Gov. Brian Kemp (right) and First Lady Marty Kemp (left) led a roundtable meeting on human trafficking in Atlanta on Sept. 30, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
State lawmakers plan to bring new legislation aimed at helping victims of human trafficking in Georgia recover from abuse and protect their identities, Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp announced Monday.
One bill would change state law to give privacy protections for human-trafficking survivors who want to legally change their names, Marty Kemp said at a news conference. Another bill would let survivors sue their traffickers for damages in civil court.
A third bill would require anyone seeking to obtain or renew a commercial driver’s license in Georgia to complete a human-trafficking awareness course, the first lady said.
“We are dedicated to giving survivors opportunities for promising futures and holding their captors accountable,” said Marty Kemp, who heads up the human trafficking-focused GRACE Commission.
The slate of bills on deck in the current legislative session would follow legislation passed last year that toughened penalties on foster parents engaging in improper sexual behavior with children in their care and on commercial drivers with human-trafficking criminal convictions.
Legislation was also passed last year allowing victims to clear their court records of any offenses stemming from activities while they were being trafficked.
The governor has made fighting human trafficking a priority since taking office in 2019. On top of tasking his wife to lead the GRACE Commission, he charged the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with cracking down harder on traffickers through a multi-agency task force created last year.
State officials also created a new hotline in September for Georgians to alert law enforcement officers of sexual or labor exploitation and to receive help for victims. Thousands of state government employees have also taken a trafficking-awareness course during the past year on how to spot abuse.
“There is always more work to be done,” Kemp said Monday. “We will not let up. We’re still fighting.”
The number for the state’s human-trafficking hotline is 1-866-ENDHTGA.
Baseball legend Henry “Hank” Aaron died at age 86 on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Atlanta Braves photo)
Henry Aaron, the legendary Atlanta Braves slugger who broke Babe Ruth’s career record for home runs and battled racism, died on Friday, Major League Baseball confirmed. He was 86.
Nicknamed “Hammerin’ Hank,” Aaron knocked 755 home runs over the span of a 23-year playing career in the major leagues, a record-setting milestone that he held for more than three decades. He was among the greatest baseball players to ever take the field.
Born in 1934 in Mobile, Ala., Aaron swept into the Negro American League as a hugely talented outfielder before signing with the Milwaukee Braves in 1952. He shot into the big leagues two years later and won most-valuable player honors in 1957 as he led Milwaukee to a World Series victory.
Aaron continued to rack up hits, homers and All-Star honors after the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. He belted his 715th home run in 1974, marking an achievement the pursuit of which drew death threats and racist attacks as Aaron neared the record Ruth held for almost 40 years.
Aaron, who was Black, was unfazed by the racist threats and hate mail aimed at deterring him from breaking the white New York Yankee legend’s record. His determination won worldwide praise from political leaders, celebrities, sports figures and fans.
“What a marvelous moment for baseball,” said sportscaster Vin Scully as he called Aaron’s historic home run on April 8, 1974. “What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world.”
“A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron.”
Aaron finished his career two years later with the Milwaukee Brewers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. He joined the Atlanta Braves’ front office as senior vice president and received many awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He lived in Atlanta.
In 2007, Aaron congratulated former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds for breaking his career home-run record, saying he would “move over now” as another great player took the title of all-time home run king.
“My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will aspire others to chase their own dream,” Aaron said in a video message.
Athletes, sports writers and political leaders commemorated Aaron with resounding words of praise on Thursday. Other Braves legends including former sluggers Dale Murphy and Larry “Chipper” Jones highlighted Aaron’s legacy on and off the field.
“There was a certain spirit, even a reverence, when in Hank Aaron’s presence that you could feel,” Murphy said. “Grace, strength, integrity. We were blessed to have known him.”
“He spread his grace on everything and everyone he came in contact with,” Jones said. “Epitome of class and integrity.”
“One of the greatest baseball players of all time, he has been a personal hero to us,” said former President Jimmy Carter. “A breaker of records and racial barriers, his remarkable legacy will continue to inspire countless athletes and admirers for generations to come.”
“Hank Aaron was a trailblazer and a hero who had to stare down hatred,” said former CBS News anchor Dan Rather. “He was also one of the best ballplayers to ever play the game. He was a joy to watch and a marvel to behold.”
