F-22 Vote Delayed In DC

The fate of funding for the F-22 fighter jet has been delayed. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee says a key vote on the defense spending issue was expected today. Now, Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan says he will pull the amendment temporarily so the Senate can focus on other bills.

The Lockheed-Martin built F-22 has been under hot debate in the Senate. Levin and Arizona Senator John McCain filed the amendment that would eliminate from the defense spending bill an additional $1.75 billion earmarked for another seven planes. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto extra spending for the F-22.

But Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss has lobbied heavily to keep the money in-place, given Lockheed’s main production plant is in Marietta. Thousands of jobs nationwide are connected to production of the F-22.

Georgia Unemployment Rate In Double Digits

Nearly a half a million Georgians are out of work. The Department of Labor released its June unemployment figures today. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is at 10.1 percent—the highest ever recorded in the state.

"We are continuing to see lay off in construction, manufacturing, really across all sectors," says Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, "except of course health care and education."

In June, 483,394 Georgians were looking for work.

Thurmond calls on Georgia leaders to engage the private sector to create jobs. He also encourages the unemployed to seek more education and training to prepare for future jobs.

"Green jobs is a growing industry, ways to save energy, maximize potential in that arena," says Thurmond. "I think manufacturing, but with a more highly skilled work force will create employment opportunity in the future."

Right now about a third of jobless Georgians receive unemployment benefits from the state. Georgia's unemployment rate is worse than the nation's. It's at 9.5 percent.

State Unemployment Hits Double-Digits

Georgia’s unemployment rate has now hit double-digits. The mark of 10.1 percent for June is the highest ever recorded in the state, and represents more than 480,000 people looking for work. State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says as Georgia "is in the midst of a deepening economic crisis”, state leaders need to develop a bi-partisan recovery plan to help dig out of the economic malaise. Job losses again were seen in areas such as professional and business services, manufacturing and construction. However, job gains were recorded in healthcare and educational services, with a spike of 12,000 jobs.

Man Sentenced for Helping Illegal Immigrants

A 37-year-old Duluth man has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of using his employment agency to help illegal immigrants get jobs at Chinese restaurants.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced Liang Yang on charges of conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants. Three years supervised release will follow his prison term.

Authorities indicted Yang and 10 other employment agency operators on April 15, 2008. Only Yang went to trial. The others pleaded guilty to similar charges and have either been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.

Evidence presented at trial showed the group of employment agencies was a first stop for illegal Latino workers. Prosecutors said Yang served as a broker between the immigrants and the restaurants.

(Associated Press)

Biomass Plants to Boost Rural Georgia

A power company that serves four million Georgians is investing in renewable energy by building two biomass plants in the state. For two rural communities in south Georgia, it's a boost to the

Oglethorpe Power plans to build biomass plants in Appling and Warren Counties. The company hopes to break ground by 2011 pending state permits. Officials estimate it will create 250 temporary construction jobs at each site.

Once built, each plant would be fueled by wood and employ about 40 people. It would have a ripple effect on the local economy, says Dale Atkins with the Appling County Development Authority. "It's going to have a tremendous impact on our forest industry. Timber land is 70 percent in the county... this will create 500 jobs in the forest industry."

These counties were chosen in part because they are wood baskets. Company officials say the plants should come on line by 2015, and they're considering a third site in Echols County..

Economist: Effect of Stimulus Dollars Months Off

Federal stimulus dollars are starting to roll into Georgia. But it could be a while until the money helps the state’s economy. Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are ramping up state projects like making buildings more energy efficient to building roads.

They’re creating jobs and that means more tax dollars. But it could be months until we see its effect on revenues.

"Part of it is the lag when the cash comes in and it shows up in paychecks and spending," said professor of Economics at Mercer University Roger Tutterow, "and then of course there’s a lag between when that occurs and the state actually gets their cuts and reflects it in their tax revenue collections."

Case in point, the Department of Transportation. It got $62 million in May, and the first of 41 projects just started last week--- workers began repaving a road south of Atlanta. The project allowed a state contractor to keep 25 employees and create 3 new jobs. DOT officials do expect the remaining 40 projects to begin this month.

