Georgia Trend Daily – May 17, 2024
May 17, 2024 Georgia.gov
Gov Kemp: Georgia Scores Top Spot in Competitive Economic Rankings
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp, in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), on Thursday announced that the state earned the No. 1 spot in Site Selection’s annual Prosperity Cup rankings for successful investment recruitment in 2023. Criteria for this national award include the total values of new and expanded facilities in the state, business-climate attractiveness, and workforce readiness.
May 17, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Square in Savannah Honors Susie King Taylor
Kathleen Conway reports, for the first time in Savannah’s 291-year history, one of its city squares has been named after a woman. It’s also the first time a Savannah square has been named after a person of color.
May 17, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Microsoft grabs another 160 acres south of Atlanta for data centers
Zachary Hansen reports that Microsoft isn’t done expanding its data center campus south of Atlanta — not even close. The Fortune 500 tech giant recently paid more than $56 million to add 161 acres to its land holdings in south Fulton and Fayette counties, according to county property deeds.
May 17, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Georgia unemployment rate remains flat despite April job surge
Dave Williams reports that Georgia’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.1% in April for the fourth month in a row, even as several jobs categories reached all-time highs, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday. The state’s labor force was up by 13,655 last month to a record high of nearly 5.4 million.
May 17, 2024 The Brunswick News
Port expansion attracting new businesses
Michael Hall reports that the Georgia Ports Authority’s $262 million infrastructure project is nearing completion at the Port of Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island terminal and already it is attracting new business, some of it at the dock, and some in nearby McIntosh County. Adding new acreage and warehouse space at the terminal is part of a two-pillar strategy to move all roll-on/roll-off cargo through the Brunswick Port and to keep all container traffic in Savannah, Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch said in April.
May 17, 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 17, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Bipartisan Group of Legislators Urge Full Funding of C-130
Jake Busch reports, the U.S. government has not budgeted for any of the most recognizable aircraft in Marietta over the next two years. That pause in production threatens local jobs and military strength, according to an influential trade union and members of Congress opposed to the deal.
May 17, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Georgia lawmakers backing new National Scenic Trail
Dave Williams reports that U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced legislation Thursday to launch a feasibility study aimed at designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a National Scenic Trail. The Benton MacKaye Trail, named in honor of a 20th century forester and conservationist, runs for 280 miles from Springer Mountain in the North Georgia mountains into Tennessee and North Carolina.
May 17, 2024 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
A tiny Georgia agency’s role about to grow with climate, infrastructure spending
Meris Lutz reports that a Georgia state agency few people know about, the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, or GEFA, as it’s known, operates as a bank, a development authority and an aid agency rolled into one. In addition to funding things like water treatment plants, GEFA also manages federal programs aimed at weatherization and energy efficiency for low-income households.
May 17, 2024 WABE
McBath faces competition in bid to return to redrawn metro Atlanta congressional district
Kenny Murry reports that Georgia voters head to the polls Tuesday for the final day of this primary election cycle to determine who makes it to November’s general election for Georgia’s 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. One of the most anticipated races is in the 6th Congressional District, a newly redrawn majority-Black district with a Democratic primary featuring three elected officials who are all Black women.
May 17, 2024 State Affairs
New middle Georgia House district up for grabs due to influential incumbent’s departure
Tammy Joyner reports that for the first time in over a decade, voters in parts of middle Georgia’s Bibb and Houston counties will vote for a new state House representative. House District 143 is a newly redrawn district that now extends from Macon to Warner Robins.
May 17, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Former Democratic congressman pledges support for abortion rights in Georgia Supreme Court bid
Jill Nolin reports that State Supreme Court races are typically below-the-radar nonpartisan contests in Georgia, but the state’s lone contested Supreme Court race on this month’s ballot has turned into a referendum on abortion rights. John Barrow, a former Democratic congressman, has made reproductive rights the cornerstone of his campaign as he challenges Justice Andrew Pinson, who was appointed to the seat by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022 to replace former Justice David E. Nahmias.
May 17, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PG A.M.: University System chancellor unveils needs-based scholarship plan
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer report that University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue said it’s time the state offered a more robust needs-based college scholarship to augment the HOPE program. And he’s raising cash from private foundations to jumpstart the initiative.
