Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 22, 2024
Feb. 22, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Georgia Environmental Protection Division Chastised for Ash Pond Closure Permit
John Bailey reports that the latest salvo fired in a fight over the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s approval of leaving tons of coal ash in an unlined pit at Georgia Power’s Plant Hammond came from the EPA’s regional administrator. It appeared the controversial matter had been settled in November 2023 when the state EPD issued a permit to Georgia Power to leave Ash Pond 3 in place.
A Community Response:
Dr. Robert Whitehill, pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and medical director of Project SAVE, photo Ben Rollins.
Feb. 22, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
When the Heart Stops Working
Mary Anne Dunkin reports, Dublin, Georgia teenager Lexi Lowman may be the last person you would think would be at risk for heart disease. A year ago, at just 18, the high school senior and former competitive cheerleader was preparing to add a job as a patient care tech to her accomplishments and busy schedule.
Feb. 22, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rivian to cut salaried jobs, forecasts flat production for 2024
Zachary Hansen reports that electric vehicle upstart Rivian said Wednesday it will rein in costs, including by laying off some salaried workers, while maintaining its current levels of production as it looks to start construction this year on its future Georgia factory. The California-based maker of electric trucks, SUVs and delivery vans said it will cut 10% of its salaried workforce as it faces softness in the EV sales market.
Feb. 22, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com
Mailchimp Opens New Office as Global Focus Broadens Under Intuit Ownership
Trevor Williams reports that Atlanta small business marketing platform Mailchimp is growing at home, opening a large new campus along the Beltline even as it ramps up its solutions for small businesses and e-commerce retailers around the world. Purchased by Intuit for $12 billion in 2021, the company announced last year that it would be vacating its longtime space at Ponce City Market for the nearby 360,000-square-foot Fourth Ward complex developed by New City Properties. /
Feb. 22, 2024 11 Alive
Georgia House passes bill that could limit roadside encounters between drivers, officers
Doug Richards reports that the Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that backers say could eliminate some roadside confrontations between motorists and police. The bill would allow folks to accept traffic citations without signing the ticket.
Feb. 22, 2024 The Brunswick News
Pinova supports city’s desire to redevelop industrial site
Taylor Cooper reports that city commissioners heard an update on the remediation of the former Hercules industrial site and the demolition of the Pinova plant. Mark Johnson, an attorney representing Pinova and Hercules, said both companies supported the city’s intentions to get the former industrial site — which is over 300 acres — redeveloped into residential, commercial and, potentially, offices for skilled industries that offer high wages.
Feb. 22, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Legislation key for Savannah Convention Center hotel project passes House, moves to Senate
Maya Homan reports that a bill to raise the Savannah-Georgia Convention Center Authority’s bonding capacity, needed to fund the group’s desired hotel project, passed the Georgia House Wednesday and now heads to the Senate. House Bill 1041 was authored by state Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) and is backed by all six Chatham-area representatives in the House.
Feb. 22, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb Commission Map Confusion: Where Things Stand
Jake Busch reports, what will happen to the Cobb Board of Commissioners District 2 seat occupied by Jerica Richardson before the November election? That question is on the minds of many in Cobb as a decision from the Georgia Supreme Court on the commission’s “home rule” controversy looms.
Feb. 22, 2024 Dalton Daily Citizen, CNHI News
‘Sub-minimum wage’ bill makes progress
James Swift reports that a bill sponsored by District 4 state Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, was favorably reported by a House committee on Feb. 16. House Bill 1125, introduced during the Georgia General Assembly session on Feb. 1, would phase out the payment of sub-minimum wages to workers with disabilities.
Feb. 22, 2024 State Affairs
Bill to ensure rental units are fit to live in moved in Senate
Jill Jordan Sieder reports that a bill working its way through the Senate is meant to provide more protections for Georgia renters. HB 404, also known as the Safe At Home Act, would require that all rental properties are “fit for human habitation.”
Feb. 22, 2024 GPB
‘Lawmakers’: Veterans, military bases, maiden names and electronic driver’s licenses on Day 24
Sarah Kallis and Tristan Smith report that on day 24, Tim Bearden was sworn in to represent the 30th District. Then the Senate took up three bills and a resolution, all dealing with military or veteran matters.
Feb. 22, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Georgia Senate panel OKs bill to erase personal information of judges from public records
Stanley Dunlap reports that a state Senate Committee Wednesday advanced a bill endorsed by Georgia’s top judiciary and law enforcement agencies that would restrict public access to personal information about judges and their spouses. The Senate Public Safety Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 508 on Wednesday, a measure intended to protect judges from threats made against them and their families.
Feb. 22, 2024 Dalton Daily Citizen, CNHI News
Bill would exclude some nonprofit data from open records laws
James Swift reports that legislation that would prevent public agencies from collecting certain data from nonprofit organizations was favorably reported by the Georgia Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Feb. 16. Senate Bill 414, alternately known as the Personal Privacy Protection Act, was introduced to the Georgia General Assembly session on Jan. 29.
Feb. 22, 2024 Georgia Recorder
GOP lawmakers ready to ease limits on hospital construction, set aside Medicaid expansion for now
Jill Nolin reports that a long-awaited health care proposal from House leaders would ease health care business regulations in some cases, but the measure is just as notable for what it does not do: expand Medicaid. Instead, the bill calls for a new commission that would be tasked with advising the governor, lawmakers and the state agency that administers Georgia’s Medicaid program on issues related to the access and quality of health care available for the state’s high number of uninsured residents.
Feb. 22, 2024 Capitol Beat News
State Senate panel passes book banning bill
Dave Williams reports that legislation that would create a state council to set standards for books that could be banned from public school libraries as obscene cleared a Georgia Senate committee late Wednesday. “This bill is about making sure our public school libraries are not places for kids to be exposed to sexually explicit materials,” Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, chairman of the Senate Education and Youth Committee and the bill’s chief sponsor, said before the vote.
Feb. 22, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PG A.M.: Haley calls for Fulton DA Fani Willis’ removal from Trump case
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer report, with South Carolina voters set to go to the GOP primary polls in just two days, Nikki Haley is calling for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to be removed from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump in order for the case to go forward. “I think she needs to be off the case,” Haley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview Wednesday in North Augusta, South Carolina, after a rally with voters.
