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Past errors might cause state to delay COVID-19 data release for fact-check
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp acknowledged recent errors in the state’s public health data reporting but asked for the public’s understanding at a press briefing held Thursday at the state Capitol. The state Department of Public Health said in a tweet earlier this week that, due to a processing error, it had inadvertently included 231 serologic test results […]
Crikey! Jobless Georgians ask Aussie Mark Butler for help in Labor mixup
Some desperate pleas from Georgians in a sticky wicket have accidentally pinged the inbox of a politician in the land down under instead of the intended state official in downtown Atlanta. About a dozen or so emails meant for Republican Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler have instead zipped halfway around the world to an Australian […]
Middle Georgia federal court affirms right to record in public spaces
This story was updated at noon Friday, May 22. An independent central Georgia video journalist can argue his First Amendment case against the city of Fort Valley after officials tried to have his lawsuit tossed out, says a federal judge. Judge Tilman Self in the Middle District of Georgia ruled this week that Kennon Dunn […]
Shift from coal power leaves state air pollution regulators short of money
The gradual retirement of coal-fired power plants in Georgia is leaving a state program that polices industrial polluters short on cash. Permit fees – a key source of revenue for the state Environmental Protection Division’s air protection branch – have declined and left the branch to deal with a $1 million shortfall in the new […]
Early voting begins, state lawmakers still can’t raise campaign cash
State lawmakers who face primary challengers raised the last dollar for their re-election bids back in early January before they were gaveled into session. And a law that forbids fundraising during a legislative session – even one suspended for months because of a pandemic – will keep donors at bay until after the final votes […]
Commenters pan Kemp’s Medicaid expansion plan as too limited
New analysis of the thousands of comments submitted during the public airing of Gov. Brian Kemp’s Medicaid waivers found most people who took the time to weigh in oppose the plans. Georgians for a Healthy Future and Cover Georgia – which are two groups that advocate for full Medicaid expansion – combed through more than […]
Tobacco tax on the table as lawmakers look to fix budget crisis
The painful prospect of cutting billions from next year’s state budget has reignited interest in a proposal that has historically faced stiff resistance at the state Capitol: A cigarette tax hike. State lawmakers abruptly left Atlanta in mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak without finishing next year’s budget, and they have just begun talks on […]
State budget squeeze predicted as revenues slump, ‘sin taxes’ grow
State lawmakers rushed to pass a bill earlier this year that taxes all online purchases in hopes of staving off some of the worst budget cuts discussed just months ago. But state economist Jeffrey Dorfman quickly dashed any hopes among lawmakers that this new revenue might offset the losses caused by the Coronavirus Recession – […]
State tax collections down $1 billion in April as deep budget cuts loom
It’s another stunning sign of the economic impact COVID-19 has had on Georgia: State revenues saw a $1 billion drop last month. The monthly revenue report showing a 35.9% drop in total revenues from last April was released Wednesday on the eve of renewed budget talks, with state lawmakers set to meet virtually Thursday. The drop-off […]
Georgia Power tells PSC 20% of Vogtle workers scaled back
The company overseeing the expansion of Plant Vogtle has scaled back one-fifth of its workforce after an outbreak of COVID-19 spread to 185 workers and left significant numbers of employees afraid to show up for work. The reduction – which took the on-site workforce down from 9,000 to about 7,000 – is likely to cost […]
Coronavirus creates extra hardship for workers with disabilities
A year ago, Brian was celebrating a milestone at work: He had tallied five years at a Savannah Publix, an achievement that came with a certificate, a watch and a special trip to an out-of-town ceremony. Now, the 33-year-old has found himself on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, as he rings up groceries, […]
Kemp lifts statewide stay-home order, shifts focus to medically fragile
Gov. Brian Kemp will let the clock run out on his order for most Georgians to stay home during the COVID-19 crisis, but shelter-in-place restrictions for the medically fragile will continue on through at least mid-June. Kemp eased restrictions on healthy homebound Georgians after recently letting nail salons, restaurants, bowling alleys and other once-shuttered businesses […]