Georgia Trend Daily – April 17, 2024
April 17, 2024 Capitol Beat News
State energy regulators OK Georgia Power plan to boost generating capacity
Dave Williams reports that the state Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a request by Georgia Power Tuesday for a huge increase in electrical generating capacity power utility executives said is needed to meet the growing demands of large industrial customers. The additional capacity will come from a variety of sources, including battery storage and other forms of renewable energy but also from boosting Georgia Power’s investment in fossil fuels.
April 17, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Empowering Communities Statewide
Kathleen Conway reports, this month’s Economic Yearbook looks at several new business projects underway across the state, many of which involve Georgia’s 41 electric membership cooperatives (EMCs). EMCs have provided electricity to Georgians for decades and currently serve more than 4 million customers. These cooperatives not only supply power to homes and businesses, but they are also helping connect rural areas to high-speed internet.
April 17, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Microsoft buys huge tract south of Atlanta for more data centers
Zachary Hansen reports that Microsoft made another huge land buy in metro Atlanta for yet another data center complex, its latest investment in the region. Though the Redmon, Washington-based company’s mixed-use corporate campus on Atlanta’s Westside remains on hold, Microsoft has quickly gobbled up industrial land south of Atlanta to try to feed its insatiable need for more data center space.
April 17, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Savannah Economic Development Authority unveils RISE regional workforce organization name
Joseph Schwartzburt reports that the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) had planned to share a comprehensive workforce organization update at its April 2024 board meeting this past Tuesday. The presentation was delayed, however, until the May meeting because SEDA President Trip Tollison needed to move proceedings into executive session.
April 17, 2024 Atlanta Printmaker Studio
2024 Print Big Community Event April 20
Staff reports that Atlanta Printmakers Studio will hold its Print BIG! Steamroller Event April 20 in the heart of Hapeville. The community is invited to attend and participate in the festivities including watching the printing extravaganza, viewing artwork on display, touring the studio, and making their own print at the hands-on print tent.
April 17, 2024 Capitol Beat News
University System of Georgia raising tuition by 2.5%
Dave Williams reports that in-state undergraduates at Georgia’s public colleges and universities will be paying 2.5% more for tuition during the coming school year. After keeping tuition flat at all but one of the University System of Georgia’s 26 institutions for six of the past eight years, the system’s Board of Trustees approved the tuition hike Tuesday.
April 17, 2024 Athens Banner-Herald
Athens considering several approaches to mitigate short-term rental issues
Jim Thompson reports that an Athens-Clarke County Commission committee is continuing to struggle with tweaking a recently passed amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance regulating short-term rental properties. At its Monday meeting, the Government Operations Committee instructed county staff to look at a number of options, including an outright ban on new short-term rental properties, at least in residential areas.
April 17, 2024 Gwinnett Daily Post
Microtransit Pilot Program is Coming to Norcross Later This Year
Curt Yeomans reports that a pilot version of microtransit for the city of Norcross officially got the green light from county commissioners to proceed on Tuesday. The county is partnering with the city of Norcross and the Gateway85 Community Improvement District to establish the pilot program, which will begin Aug. 1 and last until July 31, 2025.
April 17, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Yamaha Moves Toward Carbon Neutrality in Georgia
Staff reports that Yamaha Motor Corporation will install solar arrays at the company’s Southeastern Headquarters in Kennesaw and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America in Newnan this summer. The initiative supports Yamaha’s goal to reduce emissions produced as a direct result of business activities and achieve carbon neutrality within its manufacturing operations and facilities by 2035.
April 17, 2024 Savannah Morning News
For Georgia’s St. Simons Island, Pennies for Preservation add up to $1 million
John Deem reports that the St. Simons Land Trust has made cents out of fundraising – 100 million of them, to be precise. The non-profit organization recently announced that it has surpassed $1 million in its Pennies for Preservation (P4P) Program, initiated in 2017 to fund conservation-related land purchases on Georgia’s St. Simons Island.
April 17, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Georgians Poised To Secure Incremental Gains In Mental Health Treatment Options In 2024
Jill Nolin reports that two years ago, state lawmakers rallied behind a landmark proposal that was touted as the first step in a multiyear effort to lift Georgia from the bottom of national rankings for access to mental health services. That push hit a snag last year when a follow-up bill stalled in the Senate where it was met with opposition from far-right activists and then became ensnared in the end-of-session bartering between the two chambers.
April 17, 2024 GPB
Ossoff presses postmaster general on Postal Service delays at tense Senate hearing
Sarah Kallis reports that Sen. Jon Ossoff and a bipartisan panel of U.S. senators questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during a Senate hearing Tuesday on U.S. Postal Service delays. Just 36% of mail is delivered on time in Georgia, Ossoff said.
April 17, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PG A.M.: Kemp tells top cop to ‘lock up’ unruly pro-Palestinian protesters
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer report that after pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted traffic and blocked bridges in Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and other big cities, Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday he won’t allow demonstrations to shut down Atlanta traffic, too. The Republican said he called Col. Bill Hitchens, the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, late Monday to reinforce his position.
