Georgia Trend Daily – May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Postal service agrees to pause restructuring mail processing system
Dave Williams reports that U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is vowing to pause until next year a postal service restructuring plan that has caused massive delays in processing mail at a regional distribution center in Palmetto. In a letter to U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, DeJoy acknowledged complaints he has received from Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., a member of the committee, and other senators citing delays in on-time delivery of mail processed at distribution centers in Georgia and other states.
May 15, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Going Global: For Georgia Businesses, International Markets are the New Normal
Jeffrey Beisler-Snell reports that Georgia has long been a destination for global business, with multinationals like Hyundai, KIA, Porsche, Nestle and Adidas maintaining significant presence in the state. According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), internationally owned companies invested more than $8 billion in the state in 2022, accounting for more than 14,000 jobs.
May 15, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dunwoody allows State Farm office campus to add hotel, 300 apartments
Zachary Hansen reports, instead of more office space, the developer behind a massive corporate campus in Dunwoody will be able to add a hotel and hundreds of apartments. The Dunwoody City Council on Monday approved a rezoning request by Texas-based KDC to allow the developer to build 175 hotel rooms and 300 apartments on the last undeveloped portion of its Park Center campus.
May 15, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Port Wentworth gets $1.26M grant to provide energy to new park and Ghost Pirates Training Facility
Destini Ambus reports that the City of Port Wentworth was awarded a $1.26 million grant to aid in providing energy to the new 150-acre Anchor Park Development, which upon completion will hold the 90,000 square-foot Ghost Pirates Training Facility, among other amenities. The grant was approved by the Public Service Commission to use to construct pipeline facilities to provide natural gas service for the recreational sports and entertainment park, according to a press release.
May 15, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Lumsden Announces Funding for Tooga Theater in Summerville
Staff reports that State Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee, announced Tuesday that Tooga Theater in Summerville has been awarded a $250,000 grant in the amended fiscal year budget that runs through June 30. “The Tooga Theater, nestled in historic downtown Summerville, has long been a cherished hub for cultural and community activities, serving as a testament to our rich heritage,” Lumsden said.
May 15, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com
AGCO Foundation Donating $100,000 to Support Brazil Flood Relief
Trevor Williams reports that Duluth-based AGCO Corp. is donating $100,000 to support relief efforts in flood-hit Rio Grande do Sul, the southern state of Brazil that the tractor and equipment maker calls its “home” in the South American country. More than 130 people are dead and 400,000-plus displaced after torrential rains inundated parts of the capital Porto Alegre and other cities a week ago.
May 15, 2024 The Brunswick News
First Friday could be a little too successful
Taylor Cooper reports, members of the board of the Downtown Development Authority were not surprised to hear that the monthly First Friday block party is popular. Some were surprised by just how popular, though — roughly 11,800 people attended this month, prompting authorities to consider whether to establish a capacity limit for the downtown commercial strip.
May 15, 2024 Newnan Times-Herald
Economist predicts rosy forecast for Coweta County
Laura Camper reports that the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s chief economist gave a rosy economic forecast for Coweta County and Georgia at an event Monday at the Newnan campus of the University of West Georgia. Dr. Jerry Parrish is no stranger to Coweta County.
May 15, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Georgia’s Creative Economy
Susana Hills reports that Esports are on the rise in Atlanta, the mecca of conventions and easy Delta flights. Companies like SkillShot Media attract gaming audiences and viewer engagement within this niche, but large, online community. Influencer marketing agencies support local content creators, turning their viewers into customers.
May 15, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Gas South Raises Company’s Minimum Wage
Staff reports that Gas South is increasing its starting pay rate for regular, full time employees to $22 per hour, an increase from $19 per hour. “We know many of our Care team members have been disproportionately impacted by financial challenges including elevated rent, grocery, gas and childcare costs,” said Jenni Hawkins, Vice President of Customer Care.
May 15, 2024 WABE
Abortion takes center stage in hotly contested Georgia Supreme Court race
Jasmine Robinson reports, former Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow is running against incumbent Justice Andrew Pinson in the Georgia Supreme Court race. Barrow’s campaign is centered on protecting women’s reproductive rights, but his outspokenness on the issue has led him into a legal battle ahead of the May 21 general election.
May 15, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Georgia Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of Athens DA’s claim of open records exemption
Stanley Dunlap reports that Georgia’s Supreme Court will rule in the coming months on a claim Athens-Clarke District Attorney Gonzalez is arguing that top prosecutors are exempt from the state’s open records laws. Supreme Court justices heard arguments on Tuesday pressing the case that the trial court failed last year to address a constitutional provision in denying her motion to dismiss an open records complaint filed by local resident Jarrod Miller.
May 15, 2024 Fox 5 Atlanta
Georgia mandated training for police on stun gun use, but hasn’t funded it
Stephe Quinn, Eve Sampson and Ceoli Jacoby report, the Georgia Legislature passed statewide stun-gun training requirements in 2006, but has never funded them. The weapons are used as an alternative to firearms — a kind of “less-lethal force” that the manufacturer of Tasers warns can be risky under certain circumstances, such as when someone could fall or when a person is obese or has pre-existing health problems.
May 15, 2024 State Affairs
Senate District 53 incumbent Colton Moore draws criticism, challengers in his re-election bid
Tammy Joyner reports that Senate District 53 is in the far northwest corner of Georgia, home of Lookout Mountain, Civil War reenactments and conservative firebrand U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. It’s a mostly white and Republican working-class pocket of the state where some people identify more Tennessean than Georgian.
May 15, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lawmakers to look into removing ‘hurdles’ in business licensing
Mark Niesse reports that leaders of the Georgia General Assembly created a committee Monday to look into difficulties facing businesses trying to renew and obtain licenses from the state. The bipartisan committee will focus on eliminating “unnecessary hurdles” in the online license application, according to a letter from House Speaker Jon Burns and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
