Unemployment Up 95% Over Year

The Georgia Department of Labor says 88,756 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits in June, an increase of 94.8 percent from June of 2008. The areas with the highest percentage of increase in claims from June 2008 to June 2009 were Rome up 181.0 percent, Gainesville up 172.8 percent, and Athens up 163.2 percent. The areas with the smallest increase in claims were Dalton up 48.5 percent, Albany up 66.3 percent and Savannah up 68.7 percent. State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said rising unemployment continues to plague local economies throughout North Georgia. Most of the state initial claims were filed by laid-off workers in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, construction, and administrative and support services.

(Associated Press)

Economic Woes Hitting Red Cross Hard

Martha Perez, her son 20-month old son Emmanuel Matias and friend Mayra Perez, right, walk back to their home after receiving hot meals from the Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Baytown, Texas, in this Sept. 16, 2008 file photo. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

The perfect economic storm Georgia’s going through has battered emergency relief services like the American Red Cross. The Albany branch says they almost went under.

Red Cross officials say donations in southwest Georgia have dropped dramatically the last three months and they were on the verge of suspending operations.

Mari Wright runs the Albany Red Cross office:

”Many of our regular contributors, that would, say, donate a hundred dollars, are now giving us $25 dollars. People that were giving us $25 dollars or less… can’t give us anything. so we are probably at 85 – maybe 90% down, and that’s a considerable amount. It truly is.”

Wright says, however, that the United Way, local businesses and individuals have brought in enough donations in recent days to keep their aid services afloat.

Conditions in more urban Red Cross offices are less dire, however.

Officials in Columbus, Augusta, and Valdosta cite a larger donor base, and financial assistance from the national office to help them keep their doors open.

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GA colleges helping Albany tire co. workers

Several schools in the Technical College System of Georgia are offering to waive application fees for the some 1,300 employees at Albany's Cooper Tire plant, set to close this year.

Officials estimate that, including secondary suppliers, the closure will affect an estimated 5,000 jobs in south Georgia.

South Georgia Technical College in Americus is offering free enrollment for their winter quarter, commencing Jan. 7 to workers who want to learn new professions and trades, in the wake of the shutdown.

Financial aid and scholarships are available, according to the Cordele Dispatch.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the plant closure.

Obama post for Rep. Bishop?

There are reports the incoming Obama Administration is eyeing Georgia Representative Sanford Bishop to be the next Agriculture Secretary. The eight-term Democrat from Albany told the Associated Press he is honored his name has surfaced, but he has not been contacted about the job. Bishop is among the most conservative African-Americans in Congress and has long been involved in agriculture issues in Congress. He is a go-to lawmaker for Southern farmers because of his position as a senior member of the spending committee for agriculture. Bishop says he would be ready to serve.

(Associated Press)

Albany included in nat'l poverty study

A national study examining concentrated poverty nationwide includes a glimpse of Albany. The Brookings Institution detailed its findings Friday in "The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America," a two-year study that profiles 16 high-poverty communities. The study included larger cities, like Miami, down to smaller areas like the eastern region of Albany. The report describes an area with no major commercial or real estate development and few social services, where 90 percent of the money made is spent outside the region, and where year 2000 statistics showed a 45 percent poverty rate. The report says signs of improvement include new subsidized housing - though some national housing experts blame public housing enclaves for concentrating poverty.

(Associated Press)

More West Nile cases

West Nile virus is confirmed in three people in the Albany area. There are two cases reported in Dougherty County and one in Lee County. The victims ranging from 23 to 46 years old reported symptoms such as fever and chills. West Nile is triggered by the bite of a mosquito already carrying the virus.

(Associated Press)

Americus, Albany hospitals to merge operations

Local residents examine overturned vehicle in SRH parking lot on March 2, 2007, the morning after the tornado struck. (file/Dave Bender)

Officials at Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus have decided to lease operations to Albany's Phoebe Putney Health System.

Sumter Regional was destroyed by a tornado on March 1, 2007.

Wrecking crews demolishing Sumter Regional Hospital earlier this year. The facility was severely damaged by a twister that tore through Americus on March 1, 2007. (file/Dave Bender)

Patients have been using temporary facilities nearby, and relying on other area hospitals for more comprehensive medical services since then.

Hospital officials say Phoebe Putney will add at least $25 million dollars to rebuild SRH, and will provide core primary and emergency services, according to a report in the Albany Herald newspaper.

Both hospitals are expected to finalize the agreement by the New Year.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado, and it's effect on SRH and Americus.

