Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 19, 2024
Dec. 19, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Georgia Power bills set to rise again Jan. 1. Average customer monthly increase $43 since 2023.
Stanley Dunlap reports that a new Georgia Power rate hike set to take effect on Jan. 1 will have the average household spending about $43 more on electricity since the start of 2023 following a series of rate increases. Georgia Power customers have endured a half dozen rate increases since 2023 to cover base electric rate increases, recover excess fuel expenses, and cover the cost of completing two nuclear power generators at Plant Vogtle.
Dec. 19, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
A (Farm) League of His Own
Loran Smith reports, in baseball, that fickle game in which there is no crying but endless statistics that will never give way to abridgement, spending time down on the farm is bad news. The farm is where the Big Leaguers go when they are not performing well or have reached the end of their careers.
Dec. 19, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Teamsters call for strike against Amazon in metro Atlanta, other cities
Michael E. Kanell reports, about 100 Atlanta-area drivers who make deliveries for Amazon have voted to authorize a strike, joining thousands of workers in several U.S. cities who argue that the company has refused to negotiate with them for a contract. The group — which operates many of the Amazon vans seen throughout metro Atlanta — several weeks ago signed cards to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, an effort, they said, to bargain with Amazon for a contract.
Dec. 19, 2024 GPB
Georgia farm workers feel the burden of disaster recovery
Sofi Gratas reports that Georgia’s agriculture industry saw close to $7 billion in losses due to Hurricane Helene as part of a devastating hurricane season. Months later, most communities of farm workers, those employed in the fields and packing houses, are still struggling, with no real help in sight.
Dec. 19, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Hyundai building ecological park, finalizing recycling program
Latrice Williams reports, construction of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America did not come without backlash for its handling of several environmental issues. The plant, which is just shy of 3,000 acres, is bigger than Tybee Island and required the relocation of more than 100 gopher tortoises.
Dec. 19, 2024 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp: EPD Makes Historic Updates to Water Withdrawal Permit Suspension
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp on Wednesday announced that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has modified the 2012 suspension of agricultural water withdrawal permits in portions of the Lower Flint and Chattahoochee River Basins, allowing for the issuance of the first new agricultural water withdrawal permits in this area in over a decade.
Dec. 19, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com
Belgian Power Products Supplier Picks Gwinnett
Trevor Williams reports that a Belgian supplier of power management products like inverters and converters has opened a new headquarters in Gwinnett County. CE+T America, a “spinoff” of Liege-based CE+T Power, selected Duluth for a 35,000-square-foot office and assembly space complete with a mural bringing to the forefront the company’s unseen impact on daily life around the world, providing what it calls the “invisible backbone of modern society.”
Dec. 19, 2024 The Current
Research: Coastal Georgia is losing tree canopy
Mary Landers reports that Coastal Georgia is losing its trees. An assessment of the tree canopy in the six coastal counties using aerial photos showed an overall 1.6% canopy loss from 2010 to 2019.
Dec. 19, 2024 The Brunswick News
Report on red drum overfishing could spur regulation changes
Michael Hall reports, catch, bag and slot limits for red drum in Georgia could change in 2025 following a recent stock assessment that determined the popular gamefish is both overfished and is still experiencing overfishing. But when and how those regulations might change remains to be seen.
Dec. 19, 2024 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
‘Make your life by what you give.’ Calvin Smyre honored with his name on this interchange
Brittany McGee reports, Columbus’ Calvin Smyre, who was the longest-serving member of the Georgia House of Representatives, was honored Wednesday as the intersection of I-I85 and Macon Road was named the State Representative Calvin Smyre Interchange. Smyre stepped down from his seat in 2022 after serving 48 years and becoming the first Black floor leader (1986) in the Georgia House of Representatives.
Dec. 19, 2024 Augusta Chronicle
Saved! Bill preserving Augusta’s New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam heads to president’s desk
Joe Hotchkiss reports, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday evening to save Augusta’s 87-year-old New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam from collapse and obsolescence. Specifically, senators approved, without debate, a motion to concur in the House amendment to S. 4367, the updated version of the Water Resources Development Act.
Dec. 19, 2024 New York Times
Senators Call for Investigation of Medicaid Work Requirement Program
Noah Weiland reports that a group of Democratic senators said on Wednesday that they had called for a federal watchdog investigation into a controversial Medicaid work requirement program in Georgia, accusing its administrators of churning through tens of millions of dollars in funding while enrolling a fraction of the low-income residents estimated to be eligible for it.
Dec. 19, 2024 Clayton News Daily
Bill Would Require Prisons To Notify Families Of Inmate Deaths
Staff reports that U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, recently announced the introduction of a bipartisan bill aimed at helping ensure family members are notified in a timely and compassionate manner in the event of the death or serious illness or injury of a loved one in custody. Ossoff and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., recently introduced the bipartisan Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act.
Dec. 19, 2024 WABE
Congress weighs disaster relief funding pushed by Georgia leaders
Emily Jones reports that the last-minute budget bill before the U.S. Congress, unveiled Tuesday night, includes billions of dollars in funding for disaster aid that Georgia leaders have been pushing for. The continuing resolution for the federal budget includes $100 billion in emergency aid for victims of Hurricane Helene and other disasters.
Dec. 19, 2024 Capitol Beat News
State to lift ban on new irrigation wells
Dave Williams reports that the state is lifting a moratorium on drilling new irrigation wells in parts of Southwest Georgia that has been in effect for more than a decade. Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) will begin accepting applications for groundwater withdrawal permits from farmers on April 1.
Dec. 19, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Price tag for Georgia’s new campaign finance reporting system: $7.1 million
David Wickert reports, Georgia will spend $7.1 million to replace a fairly new campaign finance reporting system that state officials acknowledge isn’t working well for anyone. The state recently awarded the contract to WSD Digital, a Connecticut firm doing business as ReFrame Solutions.
