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Georgia’s air polluted with fewer emissions as coal-fired electricity production winds down
A new report released this week offers a rare bit of positive climate news: Overall greenhouse emissions in Georgia declined 5% from 2017 to 2021, due largely to the state’s largest electric utility moving away from coal. And when it comes to per-person emissions, those declined by 8% during that four-year period. The report, issued […]
Georgia antebellum textile mill to stop sending ‘forever chemicals’ to Chattooga River
Under pressure, a South Carolina-based manufacturing company has agreed to stop using PFAS-containing products at a major textile mill in northwest Georgia. Mount Vernon Mills will permanently eliminate use of all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by the end of the year at its Trion facility, which is about 30 miles north of Rome, according to […]
Vice President Kamala Harris challenges Georgia Dems to rally in 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Atlanta Friday – for what was her third trip to Georgia so far this year – to rally Georgia Democrats after a recent string of disappointments. Georgia voters helped send Harris to the White House in 2020 and then handed Democrats tenuous control of Congress with the election of U.S. […]
Turbulence roils waters despite Georgia law to calm tensions between anglers, riverside landowners
A dispute over whether a popular stretch of the Flint River in Upson County can be the exclusive fishing hole of those who own the shoreline drove a frenzied last-minute push to protect the public’s access to Georgia’s streams earlier this year. The legislative fix seemed to emerge out of nowhere in the final hours […]
UPDATE: Suspect captured in Atlanta medical facility shooting that killed one and injured four
This story was updated at 10 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, 2023. One person was killed and four others injured in a mass shooting at a high-rise Midtown Atlanta medical facility that put Georgia’s capital city on edge and immediately sparked calls on all levels of government for more action on gun safety. The shooting happened […]
Clock winds down for Georgians to requalify for Medicaid with coverage for up to 500,000 at risk
Some people know what Alysia Cutting is talking about when she brings up Medicaid unwinding as she moves from one community event to the next in southwest Georgia. But for most of them, word of the renewal process starting up again – and the potential they could lose Medicaid coverage – is news to them. […]
Governor signs bipartisan legislation to conserve Georgia farmland
Gov. Brian Kemp has signed off on a new conservation program that is meant to stem the loss of farmland in Georgia. The measure creates a fund and a process for providing a financial incentive to farmers who volunteer to permanently place their agricultural land in a conservation easement. Doing so would restrict the landowner’s […]
Georgia Supreme Court hears hospital authority’s challenge to state opioid settlement
A rural south Georgia hospital authority is challenging a 2022 state law that barred local officials from suing opioid manufacturers and distributors. The hospital authority of Wayne County filed its federal lawsuit seeking damages in the spring of 2019 for the strain put on the Wayne Memorial Hospital in Jesup, which is about 40 miles […]
State agency to recommend pay hike for caregivers who aid Georgians with disabilities
A key state agency will recommend a slightly higher wage increase for caregivers who work with people with disabilities in Georgia and who would see a $6 hourly rate increase under the proposal. The state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities is wrapping up a review of what it pays its service providers, who […]
Bill requiring prescription drug discount sharing with Georgia patients falters in the Senate
A bipartisan measure that would require prescription drug discounts to be shared with Georgia consumers stalled in the Senate. The bill centered on pharmacy benefit managers, which act as the go-between for health insurance companies and prescription drugmakers. Acting on behalf of insurers, these pharmacy benefit managers negotiate discounts in the form of rebates with […]
Governor warns of budget ‘holes’ after Georgia lawmakers sign off on new spending plan
Lawmakers signed off on a $32.4 billion spending plan for next year as the clock expired on the 2023 legislative session, although Gov. Brian Kemp warned of “significant holes” in the budget. “I think it’s important for me to say tonight that the recent news from the Federal Reserve and others suggest there may be […]
Sound but less fury: Georgia lawmakers leave town with betting, vouchers, med cannabis undone
The final day of the Georgia Legislative session comes with many traditions, like throwing fistfulls of paper, wearing seersucker suits in early spring and, in recent years, failing to pass a bill to allow for medical cannabis. Sine Die, pronounced “see-nay dee-ay” in Latin but “Sigh-nee Die” in Georgia, typically sees lawmakers scramble to get […]