Georgia Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry
ATLANTA – Traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels in most of Georgia, state Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry reported Thursday.
With the economy steadily reopening, the flow of cars and trucks along Georgia’s rural roads and interstate highways is back to normal, McMurry told members of the State Transportation Board during its monthly meeting Thursday. In fact, truck traffic is actually above normal in some parts of the state, he said.
Only in metro Atlanta is traffic still down significantly from levels seen before March, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the state and prompted Gov. Brian Kemp to issue a statewide stay-at-home order. That mandate has since been lifted for all but Georgians in long-term care facilities and those with chronic medical conditions.
Because the metro region accounts for such a large percentage of the vehicles plying Georgia highways, traffic flow statewide is still down 10% to 15% on average, McMurry said. Traffic across the state plummeted by up to half at the height of the economic lockdown.
McMurry said it’s still unclear how much the reopening of schools for the fall semester will affect traffic flows. He said he would know more by the time he reports back to the transportation board next month.
ATLANTA – A rapidly growing e-commerce mattress and furniture company will build its first North American advanced manufacturing plant in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday.
Zinus USA Inc. will invest $108 million and create 840 jobs at the new plant in McDonough.
“This international company with a strong worldwide reach will enjoy a true home in Henry County, Georgia,” Kemp said after a ceremonial signing with company officials. “I’m confident that, combined with our unparalleled logistics network and pro-business environment, their business will find more new opportunities and succeed.”
Launched in South Korea, Zinus Inc. has expanded to 20 countries across the globe and plans to continue growing its international footprint in the coming years.
Zinus has several distribution centers across the U.S., but the McDonough plant will become its first U.S. manufacturing plant. The company’s other manufacturing facilities are in Indonesia and China.
“As we continue to grow into new markets and expand our own vertical integration capabilities, establishing our first-ever production center in the U.S. is a critical step in our evolution as a global business,” said Keith Reynolds, president of Zinus USA.
“Georgia was a natural choice when considering the location for our new facility. … Not only will this investment ensure we can better serve partners like Walmart, Amazon, Wayfair, and Costco, but it will allow us to continue delivering high-value products at affordable prices to our loyal customers for years to come.”
The new plant is expected to open in the first half of next year and will also serve as a U.S. distribution center for the company.
Director of Korean Investment Yoonie Kim represented the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce division in putting together the deal. The state agency worked in partnership with the Henry County Development Authority, Georgia Quick Start, and Georgia EMC.
Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, July 2020 Photo credit: Georgia Power Co.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s utility regulating agency voted unanimously Tuesday to approve $674 million in spending on the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion Georgia Power Co. reported incurring during the last half of 2019.
But the state Public Service Commission rejected a PSC staff recommendation to start discussing how much of the project’s cost the utility’s customers will be forced to absorb when the first of two new reactors under construction at the site south of Augusta goes into operation late next year.
The PSC has been signing off on Georgia Power’s spending on the $25 billion project in six-month increments since the agency approved the nuclear expansion in 2009.
Following a series of delays that set the work back five years and drove up the price tag from an original estimate of $14 billion, the commission voted in 2017 to hold off any decisions on whether the cost overruns were “prudent” and, thus, could be passed on to customers, until after the new reactors are finished.
But the project’s critics, including consumer and environmental advocacy groups, have been pushing the PSC to take up the impact on customers sooner.
On Tuesday, the commission’s Advisory Staff recommended the PSC start considering the issue when Georgia Power presents its next semiannual Vogtle Construction Monitoring (VCM) report, due by the end of this month.
But Commissioner Tricia Pridemore argued now is too soon to start discussing the project’s ultimate impact on customer bills. She proposed an amendment to the staff’s recommendation to limit Tuesday’s vote to approving the $674 million in spending from the last six months of last year.
“It’s premature to talk about rates and ratemaking,” she said. “We’re 14 months out from [the] Unit 3 [reactor] coming on line.”
Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald sided with the PSC staff’s recommendation to begin considering the cost issue sooner rather than later.
“I don’t think any time is too early for us to start looking at what to expect when Unit 3 comes on line,” he said. “I don’t like surprises.”
But the rest of the commission sided with Pridemore and adopted her amendment by a 4-1 vote. The PSC then unanimously approved the $674 million in spending reported by Georgia Power,
The company maintains the project can be completed under the current timetable, with Unit 3 going into service in November 2021 and Unit 4 the following November. The two new reactors then would join two reactors built at Vogtle during the 1980s.
But independent experts retained as consultants by the PSC’s staff testified earlier this summer the schedule is likely to slip further behind and that the final cost probably will go up by at least $1 billion.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are in a close battle for president in Georgia, according to a new poll.
ATLANTA – President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are in a tight race for Georgia’s 16 electoral votes, according to a poll released Monday by WSB-TV.
The survey of 500 likely Georgia voters conducted Aug. 14-15 by Landmark Communications found Republican Trump the favorite of 47.4%, followed closely by Biden with 44.5%. Libertarian Jo Jorgensen trailed far behind with 4.4% of the vote, and 3.7% said they were undecided.
The poll’s margin of error was 4.4%.
The survey mirrored results in other recent polls of Peach State voters, encouraging Democrats who haven’t carried Georgia in a presidential election since 1992. Trump carried Georgia four years ago, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by just more than 5%.
The Landmark poll found voters polarized along racial and gender lines. White voters heavily preferred Trump by 68.3% to 24.4%, while Black voters overwhelmingly chose Biden 85.7% to 4.5%.
The margins were less pronounced when considering gender. Trump led among men 52.0% to 36.5%. Biden led among women 51.3% to 43.6%.
Trump and Biden showed a nearly equal ability to attract loyalty from within their own parties. The president drew support from 84.4% of self-identified Republicans, while 84.5% of Democrats supported Biden.
The poll came as the parties prepared to conduct their national conventions virtually for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic National Convention will run from Monday through Thursday, with the Republican National Convention to follow for four days next week.
ATLANTA – A new public-private partnership will lead efforts to make Georgia the technology capital of the East Coast, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced Monday.
The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation stems from the work of a task force of political, business and academic leaders Duncan formed last January. The Georgia Innovates Task Force released its recommendations last month.
While Atlanta already has the critical infrastructure in place to become a leader in technology, the new partnership will look to establish tech startups and generate venture capital investment across the state, Duncan told members of the Rotary Club of Atlanta Monday during a virtual luncheon meeting.
“For a long time, Atlanta has gained traction in becoming a technology hub,” Duncan said. “[But] so many other areas can join in this.”
Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, served on the Georgia Innovates Task Force and appeared with the lieutenant governor during Monday’s program.
“I was overwhelmed with the depth and breadth of the ideas that came from people all over the state,” Bostic said.
The task force report included recommendations of steps the new partnership should take to help Georgia become the technology capital of the East Coast, a goal Duncan touted during his 2018 campaign.
The report calls for a series of high-impact, low-cost pilot programs aimed at various improvements needed to achieve that goal. Examples include K-12 digital readiness, a need that has become glaringly obvious with the switch to online learning forced on Georgia school districts by the coronavirus pandemic, and advanced food supply innovation.
Duncan said the pandemic has pointed out the need to improve the supply chain for the delivery of food.
“The ag part of this is not something that’s being left behind,” he said. “It’s one of the best opportunities we have before us. It’s unplowed territory.”
Some of the same people who served on the task force have been named to the new partnership, including former Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson, who will chair its advisory board, Bostic and Paul Bowers, president and CEO of Georgia Power.
The partnership’s board also will include Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development; Larry Williams, president and CEO of the Technology Association of Georgia; and Carol Tomé, CEO of United Parcel Service.
