The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp delivers agenda-setting State of the State address
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp delivered a State of the State address on Thursday that outlined his election-year agenda ahead of a challenging battle for a second term.
…SALARY HIKES
State employees will get a $5,000 pay increase in Kemp’s budget proposal as Georgia scrambles to reduce soaring employee turnover. The governor’s spending plan would also make permanent a $5,000 cost-of-living adjustment for full-time employees, increase the employer match for 401(k) contributions to a maximum of 9% and allow employees to withdraw up to 40 hours of eligible leave as pay each year.
…EDUCATION
His budget plan would restore $262 million in previous cuts to the higher education system, allowing technical colleges to offer more programs in high-demand fields and remove a fee for university students that ranges from $200 to more than $500 a semester.
…HEALTH CARE
The governor hasn’t yet revealed how to counter the White House decision to reject his proposal to require that more low-income and uninsured adults in Georgia meet a work requirement to join the Medicaid rolls. He said he would include $1 million for the University System of Georgia to expand nursing programs up to 500 students annually, along with more funding for the Technical College System to grow their partnership with Allied Health to serve up to 700 additional students annually.
See also:
11Alive
Gov. Kemp addresses education, healthcare, and crime in State of the State address
The governor signaled support for educators, healthcare workers, and law enforcement.
CBS46
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp prioritizing education, healthcare and public safety in new year
WJBF
Georgia Gov. Kemp delivers 2022 State of the State address
Governor Appoints Two New Regents
Governor Brian P. Kemp announced the appointment of two new members of the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, effective Sunday, January 9. Richard “Tim” T. Evans will represent the 6th Congressional District and Jim Syfan will represent the 9th Congressional District. “For many years as strong business leaders, Tim Evans and Jim Syfan have worked hard to make their communities and our state better,” said Governor Kemp. “With decades of experience, they are eminently qualified for these posts, and I am honored to name them to the Board of Regents to serve our top-ranked university system. I also want to thank the outgoing members, Kessel Stelling and Philip Wilheit, for their service and dedication to the students of Georgia’s higher education system.”
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Albany Herald
Governor names new Board of Regents members
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp’s new regents picks could boost Perdue’s bid to lead Georgia system
News Observer
Kemp names 2 new regents as chancellor impasse lingers
Gainesville Times
Jim Syfan appointed to Board of Regents
Ben Anderson
Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday afternoon the appointment of two new members to the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, Gainesville’s Jim Syfan and Alpharetta’s Richard “Tim” Evans. Syfan will represent the 9th Congressional District and Evans the 6th Congressional District for the university system’s 19-member board.
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accessWDUN
Syfan named to Georgia Board of Regents
Albany CEO
Governor Announces GEER II Funding to Support Education
Governor Brian P. Kemp announced the recipients of Round 1 of the second installment of the Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II), amounting to a total of over $47 million in additional emergency assistance to support K-12 and higher education entities as they continue to address the disruptions and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. …Teacher Pipeline – $1.3 million Governor Kemp will also award $517,575 in funds to the Georgia Southern University Research and Service Foundation. This support will help expand Georgia’s teacher pipeline and accelerate students in literacy by providing college tutors for reading instruction to K-5 students, promote reading and writing activities, help future teachers obtain field experience, and develop best practices for integrating tutoring support throughout the school day. …Education-to-Workforce Pipeline for Healthcare – $3.1 million
As we continue to fight the pandemic while preserving lives and livelihoods in Georgia, Governor Kemp is dedicating these funds to support the need for more nurses and additional training with a special emphasis on expanding educational opportunities to more areas of the state and providing hands-on learning experiences.
• Georgia Southwestern State – $866,723
• Fort Valley State – $1,320,150
• Middle Georgia State – $900,000
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Columbus CEO
Governor Announces GEER II Funding to Support Education
WTOC
Kemp announces millions in state funding for Ga. schools
news4jax
Kemp seeks $1.6B in Georgia tax rebates worth $250 or $500
Jeff Amy, Associated Press
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wants to use $1.6 billion of the state’s $2.2 billion in spare cash to give rebates in April on state income taxes. The Republican told the Georgia Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that he wants to give a $250 rebate to every single person filing state income taxes, and $500 to every household filing jointly. Kemp also wants to cut fees at universities, bolster HOPE scholarships and end state income taxes on military retirement income. …Kemp also said that the University System of Georgia will cut special fees added in 2009 during the recession if lawmakers agree to restore funding cut from university budgets. A state Senate report last year found that the fees collect $230 million a year across all 26 state universities and colleges, which range from $200 to $500 a semester, depending on the school. In November, acting Chancellor Teresa MacCartney told a Senate study committee on fees that the system wanted to retain the institutional fee because of how much revenue it brings it.
