About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 2020)
LOCA^STATE The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Thursday, June 25, 2020 3A GEORGIA LEGISU\TURE Lawmakers approve more health coverage for moms of newborns ATLANTA — An expansion of medical cov erage aiming at reducing deaths among moth ers of Georgia newborns is headed to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature or veto. The House voted Wednesday to give final approval to House Bill 1114 by a vote of 144-0. Right now, indigent mothers covered by the state- federal Medicaid health insurance plan only get two months of coverage after giving birth. The change won’t take effect until lawmakers provide $19.7 million to pay for it. Lawmakers are looking at more than $2 billion in cuts to the state budget and have yet to reach a final agree ment on spending. The measure would also require Medicaid to pay for lactation services to help breastfeeding women and their children. Republican House Speaker David Ralston has made the extension one of his priorities, saying it’s needed to fight a high maternal mor tality rate. House Health and Human Services Commit tee Chairwoman Sharon Cooper told members Wednesday that the extension will begin “to take care of the needs of our most vulnerable mothers who are at risk of losing their lives postpartum.” Georgia has a high rate of mothers dying after birth, particularly concentrated among African American, rural and older mothers, according to a legislative study. Fewer than 100 post-birth mothers die in a year, but the death rate in one recent three-year period was 50% above the national rate. The study estimated 60% of preg nancy-related deaths were preventable. Of deaths, two-thirds were mothers covered by Medicaid. Cooper has said many mothers don’t return for post-birth visits now, but hopes lactation care might lead more moms back to doctors’ offices. For more than a decade, Georgia’s Republican leaders have resisted extending Medicaid coverage to most poor adults, as envisioned under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Gov. Brian Kemp has proposed extending coverage to some, but not all adults. State House passes pay cut ATLANTA — The Georgia House on Wednes day passed a bill that would cut salaries for members of the General Assembly by 10% amid an economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. After a lengthy debate, the House voted 106- 51 in favor of Senate Bill 416, sending it back to the Senate for consideration of House changes. The bill would cut lawmakers’ yearly sal ary of more than $17,350 by 10% in the budget year beginning July 1. Lawmakers would still get their full daily expense pay. Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan’s pay of nearly $92,000 a year would be cut by 14%, a cut he has volun teered for. Lawmakers say they want to give up part of their pay to show they are sharing in the suffer ing of state agencies, K-12 schools, universities and others that are likely to face 10% budget cuts after state tax revenue fell. The Senate on Tuesday approved an 11 % cut for lawmakers in a different bill. “As elected officials, this is an important step, an important message,” said Rep. Houston Gaines, a Republican from Athens who intro duced the bill. Not all legislators agreed with the action. “You should take from those who’ve got something, because you don’t pay us enough to move the scale,” said Rep. A1 Williams, a Dem ocrat from Midway. Williams noted that while the session is only 40 days, legislators have year- round responsibilities, including communicat ing with constituents. Associated Press Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Xtreme Xplosives Fireworks in Gainesville prepares for their biggest sales event of the season. Planning a July 4 party? Local shop offers tips on having your own fireworks display Jason Silay, owner of Xtreme Xplosives Fireworks in Gainesville, offers recommendations at his Riverside Drive location Wednesday, June 24, for home owners planning their own fireworks party this Fourth of July. BY KELSEY P0D0 kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com With some local fireworks shows can celed or postponed, many may be taking matters into their own hands this July Fourth. Jason Silay, owner of Xtreme Xplo sives Fireworks on Riverside Drive in Gainesville, said his store’s six locations have been buzzing with more customers than usual this holiday. “We’ve already seen the numbers double at this point for the season,” he said. “I think people are really looking forward to having something to celebrate that’s unifying. This holiday in particular brings many people together.” For those who are just getting their feet wet in a sea of explosives, Silay recommends opting for color burst fire works like Gandalf’s Power or Fish out of Water, which range between $10 to $30. Instead of a loud display, these shoot colorful lights without a boom. “It’s good for beginners and smaller kids scared of the noise,” Silay said. People looking to put on a full-fledged show can wield Excalibur, which Silay said is the No. 1 best-selling fireworks set in the world. The product goes for around $89 in the height of fireworks season. Excalibur also comes in a platinum ver sion with slightly larger parasol shapes. The package includes 24 bursts of reloadable fireworks and a range of col ors, even less common ones like purple and blue. Copper compounds are used to emit the blue color in fireworks. Silay said this makes blue the toughest color to create along with purple, which comes in a close second. Those not wanting to fork over that much money can choose artillery shells. These offer the same type of display with less bursts for around $25. Silay has tried every pack of fireworks in his shop except for Excalibur Plati num, which was released this year. At his own home for July Fourth, he said he plans to use clay-molded cakes like Mer lin’s Magic. The cakes hold the explosives together, allowing people to have their own fire works show in a box. Unlike the card board cakes, which often shoot fireworks at different heights, Silay said the clay ones shoot at a consistent height. People wanting to light one fuse for the entire fireworks display, can buy any of the cakes, including Cooking with Fire, Merlin’s Magic and many others. These are typically the rapid-shooting