Savannah’s planned dredging project was again the subject of a headline tug-of-war. Most importantly, South Carolina’s Supreme Court overturned a key permit for the project, meaning that Georgia and the Army Corps of Engineers will have to seek Congressional approval to override the permit requirement. (The State) On the good news front, Georgia is committing even more money for the project (AJC), and the Federal government recently granted final approval of the work. (San Francisco Chronicle)
We’re finally seeing the benefits of some economic development projects that have been announced in the past.
Panasonic Automotive opened its Innovation Center at Georgia Tech, which will employ 100 workers. (11 Alive) FedEx opened a distribution center in Norcross. (Atlanta Business Chronicle) A sporting complex in Bartow County broke ground; proponents say this will generate 26,000 jobs; color us skeptical. Either way, it’s nice to see this move forward. (11 Alive)
Atlanta’s airport is planning to offer free WiFi by next Fall. (AJC)
According to a report, Georgia is the fourth-best business environment for large-scale projects. (Atlanta Business Chronicle) In somewhat contradictory news, Georgia’s tax burden was assessed as 33rd highest in the country, once local government spending is factored and tax revenue is adjusted for income. (AJC) The general cause for these mixed signals is that personal income tends to be on the low side in Georgia compared with other states.
Economic insecurity, a measurement of how many people saw spendable income decline significantly in the last year, decreased in Georgia, but remains high. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
A medical billing company in Augusta is expanding and adding 60-70 jobs. (Augusta Chronicle)
On the national front, the October jobs report came in much stronger than expected, but still is weaker than economists would have it. (Daily Finance) Let’s at least hope some of these gains show up in the local market.