Georgia on List for Electric Car Plant

A South Korean company says Georgia is one of five states it is considering for an electric vehicle manufacturing plant. It could create 2,600 jobs over the next five years.

CT&T Company Ltd. says it plans to decide by September among sites in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and California.

CT&T plans to build a North American headquarters, a research and development center and several manufacturing facilities, which could be spread among multiple states or consolidated on one site.

Officials say they would evaluate sites based on the presence of a skilled work force, the transportation infrastructure and the incentives offered.

Officials Get First Road Stimulus Project Rolling

The first of hundreds of road projects injected by federal stimulus dollars got rolling today in Georgia.

A four-mile stretch of highway in Hapeville near Atlanta’s airport is the inaugural project. The resurfacing work represents more than $900,000 of the state’s transportation stimulus share. Once all projects are allocated, over $900-million will be used in work across the state.

State and federal transportation officials at Tuesday’s press conference trumpeted the creation or preservation of hundreds of jobs with the stimulus. But Governor Sonny Perdue says the state needs to have a long-view plan on managing budget issues once the well of stimulus money runs dry:

"If you become dependent on them, there are going to be tough decisions in the future. So we’re trying to manage state government in a way of transition—using these federal stimulus funds, but hopeful that our state economy will recover soon."

The rollout of additional road projects continues over the next few weeks and into the fall. Thus far, a combined $119-million in work has been awarded.
State officials say another $250 million will soon be certified to round-out Phase One of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. By fall, it's expected Phase Two money to be awarded will total $370 million.

$16 M Awarded To Boost Georgia Business

More than $16-million in grant money is headed for boosting economic development around the state.

The money comes from the OneGeorgia Authority, which uses tobacco settlement money to help rural counties and towns attract new companies. The money also helps expand existing business and boost public infrastructure.

Of the several counties getting money, four are for economic projects connected to the new KIA plant—about $7-million combined.

The Governor’s office says the grant money awarded to all projects statewide will lead to the creation of more than 2,000 jobs combined over three years.

Museum Could Bring Jobs and Millions

A study projects that Columbus might get an annual $26.3 million economic boost with the opening of the new National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. The Columbus State University study projects between 380,000 and 400,000 museum visitors a year, 95 percent of them from out of town. The study concludes that 520 jobs will be created through employment at the museum and other new businesses in the city that hire staff, and existing businesses that add employees to take advantage of the increase in tourism. The $91 million museum, which will be opened Friday with a visit by retired Gen. Colin Powell, is expected to benefit the south Columbus area, which for years has been a center for nightclubs and cheap motels.

(Associated Press)

Barrow County Starts Layoffs

Barrow County has laid off 18 employees this week. The county cut the workers Monday and Tuesday as part of plans to deal with a $5 million budget shortfall. Three other employees took early retirement. The jobs ranged from the fire department to the tax commissioner's office. The county has cut other expenses since the shortfall was announced in January, but it still faces a $1.6 million deficit. Cuts include eliminating holiday pay, salary reductions and a hiring freeze. Barrow County is northeast of Atlanta. It has about 400 workers.

(Associated Press)

Big Turnout For 50+ NCR Jobs in W GA

A job fair in Columbus over the weekend drew more than 1,600 people applying for an initial 53 jobs. The openings are for NCR Corporation, which recently announced its move to Georgia from Dayton,Ohio. The maker of ATM’s and other automated technology equipment is moving headquarters to Duluth, while establishing a manufacturing plant in Columbus. Salaries for positions at the Columbus-plant would average around $40,000 dollars.

Nuclear Companies Near Augusta Say They Need Thousands of Workers

A new study says the nuclear industry could potentially create thousands of new jobs in the Augusta area throughout the next decade.

The region's major employers, including companies who manage operations at commercial nuclear power plants in Georgia and South Carolina as well as a federal site that processes nuclear materials near Augusta, say they will need 10,000 jobs.

The jobs would range from nuclear chemists and computer engineers to plant operators and sheet metal workers.

The study comes as power companies seek to meet rising demand for electricity with nuclear energy. That includes the construction of nuclear power plants would be among the first built in the U.S. in decades. State public service commission officials in both Georgia and South Carolina have already okayed new reactors, but the companies building them are still seeking approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Construction of a controversial new nuclear fuel plant near Augusta is also underway, although no power companies have committed yet to buying the fuel.

The Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization commissioned the study through Booz Allen, a technology consulting firm. The organization has said it is looking to develop a strategy between private and public entities to meet the growing demand for nuclear workers. The organization is also working to lease a portion of privately owned land at the site for development, possibly for a nuclear energy park or reactors that would be used for reactors.

Across the U.S., meanwhile, the nuclear industry has said it is looking to step up the recruitment and education of a new generation of workers to meet the emerging demand.

Georgia Looks To Land Police Car Plant

Georgia is one of five states competing to land a plant that would make state-of-the-art police cars.

The company, Carbon Motors, touts its cruiser as the first car specifically designed for police fleets.

Lieutenant Paul Cosper with the Georgia State Patrol says he likes what he saw from a demonstration model, including better gas mileage and running on bio-diesel:

"It’s integrated with all the components we have in our cars now, but it comes with that—the radar, the video, the lights are all integrated in it. It’s a unique concept, but we’ve not purchased any."

Right now, cars in the Patrol’s fleet--Crown Victorias and Dodge Chargers--are retro-fitted with law enforcement gadgets.

Carbon Motors now needs a home to build its concept-car. It’s considering a site in Georgia’s Hall County along with sites in South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan, and Indiana. Company officials say the manufacturing plant would bring 1,500 jobs.

Carbon expects to decide on a site later this summer.

100 To Lose Jobs At Middle Georgia Plant

The closing of a middle Georgia plant will leave 100 people without jobs. Rockwell Automation will close the doors of its 30-year-old plant in Dublin next year. Officials with the Milwaukee-based company say operations will be phased-out beginning in October, and ending next July. Rockwell Automation provides industrial automation power, control and information systems to other manufacturers. The company is moving work from the Dublin plant to plants in Ohio and Mexico.

Applications Open for Columbus Jobs

ATM manufacturer NCR is already hiring for its new Columbus plant. The corporation eventually expects to hire 870 people for the facility. The Department of Labor has an online referral request form for 26 professional positions. You can link to that site here. There is a hiring event for the production jobs on June 13th at the labor department’s Columbus Career Center.

Chico's Expands to northeast Georgia

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that women’s fashion retailer Chico’s FAS, Inc. (NYSE:CHS) plans to expand its distribution center facilities in Barrow County with an initial investment of $15 million, which is expected to create 189 full-time jobs over the next three years.

“Georgia’s strong business assets continue to make it a compelling location for distribution centers,” said Governor Perdue. “Our state’s unmatched transportation network, business-friendly environment and ready pool of qualified workers translate to success.”

In order to expand its facilities in Winder, Chico’s purchased the former Hagemeyer Building on Barrow Industrial Parkway. The 300,000-square-foot building, which is close to the current Chico’s distribution center, will house an additional distribution facility. When the expansion is completed by year-end, there will be more than 450 full-time Chico’s employees in Barrow County. Employment opportunities at Chico’s Winder Distribution Center will be posted on their website, www.chicos.com .

Chico’s located a distribution center in Barrow County in 2002 and expanded that facility in 2004 and 2006. In 2006 the company also opened an adjacent call center to service its direct-to-consumer business for its Chico’s, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates brands.

“We are fortunate in having the opportunity to purchase this nearby facility that will enable us to expand our current distribution operations, providing sufficient capacity to serve our needs through 2016,” said Jeffrey A. Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Chico’s FAS.

“We welcome Chico’s third major expansion of its facilities in Barrow County since 2002,” said Linda Moore, VP of the Barrow Economic Development Council. “Chico’s is an excellent corporate citizen and I know our residents are grateful in these economic times for the increase in jobs and investment.”

Susie Haggard, project manager with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, assisted the company in its location.

###

About the company

Chico’s FAS Inc. is a women's specialty retailer of private branded, sophisticated, casual-to-dressy clothing, intimates, complementary accessories, and other non-clothing gift items. The Company operates specialty stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The company’s brands include Chico’s, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates, which together operate more than 1,000 stores in addition to catalog and e-ecommerce operations.

