ATLANTA – A coastal Georgia nonprofit is challenging a plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do away with seasonal limitations on dredging activities that have long protected sea turtles and other marine life.
In a federal lawsuit filed Monday, the group One Hundred Miles is seeking a preliminary injunction to block the Corps from conducting year-round operation and maintenance dredging in Brunswick Harbor starting as early as mid-May.
The Corps historically has limited dredging to mid-December through the end of March, a period when adult loggerheads and other sensitive species are far less abundant in Georgia’s coastal waters. Loggerhead nesting season in Georgia traditionally begins May 1 and runs through October.
“Our state has long rallied around our loggerhead sea turtles and invested in their protection,” said Catherine Ridley, coordinator and vice president of education and communications at One Hundred Miles. “Georgians aren’t about to let the Corps throw away nearly six decades of conservation progress based on their illogical arguments and complete disregard for scientific data.”
The state-run Jekyll Island Authority has weighed in on the side of One Hundred Miles, recently sending a letter to the Corps expressing concern over year-round dredging.
The Corps has said the plan is part of a more holistic effort to protect a larger number of endangered species in coastal waters, including the North Atlantic right whale that comes to the area for its calving season each year.
“The goal is to try to figure out how to do everything better for all the species,” Nicole Bonine, an environmental compliance sustainability and energy program manager for the corps’ South Atlantic Division, said in March.
“We’re really hoping that if we can get all of these techniques in place and continue to build on information gathered year over year, we can ultimately reduce the number of turtle [deaths or injuries] every year.”
But Megan Huynh, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing One Hundred Miles, said the Corps hasn’t adequately reviewed the plan or offered enough opportunities for public comment.
“State and federal agencies have relied on seasonal dredging windows for decades for the simple fact that these windows have proven to be effective in reducing risks to sea turtles and other coastal wildlife,” she said.
A recent two-week comment period offered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources generated more than 1,500 letters in opposition to year-round dredging.
The Georgia coast is home to the oldest loggerhead sea turtle nesting project in the world, started in 1964 on Little Cumberland Island.
ATLANTA – Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare has signed an agreement to buy four Georgia hospitals from HCA Healthcare Inc. for about $950 million, the two companies announced Monday.
Pending regulatory approval, Piedmont will acquire Eastside Medical Center in Snellville; Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside, both in Macon; and Cartersville Medical Center in Cartersville.
The companies are targeting July 31 for a closing date.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Piedmont,” said Kevin Brown, president and CEO of Piedmont Healthcare. “HCA Healthcare has instilled a high standard of care into these facilities, and we are proud that they have trusted Piedmont to continue this legacy.”
The four HCA Healthcare hospitals were not able to fully benefit from a broader HCA presence in their communities, Nashville-based HCA stated in a news release.
“Given Piedmont Healthcare’s history of serving the region’s health care needs, the affiliation will better position the hospitals to continue providing excellent care to their patients,” the release stated. “At the same time, the transaction provides strategic value to HCA Healthcare by increasing financial flexibility in investments in ongoing and future initiatives in core markets.”
Eastside Medical Center is a 310-bed two-campus system of care. The North Campus has 229 beds supporting acute care services, including a 46-bed emergency department.
The South Campus offers a 61-bed inpatient psychiatric center, 20-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility, and an 11-bed emergency department.
Coliseum Health System includes two acute care hospitals: Coliseum Medical Centers with 310 beds and Coliseum Northside with 103 beds. In addition, Coliseum operates an ambulatory surgery center in Macon with three operating rooms.
Cartersville Medical Center is a 119-bed acute care hospital that includes a 43-bed emergency department with a level III trauma center.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation Monday to toughen penalties for illegal street races by criminalizing promotions on social media and potentially confiscating cars.
The newly enacted measure makes it a misdemeanor for anyone in Georgia to organize, promote or participate in street racing, also called drag racing.
It will also require driver’s license suspensions for drag racers and cause drivers to face losing their vehicles unless the driver’s family would face financial hardship. In that case, the vehicle’s title would have to be transferred to another family member.
Kemp said the increased penalties would help curb a growing crime problem in metro Atlanta and show support for police agencies seeking to crack down on street racing.
“This illegal activity is very dangerous,” Kemp said at a bill-signing ceremony Monday. “Many people have been injured and some tragically have lost their lives. … Our goal is simple: To protect every family in every community.”
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville, who is one of Kemp’s floor leaders in the state House of Representatives. It cleared both chambers in the General Assembly by wide margins during the 2021 legislative session.
