Georgia Trend Daily – Nov. 3, 2023
Nov. 3, 2023 Georgia Ports Authority
Brunswick auto, machinery volumes up 61 percent in September
Staff reports that auto and machinery volumes saw a sharp increase at the Port of Brunswick in September. Colonel’s Island Terminal handled 70,645 units of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo, up 61 percent or 26,750 units compared to the same month last year.
Nov. 3, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Georgia & Florida Trail Inc.
Candice Dyer reports, when a railroad abandons its tracks, it leaves behind a perfect multiuse trail from point A to point B. The grades are gentle, and there are design features that are built in like bridges and overpasses that are easy to modify.
Nov. 3, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Southern Company’s third-quarter profits fell despite warm end to summer
Drew Kann reports that Atlanta-based Southern Company’s third-quarter profits were down almost 7% compared to the same period a year ago, the utility giant said Thursday. The company’s net earnings for the months of July through September were $1.4 billion compared to $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
Nov. 3, 2023 Gwinnett Daily Post
Margaritaville at Lanier Islands Announces Multi-Million Dollar Enhancements as it Rebrands Water Park
Staff reports, a series of multi-million-dollar enhancements is planned at Margaritaville, and the popular Water Park at Lanier Islands will undergo a rebrand, to be known as Fins Up Water Park, the first Fins Up park by Margaritaville in the United States (a second location is located in Nassau, Bahamas).
Nov. 3, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times
South Georgia Medical Center rebrands as SGMC Health
Staff reports that South Georgia Medical Center and its campuses and affiliates will operate under a new health system name, SGMC Health, beginning Nov. 1. Opening as Pineview Hospital in 1955 and known as South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC) since 1971, the evolvement of the health system name to SGMC Health is a result of the organization’s continued growth and commitment to creating unequaled access to care through the expansion of needed healthcare services and locations across the region, the hospital said in a press release.
Nov. 3, 2023 Saporta Report
Georgia Trust seeks nominations for 2024 Preservation Awards
John Ruch reports, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is seeking nominations for its 2024 Preservation Awards. The awards honor projects and people in the state who have made “significant contributions to the field of historic preservation.”
Nov. 3, 2023 The Current
Court decision expected soon on PSC election
Mary Landers reports, when Georgia voters head to polls on Tuesday, new energy regulators won’t be on the ballot. More than a year after the election for two of the five Public Service Commissioners was removed from the 2022 ballot, the PSC races remain in limbo, and two commissioners remain in office despite their terms’ expiration.
Nov. 3, 2023 State Affairs
Senate panel hears struggles, challenges of Fulton County Jail
Tammy Joyner reports that a top aide in the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office gave lawmakers a searing account Thursday of life, and death, at the embattled Fulton County Jail. Amelia Joiner, the sheriff’s office general counsel, told the Senate Subcommittee on the Fulton County Jail that detainees are held an average of 295 days in the jail — nearly 10 times longer than the expected 30 days, committee member Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, noted.
Nov. 3, 2023 GPB
GOP state senators spar with state officials over the security of Georgia’s election system
Stephen Fowler reports that some Republican state lawmakers used a Wednesday Senate Ethics Committee hearing to air continued grievances against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and question how elections officials are handling a security update to the state’s election system.
Nov. 3, 2023 CNHI News
Push for hand-marked paper ballot voting system in Georgia continues
Asia Ashley reports, as election security continues to be a heated topic across the country, a move to use hand-marked paper ballots is on the minds of many Georgians. Supporters of hand-marked paper ballots say it is a more secure method of voting and is less susceptible to errors or hacks that could result from using electronic voting devices.
Nov. 3, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Georgia to appeal order to add Black districts to state’s political maps, but special session still set for Nov. 29
Jill Nolin reports that state officials will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that struck down Georgia’s 2021 political maps for diluting the voting strength of Black Georgians. But state officials will not try to block last week’s ruling while the appeal is being heard, according to a notice filed with the court Wednesday.
Nov. 3, 2023 Capitol Beat News
State child welfare agency blasts Ossoff probe as unfair
Dave Williams reports that the state agency in charge of Georgia’s foster-care system has responded to allegations of failure to protect children with a letter harshly critical of an investigation launched earlier this year by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
Nov. 3, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Another new city? Gwinnett lawmakers to pitch ‘City of Mill Creek’
Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell and Adam Van Brimmer report that the Georgia Legislature has had its hands full with cityhood proposals for the last few years. Four new cities were proposed for Cobb County in 2022, with only Mableton winning approval from Cobb voters. In Atlanta, the controversial “City of Buckhead City” failed to make it out of the state Senate in 2023 after Gov. Brian Kemp raised a half dozen legal questions about it.
