Perdue's line item vetos for '09 budget

Governor Perdue line-item vetoed $142 million in cash this year, including cash projects and debt service on $22 million in vetoed bond projects. The Governor’s vetos break down as follows:

Department of Economic Development:

• $125,000 to the Tourism program for the development of a five year business plan for the Georgia Tourism Foundation
• $150,000 to the Tourism program for the restoration of Augusta's historic Powder Works chimney
• $3,000,000 to the Tourism program for the National Infantry Museum
• $250,000 to the Tourism program for the Georgia International and Maritime Trade Center Authority to perform an economic impact and environmental improvement study

Department of Education:

• $900,000 to the Technology/Career Education program in order to provide funds for a Classroom Technology initiative

Department of Human Resources:

• $31,007 for the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund program to provide for increased operating expenses

Department of Juvenile Justice:

• $600,000 for the Children and Youth Coordinating Council for “Connecting Henry, Inc” to provide for a multi-jurisdictional collaborative to address the high drop out rate in the community

Department of Public Safety:

• $250,000 to the Field Offices and Services program for the purchase of equipment for the Columbia County State Patrol Post
• $250,000 to the Public Safety Training Center to fund expenses for the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy

The Board of Regents:

• $360,000 to the Public Service/Special Funding Initiatives program for the Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center at Albany State University and Georgia Southern University
• $200,000 to the Teaching program for the planning and implementation of a program at Kennesaw State University for disadvantaged youth

Department of Technical and Adult Education:

• $25,000 to the Economic Development (QuickStart) program for Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) job retraining program for Atlanta Technical College
• $250,000 to the Technical Education program for the creation of a college and technical facility in Catoosa County at Bentley Place

Department of Transportation:

• $5,200,000 to the Airport Aid program for the Paulding County Regional Airport ($4,000,000), Cherokee County Airport Authority ($700,000), and the Glynn County Airport Commission ($500,000)

The General Obligation Debt Sinking Fund:

• $683,200 to finance educational facilities for county and independent school systems through the State Board of Education specifically for the design and construction of a charter school to be operated by the Cobb County School System through the issuance of $8,000,000 in 20-year bonds
• $1,155,000 to finance educational facilities for county and independent school systems through the State Board of Education specifically for career and vocational equipment per House Bill 905 through the issuance of $5,000,000 in 5-year bonds
• $657,580 to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Transportation, specifically for rail lines for Lyerly to Coosa, Nunez to Vidalia, Ardmore to Sylvania, St Augustine Road Rail Switching Yard Expansion and McNatt Boulevard Extension rail crossing through the issuance of $7,700,000 in 20-year bonds
• $170,800 to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Transportation, specifically for the construction of a welcome center for Tallulah Falls on the Rabun County side through the issuance of $2,000,000 in 20-year bonds

Georgia wraps up tourism conference

The state has wrapped up its 2008 Governor's Tourism Conference. The conference marks the first time the state's three economic development groups have gathered together for a conference. The groups are the Georgia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia and the Georgia Division of Economic Development. About 350 people attended. The commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Ken Stewart, says it's a major accomplishment to have all three groups together. Gov. Sonny Perdue spoke at the closing day of the conference Friday. Stewart says tourism is the state's Number 2 industry and brought in $20 billion in 2007. Georgia's top industry is agriculture.

(Associated Press)

Officials: Plains State Visitor To Remain Open

In Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio’s occasional “MoneyCrunch” series, which airs on Georgia Gazette news magazine weekday evenings at 6 P.M., we explore the effects of proposed budget cuts on communities and constituents around the state.


Duck pond in front of the Georgia Visitor Information Center at Plains. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Last week, an obscure state law saved a state welcome center in Plains from the chopping block, to help cover a $2.2 billion shortfall in the 2010 budget.


Entrance to visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

But, on Monday, officials at the Georgia Department of Economic Development said The Georgia Visitor Information Center will remain open, despite a pending recommendation to slash its $186,000 budget.


