Morning Reads for Tuesday, September 15

Good morning! If you are a quarterly tax filer, don’t forget that today’s the deadline to pay your estimate taxes for the June 1 – August 31 payment period – and there are no more pandemic extensions.

• Today’s nomination for the story most likely to be a slow burn with broad repercussions is this Georgia Health News story with details about the company that won a no-bid contract from the state for pandemic health staffing.
• Although, this story about a whistleblower from the ICE detention facility in Ocilla is also a serious contender, with allegations that range from improper COVID-19 precautions, to an unusually high rate of hysterectomies.
  • You can read more details from the report here, including an account of a woman who was unclear about why she was subjected to a procedure that sounds an awful lot like a D&C.
• Discussions were held yesterday between the Stone Mountain Memorial Association and the Stone Mountain Action Coalition, a grassroots activist group that hopes to transform Stone Mountain Park into a destination that is focused on the area’s natural life, and is welcoming to all Georgians.
  • Notably, one of the co-founders of the Stone Mountain Action Coalition is Ryan Gravel, and if his name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the person who came up with the idea for the Beltline in 1999.
• The first day of the hearings to determine what went wrong with the Golden Ray got off to about as auspicious a start as the auto carrier’s final voyage.
• Since March, overdose deaths related to Fentanyl have increased by close to 60%.
• Georgia dropped from 42nd to 46th in the Commonwealth Fund’s healthcare scorecard.
• Yes, the mail is getting slower, and has been since Louis DeJoy took the reins of the USPS.
• Health officials across the world face death threats because of their pandemic response.
• The hour is nigh for Georgia’s first Buc-ees! They are hiring for at least 150 positions at the new location in Warner Robins.
• The hourly pay is even better at Hobby Lobby – they are raising their entry-level wages to $17/hour as they kick into high gear for the upcoming holiday season(s).