Georgia has worst high school grad rate in South

Georgia has the worst graduation rate among high school students in the Southeast.  That's according to a study released by the U.S. Department of Education Tuesday.  It reports that the Peach State has 67 percent graduation rate.  That's among the lowest numbers in the nation. Tennessee had the highest graduation rate among neighboring states at 86 percent.

Associated Press/Albany Herald

Associated Press/Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

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UGA football can still play for all of the marbles

Believe it or not, the Georgia Bulldogs still have an outside shot at playing for a BCS national championship in January.  But, a lot of things have to happen in order for the Dawgs to get that chance.  Click here to find out how, courtesy of macon.com.

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New state college considers sports choices

The all-new Middle Georgia State College is considering its options for its new intercollegiate athletics when it opens in January 2013.  Macon.com has the details here.


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Valdosta 3rd poorest MSA in U.S., report says

Valdosta is the third poorest metropolitan area in America.  That's what a recently released report says.

247wallst.com reports that Valdosta ranked third behind two metro areas in Texas, with Brownsville coming in second, and McAllen topping the list.

Click here for more on this story, courtesy of the Valdosta Daily Times  


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School board candidate dumps lawsuit

A candidate for a seat on the Dougherty County Board of Education has withdrawn his lawsuit so he can focus on being a write-in candidate.  Click here for more details, courtesy of the Albany Herald.

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Sunbelt Expo is 35 years old

One of the nation's largest agricultural expos turns 35 this year. Click here to find out more about the history making moment for the Sunbelt Expo in Moultrie, courtesy of the Moultrie Observer.

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Protesters outraged over new university name

Protesters show their disapproval of a Georgia university's new name.  The Augusta Chronicle has the details here.

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Gainesville State enters final semester

A northeast Georgia college is now in its final semester.  Gainesville State College started classes on Monday.  But by the beginning of next year, GSC will merge with North Georgia College & State University to become the University of North Georgia.

Click here for the full article, courtesy of the Gainesville Times

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Two candidates ruled ineligible

Two candidates that were running for seats on the Georgia General Assembly can no longer run for office.  

That was the ruling made by Georgia Secretary of State on Monday.

The results mean that the incumbents in House Districts 39 and 151 will run unopposed next Tuesday (July 31).

Click here for the full story, courtesy of the Associated Press/GPB News

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Panel recommends school board member's removal from office

A Dougherty County Board of Education member that's facing fraud charges could soon lose her spot on the board.  The Albany Herald reports that a panel appointed by Governor Nathan Deal recommended that Velvet Riggins be removed from office Monday. She was indicted earlier this year on multiple counts of school lunch fraud.

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Miss Georgia gets underway Wednesday

The 68th annual Miss Georgia Competition gets underway in Columbus Wednesday, with 33 young women for competing for the right to represent our state at Miss America next January.  Click here to see a photo gallery of who is competing, courtesy of ledger-enquirer.com.

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South Georgia's political clout on the decline

As metro Atlanta and north Georgia have grown population wise over the last two decades, south Georgia has struggled to keep up politically.  Charlie Harper of Peach Pundit has more on the region's declining political clout here, courtesy of savannahnow.com.
 
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Click here to read the all-new Georgia News Beat Daily

 

 

List of candidates running for state office

Qualifying for the 2012 primary elections on July 31 ended at noon Friday.  Click the following links below to find who's running where in Georgia.

Editor's Note: Qualifications list courtesy of the Georgia Secretary of State's office (sos.ga.gov). 

District Attorneys 

House of Representatives

Public Service Commission

State Senate

Superior Court

Supreme Court

U.S. Congress


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Gainesville named one of "Best Cities for Job Growth"

Looking for a quality job in Georgia?  Move to Gainesville.  Newgeography.com reports that Gainesville ranked 17th out of all 398 metropolitan areas, and 14th among smaller metros nationwide, in the blog's "Best Cities for Job Growth".  Click the following links below to find out how all Georgia cities fared in this year's rankings.

Large Cities

Medium-Sized Cities

Small Cities

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School police chief must clear arrests with superintendent

From the bizarre files...in Albany...the police chief for the Dougherty County School System must clear all arrests with the superintendent...

The Albany Herald has the details here...

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Town for sale

Coming right out of the "believe it or not" department...one southeast Georgia town...for sale!

Click here to find out the name of that town, courtesy of GPB News via the Associated Press.

GNB is online at georgianewsbeat.blogspot.com, on Twitter at twitter.com/georgianewsbeat, on Facebook, and can be contacted via e-mail at georgianewsbeat@gmail.com.