Democratic State Sen. George Hooks at the Capitol. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Americus state Senator, George Hooks cites a 1977 statute that says Georgia, by law, must have a visitor center in any town whose resident becomes a president:

“'...and it shall be,' - not 'may be,' but 'shall be,' - maintained and supplied with materials," Hooks told legislators.

Those materials feature the state’s charms in hundreds of glossy tourism magazines, colorful photos and souvenirs.

A visitor’s center at Sylvania was also facing closure. The two centers are among eleven similar facilities around the state.

The GDEcD’s Alison Tyrer, however, says her office would like to keep both the Sylvania and Plains centers open:

”We are looking at all possible options for both centers. However, it’s very early in the legislative process so we would prefer not to speculate on what those options might be at this time,” Tyrer said in a written comment on the issue.

The Plains center is a replica of a rustic wooden farmhouse, surrounded by fields and piney woods. A pastoral two-lane road out front links the town to nearby Americus. The road, and the parking lot of the 31-year-old building are both empty on this Monday afternoon.


Map, pins and and "Post-its" left by guests who have visited the site. Penny Smith, who manages the facility, is behind the desk. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Manager Penny Smith sits inside and waits for tourists:

“…you don’t get bored, because it’s God’s nature… and that’s why the visitors love it so much, because you’re in another world, and when you’re here you don’t think about the outside; what’s going on outside this area - it’s just peace and harmony and such a wonderful feeling…”

She's worked here for eight years, and says the visitor center is her whole world. Smith shared her patch of Georgia with 56,000 folks who stopped by last year:

"Our visitors are 'destination visitors;' they're not just stopping to go to the restroom or get a roadmap. They're here to spend time and money and see what there is to see in the state."

Sign of town's pride. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The biggest local attraction is former President Jimmy Carter, who lives in Plains with former First Lady Rosalynn.

While a National Park Service visitors center closer to Carter’s home focuses on the 39th president, Smith says her facility offers a lot more:

"When we have the visitors captured here, we use that time to tell them about other places in Americus, down the road; make motel, hotel reservations – just service the visitor overall. They don’t do that at the park service.”

Their money's part of more than thirty-four billion tourism dollars that Georgia raked in last year. Those dollars paid for almost 250,000 jobs – among them, Smith’s and two assistants.

Plains peanut processing facility and road sign on the way to the visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Plains Mayor Boze Godwin says the 700 residents of his struggling rural town – and the vicinity - need every tourist dollar that comes through the center:

“I think it’s important not only for Plains, but for the whole county because they do refer people to businesses here. In the past we had a tog shop here, and that closed – but they would send people to that to buy clothes – so they helped the whole area, not just Plains … and they do a great job.”

Hooks, Godwin and Smith hope that statute will be enough to keep the visitor center open to greet the next busload of tourists.

Click here for more GPB news coverage of the state budget.

Hartwell Coalition Seeks Funds for Drought Study

HARTWELL, GA -- A group made up of six counties surrounding Lake Hartwell is trying to raise funds for a drought impact study.

The Lake Hartwell Coalition, which includes Hart, Franklin, and Stephens counties on the Georgia side and Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson counties on the South Carolina side, wants to quantify the financial impact on lake side communities and businesses when the lake falls below full pool.

They hope the information will force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to refrain from severely lowering lake levels during a drought.

“We’re not trying to stop their activity or stop flow from going down stream,” explained Coalition co-chair Tom Coley, a commercial real estate broker from Atlanta who owns a home in the “Gumlog” community on the Georgia side. “What we’re saying is that there are times where you could generate power that’s connected to rainfall. And to just continue to draw that lake down in times of drought for power generation; we’re saying there may be a better way to look at that,” he concluded.

Currently, Lake Hartwell is only one of two Georgia lakes maintained by the Corps that is still not at full pool. Lake Lanier is the other. Lake Hartwell is 10 feet below full pool, which is 652 cfs, and has remained at that level since last summer.

As a result, tourism and home sales around the lake have dropped significantly on both the Georgia and South Carolina sides and some smaller businesses who make their living on tourism the lake generates have had to close, Coley said.

An independent company contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District or the University of Georgia would do the study in two phases at a cost of $200,000 per phase, according to Coley.