(Governor's Office News Release)

Shrimp season opens with optimism

Georgia's largest seafood industry opened today, with shrimpers expecting more boats on the water this year. You won't want to call it a Rennaissance with the long-term decline that Georgia's shrimp industry has suffered, but this year shrimpers are more optimistic than in the past.

Fuel prices are down from last year. Department of Natural Resources surveys have shown above-average catches in the pre-season. And some shrimpers are returning to the water, since construction and other jobs on land have dried up in the recession.

Shrimpers have been in federal waters for weeks. Andy Amason sells them ice.

"Catch wise, they're having a decent year," Amason says. "They have so far."

Amason is one of those in the shrimping industry rolling with the changes. Shrimp boats need ice. And ice-maker Andy Amason is one to give it to them. His workplace is a 25-degree freezer filled with rows and rows of torso-high ice-blocks in McIntosh County.

"They pull up to a dock at their packing house," Amason says "We back up with our truck and we take the blocks and slide them off the truck into the blower. It turns the block into snow."

Amason's grand-father started the ice business in the 1940's and for many decades, the family also processed seafood: crabs, shrimp and whelk. But in the 1980's, the seafood business started to decline and Amason noticed an interesting niche in the ice business.

"We occasionally got calls for ice sculptures," Amason says. "I didn't really know anything about the ice carving business, but what I found was that there are a lot of nice resorts in the area that we can serve."

Amason quit processing seafood in the 1990's and today his business is just ice. Only about 40% of it is for shrimp boats anymore. Most of his business these days is ice sculptures for special events. Amason uses molds, lumber-saws and drill bits wired to computers to make his icy shapes and cut names and logos into window-clear ice.

Amason's is far from the only shrimp business to make a move away from shrimp into something else. Over the past 30 years, the industry has declined by about 80%, mostly because of foreign imports and the rising price of fuel. The recession is prompting some to return to shrimp since construction and other work has dried up and fuel is down from last year's peak. But Amason says, he sees the long-term decline continuing and believes he'll be the last Amason to work in ice.

"The funnest part of the business is the snow business, where we go and blow the snow on the ground," Amason says. "It's amazing how kids who grow up in South Georgia instinctively know how to make a snow ball and throw it and hit me in the head with it."

Shrimping in state waters usually lasts until the New Year. Last year's harvest was about two million pounds, worth about seven million dollars.

Audio: Andy Amason gives a tour of his business and explains how the ice is made and shaped. (Amason's business is called Snow South and he can be reached at 912-832-4437.)

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State Uses Tax Credit Bill To Land NCR

A new state law heavy with tax breaks helped lure technology equipment-maker NCR to Georgia.

NCR, the company that makes equipment including ATM’s and cash registers, is relocating its headquarters from Ohio to metro Atlanta. With it come 1,250 jobs to Duluth, along with another 870 to Columbus for a new production plant.

The deal was sealed with a more than $60-million incentive package--most of which used the so-called Mega Tax Credit bill signed by Governor Perdue last month. Georgia’s offer doubled that on the table from Dayton-Ohio officials.

Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, says yes--the state’s investment outlay is large, but two lawmakers who sponsored the bill ensure its viability:

"Senator Ron Stephens and Representative Larry O’Neal scrutinized the numbers from a payback point-of-view to make sure that this was more than justified even in an economic downturn."

The process to lobby NCR reportedly began in February, around the time the legislation was introduced to state House lawmakers.

Officials with the Department of Economic Development say NCR is eligible for up to $56.9 million over five years. But that amount will be offset by a net gain of $49 million from items like income and sales taxes, to be felt over 10 years. Officials say added value to the deal for NCR includes global access through the airport, consistent population and workforce growth, and access to multiple university resources.

Georgia Gazette Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Join host Rickey Bevington tonight for Georgia Gazette. On tonight's show …Tech Giant NCR moving to Georgia... creating over 2,000 jobs. The details. Is Georgia's seafood industry on ice? The state of the shrimping business from a man who's rolled with the changes. And Savannah-born actor Stacey Keach turns 68 today. We track his career. These stories and more tonight on Georgia Gazette at 6, 7 in Athens, re-broadcast at 11, hear our show any time at www.gpb.org/georgiagazette , and download a free podcast on iTunes.