The Red & Black
Annual MLK Freedom Breakfast to be hosted virtually
Martina Essert
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 14 has been transitioned to a virtual event, according to a statement from the University of Georgia’s Division of Marketing and Communications. Described by UGA’s Office of Institutional Diversity as Athens’ “premier celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King [Jr.],” this event is put on by UGA in collaboration with the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government and the Clarke County School District. This year’s event boasted the theme “The Power of the Dream: Footsteps of Courage.” Former president of Albany State University and author Arthur Dunning was set to be a guest speaker at the event. 2022 recipients of the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award are Carl Miller, UGA associate director of admissions for access and inclusion Rosa Arroyo Driggers, CEO and executive producer of MEU Radio Athens Rick Dunn, associate professor and director of pharmaceutical health services, outcome and policy Henry Young and UGA student Kevin Nwogu.
WALB
South Ga. experts react to congressional focus on social media’s effects on children
By Emileigh Forrester
Members of Congress are aiming to crack down on some social media platforms, including Instagram, because of new information about how the app impacts children’s physical and mental health. “It’s like any tool. If it’s not used properly, it can have very negative effects,” said Todd Lynch, vice president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Moultrie. Lynch said he is glad there is a renewed interest in social media’s effects on children. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced last month that internal research from Instagram’s parent company, Meta, showed the platform is linked to higher physical and mental health risks for young people. That can include depression, eating disorders and even suicide. “Until this information became public and until Congress asked them to testify about this information, they really didn’t do anything about it,” said Jonathan Carter, an assistant professor of communication at Georgia Southwestern State University. Carter said it’s good that Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri testified before a Senate panel in December, because it raises awareness.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Metro Atlanta inflation hits 40-year high as price hikes continue
By Michael E. Kanell
December’s consumer price index also rose faster here than nationally
Inflation in metro Atlanta jumped to a yearly rate of 9.8% in December, the highest price increase the region has seen since late 1981, the government reported Wednesday. Rising costs for housing, cars, trucks and food fueled the year’s gains, overriding the impact of declining energy prices and moderating food costs in the calculation of the Consumer Price Index, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The numbers reflect changes in consumer and company behavior, injections of federal stimulus money and the continuing effects of a deadly, global pandemic, said economist Jason Delaney of Georgia Gwinnett College.
Savannah CEO
Habitat For Humanity Announces Rescheduled Day Of Service
After waiting many months to more safely fulfill the obligation of funds granted over 18 months ago by Republic Services, The Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity, Inc. is announces their “Day of Service” to take place at Sharon Park in Garden City, GA on Saturday, January 15,2022. The program will begin at 9am with lunch provided prior to the conclusion of the day at 12 noon. …Volunteers from Savannah State University, Georgia Southern University, local service men and women, and elected officials will fill Sharon Park to paint an iron fence, rebuild two foot bridges, re-paint the restrooms, revitalize the playground area, and build raised planter boxes for the neighboring senior center.
Coastal Courier
Cutting edge survey charts Georgia’s artificial reefs
Special to the Courier
Beginning in 1970, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources built a series of artificial reefs to provide habitat for marine life. However, until recently, there were gaps in some of the key information about those reefs, such as the precise locations of the materials placed on the bottom and water depth over the materials. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography are using cutting-edge bathymetric side-scan sonar and high-resolution geographic positioning systems (GPS) to provide coastal managers and fishermen a detailed picture of the location and condition of reef materials. Georgia’s shelf is relatively shallow and extends approximately 80 miles offshore before dropping into the deep ocean. Most of the shelf bottom consists of shifting sand, which does not provide the kind of conditions to develop and support diverse reef communities.
BuzzFeed News
The academic project works by having users mouth letters to spell words — without actually speaking them.
Richard Nieva
BuzzFeed News Reporter
A project led by one of the key creators of Google Glass, the tech giant’s influential but ultimately ill-fated smart eyewear, aims to let people have conversations without talking or using their hands to type, sign, or gesture. Called SilentSpeller, the project is a communication system that allows people to send texts using a high-tech dental retainer to spell out words without actually voicing them, according to a demo video and academic paper reviewed by BuzzFeed News. The device works by tracking the movement of the user’s tongue. Researchers claim the system identifies letters with 97% accuracy, and 93% accuracy for entire words. The research is the brainchild of Thad Starner, a pioneer in wearable technology. Starner played a lead technical role in developing Google Glass, the much-hyped device that helped introduce the world to a new genre of gadgets beyond smartphones. But the device courted controversy and pushed the bounds of society’s relationship with technology when Google introduced it almost a decade ago. SilentSpeller, by contrast, is a research project out of the Georgia Institute of Technology, where Starner is a professor, so the goal for now is more academic than product road map.
Fox News
Rising alcohol consumption during COVID-19 pandemic projected to cause more liver disease, deaths
Excessive drinking has increased by 21% during the pandemic, according to study
By Amy McGorry
Increased alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause 100 additional deaths and 2,800 additional cases of liver failure by 2023, according to a team of researchers led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). “The COVID-19 pandemic has had many unintended consequences with unknown long-term impact,” a co-author of the study, Dr. Turgay Ayer, said in a news release. According to research published in the journal Hepatology, the researchers also projected that a one-year increase in alcohol consumption during the pandemic will result in 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease. The investigators also projected 18,700 cases of liver failure and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040. …Lead author Jovan Julien, MS, a data analyst at the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment and a Ph.D. candidate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said in the news release that the researchers hoped the study could help jumpstart needed conversations about how to respond to the coping mechanisms, many behavioral changes, and choices that have short- and long-term effects on the health of individuals, families and communities.
