“Georgians’ hearts are heavy today as we mourn the devastating loss of Jovita Moore,” said U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta. “A warm, steady presence in our homes every day, Jovita was for so many of us our link to the city and the world. Jovita was a talented journalist, a loving mother, and a cornerstone of the Atlanta community whose enormous impact was felt far beyond the newsroom. We are lifting up Jovita’s family and WSB-TV colleagues in love and prayer during this time of unimaginable grief.”
The #NABJ Family deeply mourns the loss of legendary @wsbtv news anchor & longtime member @JovitaMoore. Moore battled with brain cancer & inspired many on her journey. Her legacy of kindness, commitment to her craft, and reaching back to help the next generation will live on.🕯️ pic.twitter.com/efArnyxYfu
Today, we mourn the passing of @jovitamoore, who used her voice and platform to highlight important issues impacting Atlantans for more than 20 years. May God bless her family, loved ones, and @wsbtv colleagues in their time of grief.
Moore is survived by her mother, two children and a stepdaughter.
Our kids Shelby and kai grew up together. We would have lunch and would just laugh and laugh. She was my friend and we talked a lot of smack 😂😂 I will miss her . We are all better for her coming to Atlanta! @JovitaMoorepic.twitter.com/vbNRmGjUGS
It is hard to put into words the depth of this loss. For so many young black journalists, #JovitaMoore was our standard. A class act, a trusted journalist and a beautiful spirit. Jovita was everything I wanted to be one day and I’ll cherish her memory forever. Rest well, Queen.💔 pic.twitter.com/cyUpxPfBqA
I don’t even remember when we became friends.. but what l do know is that @JovitaMoore was sincere and funny. Our ties to media is what connected us but life made us friends. She loved her children, embraced life to the fullest.. and always gave back. #RIP my friend 🙏🏾 @wsocpic.twitter.com/XLVivxBTkH
Moore was a native of New York who earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia University graduate school of journalism. She also held a bachelor’s degree from Bennington College in Vermont.
#ATLANTA my heart is deeply broken as I learn that my dear friend @jovitamoore has passed away. For years she graciously represented Atlanta by telling stories that enlightened us & lifted our spirits! Please keep her family & @wsbtv colleagues in your prayers!🙏🏾RIP #JovitaMoorepic.twitter.com/NrFCqZfARm
Before joining WSB-TV, the station said she spent time on the air in Memphis at WMC-TV and KFSM in Arkansas.
Thank you for the style, professionalism, and grace that you brought into our lives, and the Metropolitan area, on a daily basis… Well done and rest well #JovitaMoorepic.twitter.com/lDd3bld1Vi
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday that $110 million is being dedicated to combat violent crime in the state.
Kemp also announced plans to establish a violent crime task force that, he said, will help local district attorneys with their violence crime casework.
The funds are coming from money available through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act.
Kemp’s announcement came after a state Senate public safety committee meeting last week, where several metro Atlanta judges and law enforcement officials detailed their efforts and needs in fighting crime throughout the city.
The committee has been holding meetings and hearings for several weeks, ahead of next week’s special legislative session the governor has called for redistricting.
The $110 million will be used, according to Kemp’s office:
• To provide additional, temporary court staff such as senior judges, bailiffs, court reporters, judicial officers, court staff, and other necessary persons to address the case backlog created by COVID-19. • To contract with third party locations to conduct court proceedings in larger facilities. • To pay for additional, temporary prosecutors, investigators, legal administrative positions, and contract legal services. • To provide additional circuit and conflict attorneys for the Georgia Public Defenders Council.
The funding for the judicial system and prosecuting attorneys will be administered by the Judicial Council of Georgia and its Administrative Office of the Courts. The available grant funding for the Georgia Public Defenders Council will be administered through the Governor’s office.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
President Joe Biden’s revised – but still massive – infrastructure spending bill includes several major wins for Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. senators.
The $1.75 trillion reconciliation bill was announced late Thursday morning after days of feverish negotiations among Congressional Democrats.
Notably, according to the White House, tax credits under the ACA will be extended through 2025. The White House said experts predict more than 3 million people who would otherwise be uninsured will gain health insurance. The bill also makes those tax credits available through 2025 to 4 million uninsured people in uncovered states.
Both U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have been vocal proponents of Medicaid expansion in Georgia. Biden’s Build Back Better proposal includes a provision to close the Medicaid coverage gap in Georgia and the 11 other states where states have refused to expand Medicaid.
