Month: June 2022

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Poll says Georgia gubernatorial race is too close to call

June 30, 2022 T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) — It’s been a hot start to Georgia’s summer and the Peach State’s gubernatorial race is a dead heat. A new Quinnipiac University Poll found that 48% of voters support incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, while an equal number of voters support Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams. Interestingly, voters gave Kemp a 48% approval rating and 43% disapproval. That is up from January when 42% approved of Kemp’s job performance to 49% who

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Boston Scientific plans $62.5M expansion in Georgia, but taxpayer contribution is unknown

June 30, 2022 T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) — Boston Scientific plans to invest $62.5 million to expand its presence in Georgia. The Massachusetts-based company plans to bring roughly 340 new jobs to Johns Creek over seven years. Boston Scientific, which employs roughly 300 Georgians, purchased Alpharetta-based EndoChoice in 2016 for roughly $210 million. Georgia economic development officials would not say whether the state offered incentives to entice Boston Scientific. They cited a state law that allows officials to keep

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Georgia Republicans hopeful that state can reinstitute fetal heartbeat law that restricts abortion

June 24, 2022 T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) — Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion could allow Georgia to reinstitute its fetal heartbeat law that bars most abortions after about six weeks. On Friday, the nation’s highest court overturned Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Roe v. Wade, a ruling that established abortion as a constitutional right. The opinion comes in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said

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New numbers show increase in Georgia’s unemployment rate

June 24, 2022 T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) — A week after Georgia officials trumpeted what they said was a record low unemployment, new numbers show the state’s unemployment rate is rising. The seasonally adjusted state unemployment rate dropped from 3.1% in April to 3% in May. However, preliminary numbers released Thursday show the non-seasonally adjusted state rate increased from 2.5% in April to 2.7% in May. Every Georgia regional commission recorded a rise in its unemployment rate in May.

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Georgia shoe manufacturer to receive taxpayer workforce development grant for $20M expansion

June 23, 2022 T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) — Okabashi Brands, a Georgia-based shoe company, plans to invest more than $20 million over the next five years to upgrade its Gwinnett County facility. The upgrades to Okabashi’s Buford facility will add new manufacturing lines and increase production by 100%. The company plans to create roughly 340 new jobs. The state included Georgia Quick Start workforce training, which provides “customized, job-specific training,” as an incentive for Okabashi. The training is valued

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Georgia congressman wants to prevent cancellation of federal student loan debt

June 21, 2022 T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) — A Georgia congressman wants to bar President Joe Biden and the federal government from canceling student loan debt. According to reports, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has indicated he is open to forgiving some student loan debt. That prompted U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Georgia, to co-sponsor H.R. 8006, the Student Loan Accountability Act, to bar the cancellation of student loan debt on a mass scale. The proposal prohibits the Internal Revenue