GBI criminal tip sheets go 'Minority Report'

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is joining seven other state law-enforcement agencies using an automated intelligence-gathering and evaluation system.

“We required a system that could help us improve our decision-making capabilities and operational effectiveness,” said Don Robertson, GBI Project Administrator. “We also manage vast amounts of data across multiple systems, so breaking down barriers to real-time data sharing is of paramount importance.”

The system analyzes numerous sources of collected data, according to the manufacturers, Memex, Inc., of Vienna, Va.

The system “enables law enforcement to efficiently predict, prevent and respond to threats in real-time,” company officials say, by allowing officials to sift through massive amounts of intelligence data, including emails tips, leads and other clues, in order to predict patterns of possible future criminal behavior.

Police departments in Albany, Cobb County, Columbus, Gwinnett County, the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office are also using the system, the company said in a release.

The system's touted prediction abilities echo the 2002 science fiction film, Minority Report, in which a “precrime” unit apprehended criminals just prior to the commission of their deeds.

In the movie, however, psychics were relied upon for their ability to visualize a violent crime before it occurred.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the GBI.

'Unbreakable': driver walks away from truck-train crash

It's rare, but it happens. No one was hurt when a truck hauling lumber collided with a moving freight train in south Georgia.

The Georgia State Patrol said 44-year-old Nathaniel Swan of Albany slammed into the railroad car at a crossing in rural Terrell County. It happened just before 10 a.m. Monday.

Troopers said the crash occurred when Swan swerved to avoid a pickup truck that had stopped at the railroad crossing.

Swan was walking around the wreckage when emergency crews arrived at the scene.

The rail car was hauling sulfur and had minor damage. But Swan's 18-wheeler was heavily damaged.

(The Associated Press)

Average gas prices drop in Georgia

There is relief at the pump for Georgia drivers. AAA reports the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Georgia has fallen to $3.93. That represents a drop of two-cents from only yesterday, and a five-cent drop from a month ago. For averages around the state, the lowest can be found in Valdosta--$3.87. The highest average is $3.97 in Albany.

Three gang members sent to prison

Three leaders of an Albany street gang are headed to state prison. Authorities said the three led a gang called "CME Rattlers." They are 18-,19-, and 20-years-old. In 2007, a task force targeted gang activity in the south Georgia city.

Drop In Georgia Jobs: Report

The stats. Click on the graphic for a larger image. (Courtesy Georgia Department of Labor)

Latest statistics say unemployment in several Georgia cities rose sharply in recent months. A Georgia Department of Labor report says the unemployment rate statewide spiked from 4.2 to 4.6 percent in December. Those figures are two tenths of a percent below the national average.

Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond:

“This increase is the largest we’ve had for the November – December time period in more than three decades. So that tells us that there are issues that are impacting the economy, the housing front, higher gas prices…”

Albany, Augusta, Columbus and Macon showed the steepest increases in unemployment of Georgia cities – all over five percent.

Thurmond says that among the fields affected by the slowdown are construction, manufacturing, employment services, and the leisure and hospitality services.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of employment issues.

Leesburg mayor dies

The longtime mayor of Leesburg has died after a long illness. Robert Boney passed away at his home Monday at the age of 81. Boney had been mayor of the southwest Georgia town, just north of Albany, for 18 years. Mayor pro-tem Sydney Johnson will serve as acting mayor until a special election is held.

Georgia + drought = No. 1 pecan state in '07

(Graphic courtesy: Old Shoe Woman)

The record drought gripping the Southeast isn't all bad news for Georgia.

The historic dry spell has meant nearly perfect weather for growing pecans, and Georgia is on pace to be the nation's top producer this year after slipping to third in 2006, said pecan horticulturist Lenny Wells with the University of Georgia's agriculture extension. Shellers are predicting Georgia will harvest more than 125 million pounds by the end of the year, he said.

The nation's two other top producers - New Mexico and Texas - are not expected to grow nearly as much, Wells said. New Mexico's predictions are for a pecan crop of 80 million pounds, and Texas is expected to have 73 million pounds, according to Wells.

Texas was the top producer in 2006, followed by New Mexico, which meant Georgia - which is usually a top producer - dropped to third. New Mexico's harvest was worth $85 million, followed by Texas at $75 million and Georgia with $66 million.

This year Georgia had a spring freeze that destroyed a few orchards close to Augusta, but the drought - combined with irrigated orchards and some August and September rains - have been kind to the pecan crop.