Warnock’s office said the expansion will provide health insurance to about 646,000 Georgians who make too much money to qualify for traditional Medicaid coverage but make too little money to afford coverage on the marketplace.
According to the White House, here are some of the items included in the reconciliation bill now being debated in Congress:
Universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. This expands access to free high-quality preschool for more than 6 million children. This is a long-term program, with funding for six years.
Limiting of child care costs for families to no more than 7% of income, for families earning up to 250% of state median income. It enables states to expand access to about 20 million children. Parents must be working, seeking work, in training or taking care of a serious health issue. This is a long-term program, with funding for six years.
Extend for one year the current expanded child tax credit for more than 35 million American households, with monthly payments for households earning up to $150,000 per year. Make refundability of the Child Tax Credit permanent.
Clean energy tax credits ($320 billion): Ten-year expanded tax credits for utility-scale and residential clean energy, transmission and storage, clean passenger and commercial vehicles, and clean energy manufacturing.
Resilience investments ($105 billion): Investments and incentives to address extreme weather (wildfires, droughts, and hurricanes, including in forestry, wetlands, and agriculture), legacy pollution in communities, and a Civilian Climate Corps.
Investments and incentives for clean energy technology, manufacturing, and supply chains ($110 billion): Targeted incentives to spur new domestic supply chains and technologies, like solar, batteries, and advanced materials, while boosting the competitiveness of existing industries, like steel, cement, and aluminum.
Clean energy procurement ($20 billion): Provide incentives for government to be purchaser of next-gen technologies, including long-duration storage, small modular reactors, and clean construction materials.
Allow Medicare to cover the cost of hearing.
Housing: $150 billion investment in housing affordability and reducing price pressures, including in rural areas. Funds go toward building more than 1 million new affordable rental and single-family homes, rental and down payment assistance, and public housing.
Reduce costs and expand access to education beyond high school by raising the maximum Pell grant, providing support to Historically Black Colleges & Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Minority Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities, and investing in workforce development, including community college workforce programs, sector-based training, and apprenticeships.
An earned income tax credit for 17 million low-wage workers.
The White House continues stressing the plan is more than fully paid for by asking the wealthiest Americans and most profitable corporations to pay their fair share. It does not raise taxes on small business and anyone making less than $400,000 per year.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA — A $473 million first-of-its-kind semiconductor plant will be opening in Newton County, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office announced Thursday morning.
SKC, a subsidiary of SK Group, and several business partners will manufacture glass-based substrates for semiconductor chips in Covington. The venture will create more than 400 new jobs.
The plant will be developed on the SKC property, located at 3000 SKC Drive in Covington. The company will primarily be hiring high-tech engineers, skilled technicians, and other semiconductor field-experienced talent. The company expects to ramp up production by late summer 2023.
A ceremonial memorandum of understanding was signed between the state and SKC solidifying the project and location. After various related work in multiple countries, Dr. Sung Jin Kim, SKC’s director of new business development, served as a research professor at Georgia Tech from 2012-2015. Kim helped develop this glass substrate technology.
SK Group is one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea, and the Covington facility will be its third major investment in Georgia. In addition to the new SKC location, SK Innovation is investing nearly $2.6 billion in developing two battery manufacturing facilities in Jackson County to supply electric vehicles.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – One week from a special legislative session called to redraw Georgia’s legislative and congressional maps, the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus released its proposed legislative district map.
The proposal contains 22 districts in which minorities are a majority of residents and a majority of the voting age population, an increase from the 20 such districts that currently exist.
In a statement, Democrats said the new map more fairly represents the partisan makeup of Georgia’s electorate by establishing 25 districts that will likely elect Democrats, 27 that will likely elect Republicans, and four competitive districts.
Submitted by Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, the proposed map redraws the state’s 56 Senate districts in a way that allows for increased participation by racial minorities, the party said.
“Our map reflects Georgia’s growing diversity, and it is responsive to the will of the people,” Butler said. “We cannot create maps that allow any party to be immune to accountability. We have a sacred responsibility to get this right – to ensure that the only power we are preserving is the power of the people’s vote.”
Last week, the Georgia House and Senate Democratic caucuses Thursday released their own proposed congressional map. That map, which proposes more of a 50-50 split between GOP- and Democratic-leaning districts, follows a GOP-proposed map released in late September.
With the GOP holding majorities in both the state House and Senate, none of the proposed Democratic maps are likely to get serious consideration.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