He said the Corps has agreed to provide matching funds if surrounding counties can come up with half.

Coley and co-chair Burris Nelson from Anderson, SC have been meeting with county and municipal governments in the six-county area asking them to kick in funds based on how much shoreline their county borders.

So far, four of the six counties surrounding Lake Hartwell have agreed to help fund the study. Franklin and Stephens Counties plan to hold work sessions to discuss the matter further.

Results of the study are expected in mid-2009.

Lawmakers ponder drilling off Ga. coast

A White House plan could open Georgia to offshore oil drilling, but the idea still faces many critics and obstacles. About 770 million barrels of oil could lie off the South Atlantic coast, including Georgia. State Senate Majority Leader Eric Johnson of Savannah says, tapping it is a matter of national security.

"If we were producing more inside the United States, we ought to be able to hold prices down," Johnson said.

He and most of Georgia's top leaders agree with a plan to expand offshore oil. But even if Congress moved on it, it's not clear Georgia business would fall in line.

Bill Jones III, CEO of the Sea Island Company, says "I think it's a knee-jerk reaction to the current oil prices and it's kind of an easy one to go after."

Jones supports more renewable energy and conservation. Others point to possible spills and the effects on tourism and a nacent move toward Georgia wind power. Politically, many stars would have to align for it to happen.

(Orlando Montoya reporting)

State Judges To Meet on Budget Cuts

A group of state court judges has called an emergency meeting for Friday following news of a proposed budget cut.

The Judicial Council of Georgia – headed by Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears -- called the meeting after Governor Perdue announced an across the board twenty five percent budget reduction for this month only.

The group will decide if it should sue the Governor, questioning if he has authority to cut funding to another branch of government.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland says the Governor made his decision without speaking first to the state’s judges.

"It was just unilateral. The Governor informed OPB that 25 percent needed to be cut across the board. There was no determination made that public safety is something that is more important to the citizens of Georgia than tourism."

Westmoreland added that any loss of money could mean furloughs for the state's public defenders and staff.

"That one million dollars that would come to the Council of Superior Court Judges may not be a lot in respect to the budget crisis. But it certainly means a great deal to the judges and their staff. That million is the million that pays the salaries of our support staff and without those support staff, we will not be able to conduct court."

Georgia is running out of money as the state tries to balance its books for the fiscal year which ends June 30^th.

If the Judicial Council of Georgia moves forward in a lawsuit against Perdue, the case automatically goes to the Georgia Supreme Court, lead by Chief Justice Sears, who says she will excuse herself.

Laurel & Hardy 'in another fine mess' in Harlem

(Courtesy LaurelandHardyMuseum.org)

Harlem is the kind of blink-and-you'll-miss-it town in rural east Georgia that's the last place you'd expect to find the country's only museum dedicated to the classic comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

But anyone driving along Interstate 20 near the South Carolina state line can't miss the big brown sign pointing to the museum, nestled in a sleepy hamlet of 1,800 founded 140 years ago along the now-defunct Georgia Railroad line.

Hardy's mustachioed face is everywhere, from the water tower looming overhead to the sign welcoming visitors on the outskirts of town. Ollie's Laundry stands in place of the two-story house where the rotund comedian was born in 1892 just off the town's main drag.

Oliver Hardy's iconic bowler hat and mustache overlook the town's events from a water tower. (Courtesy HarlemGeorgia.com)

The annual Oliver Hardy Festival was created two decades ago to raise money for the community. When the festival began in 1988, just a handful of booths were set up in Harlem's small downtown. But now the event draws 350 vendors and turns away dozens of others because there just isn't room.

The festival - with its Laurel and Hardy look-alike contests, hourlong parade and rows of country fair-style tents - brings in about $20,000 annually. Most of that goes back to help the museum operate, said city councilwoman Robin Root.

The event headquarters is the two-room museum housed in the town's old post office, which opened in 2002. The museum has quickly outgrown its small space, packed to the brim with hundreds of dolls, comic books, socks and posters donated by fans worldwide.

On one wall hangs a framed menu donated by a fan who had it signed by Laurel and Hardy during a 1942 train trip. On another is a collection of Laurel and Hardy movie posters in several languages.

