It’s Friday!
Quotes of note
“All my life, no one has ever told me not to put glue in my hair. Yet, somehow, I knew.” – Betty White, 1922-2021
“Not all readers become leaders. But all leaders must be readers.” – Harry S. Truman
“When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.” – A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh,” which entered the public domain on January 1.
On Our Desks
RIP: Yesterday, friends and family of the great Johnny Isakson gathered to memorialize the late Republican senator. Read Georgia Policy’s fond memories of our friend “Johnny” here.
At the Capitol
2022 Agendas: Ahead of what is poised to be a historic election year, both Governor Kemp and Stacey Abrams have released their 2022 campaign agendas.
Constitutional Carry: Wednesday, Governor Kemp voiced support for a GOP-led bill that would allow “constitutional carry” firearm regulations in the state. The bill would allow eligible Georgians to carry a gun openly or concealed without a permit.
Education
O is for Omicron, Z is for Zoom: With growing concern over the Omicron variant, Atlanta students returned from winter break to virtual classrooms. School systems in Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties also began their spring semesters remotely.
Bonus time: State-funded pre-K and child-care teachers will get a second round of $1,000 bonuses paid from federal coronavirus aid. An earlier round of bonuses last year paid a total of $33.4 million to more than 33,000 teachers statewide.
Economy
Some Good News: According to WalletHub, Atlanta is among the top cities for jobs in 2022. Atlanta ranked No. 27 of the 182 cities.
Technology
5G Delay: AT&T and Verizon have agreed to delay the roll-out of the new 5G service for two weeks over FAA safety concerns, reports the Wall Street Journal. The agency worries the radio altimeters of some aircraft may be affected by 5G transmissions, causing flight disruptions.Transportation
Road trip! As of Tuesday, airlines have canceled more than 20,000 flights in the U.S. since Christmas Eve, according to CNBC. A combination of staffing problems related to the fast-moving Omicron variant and weather conditions is blamed. If that wasn’t enough, some passengers at the Atlanta airport are even having problems reclaiming their baggage.
Nightmare: Passengers on an Amtrak train from Atlanta said they were trapped in this week’s Virginia snowstorm for nearly 40 hours. One passenger told WSB-TV that the train was stuck in an area without cell service or wifi, ran out of food and had plumbing problems during the delay.
Healthcare
Tests, anyone? Walmart and Kroger are raising their prices for at-home rapid COVID-19 tests, after the expiration of a deal with the White House to sell the BinaxNOW test kits at cost for $14. The two U.S. retail giants and Amazon.com agreed with the Biden administration last summer to discount the tests, which generally cost $24 or more for a box with two tests.The deal with the White House expired in December, and Walmart said this week that it is raising the kits’ price to $19.98 a box. Kroger now sells them for $23.99. The BinaxNOW tests aren’t currently available on Amazon.
Vaccines available: Atlanta and Gwinnett County public schools are holding vaccine clinics this weekend through next week. Everyone 5 years of age and older is now eligible to receive a vaccine. So far in Georgia, 13.5 million vaccinations have been given across the state.
Friday Flashback
Ten years ago, we wrote this commentary listing the Foundation’s big wins in Education. Since then we’ve added another successful decade to our track record of advocating for education choice! This year, School Choice Week is from January 22-29.
Visit georgiapolicy.org to read the Foundation’s latest commentary, “2022 Legislative Session Readies for Kickoff.“
Have a great weekend.
Kyle Wingfield
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