College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom is depicted in an AI-created fake photo, according to the AJC.
An apparent deepfake photograph that portrays the mayor of College Park kissing a man who is not her husband underscores what experts say is a national pattern: the use of images generated by artificial intelligence, or altered by the technology, to target female elected officials, celebrities and other women.
The suspect image of Mayor Bianca Motley Broom was posted on a city-related Facebook page Sept. 6. It was posted beside a photo, which the mayor believes to be authentic, of her making small talk with the man at Louis’ House of Bourbon — a bar at Chateau Elan Resort in Braselton, during a City Council retreat in January.
Motley Broom, who has been married to the same man for more than 13 years, said the image of the kiss is phony and AI-generated. Community outrage about the image, along with online posts calling the mayor a host of vulgarities, spilled into a recent council meeting and is inflaming political divisions within College Park.
“It’s extraordinarily disappointing that individuals are using the same tired playbook against women in leadership,” Motley Broom told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Brian Magerko, a regents professor of digital media at Georgia Tech, reviewed the images for the AJC and said he’s “99.99999%” certain the kiss picture is fake. That’s because everything and everyone in the first photo are in the exact same position in the second photo, except the mayor and the unidentified man.
Magerko said someone most likely uploaded the first photo into ChatGPT, or another AI program, and told it to make the two people kiss.
Experts say such digital fakes disproportionally target women, often with sexualized images. A 2024 study by the American Sunlight Project said the organization identified tens of thousands of “hits” for AI-generated, non-consensual “intimate imagery” depicting 26 members of the U.S. Congress and Senate. Twenty-five of the 26 politicians were women.
Another study, cited on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website, says about 95% of deepfakes are of nonconsensual pornography of women.
Some states have enacted laws requiring disclosures or restricting deceptive political deepfakes near elections. But in this year’s General Assembly session, Georgia lawmakers stopped short of creating a broad framework governing AI use in political campaigns over concerns about free speech restrictions.
The League of Women Voters of Macon is sending hand-addressed cards to try and boost voting turnout, according to the Macon Telegraph.
It’s a handwritten plea to vote. Postcards like this are going out to about 1,000 Bibb County voters who’ve skipped past midterm elections.
They’re penned by volunteers from the League of Women Voters of Macon. It’s one of many tactics the nonpartisan voter advocacy group is employing to light a spark under chronic no-shows.
About 115,000 people in Bibb, roughly three-quarters of the population, are registered to vote.
The problem is, most of them don’t.
In the May primary election, 25% of registered voters in Bibb turned out. In the primary runoff in June, only 13% of those who could vote in the county actually did.
Those focused on getting out the vote — the league and other community groups, as well as county-based organizations for the major political parties — are hoping to exceed Bibb’s turnout in 2022, the last big election that didn’t include a race for the White House. In the 2022 midterms, just under half of Bibb’s registered voters turned out in November: 47%.
Bibb’s most reliable voting bloc is people age 65 and up. They cast 44% of ballots in the county’s May primary. Yet many of these habitual voters are fretting about the upcoming midterms. Proposed changes to absentee voting dominated the conversation during a recent visit league volunteers made to St. Paul Apartments, a senior citizen community in downtown Macon. Many residents rely on mail-in ballots. Without them, they’ll need a ride to the polls.
“It’s very confusing, and they’re worried,” Bailey said.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to change mail-in ballot delivery rules before the upcoming election.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms campaigned for Governor in Augusta, according to WJBF.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms made several stops across the area, including a visit to Paine College, where students had an opportunity to share the issues that matter to them.
Ida Gary, Georgia co-manager for Black Voters Matter, said young voters have the ability to make an impact in elections.
“Oh, they’re everything. They have the actual power to shift any election,” Gary said.
Gary said she wants young voters to understand that they matter and recognize the power they have.
“And that they absolutely matter, that they feel the love and that they understand and can lean into the power that they have,” Gary said.
Paine College student Ja’Lea Adams said she wants elected officials to pay more attention to mental health and health care.
“I think they need to think about the children who have mental health issues or just disorders in general and lower healthcare for children and everybody overall,” Adams said. “And like they said, stop being selfish and just thinking of yourself and what they want and what everybody else in the community, we want and need.”
Bottoms said some of those same concerns have come up during her conversations with young voters.
“What I hear from young voters repeatedly are concerns about access to mental healthcare, lack of resources,” Bottoms said. “They’re concerned about AI. Will it replace their ability to get a job in the future? They are concerned about the cost of living. I’ve heard from students who said they have to choose between books, food, tuition and rent.”
Bottoms also discussed how she says she would address affordability if elected governor.
“I just propose that we allow local governments to end or suspend grocery tax completely if their budget can absorb it temporarily and if not, just to give some relief to people,” Bottoms said.
She also said she wants to create an affordable housing trust fund to address workforce and affordable housing.
