Georgia News Roundup

New Bibb plant to create 115 jobs

WARNER ROBINS (TNS) — New Jersey-based Star Snacks plans to build a manufacturing plant in Bibb County, invest $18 million and create 115 jobs.

The announcement took place at the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority on Monday and was simultaneously announced by a news release from the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Star Snacks Co. LLC, a manufacturer and distributor of high-quality branded nuts, trail mixes and dried fruits, will locate a peanut roasting and packaging facility in a 30-acre parcel in Ocmulgee East Industrial Park.

“Georgia’s business-friendly environment has again attracted a leading manufacturer to invest in our state,” Gov. Nathan Deal said in the release. “In choosing Macon-Bibb County, Star Snacks will enjoy the benefits of locating in the top state for both business and peanut production. Georgia’s skilled work force and unparalleled economic environment will serve Star Snacks well for the future as the company continues to grow.”

Star Snacks will construct a 200,000-square-foot facility to source, roast and distribute peanuts grown in Southwest Georgia. The newly created jobs will include positions in manufacturing and processing.

Star Snacks specializes in the production and distribution of salty snacks. The company’s services also include private labeling for brand name retailers, national and regional drug store chains, supermarkets and discount retailers.

Crews work to ease traffic congestion

ATLANTA (TNS) — Four days after a massive fire caused part of I-85 to collapse and shut down the interstate in both directions indefinitely, crews were focusing Monday on repairing Piedmont Road to ease traffic congestion.

It is one of several much-traveled routes shut down after the collapse.

Although no one was injured in the incident, which happened Thursday just south of Georgia 400 on I-85 North, it means a section of the busy interstate that roughly 243,000 vehicles traveled on daily is now out of service.

Repairs are expected to take several months, meaning long-term closures.

Southern Co. increases CEO’s pay

ATLANTA (TNS) — Southern Co. boosted CEO Thomas Fanning’s pay package nearly 34 percent last year, to $15.8 million, although much of the compensation was related to changing valuations of his pension benefits.

Still, Fanning’s non-pension pay such as salary, stock awards and bonus increased by $930,000 — equivalent to a nearly 8 percent raise — even as the Atlanta-based utility struggled with mounting cost overruns at two of its biggest power plant projects.

Last week Westinghouse Electric, the key contractor building two new reactors for Georgia Power at the Plant Vogtle nuclear plant near Augusta, filed for bankruptcy protection.

Georgia Power, the lead partner on the project and a Southern Co. subsidiary, scrambled to keep work going on the project while it analyzes whether it is still viable, and how much it will cost to complete.

The fallout from Westinghouse’s Chapter 11 reorganization is widely expected to bring more costs and delays to the project, already about three years behind original schedule.

Another Southern subsidiary, Mississippi Power, has been hit with delays and cost overruns as it struggles to get an advanced-technology “clean coal” power plant running properly.

Despite the troubled projects, Southern’s profit grew last year by about 4 percent, to $2.5 billion.

Southern, in a regulatory filing that includes executive compensation, said 2016 “was a successful year for us” and that Fanning and other top executives exceeded pay performance goals tied to the profits, although those targets excluded the impact of the Mississippi plant’s issues and certain other costs.

Uber to help with Atlanta traffic crisis

ATLANTA (TNS) — Following last week’s collapse of an I-85 bridge in Atlanta, Uber is pledging to dedicate at least $5 million over the coming months to help with the traffic crisis.

The funds will be used “to help keep prices low and encourage riders and drivers to help combat congestion,” Uber’s Atlanta team said in a press release. The city is in a state of declared emergency, and officials are urging commuters to carpool or to use MARTA. With its new program, Uber is offering a 50 percent discount on all uberPOOL rides that begin or end at a MARTA station and a 25 percent discount on all uberPOOL rides in metro Atlanta this week.

UberPOOL is Uber’s carpool service that allows commuters to share a ride and the fare with another commuter taking a similar route at the same time.