The museum even has two hats worn by Laurel and Hardy in movies - a pith helmet from 1935's "Bonnie Scotland" and a fez from 1933's "Sons of the Desert."

The silent film actors were paired up in 1927, beginning a career that spanned three decades. They are still considered one of the greatest comedy teams in film history and were one of just a few acts that made the transition from silent films to "talkies."

Children drop by after school and join tourists in the museum's back room, munching on homemade cookies as they watch one of Laurel and Hardy's 106 movies often shown there.

"All these kids have grown up on Laurel and Hardy," longtime museum volunteer Linda Caldwell said. "If there's a rainy day and they're walking home, they pop in and know which movies they want to watch."

The town is preparing to raise money to double the size of the museum - where admission is free - and empty out the storage room full of pictures, coffee mugs and other collectibles that won't fit on the crowded shelves.

The guest book bears witness to the museum's international popularity - an average of 500 visitors stop in each month from places like Austria, Peru, Scotland, England and Switzerland, as well as a handful of U.S. states. Laurel and Hardy movies are still shown in European movie houses, making the museum a global destination.

Northern Ireland residents Eric Stewart and his wife, Yvonne, recently dropped by as they toured the South that included Helen Keller's Alabama home and Shiloh National Military Park near the Tennessee-Mississippi state line.

"Our children had enjoyed their comedy," Eric Stewart said. "Over the years we got different movies of them."

Museum workers often collaborate with the world's other Laurel and Hardy museum in Ulverston, England, where Laurel was born in 1890. Both strive to preserve memorabilia of the duo.

"Their movies are nothing but fun, slapstick comedy that the whole family can sit down and enjoy. They're nothing political, nothing satirical," Caldwell said. "Ninety-five percent of movies made today are not family oriented. They are mainly blood and guts, which you can't take your family to."

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Georgia tourism.

Georgia economic forecast not so rosy

A leading economic forecaster says Georgia’s economy will continue to misfire just like the rest of the nation for the near future.

Rising gas prices...the credit crunch...the housing downturn...it’s all part of the lethal mix of factors in what Rajeev Dhawan is calling a recession for Georgia and the nation.

The director of Georgia State University’s Economic Forecasting Center compares where the state is hurting to other areas of the country:

"If you look at the job losses, they’re not terrible like the national. The loss in home prices is not as terrible as in Florida and California. But when you look at the revenue growth turnaround…that’s been a drastic one. It’s gone from a positive 5-6 percent to a negative 5-6 percent in a span of 6-8 months".

And the state’s revenue drain is being felt in university towns. Dhawan says as schools experience cutbacks, the trickle-down seeps into the communities.

Dhawan says only west Georgia is feeling an upswing in its local economy, given the construction of the KIA plant and its related business. Other regions of the state are in a holding pattern, such as ports and tourism along the coast.

Film tax credit legislation signed

Governor Sonny Perdue has signed legislation more than doubling tax incentives for films made in Georgia.

The legislation could be a boost for Savannah, where filming has declined since the mid-1990’s boom that produced "Forces of Nature" and "The General's Daughter," among other films shot here. Filmmakers have said Georgia doesn’t provide the kind of tax credits that lure them elsewhere.

Now, Jay Self, the city’s chief Film and Tourism officer, says Georgia can compete for films on a level playing field. "The competition for these projects have increased immensely," Self says. "Companies now really only consider places where they're going to get that tax credit or that tax rebate."

Companies that spend over $500,000 filming in Georgia can now apply for a 20% credit. The state Department of Economic Development says, the film industry contributed $475 million to the state’s economy in 2006.

New Middle Georgia Fishing Area

People in Middle Georgia now have one more place to go fishing, thanks to the state and recent rains.
Flat Rock Public Fishing Area opened this morning in Perry. The two-million dollar lake was delayed for a couple years due to the drought. Three years ago the state stocked it with large mouth bass, channel catfish, and bluegill bream. It's nearly 100 acres.
The lake has been in the planning stages for ten years. It will eventually be part of a nearly 900 acre state park when the state has more money. Governor Sonny Perdue has been a big proponent of fishing with his multi-million dollar and widely criticized Go Fish campaign. He came for the opening and says fishing is a good investment.

