Georgia Trend Daily – Dec. 1, 2023
Dec. 1, 2023 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp: Plastic Express to Double Georgia Operations
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp on Thursday announced that Plastic Express, a leader in the plastic resins shipping industry, will build a second shipping facility in Savannah, Georgia. The new location will create an estimated 200 new jobs and $80 million in investment in Chatham County.
Dec. 1, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
The Best and Worst of Times for Georgia Hospitals
Mary Ann Dunkin reports, with apologies to Dickens, these are the best of times, and these are the worst of times for healthcare in Georgia. It just depends on where you live. In populous areas, healthcare is booming as mergers and unprecedented hospital expansions help ensure residents get convenient and cutting-edge care.
Dec. 1, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Solar power is growing. Now Georgia wants to store more of its energy
Drew Kann reports, a decade ago, the state’s largest electric utility — Georgia Power — took its first, major step toward a future powered by the sun when it installed thousands of solar panels on 150 acres outside the town of Social Circle. And though Georgia still relies heavily on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, today the state consistently ranks among the top-10 for installed solar.
Dec. 1, 2023 The Brunswick News
Home Depot asked to consider risks of mining near the Okefenokee
Gordon Jackson reports that a Home Depot shareholder proposal filed Wednesday asks the company to “address risks associated with potential titanium mining” near the southern boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The Atlanta-based company is a leading retailer of titanium dioxide-based paint, the mineral Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals is proposing to mine near the world-famous swamp.
Dec. 1, 2023 Valdosta Daily Times
Chamber panels: Educators, business stakeholders discuss regional work-force preparedness
Kasmira Smith reports that strengthening the workforce pipeline was one of many topics of discussion during a regional educational summit hosted Thursday morning. The Economics of Education summit was sponsored in collaboration by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE), One Valdosta-Lowndes, Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority and the Greater Valdosta United Way.
Dec. 1, 2023 Savannah Morning News
First North Atlantic right whale calf of 2023-24 season spotted off SC coast
John Deem reports that the first North Atlantic right whale mom and calf of the 2023-2024 season have been spotted off the coast of South Carolina. Researchers from Florida’s Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute discovered the pair about six miles east of Beaufort during a daily monitoring flight.
Dec. 1, 2023 Rough Draft – Atlanta
Emory names Dr. Sandra L. Wong as first woman to lead School of Medicine
Collin Kelley reports that Emory University has selected Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS, an accomplished surgical oncologist and researcher, as the next Dean of Emory University School of Medicine. Wong will serve as the first female dean of the School of Medicine in university history.
Dec. 1, 2023 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Southern Epicurean
Sucheta Rawal reports, Atlanta’s culinary scene has been on a positive trajectory for past two decades. We have produced a great selection of international restaurants, inspired southern chefs and attracted the country’s best talent here. So it is no surprise that Atlanta is finally being recognized as a foodie city fit for epicurean explorers.
Dec. 1, 2023 GPB, Atlanta Voice
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams introduces bill that would fund entrepreneurs at HBCUs
Itoro Umontuen reports that U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Georgia) has introduced the Minority Entrepreneurship Grant Program Act. along with fellow Reps. Alma Adams (D-North Carolina), Dwight Evans (D-Pennsylvania), Brian Fitzpatrick (D-Pennsylvania), and Norma Torres (D-California) who are co-sponsors of this legislation. The bill would create a grant program with the Small Business Administration for entrepreneurs at minority-serving institutions such as historically Black colleges and universities.
Dec. 1, 2023 Capitol Beat News
Georgia again collecting gasoline tax
Dave Williams reports that Georgia’s on-again, off-again gasoline tax suspension is back off. Gov. Brian Kemp and the General Assembly allowed the latest temporary suspension to expire on Wednesday. That means the state Department of Revenue will resume collecting 29 cents per gallon from motorists.
Dec. 1, 2023 11 Alive
A Buckhead district would head south of Atlanta airport toward Alabama state line in proposed map
Doug Richards reports, two senate redistricting maps have emerged at the capitol in Atlanta – one Republican and one Democrat. One of them would move a metro Atlanta district to territory southwest of Atlanta’s airport and toward the Alabama line. The sixth senate district is now rooted in Atlanta’s Buckhead community and the Truist Park neighborhood in Cobb County.
Dec. 1, 2023 Capitol Beat News
New Georgia House, Senate district maps clear redistricting committees
Dave Williams reports that Georgia House and Senate redistricting committees approved new district lines for their respective legislative chambers Thursday, in keeping with a court ruling that the current district maps violate the Voting Rights Act. On the second day of a special session of the General Assembly to take up redistricting, the committees’ Republican majorities voted in favor of the proposed maps while minority Democrats opposed the changes.
Dec. 1, 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why an antisemitism measure in Georgia faces an uncertain future
Greg Bluestein reports that the Georgia-Israel caucus met in a cramped Capitol conference room to hear from a delegation of Arab Muslims who spoke about the dangers of anti-Israel sentiment in the Middle East. But the lunch-and-learn session Wednesday morphed into a sharp clash between lawmakers over a stalled effort to make antisemitism a hate crime in Georgia.
