Georgia Trend Daily – Nov. 21, 2023
Nov. 21, 2023 Marietta Daily Journal
Tourism Generates $2.4B Economic Impact in Cobb, Bureau Says
Joe Adgie reports that tourism generated an economic impact of $2.4 billion in 2022 in Cobb County, up 9% from 2021, Cobb Travel and Tourism reports. Of that $2.4 billion, visitors to the county provided a direct impact of $1.5 billion, and an additional $900 million came from indirect and induced impacts, according to Lindsey Burruss, the agency’s marketing director.
Nov. 21, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Croy Engineering announces new VP of Aviation
Susana Hills reports that award-winning engineer firm, Croy, is a leading aviation consulting firm in the Southeast, managing inspections of ~30 airports. They recently announced a new Vice President of Aviation to lead the firm’s aerospace projects.
Nov. 21, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Beltline opens applications for small business program
Mirtha Donastorg reports, the organization in charge of the citywide trail opened applications Monday for its Business Ventures program, a free small business accelerator. The program offers three months of in-person and virtual learning sessions on topics like market feasibility and business resilience, one-on-one business advising, a pitch competition and more.
Nov. 21, 2023 Athens Banner-Herald
‘Interactive and conservation-minded’ safari park coming soon
Caitlyn Stroh-Page reports, if a safari has been on your bucket list, soon you’ll be able to mark it off at a park just 30 minutes from Athens. Georgia Safari Conservation Park, which bills itself as “a new interactive and conservation-minded destination wildlife experience,” will open in April 2024 in Madison, according to a press release. The park will house plenty of animals and offer a variety of experiences, from family tours to luxury honeymoon stays.
Nov. 21, 2023 Macon Telegraph, GPB
Shipping containers at Macon’s medical center depart for Atlanta housing project
Sofi Gratas reports that the weekend, Middle Georgia’s largest hospital said goodbye to a flock of shipping containers used to treat overflow patients during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nearly 30 state-owned shipping containers parked in a lot outside Atrium Health Navicent’s Medical Center were guided onto flatbed trucks.
Nov. 21, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Study shows high levels of air pollution from gas-powered lawn equipment
Dave Williams reports, an Atlanta-based environmental group is renewing its campaign against gasoline-powered lawn equipment. The Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center has released a study showing that gas-powered leaf blowers, lawnmowers, string trimmers, chainsaws and other lawn and garden equipment generate large amounts of air pollution and noise.
Nov. 21, 2023 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Climate disasters are costing Georgia billions & threaten agriculture. What are solutions?
Kala Hunter reports that Georgia experienced 107 billion-dollar disasters between 1980-2022, the highest amount of any state in the Southeast, according to a prominent group of experts and scientists. The Fifth National Climate Assessment was published on Tuesday by the US Global Change Research Program, banging the climate change warning drums that climate scientists have been highlighting for years: the crisis is here and there are known, working solutions.
Nov. 21, 2023 Georgia Recorder
Georgia’s wild turkeys were once considered a conservation success but now are in decline
Ross Williams reports, in 1973, Georgia’s turkey count was just 17,000, but by 1984, 113,000 of the plump little critters roamed the state. Unfortunately for the turkeys, that growth has been reversed.
Nov. 21, 2023 Union-Recorder, CNHI News
Final medical cannabis licenses in Georgia moving forward after two-year court battle
Asia Ashley reports, after a more than two-year legal battle, the final medical marijuana licenses in Georgia are being issued by the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC). Though some lawsuits from unsuccessful applicants are ongoing, GMCC Chair Sid Johnson said a recent Georgia Court of Appeals ruling against some of those applicants has enabled the commission to move forward with issuing provisional Class II medical cannabis licenses.
Nov. 21, 2023 Saporta Report
Georgia tax credit tackles support for young adults aging out of foster care
Delaney Tarr reports, of the 11,000 children in Georgia’s foster care system, over 700 people age out every year when they turn 18. A new tax credit will allow state residents to allocate funds to young people as they transition into adulthood, when a focus on access to higher education.
Nov. 21, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Doug Collins to lead Georgia chapter of national think tank
Dave Williams reports, former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins will head the new Georgia chapter of the America First Policy Institute, a national think tank, the organization announced Monday. Collins, a Republican from Gainesville, represented Georgia’s 9th Congressional District from 2013 until 2021. Before that, he served three terms in the state House of Representatives.
Nov. 21, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘On holy ground.’ Ocmulgee park a new test of Georgia’s clout in Congress
Greg Bluestein reports, it’s called the Great Temple Mound, and it soars above downtown Macon at the center of what once was a thriving Native American civilization in Middle Georgia. Now remnants of this ancient heritage dot the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park, along with trappings of modern-day culture: ruins of factories and homesteads, a railroad that cuts a deep gash through the land, creeping development in nearby subdivisions.