"We spend money on reservoirs. We spend money on creating access opportunities. Go Fish is about having real access to these beautiful parts of Georgia that we want people to be exposed to. So it's an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars."

Perdue says fishing stands to bring millions in tourism dollars to the state. The Flat Rock Fishing Area is managed by the Department of Natural Resources and will employ two full-time employees.

Tour de Georgia alive and well

Georgia’s annual cycling race is set to return next year, and bring tourism dollars with it. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the Tour de Georgia will return next April for its 6th season. Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle will chair its board. The Tour’s future was in jeopardy after losing major sponsorship. Its leaders say they’re trying to revitalize the race by generating publicity throughout the year as well as forging stronger partnerships with businesses. Over the past five years, nearly 3-million people have come to watch the tour, which has generated $148-million dollars for local communities.

JJ Haedo wins second stretch of Tour de Georgia in Augusta

The Tour de Georgia bike race has completed its second stretch, crossing the finish line in Augusta on Tuesday.

J.J. Haedo of Team CSC from Denmark won that stage, which spanned 117 miles from Statesboro to Augusta.

Fans lined Reynolds Street in Augusta, cheering and ringing cowbells in support of the racers.

Some drama in the closing moments. There was a crash involving five to seven riders near the finish line.

No word yet on injuries or whether anyone will have to leave the race as a result.

Organizers, meanwhile, say the event is a tourism boon.

They say about 500,000 people statewide attended last year.

"The past two years the tour has brought over $25 million of direct economic impact," says Chris Aronhalt, tour director. "That's over the seven days of the tour."

The Tour de Georgia spans 600 miles across the state.

The next stage begins Wednesday in Washington and ends in Gainesville.

The competition ends in Atlanta on Sunday.

Legislative Day 36 ... from the Senate

The state Senate today passed a 21 billion dollar budget package for fiscal year 2009.
Highlights include a 2-1/2 percent cost of living for increase for teachers and employees.

Republican Jack Hill, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee --- calls it a people focused budget.

“The people who work for the state of Georgia. Who keep us safe, who keep us healthy. Who care for our children and grandchildren. Who care for those in need. This budget focuses on those are our partners as well. And, who provide the services for those in need.”

The budget restores 56 million in education austerity cuts, as well as 83 million for school construction. However, Hill took House leaders to task for cutting funding to the state’s ports.
He says the money could have been used to further fund austerity cuts to schools systems across the state.

“I don’t understand really why you would want to cut the one economic engine that’s continuing to purr along at double digit increases even during a slowdown in the economy. Now we will work with the House to ensure we get the highest possible number for the austerity cut, but they’re gonna have to look at the costs that we had to look at as well.”

The budget includes money for math mentors, and virtual language classes for students enrolled in the Georgia Virtual Academy. Ninety eight million in the Senate version 09 budget will fully fund Peachcare. There’s also 9 million to improve to rural health across Georgia, as well as $20 million for mental health hospitals.

Tourism and economic develop got a big boost in the 09 budget, with the Senate recommending 4-1/2 million dollars.

“This is a critical time in our state. It’s not a time to turn back in our investment in these important job producing areas. We don’t skimp right now on deal making funds. We need to get new job that we can,” says Hill.

What the budget does not include is revenue funding for trauma care. Senate lawmakers hope to do that by adding a ten dollar car tag fee.

Recently, Governor Sonny Perdue has expressed concerns about decreasing revenue, saying it might be necessary to tap into the state’s reserve fund during the coming fiscal year.

The budget now goes to a joint Senate/House appropriations committee before heading to the Governor for his signature.

SENATE APPROVES TAX RELIEF PLAN

By a vote of 46 to 7, the state Senate today approved a pair of bills aimed at providing tax relief to Georgians. The first would cut state income tax by ten percent. However, Governor Sonny Perdue has said he doesn’t like the income tax reduction plan, because it means decreased revenue at a time the state can least afford it.

