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 

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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 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.

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.