Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 22, 2024

Oct. 22, 2024 Georgia.gov

New Study Highlights Georgia’s Nonprofit Arts, Culture Impact

Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s strategic arts arm, Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) announces that Georgia’s nonprofit arts and culture sector delivers a minimum economic impact of at least $1.27 billion and supports nearly 20,000 jobs.

Oct. 22, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

Upward Advancement: Clayton State University Aims to be the No. 1 College in the Nation for Social Mobility

Rachel Wallenstein reports, when Clayton State University undergraduate Kayla Miller speaks about her school, it is easy to understand why she chose to attend it. The average age of a Clayton State student is 26 – which means many of her classmates are nontraditional students like her.

Oct. 22, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia in talks to land battery manufacturing innovation center in Atlanta

Zachary Hansen reports that Georgia leaders are attempting to recruit a battery manufacturer to open an innovation center in Atlanta, a deal that could involve a Fulton County agency granting the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax incentives. The Georgia Department of Economic Development is trying to woo a “state-of-the-art global innovation center” with 110 workers by an undisclosed battery company, according to a Development Authority of Fulton County meeting agenda.

Oct. 22, 2024 Trust for Public Land

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Contributes $2.5 Million to Trust for Public Land

Staff reports that Trust for Public Land announces a $2.5 million contribution from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation to support the Chattahoochee RiverLands, a planned 100-mile linear park through the heart of metro Atlanta. With this donation, private funding for the RiverLands has reached more than $22 million, with an additional $27 million in public funding.

Oct. 22, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com

India-based Tech Firm Selects Alpharetta as U.S. Base for AI Growth

Trevor Williams reports that an India-based software development and cybersecurity firm is deepening its reach into the U.S. market via a new Alpharetta office. InfoNet, founded in 1996 and based in New Delhi, said the metro Atlanta suburb’s ample tech talent and pool of innovative companies made it an attractive location as the company aims to offer more specialized services to clients, particularly startups, focused increasingly on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Oct. 22, 2024 Cartersville Daily Tribune

Hufstetler awarded Champion of Georgia Cities at Adairsville meeting

David Herron reports that Georgia Sen. Chuck Hufstetler was presented the Champion of Georgia Cities award by the Georgia Municipal Association at the Adairsville City Council meeting Oct. 17. “Every two years at the end of the biennial, GMA looks through members to see which members have kept cities’ issues in mind as we’ve been going through the last past two legislative sessions,” Leona Rittenhouse, governmental relations associate for GMA, said.

Oct. 22, 2024 GPB

Taxpayer dollars at work: National IV shortage; post-hurricane funding; hazardous chemicals oversight

Ambria Burton reports, for the week ending Oct. 18, the senators worked on urging the Biden administration to help Georgia amid the national IV shortage after Hurricane Helene, improving federal oversight of manufacturing facilities storing hazardous chemicals after the BioLab plant fire in Conyers, requesting Congress cover the costs for Hurricane Helene clean-up and recovery, and passing legislation cracking down on contraband in U.S. federal prisons.

Oct. 22, 2024 WABE

Rural Georgians face long distances to maternity care – community clinics can help fill the gaps

Jess Mador reports, about an hour and a half east of Macon at a white-shingled house at the end of a long gravel driveway bookended by dense stands of longleaf pines, baby Hollyn is just waking up.  When Hollyn’s mom, Hannah Cabe, became pregnant with Hollyn, she knew it would mean a lot of driving back and forth to prenatal appointments and when it was time to give birth.

Oct. 22, 2024 WSB Radio

Georgia continues to surpass early voting records with more than 1.6 million votes cast

Staff reports that after eight days of early voting, more than 1.6 million have voted early in Georgia. The numbers so far outpace the last presidential election by about 600,000.

Oct. 22, 2024 State Affairs

Senate District 48 candidate Ashwin Ramaswami champions solutions for his generation’s most pressing concerns

Tammy Joyner reports, raising money is a big challenge for most candidates, but Ashwin Ramaswami has raised over $700,000 from 6,000 donors, far outpacing Sen. Shawn Still, R-Norcross, his Senate District 48 opponent. “I don’t take any money from corporate PACs because I believe individuals should have the highest say in our government, not these giant globs of money,” said Ramaswami, who is running in a district that covers parts of three north metro Atlanta counties: Johns Creek, Sugar Hill in Gwinnett County and south Forsyth County.

Oct. 22, 2024 Capitol Beat News

Burns, other state House speakers seeking federal disaster relief for hurricane damage

Dave Williams reports that State House speakers in six Southeastern states affected by three hurricanes in recent months – including Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns – sent a letter to congressional leaders Monday asking for disaster relief funds. Significant portions of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee sustained heavy damage from hurricanes Debbie, Helene, and Milton, devastating communities and farms.

Oct. 22, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Trump has a slight edge in Georgia over Harris, latest AJC poll finds

Greg Bluestein reports that former President Donald Trump appears to have a slight edge in Georgia over Vice President Kamala Harris in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of likely voters in the battleground state released two weeks before Election Day. The Republican nominee has a lead of 47% to 43% over Harris, just outside the poll’s margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.