From the senate floor, Republican Chip Rogers championed the measure, saying state lawmakers have two choices.

“Either we going to allow the people who earn the money to take care of their problems, or we are going to take it from them by force at a time when they can least afford it.”

A competing tax relief bill in the state House would eliminate the car tag fee.

If voters approve the tax reduction plan, it cuts 1.2 billion in state revenues.

Finally, the second tax relief bill approved by the Senate, would cap the rate by which property assessments could rise. It would also eliminate the state portion of property taxes.

Both measures require a constitutional amendment which voters would have to approve this November.

Tourism up in Columbus

The bad economy didn't prevent a banner year for tourism in Columbus. WGPB's John Sepulvado explains.

One point one million visitors came to Columbus in 2008, according to a Columbus State University study. on average, the visitors spent almost 365 dollars ---It is the first time the area has cracked the million visitor threshold.

Peter Bowden, with the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau says local leaders were able to see the poor economy coming and adjust it's strategy.

"I think one of the key things we did is getting out in front of gas prices," says Bowden. "We were doing staycations before anyone knew what a stay cation was. "

Tourism is the second largest industry in Georgia, key to keep arts and cultural and even recreational enties strong as a way to draw people.

Many other caluclations around the state are not out yet. As for Bowden, he says if the same number of visitors come to Columbus this year, he'll be happy. After all, he adds---in this economy flat is the new up.

Senate Approves Confederate Month

The Georgia Senate voted to designate April Confederate Heritage and History month. The bill passed 48-2. It would celebrate the Confederate States of America. Governments, schools, businesses and Georgia citizens would be encouraged to participate in programs throughout the month. Supporters say the measure would be a boon to the state's tourism industry, encouraging visitors to come to Georgia's Civil War battlefield sites.

(Associated Press)

GA international tourism up 12% in '07

Georgia's tax revenues from international travel increased 12 percent to more than $117 million, according to a written statement from the Governor’s office. Its more than twice the percentage growth in tax revenues created by domestic tourists. These figures are in addition to the 1,600 international companies operating in Georgia representing $19 billion worth of investment. Georgia is also home to consulates, trade offices and honorary consulates from 60 different countries.

Sweet tea, moonshine and wine

A worker picks grapes at Persimmon Creek Vineyards in Clayton, Ga., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008. Persimmon Creek Vineyards is part of a rapidly expanding winery industry across the South, where lands once given over to tobacco now produce a more tourist-friendly crop. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

In the same mountains where generations of Georgians distilled corn into moonshine, the Hardman family is fermenting a libation of another flavor.

Along the banks of a babbling creek near Clayton are acres of twisting grape vines that will yield bottles of riesling, cabernet franc, sauvignon blanc and merlot.

The Hardmans' winery, Persimmon Creek Vineyards, is part of a rapidly expanding winery industry across the South, where lands once given over to tobacco now produce a more tourist-friendly crop.

"It's not something you can only grow in France and California," says Mary Ann Hardman, who runs the winery from her home on 100 acres of picturesque farmland. "I believe wine is the taste of a place."

And in the American South, the taste ranges from sweet, wet whites from the local scuppernong grapes (a muscadine variant) to Euro-style like chardonnays and merlots.

The Hardmans began producing wine six years ago on the cusp of an explosion in the region's viticulture industry, which has begun drawing tourists from across the globe to the rural South.

Today there are 433 wineries across the region, a nearly 50 percent increase from just three years ago, according to the National Association of American Wineries. That's almost four times as many wineries as 15 years ago.

The growth mirrors a national trend, with every state now boasting at least one winery _ even Alaska.

Southern vintners are particularly proud that their region finally has developed a foothold in the U.S. wine industry after years of connoisseurs looking down their noses at vintages from below the Mason-Dixon line.

Not that the stigma has completely vanished. But experts say the South is making a place for itself in the wine world.

"I have had some good Southern wine and some interesting Southern wine," says Lettie Teague, executive wine editor for Food & Wine magazine. "There is reason to look forward to the Southern wines of the future."

Southern wines tend to go the way of the region's tea _ incredibly sweet _ especially from scuppernong grapes.

