Georgia Trend Daily – Jan. 24, 2024
Jan. 24, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Tybee company makes history with harvest from Georgia’s first floating oyster farm
John Deem reports that at a dock along Chatham County’s Bull River, Perry and Laura Solomon are among a half-dozen applicants granted intertidal shellfish leases in late 2021 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and were the first to begin operations. Two other oyster-farm lessees in the Bull River mariculture zone have yet to begin operations.
How it Works: Nuclear energy heats fuel which produces steam, and that steam spins the turbine to generate electricity, photo contributed.
Jan. 24, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Plant Vogtle’s Historic: Nuclear Revival
Don Sadler reports that climate scientists tell us our best chance to avoid the worst long-term effects of climate change is to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050. This will require a drastic shift in energy production away from carbon-emitting sources like coal toward clean energy sources, including nuclear power.
Jan. 24, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton board approves controversial $10M tax break for Elon Musk’s X
Zachary Hansen reports that a Fulton County agency approved Tuesday a $10.1 million tax break for a controversial data center expansion by the social media platform X that was already underway. A month after deadlocking on the request, the Development Authority of Fulton County (DAFC) board voted 6-2 to approve the tax savings for the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Jan. 24, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com
New Copenhagen Flight Set to Deepen Atlanta’s Scandinavian Business Links
Trevor Williams reports that SAS Scandinavian Airlines is set to launch a daily nonstop flight between Copenhagen and Atlanta June 17, allowing onward travel through the world’s busiest airport through a new codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines Inc. The connection will mark the first time in more than a decade that Atlanta will be linked directly with the capital of Denmark, to which Delta suspended its flights in 2012.
Jan. 24, 2024 The Brunswick News
State shrimp season closes as challenges loom
Michael Hall reports, commercial shrimpers battled an influx of foreign shrimp and high diesel fuel prices that they said put a dent in their abilities to make a fair profit, despite average hauls weighing heavier than the 20-year average. Georgia’s commercial and recreational food shrimp harvest in state waters closed at 6:20 p.m. on Thursday, a closure that only affects waters three nautical miles out to see from shore.
Jan. 24, 2024 Augusta Chronicle, Athens Banner-Herald
This Georgia city is the most affordable in the U.S. to buy a house, Homebuyer says
Miguel Legoas reports, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2023 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, about two out of five homebuyers said affordability was a priority. Those homebuyers may want to look in central Georgia. Macon was ranked the most affordable place to buy a house in the U.S. in a study published by Homebuyer.com.
Jan. 24, 2024 GPB
‘It can all start there’: This is why Georgia is investing in behavioral health crisis centers
Ellen Eldridge reports, Georgia has a total of 546 adult crisis beds and 74 child crisis beds, according to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). A bed study completed last year shows Georgia will need eight additional crisis centers in the next decade, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kevin Tanner said.
Jan. 24, 2024 The Current
Twin Pines Minerals fined $20K for exploratory work
Mary Landers reports that Twin Pines Minerals LLC, the Alabama-based company with controversial plans to mine for titanium dioxide near the Okefenokee, has agreed to pay a $20,000 penalty related to its drilling of exploratory boreholes for the project. The company denies any wrongdoing.
Jan. 24, 2024 11 Alive
Goodwill driving EV-related jobs in growing industry in Georgia
Joe Ripley reports that Goodwill launched a new program Tuesday to grow the electric vehicle workforce. Workers will go through a four-week program and start making $30 per hour. One of those workers is Adrian Johnson, who has a knack for technology.
Jan. 24, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Georgia Board of Natural Resources OKs funds for 13 outdoor projects
Dave Williams reports that the Georgia Board of Natural Resources put its stamp of approval Tuesday on funding for 13 land conservation, restoration and parks projects across the state. More than $21.4 million to pay for the projects will come from the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Fund, raised from a sales tax on sporting goods the state’s voters overwhelmingly approved as a constitutional amendment in 2018.
Jan. 24, 2024 The Brunswick News
Buffer zone proposed for Okefenokee
Gordon Jackson reports that Georgia lawmakers are being asked to consider legislation to create a boundary around the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to protect it from the threat of mining. The proposed legislation was first introduced to the General Assembly for consideration during last year’s legislative session, but a vote was never called on the issue.
Jan. 24, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Rome Lawmaker Proposing Limit on Home Value Increases
Diane Wagner reports, a bill that would cap increases in homestead property valuations at 3% statewide got its first hearing Monday in the Georgia Senate Finance Committee. “We’ve probably all heard more about property taxes than any other issue in the last year,” said Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, in presenting his Senate Bill 349 to the committee he chairs.
Jan. 24, 2024 State Affairs
Mental health crisis care, protections for sober living homes among behavioral health bills on tap
Jill Jordan Sieder reports, in a state where 1.4 million adults out of a total population of 11 million have a mental health condition, and about a third of those who need care do not receive it, Georgia lawmakers are starting to drop and develop legislation to address these citizens’ needs.
Jan. 24, 2024 Dalton Daily Citizen
State lawmakers discuss healthcare, education, gambling
Charles Oliver reports, state lawmakers signaled recently that the Georgia General Assembly may take a look at laws that allow healthcare providers to block competitors from offering services. The state currently requires hospitals and other providers to obtain a certificate of need (CON) to expand or add services. State Sen. Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, agrees that the CON process “needs to be tweaked.”
Jan. 24, 2024 Georgia Recorder
State Senate panel presses ahead with bill that would ban ranked choice voting in Georgia
Stanley Dunlap reports that a Georgia Senate Ethics Committee advanced a bill on Tuesday that would ban election officials in Georgia from adopting an instant runoff system that allows voters to rank candidates by preference to determine the outcome of elections. The Senate Bill 355 measure passed the Senate panel by an 8-1 vote on Tuesday.
Jan. 24, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PG A.M.: Georgia lawmaker flips support to Trump after New Hampshire rout
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer report, as the presidential race moves on to South Carolina, so too does Donald Trump’s march to the Republican nomination. Following the convincing 11 percentage point win in New Hampshire, even Republicans who had supported Trump’s GOP rivals, such as Georgia U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, are lining up behind the front-runner.
