Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 2, 2024

Dec. 3, 2024 Georgia Ports Authority

Georgia Ports targets community improvements with $120M in grants for electrical and rail infrastructure

Staff reports, at the Georgia Ports Authority meeting Monday, President and CEO Griff Lynch outlined plans to improve operational sustainability for neighboring communities in Savannah and Brunswick as the driver of three federal grants totaling more than $120 million.

Dec. 3, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

2024 Top Hospitals: Trailblazers in Healthcare

Mark Thompson reports, each year, Georgia Trend evaluates Georgia hospitals that participated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program. The hospitals are ranked by their total performance score that is derived from four domains: clinical outcomes, person and community engagement, safety and efficiency, and cost
reduction.

Dec. 3, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

‘Solar school’ for foster youth to boost Georgia’s labor pool and give back

Meris Lutz reports, like many young people who age out of foster care, Michael Williams struggled to find his footing as an adult without family to fall back on. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he lost his job and was left homeless and in dire financial straits.

Dec. 3, 2024 Georgia Recorder

Georgia Power says data center growth will cause electricity demands to triple in next decade

Stanley Dunlap reports that Georgia Power projects that over the next decade the state will be leading the nation’s second industrial revolution, led by artificial intelligence boosting data centers, which could triple the state’s energy consumption.

Dec. 3, 2024 Valdosta Daily Times

FEMA may help with recovery expenses already paid

Staff reports, even if you already started repairing or replacing items damaged or destroyed during Tropical Storm Debby or Hurricane Helene, FEMA may be able to reimburse you for these expenses. Be sure to save your receipts.

Dec. 3, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal

First Stretch of 100-Mile Trail Project Opens in South Cobb

Annie Mayne reports, the first time Walt Ray visited the Chattahoochee River where Discovery Park at Riverline now sits, it was no walk in the park. Ray, Chattahoochee program director with the Trust for Public Land, had been invited to the site by Cobb County Department of Transportation staff after Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who was then the District 4 commissioner, allocated $1 million from 2016 SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) funds to improve river access.

Dec. 3, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com

Two Georgians Honored by Japanese Government for Boosting Economic, Cultural Ties

Trevor Williams reports, the Japanese government has conferred honors on two Georgians being decorated for their work promoting cultural and economic exchanges between the state and Japan. Lewis Holladay Lancaster III, known to most Georgians as Day Lancaster, was presented with The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.

Dec. 3, 2024 Rome News-Tribune

Lawsuit: Mohawk Says PFAS Risks Concealed by Chemical Firms

David Crowder reports that Calhoun-based Mohawk Industries has filed suit claiming they were kept in the dark regarding the risk of PFAS in products used to make carpet stain-resistant. Defendants in the suit filed last month in Whitfield County Superior Court include 3M, DuPont, Daikin America, and Chemours — which was formed in 2015 when DuPont spun off its performance chemicals division.

Dec. 3, 2024 WABE

Endangered North Atlantic right whales begin return to Georgia’s coast

Emily Jones reports, the first North Atlantic right whale calf of the season has been spotted by a boater off South Carolina. Scientists are also tracking several adult whales who may give birth in the coming weeks.

Dec. 3, 2024 The Current

Maternal deaths, women’s health prompt legislation

Robin Kemp reports that more Georgia women — especially Black women — are dying from pregnancy-related health problems. Health care advocates say that’s partly due to lack of access to timely medical care and trustworthy contraceptive and abortion services.

Dec. 3, 2024 Augusta Chronicle

China stacked the deck against Augusta-made golf carts. Here’s what America did about it.

Joe Hotchkiss reports that the world’s top two golf-cart manufacturers, both based in Augusta, are praising a government finding that China is unfairly subsidizing its low-speed vehicle industry. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced recently that China’s government has engaged in antidumping and countervailing activities to undercut global leaders Club Car and E-Z-Go in the low-speed personal transportation vehicle (LSPTV) industry.

Dec. 3, 2024 Georgia Recorder

Georgia state senators consider options to help parents with child care costs in 2025 Legislature

Ross Williams reports, getting someone to watch your kid is expensive, but it could be getting cheaper in Georgia. The state Senate’s Committee on Affordable Childcare heard its final testimony in a hearing at the state Capitol Monday and is expected to release its findings for next year’s session later this month.

Dec. 3, 2024 State Affairs

Is affordable child care out of reach? A Senate study committee explores problems, solutions

Tammy Joyner reports that affordable child care has become a financial straitjacket for Georgia families as well as for day care centers struggling to provide quality care despite rising operational costs and worker shortages. The challenges are worse now as state officials work to wean families from the state’s Child and Parent Services (CAPS)  program, a joint state-federal initiative meant to help low-income families with child care bills.

Dec. 3, 2024 Capitol Beat News

Republican governors urge Congress to pass Farm Bill

Dave Williams reports, a group of 17 Republican governors has sent a joint letter to Congress urging passage of an updated Farm Bill. The most recent Farm Bill, which federal lawmakers approved early in President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, expired in September.

Dec. 3, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New audit could reignite debate about Georgia’s school funding formula

Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report that the Georgia Legislature could launch another attempt next year to revise the state’s decades-old school funding formula that lawmakers have long tried and failed to overhaul. A new audit might fuel the push. The audit, released Monday, was initiated by the Senate Appropriations Committee.