Southface’s Sustainability in Action Roundtable series, the panel explored Georgia’s rise in the entertainment industry and featured insights from sustainability experts shaping its future.
April 12, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Critics pan Georgia Power fossil fuel plans ahead of state PSC hearing
Stanley Dunlap reports, the state’s utility regulators are set to vote Tuesday on Georgia Power’s proposal to increase its reliance on fossil fuels and renewable energy sources to meet skyrocketing demand. During a hearing on Thursday, a Georgia Power representative urged the five-member Public Service Commission to support a stipulated agreement that the company says provides some financial protection to ratepayers.
April 12, 2024 GPB
What’s legal for closing Georgia’s coal ash ponds might hinge on one word: Infiltration
Grant Blankenship reports, on top of the headwaters of Berry Creek in Monroe County are 16 million tons of Georgia Power’s coal ash. Groundwater which, for decades, supplied the neighbors with well water also flows through the ash leftover from generating electricity at Plant Scherer.
April 12, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Cave Spring Moves Forward on $15M Water System Upgrade
David Crowder reports that Cave Spring is preparing to launch a $15 million water system upgrade. City Council members voted Tuesday to authorize the chair to sign documents related to a $12 million loan from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority.
April 12, 2024 Athens Banner-Herald
To fight opioid epidemic, Georgia starts website to distribute $638 million settlement
Miguel Legoas reports, from 2010 to 2020, the total number of opioid-related overdose deaths in Georgia increased by 207%, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Recently, a new website was launched with the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement, www.gaopioidtrust.org, to help guide applicants seeking funding from the Purdue Pharma settlement Georgia was part of in 2021.
April 12, 2024 The Current
Savannah’s Colonial Oil targeted by feds
Jake Shore and Mary Landers report that the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are seeking $2.8 million in civil penalties from a major Savannah importer and producer of diesel and gasoline fuel, Colonial Oil Industries, Inc. The company will also be required to spend $12.2 million to purchase and retire credits aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
April 12, 2024 Fox 5 Atlanta
Federal judge dismisses challenge to Georgia’s citizenship verification process
Eric Mock reports that a federal judge on Thursday dismissed a challenge to a Georgia policy requiring new citizens to provide ID in order to vote. The New Georgia Project is one of seven groups in a coalition that have been fighting the state’s voter verification process in court since 2018.
April 12, 2024 11 Alive
Democrats call for investigation after audit says governor sidestepped law when pandemic assistance program launched
Doug Richards reports that Georgia Democrats are calling for a criminal investigation about a questionable billion-dollar state contract signed nearly two years ago. 11Alive previously broke the story in March about how a state audit said the Department of Human Services skirted state law when it quickly launched a cash assistance program.
April 12, 2024 The Brunswick News
Grits and Issues: State legislators discuss recent session
Gordon Jackson reports, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said he feels “honored” to have been a part of transforming lives in the state during the past decade. The state has been named No. 1 in the nation to do business with for 10 years in a row, which has helped the economy.
April 12, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Georgia joins coalition of states challenging new student loan plan
Dave Williams reports that Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has joined counterparts in six other Republican-led states in suing the Biden administration over its latest student loan plan. President Joe Biden announced plans this week to deliver forgiveness of some or all of the debts of more than 30 million borrowers at a price tag of an estimated $475 billion.
April 12, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PG A.M.: Long-delayed investigation puts Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in hot seat
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer reports that the news that a special prosecutor will decide whether Lt. Gov. Burt Jones should face charges in the ongoing 2020 election interference case could loom over his expected run for governor in 2026. Among the many unknowns is whether it will hurt or help the first-term Republican as he revs up his likely bid to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp.