Students who spoke with NewsChannel 6 said they want their concerns and the needs of their communities to remain part of the conversation as the race for governor continues.
The day started with dropping in on a voter rally at Paine College. There was free food, performances by the Academy of Richmond County Purple Pride Marching Band, and multiple vendors offering voter information and registration. The day ended with a meet-and-greet plus Q&A with supporters at the Central Station event venue on Central Avenue.
We visited both events, speaking to her at one of them and hearing Bottoms detail both her personal and political policies. Here were the highlights:
Our analysis found that voters are most concerned about their wallets going into the midterms, with prices rising on gas, electricity, and other necessities. Bottoms expressed how this has extended to the youngest adults, with college students sometimes having to choose between books, rent, and tuition.
“I’ve just proposed that we allow local governments to end or suspend grocery taxes,” Bottoms said. “I want to create an affordable housing trust fund to help address workforce housing. … Average starting teacher pay in the state of Georgia is $43,000 a year; I want to raise that to $60,000 and eliminate state income taxes for our teachers.”
Bottoms said she is hearing a lot of concern around AI on the campaign trail, and believes Georgia needs to slow down and reassess the expansion of data centers. She said college students are worried AI will replace them and they won’t be able to find a job, and communities are worried about the local impact.
“You hear some leaders go, ‘but the money, but the money’ and you’re hearing the communities saying, ‘What about my power bill and my water source?’” Bottoms said.
Bottoms was asked about a “progressive blue wave” happening all over the country. She explained that, while she is glad to see the enthusiasm and believes in the power of mobilization, she has always identified as a moderate and is concerned about extremes to the left or extremes to the right.
“There are policy areas that we can all agree on and some things we’re just not going to agree on,” Bottoms said. “Sometimes people don’t understand that, to get things accomplished, sometimes you’ve got to do things down the middle. You’re not going to always get everything you want. … We just have to be able to work together and compromise.”
Her moderate views also extend to her stance on religion. After being asked about a “spiritual battle” and how we need to “seek Jesus,” Bottoms described herself as a Christian of deep faith, but is not going to force that on anyone else.
“There are people who claim to be Christians, and in my opinion, politically, are doing everything that is the antithesis of the teachings of Christ,” she said. “The Bible I read says no sin is greater than the other. … I don’t like the weaponization of religion. … What my faith teaches me is that you love thy neighbor, and that you forgive thy neighbor. … It’s something that is deeply personal to me, but I’m also mindful that there are people of many faiths and I have to be respectful of their faiths as well.”
This race has been incredibly tight. Bottoms has been ahead more often, but in the most recent poll by Rasmussen Reports, her Republican opponent Rick Jackson was leading. In most cases, they have been apart by three points or less, with 270toWin calculating average popularities of 46.7% for Bottoms and 45.7% for Jackson. Bottoms’ view of it is that, after millions of dollars in ad campaigns, way more than she is spending, they are still practically tied.
“He may have the money, but the people still have the power,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s about taking our message directly to the people, asking people to be our megaphones to amplify our message and our vision for this state.”
With just 45 days remaining until Election Day, the race for Georgia governor remains in a virtual dead heat as candidates crisscross the state to sway voters with personal stories and competing economic visions.
Recent polling shows Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson locked in a tight contest. Bottoms addressed the close race during a Saturday morning campaign stop in Smyrna, framing the tight margin as a testament to voter enthusiasm.
“This guy has put over 200 million dollars into this election cycle, and we are virtually tied,” Bottoms told Atlanta News First. “That speaks to the strength of our campaign.”
Both contenders are leaning into their humble beginnings on the trail. Bottoms recalled the financial hardship her family faced after her Grammy Award-winning father turned to drugs and served time in prison.
“My mother went from being the wife of an entertainer and all the luxuries that provided, to working two jobs to be able to make ends meet,” Bottoms said.
Jackson, meanwhile, has anchored his campaign in his upbringing through Georgia’s foster care system.
“I never met my father. My mother was a sixth-grade-educated waitress. I had seven stepfathers by the time I was 12,” Jackson shared.
Affordability remains a central battleground. Jackson pledged aggressive tax cuts, vowing to “cut Georgia’s taxes in half” during his first term through spending discipline and revenue safeguards. Bottoms proposed granting local jurisdictions flexibility on everyday costs, detailing a plan that allows local governments, such as Cobb County, to temporarily suspend or permanently end the local grocery tax if budgets allow.
A University of Georgia poll shows more than three-quarters of voters say a candidate’s stance on healthcare is a deciding factor.
Jackson is pitching tax cuts and a healthcare overhaul, while Bottoms is demanding full, federal expansion of Medicaid.
“Every Georgian should have access to healthcare coverage or insurance. So on day one, I will close the coverage gap with intelligent Medicaid expansion,” said Jackson.
