Closer Look: Open For Business — BUZZ Coffee and Winehouse; Georgia Economic Forecast

Thursday on “Closer Look with Rose Scott”:

• 0:00: Rose gives a news brief about how three DeKalb County Schools were placed on lockdown earlier today after multiple schools received threats. According to a statement from the Dunwoody Police Facebook page, at around 7:30 a.m., someone called in a bomb threat to Dunwoody Elementary School. Chestnut Elementary and Montgomery Elementary were also placed on lockdown. These threats have since been deemed “not credible,” according to school officials and police. The Dunwoody Police Department says the incident is likely a case of “swatting” – or, prank calls. DeKalb County school officials have said that the school day will continue as usual, but urge anyone with information about these threats to come forward.
• In other news, Governor Deal and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom made an announcement yesterday that Norfolk Southern will base its headquarters in Midtown Atlanta. The transportation company is expected to bring in 850 jobs and $575 million in investments, according to a press release sent out by the City.
• 4:17: The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business recently released some good news: Georgia’s economy is expected to ride its “expansion wave into 2019”. The report says Georgia’s economic growth will outpace the nation’s for the sixth straight year. But not all areas of the state will grow at the same rate, and the report also warned that the economy could be threatened in the case of a trade war. Rose will look ahead into next year for Georgia’s economy with Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Simon S. Selig, Jr. Center for Economic Growth at UGA.
• 17:22: Georgia’s unemployment rate currently sits at 3.6 percent, according to state labor statistics — that’s just slightly lower than the national rate. But does that figure tell the whole story? And are Georgians finding jobs? We ask Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.
• 34:30: Today we launch a new series: Closer Look’s Open For Business, featuring local entrepreneurs and small business owners. Rose paid a visit to Cascade Heights, where Tremayne Perry is working to create a coffeehouse for his community. We hear how one simple desire – to get a cup of coffee in his neighborhood – led Perry to build his new business, BUZZ Coffee and Winehouse.

Closer Look is produced by Candace Wheeler, Emilia Brock and Grace Walker.