Bonner’s bill faced some pushback from defense attorneys who questioned what difference the tougher penalties would make since local police already have a difficult time arresting drag racers. Opponents also worried someone could have their car confiscated if it was being used by another person for drag racing.
The measure Kemp signed Monday echoed a separate drag-racing bill sponsored by Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, that did not pass during the session.
Co-sponsoring Bonner’s bill were Reps. Bill Hitchens, R-Rincon; Martin Momtahan, R-Dallas; John Corbett, R-Lake Park; and Matt Barton, R-Calhoun.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed several bills Monday to lower the age requirement for Georgia parents to adopt children from 25 to 21, create tuition waivers for foster kids to attend in-state universities and bolster legal protections for adopted children against abuse.
The six-bill package marked the latest move by Kemp and his allies in the General Assembly to cut red tape for Georgia families who wish to adopt children and help give older foster kids a leg up as they enter the working world.
During a bill-signing ceremony, Kemp highlighted improvements Georgia’s foster-care system has seen in recent years through an increase in adoptions that have reduced the number of foster kids in state care from about 15,000 children in March 2018 to roughly 12,000 as of this past January.
“By making it more affordable to adopt, reducing bureaucratic red tape and championing the safety of children across our state, we can ensure that Georgia’s children are placed in those homes in a secure and safer future for generations to come,” Kemp said Monday.
Legislative leaders including Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan backed legislation to lower the age for parents to adopt children to 21 and allow foster and homeless children to obtain tuition waivers from the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia.
Kemp also signed legislation Monday to add more training for juvenile court officers, expand rules for parents under court-ordered alternatives care and require officials to report on a range of child-abuse treatment including abandonment, neglect, emotional abuse and exposure to chronic alcohol or drug use.
Additionally, Kemp signed bills to allow judges to issue arrest warrants for state foster-care workers, give courts more data on children in foster care and include a former foster child and current or former foster parents on the state Child Advocate Advisory Committee tasked with evaluating Georgia’s child-protective services.
Former state Rep. Burt Reeves, R-Marietta, one of Kemp’s floor leaders in the General Assembly who has pushed for adoption and foster-care legislation since 2015, said the newly signed bills add to other recent measures aimed at overhauling the foster-care system.
“Lives are being changed,” said Reeves, who resigned his seat in the state House of Representatives recently to take a job at Georgia Tech. “Forever homes are being created for children who have had the roughest and the most difficult pathway imaginable, and families are growing.”
Kemp signed separate legislation last month sponsored by Reeves to boost the annual tax credit for new foster parents from $2,000 to $6,000 annually for the first five years after adoption. He also signed a bill last year that prohibits foster parents from engaging in improper sexual behavior with children in their care, closing a loophole in state law.
Georgia lawmakers who joined Reeves in sponsoring the bills Kemp signed Monday included Sens. Chuck Payne, R-Dalton; Brian Strickland, R-McDonough; and Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia; and Reps. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton; and Katie Dempsey, R-Rome.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development launched a multi-pronged campaign Monday to help the state’s tourism industry recover from losses suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.
During a virtual event at the Georgia Aquarium, the agency’s tourism division kicked off the new marketing campaign “Ready. Set. Georgia.”
Tourism officials also unveiled the 2021 edition of Georgia’s travel guide and announced a new $1 million grant program funded through Gov. Brian Kemp’s fiscal 2021 mid-year budget.
“As more people are vaccinated and eager to travel, tourism is a top priority for Georgia’s economy,” the governor said Monday. “I am committed to ensuring both its recovery and continued success.”
The impacts of COVID-19 sent travel spending in Georgia plummeting nearly $12 billion last year compared to 2019, a loss accompanied by a 26.5% decline in hotel rooms sold and a 41.3% drop-off in revenue per available room.
However, since the governor never fully shut down Georgia’s economy even at the height of the pandemic, the impact on the state’s tourism industry was less than in many other states. National visitation data tracked by Arrivalist show that total trips to or within Georgia rose 75% in March compared to March 2020.
“Despite the challenges tourism has faced, our team at Explore Georgia found creative ways to promote safe travel in Georgia,” state Commissioner of Economic Development Pat Wilson said. “All across the state, we are seeing evidence that tourism – despite the pandemic – has remained strong.”
To help the recovery process along, the Ready. Set. Georgia campaign will highlight a mix of city, coastal and small-town destinations across the state, using a variety of digital and print platforms.
The free travel guide will be available online at ExploreGeorgia.org, by calling 1-800-VISIT GA, or at any of the state’s nine visitor information centers.
The tourism recovery effort was announced in conjunction with National Travel and Tourism Week, which continues through May 8.