“That’s not somebody who cares about a healthy and whole system. That’s someone who makes money off of a broken healthcare system,” responded Bottoms during a previous campaign event.
Despite sharp policy contrasts, both candidates found common ground on public education. Jackson has promised to work with the General Assembly to raise educator salaries to “recruit, reward, and retain the best teachers in the country.” Bottoms set a specific target, advocating to raise Georgia’s average starting teacher salary from $43,000 to $60,000 annually.
Jackson holds a narrow lead over Bottoms in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, according to a new survey released by Rasmussen Reports.
The poll of 1,019 likely Georgia voters found 48% would vote for Jackson if the election were held today, compared to 45% for Bottoms. Seven percent of respondents said they remain undecided.
Atlanta News First will host an exclusive, live gubernatorial town hall debate between Jackson and Bottoms on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m.
The one-hour debate will be broadcast live from Assembly Studios, Gray Media’s state-of-the-art studio production facility in Doraville. The event will follow a modified town hall format, giving undecided local voters a unique opportunity to ask the candidates directly about the most pressing issues facing the community.
It is the only debate confirmed so far between the two candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
State Rep. Ruwa Romman (D-Duluth), who is running for State Senate District 7, confronted Republican Rick Jackson, according to AccessWDUN.
At the Korean Festival in Duluth Saturday that health care billionaire Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Rick Jackson and State Rep. for District 97 Ruwa Romman (D-Duluth) were at, Romman confronted Jackson about comments he made in a March advertisement.
Jackson said in the advertisement that Muslims or Mongolians should not force their culture on America, and that undocumented immigrants that commit violent crimes would end up “deported or departed.”
“I don’t care if you’re Muslim or Mongolian, you don’t have the right to force your culture on our country,” Jackson said in the advertisement. “Too often criminal illegals commit sick, violent crimes; victimize our children and get away with murder. So here’s my guarantee to them: do that when I’m governor and you’ll end up deported or departed.”
Romman asked how Jackson would carry out the task as governor.
“This is my district … can you explain how you’re going to do that as governor?” Romman asked. Jackson was flanked by his staffers and continued walking, not answering the question.
Garrison Douglas, a campaign spokesman for Jackson, gave Access North Georgia a statement regarding the interaction, claiming Romman accosted Jackson.
“Keisha’s campaign is clearly failing. While she and her allies are accosting candidates while they try to meet voters, Rick is focused on what matters in this election: connecting with Georgians across this state, face-to-face, and making sure they know that as governor he will fight every day to keep them safe and ensure that they have access to opportunity no matter their zip code,” Douglas said.
Romman spoke with Access North Georgia Sunday, saying she did not accost Jackson but rather happened to be tabled at the same event and wanted answers.
“As an elected official or somebody who wants to be an elected official, you have an obligation to engage with people that you disagree with. In this case, he was clearly there as part of a campaign event, he was talking to people,” Romman said. “It’s not as if I rushed him on stage or got in his face in a private area or … was stalking him or something. He was going up to other people and talking to other people, and they were coming up to him and talking to him, so I took that opportunity.”
She added an onslaught of replies from Jackson’s team followed her posting the video.
“I’m a sitting elected official. I politely introduced myself, I politely asked the question. I even shook his hand,” Romman said. “Either they meant it, or they didn’t and they can actually explain that. Nobody on his team would do it. He wouldn’t do it and what’s even worse is, immediately after that, as soon as I posted it, suddenly his team started responding to me even though they could have responded to me in that moment, because they were all there.”
The video in question reached 76,000 views on X.com by Sunday. Romman was referring to Douglas and others replying to her after the interaction.
“Always nice to see you take a break from trying to kick 500,000+ Georgians off their private insurance plans, @ruwaromman…even if it is to spread more falsehoods,” Douglas said in a reply to the video. “Lies absolutely don’t work – which is why Georgians will reject yours this November.”
Romman said that Douglas’ comments on social media were directed at her efforts to expand health care options for Georgians.
“Republicans have controlled every branch of government in Georgia for decades … for him to say that we wanted to kick half a million Georgians off of health care, after that many have already been kicked off of health care … for them to try to do this gaslighting, to me is unacceptable,” Romman said. “I get it; he’s doing his job, he’s a comms guy … I actually believe that you have an obligation to have some semblance of understanding of what you’re talking about before you talk about it.”
Romman ended by voicing support for Jackson’s Democratic opponent, Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“My hope is that people realize that the reason they keep seeing Rick Jackson everywhere is that he simply has more money … at the end of the day, he is somebody who made his wealth off of our tax dollars and who made healthcare more expensive for other people. That’s how he’s made his wealth,” Romman said. “I believe having somebody like Keisha Lance Bottoms is going to make passing good legislation a million times easier than somebody like Rick Jackson, who I’m now … concerned about the fact that if you’ve got this team that surrounds you so tightly, who’s going to be making decisions when you’re governor if he wins?”