Inside Higher Ed
Sticking With In-Person Classes as COVID Spikes
Successful mitigation measures allow colleges to bring students back to campus, even as COVID-19 cases are taking off. Strategies vary by campus, with some efforts limited by governing boards.
By Josh Moody
Spiking COVID-19 cases have prompted some colleges to start the semester online and delay bringing students back to campus. Other colleges began the semester in person, then shifted to remote instruction. Still others are staying the course, remaining in physical classrooms despite the concerns of some students and faculty as coronavirus cases multiply. Across the country, college COVID-19 dashboards are showing dramatic increases in case numbers, likely spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The University of Georgia logged 804 cases even before spring classes officially started. Arizona State University tallied 1,779 infected students and another 254 cases among faculty and staff. As of Jan. 11, the University of Texas at Austin listed 1,017 active cases—roughly one-seventh of the total number it has seen since March 2020.
WGAU Radio
More COVID testing today at UGA
Testing for students, staff, and faculty
By Tim Bryant
There is more coronavirus testing on tap for today at UGA: the University’s pop-up testing site for asymptomatic students, staff, and faculty is operating from 10 til 2 on the west lawn of the University of Georgia’s Tate Student Center.
Newsbreak
Research shows CBD reduces lung damage, inflammation caused by COVID-19
By Mary Calkins
COVID-19 can severely damage the lungs. Researchers at the Dental and Medical Colleges of Georgia are working toward a possible solution. Dr. Jack Yu is a physician, scientist, and chief of pediatric plastic surgery at the Medical College of Georgia. He’s one of the researchers looking to prevent lung damage in COVID patients.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Jan. 12)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,603,820
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 26,657 | This figure does not include additional cases that the DPH reports as suspected COVID-19-related deaths. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Nearly one million fewer students have enrolled in higher education since the beginning of the pandemic. The losses have been felt across all types of institutions and in almost every state.
By Emma Whitford
Enrollments continued to fall nationwide despite a full in-person return to campus last semester for many colleges and universities, the latest data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show. Total enrollment—which includes undergraduate and graduate students—dropped by 2.7 percent in fall 2021 compared with fall 2020, according to the clearinghouse report. Since the pandemic began in spring 2020, enrollment has declined by 5.1 percent across the board, with 937,500 fewer students enrolled at American colleges and universities. Undergraduate enrollment declined by 3.1 percent in fall 2021 compared with fall 2020. Graduate enrollment declined by 0.4 percent. It could be a while until enrollment begins to climb again, said Mikyung Ryu, an analyst and director of research publications at the research center.
Inside Higher Ed
High school juniors who believe they can’t afford higher education are about 20 percentage points less likely to attend college within the first three years after high school than peers who don’t think affordability is a barrier.
By Elizabeth Redden
In 2012, when most students in a new study were juniors in high school, researchers asked them whether they agreed with the following statement: “Even if you get accepted to college, your family cannot afford to send you.” Nearly a third of the students—32 percent—agreed or strongly agreed with that statement. Three years after high school, 59 percent of this group—“the non-afforders”—had ever attended college, compared to 80 percent of their peers, “the afforders,” for whom perceived affordability was not an issue. The study results are presented in a new analysis, “College Affordability Views and College Enrollment,” being published today by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.
Forbes
Is College Even Worth It? Here’s How To Decide
Robert Farrington Senior Contributor
College is expensive and everybody knows it. For many, to simply afford it, it means borrowing student loans. And people also know their student loans will have to be paid back one day. Yet students continually rack up six figures in student loans for jobs that pay $40,000 per year. Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s partly because we’re told our whole lives that college is the ticket out of poverty, and because many of the jobs out there are labeled as requiring a college degree. And sometimes, high school graduates just don’t know what else to do. By attending college, they at least get the chance to start working toward some sort of goal. Unfortunately, some college degrees aren’t worth the trouble at all, and they’re definitely not worth the cost. Yet, far too many people find out their college degree is worthless when it’s too late to do anything about it.
Inside Higher Ed
Variants Fuel Decline in Student Mental Health
New survey finds nearly nine in 10 students believe there is a mental health crisis on college campuses. Seventy percent say they are experiencing pandemic-related distress or anxiety.
By Maria Carrasco
Almost nine in 10 college students think campuses are facing a mental health crisis, according to a new survey from TimelyMD, a student-first telehealth provider. The survey of nearly 1,700 college students found that 88 percent believe there is a mental health crisis on college campuses. While each student might have a different understanding of what a mental health crisis is, it’s clear that students are suffering, said Alan Dennington, chief medical officer and co-founder of TimelyMD.