“Watching him break Babe Ruth’s record for most home runs on television was a monumental moment,” said musician Lenny Kravitz. “As a young Black child, he inspired me to push for excellence.”
“Hank Aaron was an American icon and one of Georgia’s greatest legends,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “His life and career made history, and his influence was felt not only in the world of sports, but far beyond – through his important work to advance civil rights and create a more equal, just society.”
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks with reporters outside Amazon’s new warehouse in Gwinnett County on Sept. 1, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – When it comes to economic development, rural Georgia is punching above its weight.
More than half of the 16,000 jobs created in Georgia during the first half of this fiscal year and more than half of $6 billion in new investment have gone to communities outside metro Atlanta.
But more needs to be done, Gov. Brian Kemp declared Jan. 14 in his annual State of the State address. That’s why Kemp’s new budget proposals are putting a major focus on rural Georgia, with nearly $40 million earmarked to establish a Rural Innovation Fund and $30 million to continue building high-speed broadband connectivity in rural areas.
“We know that we can land major investments and job creation in rural communities throughout Georgia,” the governor told a joint session of the General Assembly. “But we also know that will not happen if we don’t invest heavily in the infrastructure and resources necessary to encourage that growth.”
In an exclusive interview with Capitol Beat News Service, Kemp said the idea for a Rural Innovation Fund came during the past year as he and his advisors thought about ways to safely reopen Georgia’s economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state Department of Community Affairs provides loans and grants to help cities and counties across rural Georgia acquire land and build infrastructure that will help them attract new businesses or expand existing companies.
But Kemp said he wanted something new and different.
“Having a pot of money separate from what the Department of Community Affairs normally does gives us some alternatives,” he said. “This will free up some money we can be flexible with.”
Kemp said the state tends to get involved with the larger economic development projects, while smaller businesses don’t get on its radar screen. He said the Rural Innovation Fund will look to help local governments make those smaller projects a reality.
Generating even a few jobs in a rural community can make a big difference, Kemp said.
“Five jobs here, 10 there, you do that multiple times … and the state has given hope and opportunity to a [rural] part of the state,” he said.
Kemp said one of the tasks of the Rural Strike Team he formed in 2019 will be to identify businesses that could use the Rural Innovation Fund’s help.
The governor’s broadband initiative comes in addition to $325.5 million the Federal Communications Commission allocated last month to expand broadband service in rural Georgia through the first phase of the agency’s $9.2 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.
Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) also are working with telecom providers to add broadband service in rural communities through legislation the General Assembly passed last year.
The pandemic has given the need to expand rural broadband a greater sense of urgency, as companies have been forced to conduct business via Zoom meetings and schools have had to hold classes online.
“Internet access is one of the most important things that impacts us in rural Georgia,” said state Senate Majority Whip Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, who represents a rural district in North Georgia. “If you don’t have internet access, you can’t reach out across the world as a small business and do the kind of things that other people do who are in bigger cities.”
“This is just another step forward,” Kemp said of the $30 million he is requesting for broadband. “Getting broadband to rural Georgia is going to be a grind we have to methodically work on year after year.”
With the need for a permanent state commitment in mind, Kemp’s new budget proposals call for annual funding for rural broadband. He’s asking for $20 million for the current fiscal year and $10 million for each year going forward.
Georgia Rep. Ron Stephens, chairman of the House Economic Development & Tourism Committee, said the state Department of Transportation is exploring the possibility of extending broadband into parts of rural Georgia by running cable along state highway corridors.
Stephens, R-Savannah, who sponsored last year’s broadband bill, said he’d also like to see the state subsidize the private sector to spur more broadband projects.
“I hope there’s some sort of tax incentive or credit that will jump-start this state,” he said. “It might as well be the Sahara Desert in rural Georgia as far as broadband.”
The $20 million Kemp is seeking for rural broadband during this fiscal year could start flowing soon. The General Assembly has put the governor’s $26.3 billion fiscal 2021 mid-year budget on a fast track for passage in case the COVID-19 outbreak worsens and lawmakers are forced to call a temporary halt in the legislative session.
ATLANTA – The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia throughout the Trump administration is moving back to private practice.