The larger production year means lower prices for "desirable" - the most popular variety of pecan. A pound costs $1.47-$1.67 this year, compared to $1.93-$2.18 this time last year.
The nation produced nearly 189 million pounds of pecans in 2006 from the Pecan Belt - a 15-state growing region located in the southeastern and southwestern United States. The pecan harvest is expected to begin in late November and will last about six weeks.

In a related story, the Georgia Pecan Festival took place in Rylander Park in Americus on Saturday.

Rick Whaley, president of Citizens Bank of Americus, told the Americus Times-Recorder:

"This was a community-wide effort."

Whaley said the pecan industry is important to Georgia and Sumter County, according to the report.

'To Catch a Predator' trial begins

The trial of an Albany man, arrested for attempted child molestation in the "To Catch A Predator,' television program, begins today in Jones County.

Jury selection in Gray, the County Seat, is the first step in the trial of 25-year-old Raymundo Anguiano. Police arrested him during the week-long operation in July of 2006.

Several Georgia residents are among the 20 men Harris County Sheriffs arrested at a decoy house in Fortson. They were caught on camera, allegedly expecting to meet with an underage woman whom they sought for sex, but who was, in fact, an online decoy.

The operation was filmed for NBC Television's Dateline program, and produced in cooperation with an online watchdog group, Perverted-Justice.

A Harris County judge ordered the venue changed to Jones County, citing pre-trail publicity about the case affecting jurors' judgment.

Click here for more GPB coverage of similar issues.

Proctor and Gamble adds jobs in Albany

Proctor and Gamble is set to add jobs in southwest Georgia. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the company is adding 34 jobs to its Albany facility. The move includes expanding the plant, which makes Bounty towels, Charmin bathroom tissue, and ThermaCare heat wraps. Right now 1,200 people work there.

Two more West Nile cases makes 18 for Georgia

Two more cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Georgia. The total of 18 cases for this year far out-paces the eight cases recorded for all of last year. The two newest cases include a 52-year-old Gwinnett County woman--she is said to be in recovery. In southwest Georgia's Mitchell County near Albany, an 82-year-old Mitchell County woman remains in the hospital in intensive care. West Nile is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, often picked up from birds they bite, then spread to people.

Georgetown dope theft possibly an 'inside job'

Quitman County Sheriff Lon Ming inspects
marijuana plants seized in Georgetown.
(Andy Brown/Media General News Service)

Quitman Co. Sheriff Lon Ming says the theft of close to 400 marijuana plants from City Hall Tuesday night may have been an "inside job."

"I'm sure it's a possibility," Ming told the Eufala Tribune newspaper.

However, speaking with GPB News, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Mike Lewis would neither confirm or deny Ming's statement, or that there were suspects in the case.

The plants, seized in a bust on a wooded field last Thursday, were valued at $380,000.

The thieves also set fire to the Old City Hall building where the drugs were stored, adjacent to the Quitman County Sheriff's office, causing an estimated $10,000 damage.

"There was a great deal of smoke damage, but structurally, the building is intact,"

Lewis said, but added that there was significant damage to the evidence room, where the marijuana was being kept.

"After seizing the marijuana plants, they set fire to the building, I suppose in hopes of covering up the fact they stole the marijuana. However, the fire did not destroy the building as they thought. The state fire marshal's office has ruled it an arson, and we are jointly conducting an investigation."

The GBI is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonists, and Ming said any information in the case was welcome:

• Georgia Arson Control Hotline: 1-800-282-5804
• Quitman Co. Sheriff's Department: 229-334-3726

To hear this report, click here.

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More GPB coverage of this story is here.

Heat wave claims third victim in Georgia

A third heat-related death has been reported in Georgia. Authorities in Albany say 76-year-old Jesse June Irvin was found collapsed on the back patio of her home Friday. This follows the deaths of a Floyd County man and Atlanta woman in the past week due to heat-related causes.

Several Georgia cities hit triple digits again on Wednesday--the high was 104 in Macon. Forecasters expect temperatures to remain in the mid 90's to low 100's into the weekend.

Excessive heat continues across the state

Triple-digit temperatures hit many parts of the state Wednesday, and are in the forecast again today. Yesterday, three-digit readings were posted in Albany, Augusta, Athens, Macon, Rome, and Atlanta for the first time. The top hot spots in Georgia were Albany and Augusta with 103 degree readings.

Once again, an excessive heat warning is in effect for parts of central and south Georgia today—-a heat advisory is for everyone except those in the northeast mountains.