About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2020)
Gainesville High announces plans to retire legendary baseball coach’s number, sports, » FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com New space gives moms a place to work and play. ufe,sb Honestly Local Lawmakers take aim at drug prices to curb pharmacy middlemen Senate, House ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate unanimously passed leg islation on Thursday to restrict practices by pharmacy benefit managers — companies that run prescription drug coverage for insurers and other groups — just a day after the state House took similar action. The bill would require phar macy benefit managers, called PBMs, to pass along discounts pass measures they receive from drug manufac turers for a particular medica tion to consumers. It would also subject PBMs to surcharges for ordering patients to use an affili ated pharmacy and require them to cover the cost of prescriptions at other pharmacies, among other provisions. It passed the Senate by a vote of 52-0, after the House passed a companion bill 165-1 on Wednesday. Supporters of the measure are concerned that PBMs — viewed as middlemen by critics — are overcharging patients, squeezing pharmacies and stifling competi tion that could bring down drug costs. PBMs argue that drug mak ers are responsible for set ting initial prices, and they use their purchasing power to achieve savings. “Some of the business prac tices of some PBMs have a fairly significant amount of conflict of interest,” said state Sen. Dean Burke, a Republi can from Bainbridge who sponsored the bill. “The point of this bill is to allow our Department of Insur ance to have the abil ity to audit these plans.” Burke said the bill would add trans parency to pricing and rebate practices. Burke said that the bill was a first step in combating the rising cost of phar maceuticals in Georgia but said he wanted to continue to examine drug pricing and other aspects of the system in order to lower costs for patients. Associated Press Burke A space to slide, grind and flip , ■ ■MPi Photos by NICK BOWMAN I The Times Though looking soggy on Thursday, March 5, in midtown Gainesville, the bones of the new skatepark coming to the area are finished. Weather has been slowing down construction on the project, which is scheduled to open in mid-April. Below: The bowls, ramps and rails of the park are present, but it still needs finished sidewalks and a parking lot. New midtown skatepark to open in April, weather permitting BY LINDSAY HOWARD lhoward@gainesvilletimes.com The skatepark that is being built at the corner of Pine and High streets is pro jected to open mid-April — if the rain slows down. The core skatepark elements are com plete, the bowls and ramps and rails, and all that’s left are the exterior pieces such as the sidewalk, parking lot and trash cans, according to Kate Mattison, direc tor of Gainesville Parks and Recreation. The park was designed by Wally Hol- lyday, owner of California-based Wally Hollyday Skateparks. He and his crew used a community design process and held meetings to hear what local skaters wanted in their new park. “Hollyday did the original loose con cepts. We held public meetings where Wally Hollyday was present and asked local skaters what they wanted in their skatepark. He took those suggestions and turned them into conceptual designs and then we turned those designs into engi neered construction plans,” said Whit Alexander, executive vice president for Lose & Associates architecture. The design process started in late 2018 and by October 2019, construction was well underway. Since the beginning of the construction, the weather has been a huge obstacle with getting the park finished. “We had to fight with the rain, but we got kind of lucky and it gave us enough dry days so that we could keep control of it, keep working and get done,” Hollyday said. “I was talking to the city constantly throughout the project like, ‘Is there going to be a point if it keeps raining that we finish it in the spring?’ and they were ■ Please see SKATE, 4A Dahlonega man killed in 2-car crash BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A 24-year-old Dahlonega man was killed in a two-vehicle wreck Wednesday, March 4, in North Hall. Matthew Novotny was driving south on Thompson Bridge Road/Ga. 60, north of Tomacheche Trail, when he failed to maintain his lane and the vehicle’s right wheels trav eled onto the road’s west shoulder, the Geor gia State Patrol said in an email Thursday, March 5. Novotny overcorrected his vehicle, caus ing it to rotate counterclockwise as it traveled back onto Ga. 60 and into the northbound lane. A tractor-trailer truck owned by Fieldale Farms traveling north on Ga. 60 struck Novot ny’s Dodge Shadow on the right side of the car, according to the state patrol. After impact, both vehicles went off the road and traveled down an embankment on the west side of Ga. 60. Novotny’s vehicle then struck a tree with its left side and, along with the truck, came to a final rest, state patrol said. The truck driver, Alan Garcia, 36, of Mur- rayville was uninjured, according to the state patrol. The wreck was reported at 11:48 a.m. Wednesday. No charges will be filed, state patrol said. UNG may get off-campus housing site BY JEFF GILL jglll@gainesvilletlmes.com Off-campus student apartments — up to 550 beds — could be developed at the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus. The UNG Real Estate Foundation has announced an agreement to sell about 18 acres at 3055 Tumbling Creek Road, next to the cam pus, to DeKalb County-based Mallory & Evans Development LLC for the development of the complex, according to UNG. Tumbling Creek Road runs between Atlanta ■ Please see CAMPUS, 4A INSIDE 0 40901 06835 Advice 6B Business 4B Calendar 2A Classified 8B g Comics 7B Life 5B Lottery 2A Opinion 8A Sports 1B TV/puzzles 6B WEATHER 2A High Low w* 49 31 Lake Lanier level: 1,075.35 feet Full pool 1,071. Up 0.21 feet in 24 hours DEATHS 6A Amory Barrett, 58 Daniel Doyle, 55 Stephanie Ellis, 40 April Etris, 36 James Green, 81 George Hewes IV, 59 Lillie Moran, 72 Betty Smith, 90 Johnny Sudderth, 76 Patricia Williams, 80 HULSEY PLUMBING PLUMBING RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL -B TZ SEPTIC Call us! We’ll be there! 770-536-1161 ***** WATER HEATERS DRAINS www.HulseyPlumbing.com
