Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 28, 2024

Feb. 28, 2024 The Current

EPD offers plan to aid private wells impacted by Hyundai’s water use

Mary Landers reports that Bulloch County residents worried about their private wells in the face of the Hyundai development had a chance to pinpoint the expected impact on their property at a public meeting Monday. They also heard how the state plans to help mitigate private well issues related to the massive development.

Feb. 28, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

Latin in All the Senses: AltaToro

Sucheta Rawal reports, a steampunk-style twisted scrap-metal tree welcomes you to a colorful dining room. The almost 20-foot-tall Tree of Life sculpture is the work of local Nigerian artist Jonathan Imafidor and serves as an ambitious centerpiece in the restaurant.

Feb. 28, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

AJC to relocate to Midtown Atlanta offices

Zachary Hansen , after more than a decade in the northern suburbs, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is returning its main office to the city. The news outlet signed a lease at Promenade Central along Peachtree Street near the Woodruff Arts Center, renting about 21,000 square feet for a newsroom and studio.

Feb. 28, 2024 11 Alive

Work underway to create multi-use path connecting Atlanta to Alabama

Jerry Carnes reports that work is now underway on a project that will one day create a multi-use path that will stretch from Atlanta all the way to the Alabama state line. Crews have broken ground on the first section of the Silver Comet Connector.

Feb. 28, 2024 Gwinnett Daily Post

Norcross-based OFS will help produce fiber for broadband expansion

Curt Yeomans reports that some of the fiber that will be used for cables needed to carry out the federal government’s plan for a nationwide expansion of broadband internet are going to be produced in Gwinnett County. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s office told the Daily Post that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration picked Norcross-based OFS Fitel to be one of the companies which will produce broadband fibers for the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, also known as the BEAD Program.

Feb. 28, 2024 Augusta Chronicle

Augusta’s No. 2 manufacturer to be sold. Here’s the next owner and what lies ahead.

Joe Hotchkiss reports that Augusta’s second-biggest manufacturer is being sold to a Washington-state company in a deal valued at $700 million. Graphic Packaging Holding Co. and Spokane-based Clearwater Paper Corp. recently announced the signing of a “definitive agreement” that will sell Graphic’s bleached-paperboard manufacturing facility off Mike Padgett Highway and south of Augusta Regional Airport.

Feb. 28, 2024 Valdosta Daily Times

Stalvey Family donates $500,000 to SGMC Health expansion

Staff reports that SGMC Health recently announced a generous gift of $500,000 from the Stalvey Family, founders of Ace Electric, Inc. The gift will support Phase I of SGMC’s long-range facilities plan, which includes construction of a new Women and Infants tower and Emergency/Trauma Center set to break ground this summer.

Feb. 28, 2024 Dalton Daily Citizen

State Senate passes veterans’ committee resolution

James Swift reports that the Georgia Senate passed a resolution on Feb. 21 that would create a new study committee on veterans’ mental health and housing. Senate Resolution 527 is sponsored by four Democrats and seven Republicans, including District 54 state Sen. Chuck Payne, R-Dalton.

Feb. 28, 2024 GPB

‘Lawmakers’: Hemp, gambling and Certificate of Need on Day 27

Sarah Kallis and Tristan Smith report, both chambers moved through the rules calendar quickly to pass as many bills as possible before Crossover Day. Senate Bill 494 would regulate and license hemp wholesalers and distributers as well as hemp products such as edibles containing Delta-9 THC. It passed 43 to 5.

Feb. 28, 2024 Gainesville Times

Sen. Bo Hatchett proposes bill to crack down on AI generated child sex abuse

Brian Wellmeier reports that State Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, has sponsored two bills intended to counter abuse of 21st century technology and the use of artificial intelligence to manufacture child pornography.

Feb. 28, 2024 Georgia Recorder

Georgia House OKs bill to ease restrictions on construction of new hospitals in state

Jill Nolin reports, a proposal to loosen Georgia’s business regulations for health care services easily cleared the House Tuesday. The bill, sponsored by the powerful House Rules chairman, Swainsboro Republican Rep. Butch Parrish, would allow new hospitals to open in rural Georgia without going through what is called the certificate-of-need process if they satisfy certain requirements, such as agreeing to be a teaching hospital.

Feb. 28, 2024 Capitol Beat News

Georgia Senate Minority Leader Butler not running for reelection

Dave Williams reports that State Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler announced Tuesday she will not seek reelection this year. Butler, D-Stone Mountain, was elected to the upper legislative chamber in 1998.

Feb. 28, 2024 Georgia Recorder

Georgia House OKs bill to provide gun-related tax credits, prevent tracking of firearm purchases

Ross Williams reports that the next time you buy a gun safe, trigger lock or take a class on gun safety, you could apply for up to $300 back in tax credits from the state if a bipartisan bill passes the Senate – and if you pick up a new gun to go with it, you may be reasonably sure Swiss bankers did not track your purchase. The Georgia House passed two pieces of gun legislation Tuesday, teeing them up for a potential vote in the Senate, one with bipartisan agreement and one with partisan rancor.

Feb. 28, 2024 Capitol Beat News

Sports betting makes it through Georgia Senate

Dave Williams reports that a proposed constitutional amendment calling for a statewide referendum on whether to legalize sports betting in Georgia cleared the state Senate Tuesday. Senate Resolution 579 passed 41-12, garnering three more votes than the minimum two-thirds majority required to approve constitutional amendments in the General Assembly. Combined with an enabling bill specifying how sports betting would operate that the Senate passed earlier this month, Tuesday’s vote marked the most progress legalized gambling has made in a years-long effort in the legislature.

Feb. 28, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia House panel advances bill aimed at ‘sanctuary cities’

Michelle Baruchman reports, Georgia law already restricts cities and counties from adopting a “sanctuary policy,” where local officials give safe harbor to people who are living in the country without legal permission. However, House Bill 1105, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jesse Petrea, would build upon that restriction by imposing penalties on sheriffs and jailers who do not cooperate with federal immigration agents when someone in custody is not a U.S. citizen.