Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 16, 2024
Dec. 16, 2024 WABE
Atlanta’s business community continues exploring how to grow the city’s Black entrepreneurs
Marlon Hyde reports, Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week with the release of a new report on the state of Black business in metro Atlanta – The Building Black Business Report 2024. “One of the things we found was a lot of support around initiation, right, startup support, but much more was needed at the scaling,” said Thema Monroe-White, the lead researcher on the MIEC research report.
Dec. 16, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Science in Georgia: Revolutionary Research
Mary Anne Dunkin reports that Georgia’s Vidalia onion growers, sorting and packing enough quality onions to meet the demand for an entire continent – they are not grown anywhere else – can be a challenge, particularly for smaller farms without the volume for extremely expensive automation. But thanks to tech start-up InversAI and support from the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) – a public-private partnership between Georgia universities, businesses and government – help may be on the way in the form of affordable robotic automation.
Dec. 16, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Southern Poverty Law Center lays out vision for campus on the Westside
Savannah Sicurella reports, by the end of 2026, the Southern Poverty Law Center hopes to transform contaminated land in the English Avenue neighborhood into a sustainable, community-facing campus. One year after acquiring 2½ acres on Atlanta’s Westside, the nonprofit organization has selected a developer and architect to oversee the project, which will create a campus with space for use by both the law center and the public.
Dec. 16, 2024 Dalton Daily Citizen
Dalton Utilities sues companies over PFAS
Charles Oliver reports, Dalton Utilities, the city-owned utility, has filed a civil lawsuit against Aladdin Manufacturing Corp. (part of Mohawk Industries), Shaw Industries Group Inc., Shaw Industries Inc., 3M Company, EIDP Inc. (formerly known as E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company), The Chemours Company, Daikin America Inc., INV Performance Surfaces LLC and others in federal court in Rome. The complaint is for their roles in introducing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)-contaminated wastewater into the utility’s wastewater treatment system.
Dec. 16, 2024 GPB
Tybee Island seeks special sales tax to fund infrastructure upgrades
Benjamin Payne reports that Tybee Island officials are asking residents and tourists alike to share in the cost of future infrastructure projects through a proposed 1% sales tax on all goods purchased in the popular beach town. However, the city first needs state lawmakers to give the go-ahead in the form of a bill authorizing a ballot referendum, to be voted on by Tybee’s roughly 3,000 residents next fall.
Dec. 16, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb Humane Society Acquired by Atlanta Humane Society
Jack Lindner reports that the Atlanta Humane Society announced it has merged with the Cobb Humane Society through a nonprofit acquisition. As of Dec. 1, the Humane Society of Cobb County will now operate its shelter under the umbrella of the Atlanta Humane Society in a move meant to provide a stronger safety net for animals in need.
Dec. 16, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Musk, Ramaswamy promise to make cuts through DOGE. Here’s how Georgians could be impacted.
Melissa Cruz reports that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have a singular directive under the new Trump administration: make cuts. These cuts could deeply affect Georgians, as many rely on the federal programs and employment opportunities that could be on the chopping block.
Dec. 16, 2024 The Current
Residents struggle to tame Brunswick’s ‘dust bowl’
Jabari Gibbs reports, during the driest months of the year Fourth Avenue and Newcastle street residents live in what they call the “dust bowl.” Jackets of dust cover their streets, pools, houses, yards, vehicles.
Dec. 16, 2024 11 Alive
Georgia Senate Republican leader shares priorities heading into legislative session
Zach Marchant reports that Georgia’s elected leaders will soon be returning to the Gold Dome for a new legislative session. It kicks off in January and lawmakers are already preparing for what’s expected to be a busy session. State Senate President Pro Tempore John Kennedy, a leader in the Republican caucus, spoke one-on-one with The Georgia Vote about his legislative priorities in 2025.
Dec. 16, 2024 Savannah Morning News
A broken Promise? Georgia school voucher program could have vastly inflated eligibility
Maya Homan reports that public education in Georgia will likely see sweeping changes in 2025, as the Georgia Promise Scholarship, a program that allows families to divert public education funding towards private school tuition and other educational expenses, takes effect. However, the pool of eligible students may far exceed what many legislators anticipated when passing the bill, SB 233, during the 2024 legislative session.
Dec. 16, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Fantasy sports company expands presence in Georgia as Senate lawmakers punt on gaming expansion
Stanley Dunlap reports, the expansion of a fantasy sports headquarters in midtown Atlanta was hailed last week by Gov. Brian Kemp as evidence of the industry’s role in the state’s booming technology innovation. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday in the unfinished office space where the Republican governor, local and state officials, and PrizePicks executives met inside the future headquarters of a growing brand that expects to hire 1,000 new employees within the next seven years.
Dec. 16, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Child care study committee releases recommendations
Dave Williams reports that tax credits are the weapon of choice for Georgia lawmakers looking for ways to make child care more accessible and affordable. A state Senate study committee wrapped up its work Dec. 12 by recommending a series of new and expanded tax credits aimed both at families with young children and the child-care providers who serve them.
Dec. 16, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Donald Trump revives debate by vowing to end daylight saving time
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, President-elect Donald Trump reopened an exhausting debate, especially in Georgia, when he announced that he wanted to end the “inconvenient” twice-yearly ritual of changing the clocks. Ending the clock change will require Congressional approval, which has repeatedly failed despite bipartisan support.