How Georgia's counties stack up economically

Where do Georgia's counties rank as far as health and economics go? The University of Wisconsin released such a study on Tuesday.  It ranked all but three of Georgia's 159 counties on their health and economic status.  

Click one of the following links below for more on this story

Access North Georgia

Macon Telegraph  

Also click on the following map here, to see how your county fared, courtesy of Partner Up! For Public Health.

GNB is online at georgianewsbeat.blogspot.com, on Twitter at twitter.com/georgianewsbeat, on Facebook, and can be contacted via e-mail at georgianewsbeat@gmail.com.

New VSU president named

Valdosta State University finally has a new president.  The University System of Georgia Board of Regents picked William McKinney to become VSU's new president late last week.  He takes over for Patrick Schloss, who left the south Georgia campus last year.

Click the following links for more on McKinney's hiring

Associated Press

Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

WCTV Tallahassee

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Guess which Georgia city is tops in urban growth rate

It's a city that wasn't even classified as an urban area in 2000.  Click here to find out what that city is, and where it is, courtesy of the Rome News-Tribune.

GNB is online at georgianewsbeat.blogspot.com, on Twitter at twitter.com/georgianewsbeat, on Facebook, and can be contacted via e-mail at georgianewsbeat@gmail.com.

Big hospital absorbs smaller hospital

Two south Georgia hospitals are joining forces. 

Officials at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton have announced plans to acquire the Memorial Hospital in nearby Adel, as well as the nursing home located right next door.  

The move comes after the hospital announced the layoffs of 40 employees last week. The merger could be completed by the Fourth of July holiday.

More details

Albany Herald

Tift Regional Medical Center Press Release 

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Coastal Georgia town turns 50

A coastal Georgia town turned 50 years old over the weekend.  Find out which community reached that milestone by clicking here, courtesy of savannahnow.com.

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Albany-Dougherty consolidation talks back on track?

The effort to merge the governments of Albany and Dougherty County might soon get back on track.

The Albany Herald reports that Dougherty County Commission Chairman Jeff Sinyard will talk to city and state officials to see if the consolidation issue can be placed on the November ballot.  The issue was briefly considered during last year's legislative session, but was delayed until the 2010 Census figures came out.

Click here for more details, courtesy of the Albany Herald

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BREAKING NEWS: More on the FTC's challenge of the Albany hospital merger

The Solicitor General's office has joined forces with the Federal Trade Commission to stop the merger between two Albany hospitals.  The Albany Herald reports that the FTC is working with the Solicitor General to look into the purchase of Palmyra Medical Center by the Phoebe Putney Health System.  Both offices plan to take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Click here for more details, courtesy of the Albany Herald. 

Also, click here for the post on the FTC challenge. 

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FTC to challenge Albany hospital merger

The battle to merge two Albany hospitals is not over just yet.  The Albany Herald reports that the Federal Trade Commission plans to challenge the merger between Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and the former Palymra Medical Center in the U.S. Supreme Court.  That comes despite the fact that an appellate court ruled against the FTC late last year. Federal regulators are challenging the merger on grounds that it would limit health care competition in Southwest Georgia.

Click here for more details, courtesy of the Albany Herald.

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New jobs coming to Athens

You will soon see up to 1,400 new jobs come to Georgia.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Caterpillar will open a new plant in Athens during a press conference Friday. Governor Nathan Deal and local officials made the announcement in Atlanta.  The project will cost around $200 million to complete.

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HOPE grant changes may be on the way

Changes may soon be on the way for the HOPE grant.  Click the link below to find out more.

Click here for the full article, courtesy of the Albany Herald/Associated Press 


GNB is online at georgianewsbeat.blogspot.com, on Twitter at twitter.com/georgianewsbeat, on Facebook, and can be contacted via e-mail at georgianewsbeat@gmail.com.

 

Questions raised in college mergers

Questions are raised in the effort to merge some of Georgia's public colleges.  Macon.com reports that feelings are split between the potential consolidation of Macon State College and Middle Georgia College.  The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia met in Atlanta to vote on the proposal to merge eight institutions into four.

Click here for the full story, courtesy of the Macon Telegraph/Macon.com.

Click here for more information on consolidation, courtesy of the University System of Georgia. 

GNB is online at georgianewsbeat.blogspot.com, on Twitter at twitter.com/georgianewsbeat, on Facebook, and can be contacted via e-mail at georgianewsbeat@gmail.com.