specta cles seen at the finale of a Fourth of July show. Silay encourages people to keep either a fire extinguisher or running hose near the fireworks site in case grass or some thing else catches on fire. When firing multi-shot cakes or indi vidually loaded fireworks, he suggests using an anchor. Xtreme Xplosives Fireworks Location: 984 Riverside Drive, Gainesville Seasonal hours: 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday More info: 404-432-8655 “Take some cinder blocks or bricks and place them up against the boxes,” Silay said. “If they get kicking and get to rocking, they’re going to be shooting in whatever direction they want.” Under Georgia state law, people can shoot fireworks any day from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. However, fireworks may be used until 11:59 p.m. on July 3 and July 4. Xtreme Xplosives Fireworks is located at 984 Riverside Drive in Gainesville. Its July Fourth season hours are 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday. The store’s pop-up stand will be outside of the Walmart Supercenter on Shallow- ford Road in Gainesville this weekend. The new outdoor stage and pavilion at The Arts Council in Gainesville is taking shape Wednesday, June 24, and will open this summer, ready to host performances, fundraisers and weddings. SCOTT ROGERS I The Times VENUE ■ Continued from 1A “We can accommodate a large orchestra, or down to a single performer for an outdoor concert,” Wyant said. “And basi cally, we turn the stage around, and it’s indoors and can handle a nice-sized group as well.” Some painting, light fixture installation, air conditioning installation and electrical work still needs to be done, Wyant said. The pavilion will be able to seat 300, while the rest of the grounds will be able to seat more than 2,000 people. The project has seen some delays, mostly due to rainy weather, but Wyant said contrac tors have been accommodating. “Because of COVID-19, we couldn’t really utilize the space even if it was completed,” she said. Wyant said the large lawn can also be used for social dis tancing, as other indoor venues would not offer enough space for events to be held with pre cautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Arts Council hopes to schedule some outdoor concerts, including its jazz series, at the outdoor space before the summer ends, she said. The Smithgall Arts Center, at 331 Spring St. Southwest, is a former railroad depot that was renovated by The Arts Council to host events. The Arts Council also has a Performing Arts Com plex at the former home of First Methodist Church of Gainesville at the corner of Green and West Academy streets downtown. Recent improvements at that facility include a new roof and sprinkler system, according to The Arts Council’s website. TRANSIT ■ Continued from 1A It would fall under Hall Area Tran sit, which now operates a fixed-route system, Gainesville Connection, and Dial-A-Ride, a countywide curbside transportation service that requires phone reservations at least 48 hours before pickup. Microtransit will launch as a major service, taking over Dial-A-Ride as it expands into the county and chip ping away at Gainesville Connection, which would drop from six routes to three, Moss said. “This is a service that, because it’s so new and uses technology, will attract younger people, so this is an opportunity to really expand our rid- ership like nothing else we’ve ever done before,” Moss said. Earlier this year, Hall Area Transit began receiving proposals from ven dors specifically targeting the technol ogy behind microtransit. “We’re not interested in having any (company’s) drivers,” Moss has said. “We’re looking for the technology we can use in vehicles we purchase.” A potential contract with a vendor could be settled when the issue goes before Gainesville City Council, likely in July. The city is paying for start-up and first-year costs through federal stim ulus funding. Hall County Board of Commissioners are set to get updates of the process at its meeting Thursday, June 25. Also, the federal money will cover $1 million for the service’s 15 vehicles, which will be smaller than Hall Area Transit’s buses and similar in size to the Ford Transit cargo van. “We want them to be swift and nim ble,” Moss has said. BALLOTS ■ Continued from 1A is no evidence of widespread voter fraud through mail-in voting. Senate Bill 463 proposes several changes to Georgia election law, including giving county election officials leeway in deciding how many voting machines they’ll need for cer tain elections. It was amended Wednesday morning in the House Governmental Affairs Committee to include language that would block Raffensperg- er’s office as well as counties from proactively mailing out absentee ballot applications. Raffensperger pushed back in a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying that “By a wide margin, voters on both sides of the political spectrum agree that sending absentee applications to all active voters was the safest and best thing our office could do to protect our voters at the peak of COVID-19. Some seem to be saying that our office should have ignored the wave of absentee voting that was clearly coming.” Several groups, including the NAACP and Fair Fight Action, a voting rights group founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams, were quick to condemn the leg islation as well, saying in a joint statement that “localities, as well as the state, should main tain as many possible tools in their toolbox to promote vote by mail generally and certainly in the midst of a raging, ongoing health crisis.” Republican Rep. Shaw Black mon, chairman of the commit tee, said the change is meant to help county election officials avoid being flooded with absen tee ballot applications, as hap pened in some counties before the June 9 primary. “There’s no attempt in any way to remove the ability to request or vote in this particu lar manner,” Blackmon said. “It just is a capacity issue.” Rep. Renitta Shannon, a Democrat from Decatur on the panel opposed to the change, said she was concerned about how the bill would effect county election offices. “The secretary of state has already said that he is not going to send out proactively absen tee applications,” Shannon said. “This ties the hands of local governments if they want to do that to help in their elections.”
