Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 8, 2024
Aug. 8, 2024 Georgia Ports Authority
Georgia Ports expanding inland connectivity
Staff reports that the Georgia Ports Authority is expanding its rail cargo capacity to move containers across the state and into the Midwest with greater speed and efficiency, according to GPA General Manager of Inland Operations Wesley Barrell. Speaking at the inaugural Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Logistics Forum on Tuesday, Aug. 6, Barrell said development of the Blue Ridge Connector, near Gainesville, Ga., is progressing.
Aug. 8, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Ups, Downs and In-Betweens
Susan Percy reports, Abit Massey, president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation and an influential and widely respected lobbyist for the poultry industry, died in June at the age of 96. Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement, “Abit Massey was a true force and a well-known personality throughout the entire state whose name is synonymous with Georgia’s thriving poultry industry.”
Aug. 8, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MiMedx sued ex-workers for joining rival. Now one accuses firm of fraud
Michael E. Kanell reports that a few months ago, MiMedx, a Marietta biomedical company that makes skin grafts and other treatments, sued to try to prevent 10 former employees from working for a competitor. On Wednesday, one of those 10 workers alleged in her own lawsuit that she quit her sales job because MiMedx pressured her to break the law and act unethically.
Aug. 8, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Experts: Wells for Hyundai’s Georgia site will ‘pirate’ water from other areas
John Deem reports that Georgia environmental officials insist that other than potentially dropping the depth in dozens of private wells serving farms and homes, extracting 6.6 million gallons of subterranean water per day for Hyundai Motor Company’s electric vehicle-manufacturing megasite near Savannah will have minimal environmental impact. That conclusion is at the heart of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s draft permits for four planned Bulloch County wells that will send the pumped water to Hyundai’s nearly 2,500-acre complex in Bryan County.
Aug. 8, 2024 GPB
To stay open, rural hospitals need local patients. Two hospitals in Georgia hope to bring them back
Sofi Gratas reports, rural hospitals sometimes look for lifelines through consolidation with big city hospitals. Now a couple of rural hospitals in Middle Georgia are trying a grassroots approach emphasizing local ownership. And, they say, it’s working.
Aug. 8, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Chaos in Cobb Superior Court Declared Emergency
Hunter Riggall reports that the chief judge for the Cobb Judicial Circuit took extraordinary measures Tuesday by declaring a judicial emergency and suspending deadlines due to ongoing issues in the office of Cobb Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor. Chief Judge Gregory Poole, with the support of Cobb’s 10 other Superior Court judges, suspended deadlines for a host of legal actions for the next 30 days.
Aug. 8, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Georgia Attorney General’s Plan to Fight the Opioid Crisis
John Bailey reports that the number of opioid related overdose deaths increased by more than 308% in Georgia from 2019 to 2022, according to Department of Public Health records. That’s an increase of 392 to 1,601 deaths in the state during that period and is largely attributed to the introduction of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that’s often combined with other drugs, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said.
Aug. 8, 2024 The Brunswick News
Meeting on commercially navigable waterways rescheduled for Aug. 14
Staff reports that a public meeting to discuss a proposal to deauthorize federal maintenance of commercially navigable channels in local waterways has been rescheduled for 5 p.m., Aug. 14, at Darien City Hall. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will provide a presentation of the plan to stop maintaining commercially navigable channels in several waterways in Coastal Georgia including the Altamaha, Satilla and St. Marys rivers as well as the Darien, Bellville Point and Sapelo Harbors.
Aug. 8, 2024 Gwinnett Daily Post
Norcross implements new system for residents to report issues
Staff reports that the City of Norcross is partnering with CivicPlus, a government technology company and existing Norcross website provider, to release a new tool to empower residents to report quality-of-life issues and request government services. The application SeeClickFix is available for residents to download on any iOS or Android device.
Aug. 8, 2024 GPB
Ossoff joins Georgia civil rights leaders to announce federal prison reform bill signed into law
Amanda Andrews reports, on Tuesday at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff joined civil rights leaders to announce his criminal justice reform bill has been signed into law. The Federal Prison Oversight Act will require the Department of Justice to complete regular unannounced inspections of all 122 federal prisons and publish the results within 60 days.
Aug. 8, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Georgia schools chief reverses African American studies ‘mistake’
Ross Williams reports that Advanced placement African American studies will be offered in Georgia high schools with state funding, Superintendent Richard Woods said Tuesday, but some members of both political parties are still wondering why there was ever any question. Woods, a Republican, said his reversal came after receiving a letter from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, clarifying that House Bill 1084, the state’s 2022 law banning so-called divisive concepts in the classroom, exempts AP, international baccalaureate and dual enrollment classes.
Aug. 8, 2024 Capitol Beat News
State Election Board’s GOP majority changes certification requirements
Dave Williams reports that county officials can certify election results only after a “reasonable inquiry” ensures they’re accurate under a controversial election rules change the Republican-dominated State Election Board narrowly approved Tuesday. The change, which passed 3-2, essentially does away with a provision in current state election law that says county elections superintendents “shall” certify election results by the Monday following an election, making certification a non-discretionary function.
Aug. 8, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pollsters: Georgia back in play for Democrats as Harris builds momentum
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer report, Vice President Kamala Harris’ positive momentum has led two election predictors to put Georgia back on the list of “toss up” states. The Center for Politics’ Sabato’s Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report removed Georgia from the “leans Republican” category as a response to polling showing Harris performing better against former President Donald Trump than President Joe Biden.