Byung J. “BJay” Pak will rejoin Alston & Bird as a partner in its Litigation & Trial Practice Group next month, the Atlanta-based firm announced Thursday.
“BJay is a gifted attorney, dedicated public servant, and a leader of considerable experience and skill,” Alston & Bird Chairman and Managing Partner Richard Hays said. “He brings additional stature and deepens our reputation as a leading choice for internal investigation counsel, white-collar defense, and other complex civil and criminal litigation.”
Pak was sworn in as a U.S. attorney in October 2017, becoming the country’s first Korean American to hold the post. He resigned from the Justice Department early this month, reportedly because he refused to pursue unfounded claims of fraud in Georgia stemming from the Nov. 3 election.
From 2011 until 2017, Pak served in the Georgia House of Representatives representing a district in Gwinnett County.
As the chief federal law enforcement officer for 46 counties in North Georgia, Pak oversaw all criminal and civil matters and supervised more than 100 assistant U.S. attorneys. Under his leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted significant cases related to insider trading, domestic and international corruption, financial fraud and cybersecurity.
Pak began his career at Alston & Bird in 2000, where he focused on complex litigation and government investigations. Two years later, he was named assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Georgia, prosecuting money laundering, intellectual property, and white-collar crimes.
Coronavirus has sickened hundreds of thousands people and killed thousands more in Georgia. (Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Georgia officials overseeing the state’s COVID-19 vaccine program are awaiting word from the new Biden administration on whether more doses will head their way amid an early shortage.
Pharmacies and health clinics had given out more than 550,000 doses to Georgia nursing homes, hospitals and people at least 65-years-old as of Thursday, marking roughly half of the vaccines Georgia has received so far, said state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.
That’s far short of the 2 million Georgians now eligible for the vaccine who will need two doses each.
Gov. Brian Kemp said officials will move “as quickly as we can” to distribute vaccines if Georgia’s current allotment of 120,000 doses per week increases with the new president.
“I can’t control the supply we’re getting,” Kemp said at a news conference Thursday. “But if we get more … we will do everything in our power to empower not only the government, but also private-sector partners to get this vaccine in people’s arms.”
Biden, who was inaugurated Wednesday, has pledged to distribute 100 million vaccines over the next three months by using the federal Defense Production Act to spur vaccine production and setting up Federal Emergency Management Agency-run vaccination centers.
More than 1,600 clinics, pharmacies, doctors and groceries have signed up to administer vaccines in the month or so since Georgia’s rollout started, Toomey said. Their success depends on how much supply the federal government and manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna can muster in the coming weeks.
“This is a federal program,” Toomey said. “All the logistics are done at the federal level.”
Despite concerns, Kemp and Toomey said COVID-19 vaccines are now stocked enough to ensure Georgians already vaccinated once will be able to receive the necessary second dose for full inoculation. That’s due to a federal program making headway on vaccinating residents and staff in nursing homes through CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, Kemp said.
“These additional doses in the short term will allow existing providers and public-health departments at the county level to expand the number of appointments that they are currently scheduling,” Kemp said. “But our total supply … does not fulfill the demand from seniors and other at-risk eligible Georgians.”
Georgia’s vaccine rollout kicked off in mid-December at a slow pace, hindered by short supplies and an imbalance in demand between health-care workers in rural areas who have shown less zeal for vaccination than metro Atlanta hospital employees who have rushed to schedule appointments.
Meanwhile, deaths stemming from the highly contagious virus have ticked up in recent weeks, Kemp said. The grim news comes during spike in COVID-19 infections over the winter months that’s showing signs of a slowdown, Kemp said – but which is still hammering communities even harder than the devastating outbreaks of summer.
The governor urged Georgians Thursday to continue wearing masks, washing hands and keep distance from each other as fatigue over safety measures takes root nearly a year after the pandemic began.
“Our hospitals cannot handle another surge of COVID-19 patients on top of their current workload,” Kemp said. “This is not an all-clear signal. We’ve got to continue to keep our foot on the gas.”
More than 700,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Georgia as of Thursday afternoon, with nearly more 150,000 more reported positive antigen tests indicating likely positive results. The virus has killed 11,511 Georgians.
