Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 23, 2024
Oct. 23, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Kemp announces another $1B tax rebate
Dave Williams reports, for the second time in three years, Gov. Brian Kemp is giving Georgians a tax rebate worth more than $1 billion. Kemp said Tuesday he will include the rebate in the mid-year budget he introduces to the General Assembly in January.
Oct. 23, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Boarding Pass Coffee
Sucheta Rawal reports, for a cup of coffee to be called specialty coffee, the beans must have received a score of more than 80 points (out of 100) on the Coffee Review scale. The grading scale is set by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), an organization dedicated to make specialty coffee a thriving, equitable, and sustainable activity for the entire value chain.
Oct. 23, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lockheed Martin in Marietta to build ‘hurricane hunter’ aircraft for NOAA
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that as hurricanes become more severe and dangerous, Lockheed Martin in Marietta will play a role in improving research for forecasts by building more advanced “hurricane hunter” aircraft. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has tapped Lockheed Martin to build C-130J Super Hercules aircraft that will be specially-equipped as hurricane hunters to fly straight into storms with specialized instruments to gather data.
Oct. 23, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Stage set for future Savannah council vote on new “density bonus” policy after MPC passage
Evan Lasseter reports, at the intersection of Habersham and East 33rd streets sits a row of multi-family homes on 2,500-square-foot lots. Those homes could not be built new on that block today due to minimum area-per-unit guidelines in the city of Savannah’s zoning code, a policy that prevents “varying density” housing types that historically exist in certain zoning districts. However, a proposed zoning text amendment set for a future Savannah City Council vote could change that by allowing “missing middle” housing types in select zones.
Oct. 23, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Emory Seeks Rome, Calhoun Residents For PFAS Exposure Study
John Bailey reports, researchers with Emory University are seeking Rome and Calhoun residents for a test to gauge exposure to the PFAS family of chemicals. As part of the study, scientists will collect blood samples from adult volunteers who have lived in the study area for at least three years and who currently live here.
Oct. 23, 2024 The Current
DNR chief: Buckle may be cause of Sapelo gangplank failure
Maggie Lee reports, the Sapelo Island gangway collapse that killed seven people over the weekend may have been due to buckled metal, the head of the state agency that operates the ferry dock said Tuesday. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Department of Natural Resources have taken custody of the 80-foot ramp and removed it to a warehouse, DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon said.
Oct. 23, 2024 The Brunswick News
More time asked to comment on proposed Cumberland land swap
Gordon Jackson reports, a proposed land exchange on Cumberland Island National Seashore is raising so many questions that there is a call to extend the public comment period a second time. The initial comment deadline was extended earlier this month to Sunday, Oct. 20.
Oct. 23, 2024 Capitol Beat News
New committee to explore impacts of AI on Georgia courts
Dave Williams reports, Georgia Chief Justice Michael Boggs Tuesday announced the formation of an ad hoc committee that will assess the risks and benefits of using artificial intelligence in the state’s court system. The committee, to be chaired by Justice Andrew Pinson, will look for ways to maintain public trust and confidence in Georgia’s judiciary as the use of AI increases during the coming years.
Oct. 23, 2024 GPB
Capitol skybridge idea concerns historic preservationists
Orlando Montoya reports that Georgia lawmakers decide important questions in a small complex of buildings at the state capitol. The most iconic of these buildings is the Gold Dome, built in 1889, where the public can watch their elected representatives in the state House and Senate chambers.
Oct. 23, 2024 State Affairs
Bryce Berry schools the competition in Georgia House District 56 race
Tammy Joyner reports, after teaching Atlanta Public Schools middle schoolers all day, Bryce Berry spends his evenings knocking on doors and attending political or community events. On Sundays, he visits various churches, schmoozing with seniors. The 23-year-old Morehouse College graduate is running for Georgia House District 56 in west Atlanta.
Oct. 23, 2024 Saporta Report
Longtime Fulton County commissioner faces challenger for District 2 seat
Adrianne Murchison reports that a District 2 seat on the Fulton County Commission is among the down-ballot races on Election Day, Nov. 5. Republican incumbent Bob Ellis faces Democrat Megan Harris.
Oct. 23, 2024 Macon Telegraph
Meet the candidates running for Middle Georgia’s U.S. House District 2 this November
Lucinda Warnke reports that among the federal offices are up for grabs this November is Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers Fort Valley and portions of Macon and Warner Robins. This cycle, Republican challenger Wayne Johnson seeks to unseat Democratic incumbent Rep. Sanford Bishop, who has held the seat since being elected in 1992.
Oct. 23, 2024 WABE
Georgia Supreme Court declines to reinstate controversial election rules
Sam Gringlas reports, the Georgia Supreme Court has declined to reinstate controversial new rules passed by the Georgia State Election Board ahead of the 2024 election. The Georgia Republican Party and the Republican National Committee asked the state high court to reinstall seven rules ahead of the election after a judge found them “illegal, unconstitutional and invalid” in a decision last week.
Oct. 23, 2024 Newnan Times-Herald
Industry experts speak to senate subcommittee
Laura Camper reports that on Tuesday an attorney, a representative of the Homebuilders Association of Georgia and a representative of Associa, a community management service company working in 42 states, including Georgia, testified before the Georgia State Senate subcommittee on Homeowners Associations. The subcommittee head by Sen. Matt Brass met in September and heard from residents, many from Coweta County, who told them they needed a place to go besides court for relief from fines and harassment from their homeowner’s association.
Oct. 23, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia voters favor loosening abortion restrictions, AJC poll finds
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, two years after Georgia’s anti-abortion law took effect, a plurality of likely Georgia voters — 45% — say they want to make abortion “easier to obtain.” That’s according to the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, which found that about half of younger voters and broad majorities of women, Black Georgians and independents want to relax restrictions on the procedure.