"There is an exceptionally good sparkling scuppernong being made in southeast Georgia. There's a good chardonnay being made in North Carolina, as well," said John T. Edge, contributing editor at Gourmet magazine and head of the Southern Foodways Alliance at Ole Miss. "The diversity of topography and the diversity of grapes lends itself to the South emerging as a contender on the international stage."

Regional wine sales are tough to track because most Southern wineries are small and mostly sell directly to customers.

Tourism has played a key role in the boom. As at wineries in California, tasting rooms welcoming visitors are common. Some wineries even have built rental cottages for travelers wishing to rest among the vines.

The South was a leader in the U.S. wine industry during the early part of the 20th century, but Prohibition devastated the nation's industry. While other parts of the country bounced back, recovery has been slower in the South.

For decades after prohibition, farmers in the heart of the Bible Belt shied away from wine grapes. But modern vintners have discovered the cool weather in southern mountain towns is ideal for many varieties.

They've also needed to find new uses for land once dominated by tobacco.

"The industry we've been depending on in the South is no longer here," says Kim Myers, president of the North Carolina Winegrowers Association and owner of Laurel Gray Vineyards in Hamptonville, N.C. "People are looking for alternative things to do with farm land."

California remains the country's largest wine producer, with 2,600 wineries. North Carolina has just 91 wineries, but that's up from just 54 three years ago. Virginia went from 122 to 169 in that time.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Georgia agriculture.

(AP)

Georgia Hotels Net High Honors

A Georgia hotel operator has made tourism history. The Mobil Travel Guide has given four five-star ratings to the Sea Island Co. That's the first time in its 51-year history the travel guide has given four five-star ratings to one operator. The honor given Thursday went to Sea Island's The Cloister on Sea Island and The Lodge on St. Simons Island.

(Associated Press)

Drought affecting tourism along upper Savannah River basin

The drought and dropping lake levels have affected tourism in eastern Georgia.

J. Strom Thurmond Lake, in Clarks Hill, South Carolina, near Augusta, typically draws about six million tourists a year. It is one of the largest and most popular of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers parks in the country.

But lake levels are about eight feet lower since this time last summer, making the lake less attractive and recreation potentially more dangerous.

And, about 15 of the lake's 33 boat ramps are closed.

"There are a lot fewer people in the picnic areas. There's almost no one using the swim beaches because all of those beaches are out of the water," says Jay Weidman, a park ranger at the lake.

The drought has left tree stumps and rocks exposed, affecting boaters. Swimmers outside of the "swim beaches" need to watch for drop offs, holes and stumps.

"Probably the biggest word to remember is common sense," says Weidman. "Keep your wits about you when you're out there and don't do something crazy."

The number of campers in the park next to the lake remains steady.

The lake is a part of the upper Savannah River basin. It's level hovered at 316.14 feet above sea level on Tuesday. Lake Hartwell, which is also located along the Savannah, dropped to 646 feet on Monday, triggering a more serious drought designation for the area by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The designation moved from level two to level three.

Officials urge caution for people using the lakes along the Savannah River.

I-85 dubbed 'Scenic Byway'

Georgia's interstate highway system. Click on the map for more information. (DOT)

The Georgia Department of Transportation has named I-185 a Scenic Byway, ensuring that billboards and other visual blight will not be allowed along the thoroughfare.

The highway passes through Troup, Harris and Muscogee counties, and ends at Ft. Benning, near Columbus.

GDOT Board member Sam Wellborn says of the move:

“This is a very important event for our entire region, not only will this designation preserve an already prestigious corridor but it will forever prevent billboards and will increase tourism.”

GDOT Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl will present a proclamation to Wellborn and Gloria Weston-Smart, Executive Director of Keep Columbus Beautiful Commission, in support of the I-185 Scenic Byway designation, at a ceremony in Atlanta on Thursday. A ceremony will be held Friday morning at a welcome center along exit 12.

The interstate joins seven other similarly-designated state roads, and the group says the title will be listed on state and federal maps.

Clikc here for more GPB News coverage of state transportation and infrastructure issues.