Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 15, 2024
Aug. 15, 2024 Capitol Beat News
University System of Georgia reports $21.9B in economic impact
Dave Williams reports, the University System of Georgia (USG) produced an economic impact of $21.9 billion during fiscal 2023, a 9% increase over the previous year, according to a study released Wednesday. The system’s institutions also generated 163,332 full- and part-time jobs across the state during that same period, the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business reported.
Aug. 15, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Albany Focus
Jeffrey Humphreys writes, Albany’s economy is likely to perform on par with the U.S. economy. Economic growth may slow in 2025 but it is unlikely to stall, mostly because of success in landing private-sector economic development projects.
Aug. 15, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Direct spending on TV, film plummets 37% in Georgia, hurt by strikes
Rodney Ho reports that direct spending in Georgia from TV and film producers tumbled by more than a third in the fiscal year that ended June 30 compared to fiscal 2023 due to the double whammy of two strikes and reduced spending from media companies across the board. The $2.6 billion direct spending figure, was down 37%.
Aug. 15, 2024 Capitol Beat News
University System Board of Regents adopts $3.6B budget request
Dave Williams reports, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved a $3.6 billion fiscal 2026 budget request Wednesday. The 2026 budget, which takes effect next July, represents a $221.1 million increase over this year’s spending plan.
Aug. 15, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Chattahoochee Tech President Announces Retirement
Annie Mayne reports, Dr. Ron Newcomb, the longtime president of Chattahoochee Technical College, announced he will retire August 21. Marietta-based Chattahoochee Tech is one of the largest technical colleges in the Peach State, with over 11,000 students enrolled to start classes next week.
Aug. 15, 2024 Valdosta Daily Times
Lowndes County joins latest opioid settlement efforts
Caison Kirkland reports that the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to participate in the latest settlement efforts against Kroger and Purdue Pharma, following their prior involvement in national opioid settlements overseen by the State of Georgia. The county has been in settlements with various manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies.
Aug. 15, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Hyundai wells will have minimal impact on water, Georgia officials tell Bulloch residents
John Deem reports that planned wells to serve Hyundai Motor Company’s electric vehicle manufacturing operation near Savannah will not risk an underground water source that Bulloch County homes and farms have relied on for decades, state environmental officials told a largely skeptical audience in the auditorium of a rural high school Tuesday.
Aug. 15, 2024 GPB
Raffensperger visits county elections offices, assures a ‘level playing field’
Sarah Kallis reports that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger visited Paulding County to conduct a “health check” on the voting machines and elections office and answer election questions. Raffensperger says the logic and accuracy test, conducted on all machines before voting begins is mandatory and assures voting machines are accurate.
Aug. 15, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Ga. House Rural Development Council to Meet in Rome
Staff reports that the Georgia House Rural Development Council will kick off a series of meetings around the state with an Aug. 29 session in Rome. The council is tasked with researching and recommending initiatives aimed at boosting the economic resiliency of counties outside metro areas.
Aug. 15, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Ga. House Study Committee On Navigable Streams To Meet Thursday
Staff reports that a state House study committee tasked with determining where people have the right to boat, fish and hunt on Georgia’s streams will hold its first meeting Thursday. The House Study Committee on Navigable Streams and Related Matters grew out of a legislative effort to name sections of some 64 streams and rivers in Georgia as navigable and thus open to the public.
Aug. 15, 2024 Clayton News-Daily
Ossoff Introduces Access to Homeownership Act
Staff reports, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., recently introduced legislation to help families become homeowners. The Access to Homeownership Act would help renters buy homes by including their positive rental payment history in reports to credit bureaus, helping boost credit ratings.
Aug. 15, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Solar power interests spotlight potential Georgia growth of clean energy to legislative study panel
Stanley Dunlap reports that several solar industry insiders made a pitch to a Georgia House committee on Wednesday for the economic and environmental benefits of establishing a community solar program that allows Georgia Power customers to purchase electricity from small-scale solar developers. Rep. Beth Camp, a Concord Republican, said the House Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee on Community Solar meeting was a chance to hear from solar industry experts about the value of community solar, information that lawmakers can use when drafting future legislation.
Aug. 15, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Election Board member denies formally asking Trump campaign for job
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer report, did a Republican member of Georgia’s State Election Board lobby for a position with Donald Trump’s second administration if the former president wins in November? The Guardian reported that Rick Jeffares, a former state senator who was tapped to the board in January, said he proposed himself as a candidate for a regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency to Trump aide Brian Jack, now the GOP nominee for an open U.S. House district.
