Georgia Trend Daily – July 1, 2024
July 1, 2024 GlobalAtlanta.com
Senator Pledges Support for AGOA Renewal as South Africa Spotlights Atlanta
Trevor Williams reports, framing boosting ties with Africa as a spiritual and moral imperative, U.S. Sen. Rafael Warnock pledged to support a trade policy crucial to the continent’s economic prospects. The Georgia Democrat in March assured a visiting delegation from South Africa that he would work to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, which without congressional action will expire in 2025.
July 1, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
2024 TravelBlazers
Kenna Simmons reports, July is traditionally high travel season – kids are out of school, vacation days are pending and it’s time for a mid-year break. With that in mind, take a look at the 2024 recipients of the TravelBlazers awards, chosen by the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (GACVB) and Georgia Trend.
July 1, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Four themes that define the Atlanta area housing market
Michael E. Kanell and J. Scott Trubey report, the story of metro Atlanta’s housing market for the past couple years has been a shortage of supply, soaring prices and persistently high interest rates straining buyers and constraining sellers. The most recent sales data for the month of May show supply is growing as high prices and high costs to borrow mean homes are staying on the market a little longer.
July 1, 2024 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Officials expect $350M in development around Synovus Park. But planning will take time
Brittany McGee reports, earlier this month hundreds of Columbus residents and officials gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the renovation of the former Golden Park and bringing minor league baseball back to the city. As construction on the $50 million project moves forward with an estimated completion date in 2025, local officials look ahead to the promised economic boon that is estimated to result in upwards of $350 million in private investment in mixed-use development around the park.
July 1, 2024 Athens Banner-Herald
Athens Commission task force to unveil workforce development plan
Jim Thompson reports, less than two weeks after the Athens-Clarke County Commission allocated $1.9 million in federal funds to a workforce development initiative spearheaded by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, a workforce development task force created by the commission and chaired by Commissioners Carol Myers and Tiffany Taylor is getting ready to unveil its own proposal. The Chamber-headed effort, Athens Achieves, is aimed at creating what Chamber President and CEO David Bradley calls “a valued and valuable workforce.”
July 1, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Suburbs drive Savannah’s growth in home solar systems, data shows
John Deem reports that one of Savannah’s fastest-growing areas also is powering much of the city’s growth in residential solar capacity. More than one-quarter of all permits issued last year by the city for rooftop home systems were in The Highlands, a crescent-shaped slice of annexed land off Interstate 95 near Pooler that – for now – is Savannah’s northernmost section.
July 1, 2024 Rome News-Tribune, Calhoun Times
Mannington Mills Sells Calhoun Manufacturing Plant
Hannah Dougherty reports that Mannington Mills has announced the sale of its rigid core manufacturing plant in Calhoun. According to Betsy Amoroso on behalf of Mannington Mills, the sale to Bossen New Materials Corporation was totaled at 23 acres of property, including a luxury vinyl tile manufacturing plant at 115 Old Belwood Road and a neighboring lot of land that was also previously owned by Mannington.
July 1, 2024 Albany Herald
One of Georgia’s oldest practicing attorneys serves as the only lawyer for Calhoun County at 97 years old
Lucille Lannigan reports, in downtown Edison, which is mostly empty storefronts and tired old buildings, one spot has been filled since the 1970s. The building serves as home to the law office of 97-year-old Willis DuVall Sr., the only practicing attorney in Calhoun County and the second-longest serving member of the State Bar of Georgia.
July 1, 2024 The Brunswick News
Carter testifies on alternative to right whale rule changes
Hank Rowland reports that U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1, told the House Natural Resources Committee that a bipartisan bill he and others are advocating for will protect the nation’s fishing industry and the people in its employ from an expanded federal regulation. H.R. 8704 would require the U.S. Department of Commerce to offer a grant program for the exploration of technology that would monitor the waters off the East Coast for North Atlantic right whales and warn vessels when the mammals are in their path.
July 1, 2024 GPB
Taxpayer dollars at work: Senators on incarcerated deaths, military infrastructure, row crop farmers
Ambria Burton reports, for the week ending June 28, 2024, Warnock and Ossoff focused on launching an inquiry to help prevent the deaths of incarcerated people in federal, state, and local facilities, providing infrastructure upgrades to several military facilities in Georgia, introducing legislation to double the Pell Grant maximum award to students, and supporting row crop farmers in Georgia.
July 1, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Warnock meets with CDC leaders in push to increase federal funding for the public health agency
Jill Nolin reports that U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock met Friday with leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of a push to bolster funding for the Atlanta-based facility. President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for the CDC represents a nearly $500 million increase, including spending bumps for programs focused on violence prevention and immunization.
July 1, 2024 State Affairs
State committee investigates professional license delays, inefficiency
Nava Rawls reports, business owners and professionals across the state are frustrated by the lack of efficiency when applying for professional licenses. This summer, state legislators have decided to dig deep to find the necessary solutions.
July 1, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Housing bills among new state laws taking effect July 1
Dave Williams reports, housing – particularly affordable housing – in short supply across Georgia, two new state laws about to take effect are aimed at an especially challenging group affected by the shortage: the homeless. The two bills, which the General Assembly passed overwhelmingly this year, are among a host of new laws covering a wide range of policy areas that take effect July 1.
July 1, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Federal court temporarily blocks criminal bond law change in Georgia
Taylor Croft reports that a federal court judge temporarily blocked part of a new Georgia law set to go into effect July 1 that created limits on charitable funds and individuals paying criminal bond for detainees who cannot afford to post bail. U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert issued the 14-day block on Section 4 of Senate Bill 63 to give time for both sides in the lawsuit to argue over whether it should be stopped for the duration of the lawsuit.
