Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 13, 2024
Dec. 13, 2024 WABE
A record 3.7 million Georgia travelers projected for the holidays
Meimei Xu reports, around 3.7 million Georgians will travel during the holidays this year, breaking the end-of-year traveling record for the state. The AAA projects that the number of residents who will travel at least 50 miles from home from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 this year will beat last year’s record of 3.6 million.
Lasting Solutions: Waypoint Ministry, which helps men dealing with addiction, also holds celebrations like holiday parties for staff and graduates.
Dec. 13, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Waypoint Ministry
Candice Dyer reports, it does not happen overnight. Waypoint Ministry takes a holistic, comprehensive, long-term approach to treating men who are struggling with addictions of all kinds. Waypoint, which started in 2005, provides rigorous, intensive “soul-mining” work that requires one year – at least.
Dec. 13, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What Georgia’s electric cooperatives will do with $1B in new federal loans
Meris Lutz reports that seven electric membership cooperatives serving rural areas in Georgia are slated to receive nearly $1 billion in infrastructure loans from the federal government. The United States Department of Agriculture announced the loans earlier this week as part of a larger pot of $6.3 billion across 44 states to support grid reliability, clean energy and clean drinking water.
Dec. 13, 2024 The Brunswick News
Glynn-based tech startup nets big investment, preps to launch Gen 2
Michael Hall reports that the shift and hourly workforce stocks America’s shelves, fixes its streets and prepares its meals, among many other day-to-day services that most people take for granted. “(They are) the unsung heroes of our daily lives,” Golden Isles native Justin Henshaw told the group gathered Dec. 5 for Techstars at the Lincoln Center in New York City.
Dec. 13, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com
Ambassador in Atlanta: Changed Colombia Continues to Welcome Private Investment
Trevor Williams reports, as a steadfast ally, Colombia is increasingly “part of the solution, not part of the problem” when it comes to U.S. objectives in Latin America, the country’s envoy said during a visit to Atlanta this week. “Colombia is changing — and has changed,” Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Peña Jaramillo said during a business luncheon hosted by ProColombia at the Midtown offices of law firm of Smith, Gambrell and Russell LLP.
Dec. 13, 2024 Macon Telegraph
One of the ‘best meteor showers’ of 2024 peaks this week, NASA says. How to view it in GA
Chelsea Madden reports, a meteor shower that NASA and other experts call the “strongest” and “best” of the year is happening very soon. While the shower has been visible since mid-November, it “peaks after midnight in the early morning of December 14th,” said NASA.
Dec. 13, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Senate committee on affordable child care releases recommendations on improving access
Maya Homan reports, access to affordable childcare is likely to be top of mind when Georgia lawmakers reconvene under the gold dome for the 2025 legislative session in January. During a Thursday meeting in Atlanta, senators on the Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care introduced a slate of proposals they say will benefit parents, childcare workers and businesses alike.
Dec. 13, 2024 State Affairs
State child care study committee recommends more money, tax credits for providers and workplace protections for new and expectant parents
Tammy Joyner reports that state senators looking at ways to make child care more accessible and affordable released an ambitious legislative wish list Thursday that includes tax credits, workplace protections and more money for families and providers. The Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare centered its recommendations around improving workforce recruitment, development and retention; expanding access to serve more families; and increasing funding opportunities for child care providers.
Dec. 13, 2024 Savannah Morning News
School safety, workforce top of mind for legislatures heading into 2025 session
Latrice Williams reports that Thursday morning, Speaker of the House Jon Burns, Georgia State Senator Billy Hickman and State Legislator Bill Hitchens provided a glimpse into the 2025 state agenda, giving residents a sneak peek into what is on the horizon for the community and state during the annual legislative breakfast in Effingham County.
Dec. 13, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Proposals to rein in child care costs in Georgia gain early support from Senate leaders
Ross Williams reports that Georgia Senate leaders have started to outline specifics of their plans to reduce child care costs when they meet back at the Capitol next month. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones backed three tax credit tweaks in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed Thursday morning, and at the Capitol Thursday afternoon, a Senate study committee on affordable child care unanimously approved a list of recommendations that could soon be crafted into legislation.
Dec. 13, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Kemp to head regional workforce development effort
Dave Williams reports that Gov. Brian Kemp will lead a regional workforce development initiative to be undertaken by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). Kemp, the board’s chairman, announced Thursday the formation of a commission charged with developing lists of high-demand career pathways, priority occupations, and the credentials that will be needed to pursue careers valued by local businesses and industries.
Dec. 13, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A botched election? Dozens of voters may have received the wrong ballot in a Georgia House race
Mark Niesse reports, tucked in a jagged corner on the Georgia House map, Donna Harris and her neighbors voted last month for the candidates they thought could be their next representative. It now appears they cast ballots in the wrong state House district in rural east Georgia, throwing the 48-vote outcome into doubt and jeopardizing a longtime Democrat’s reelection.