Democratic candidate for the Seventh Congressional District Tony Kozycki debated himself, according to AccessNorthGA.
The fourth of six debates Democrat Tony Kozycki challenged Incumbent Republican Rich McCormick to was held Friday at the Flowery Branch Train Depot.
Similar to the first three, McCormick did not show up.
Access North Georgia moderated the event, and reached out to McCormick three times via email and once by phone in the week leading up to the debate.
The debate came as new polling shows the seat is within three points. Kozycki brought out a cardboard cutout of McCormick as a stand-in for the absent U.S. Representative.
Kozycki stood up for roughly an hour and a half, answering moderated questions as well as submitted questions from residents.
About 100 Georgians gathered at the Mars Theater for a data center town hall Sept. 14, where Georgia Public Service commissioners and environmentalists urged residents to press elected officials and developers for stronger protections as a major data center project moves forward in Effingham County.
The discussion comes as OpenAI moves ahead with Project Camellia, a planned data center campus at the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub in Effingham County. OpenAI announced in July that it is contracting with Georgia Power for 3.2 gigawatts of power, to be delivered in phases from 2028 through 2032. The company has also pledged $80 million in community benefits and says it will pay the full cost of infrastructure and electric service required for the project.
Alicia Johnson, a member of the Public Service Commission, told attendees that Georgia’s approach has largely left local governments responsible for deciding how data centers should be regulated.
“We are seeing the proliferation of data center infrastructure in our state because of the current Republican governor’s policy,” Johnson said, Monday. “He believes that we should be on the forefront of this AI bubble and tech bubble that’s currently happening in our country. As a result we have given data centers tax breaks to come to our state. What we have not effectively done is put in any statewide framework that regulates or puts guard rails on them.”
Panelists called for Georgia to place stronger regulation, covering issues such as water, air quality, energy use, land use, noise, community benefits and decommissioning. Without such standards, Johnson said, counties and cities may be forced to negotiate individually with companies that have substantially greater financial and technical resources.
Augusta commissioners approved a proposed data center ordinance Tuesday despite opposition from some commissioners and members of the public.
Commissioners voting in favor of the ordinance were District 5 Commissioner Don Clark, District 10 Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle, District 3 Commissioner Catherine Smith-Rice, District 7 Commissioner Tina Slendak, District 8 Commissioner Brandon Garrett and Mayor Garnett Johnson.
The 21-page ordinance outlines zoning, siting, development and operational standards for data centers and other high-density computing facilities in Augusta. It also provides guidance on where the facilities may be located and how future projects should be coordinated with surrounding land uses, infrastructure, utilities and natural resources.
Before the vote, District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson addressed fellow commissioners and residents, expressing concerns about potential unintended consequences.
“I hope that whatever we pass today is sufficient for the community,” Johnson said. “And I hope that we don’t have to come back here with unintended consequences that we failed to pay attention to because we’re so ready for these businesses to come to our community. At some point, we have to start taking care of our people, too.”
The City of Savannah seeks feedback from residents, according to WTOC.
Savannah residents can now weigh in on where city tax dollars should go ahead of the upcoming fiscal year.
The City of Savannah has launched its annual budget priority questionnaire, known as the “Speak Out Savannah” survey, for fiscal year 2027.
City officials are seeking feedback on neighborhood investments, municipal funding priorities, city services and overall satisfaction with service quality. Feedback gathered from the survey will be compiled and presented to city leadership to help shape upcoming budget discussions and spending decisions.
The survey is open through Oct. 18 and can be completed online at savannahga.gov/budget.
City officials plan to release survey results to the public in November.
This April, when erosion from storms, sea-level rise and ship traffic had eaten away about 60% of Tybee’s beach, Tybee Island officials received some unwelcome news: The federal funding that has allowed for periodic reinforcement of the beach for the last 50 years would not be distributed to them this time around.
Since 1974, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dumped massive amounts of sand on Tybee Island every seven to 10 years to replace parts of the beach lost to erosion. These “beach renourishment” projects, which the Corps undertakes up and down the East coast of the U.S., have always been “baked into the Corps’ budget,” said Tybee Island Mayor Brian West. The news that no federal funds would be allocated to Tybee’s planned 2026 beach renourishment took city officials by surprise.
“It never occurred to me that I should check with the federal government to see if our money was there,” said Mayor West.
Following the announcement, West and a group of elected officials, including U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, repeatedly petitioned the Corps to recover the $12 million in federal funding needed to renourish Tybee’s beach this year. The full cost of the project is set at $20 million; Tybee Island had already raised the remaining $8 million from the city’s tax revenues as well as contributions from Chatham County and the State of Georgia.
On Sept. 16, Tybee Island officials were notified that the federal government would allocate the $12 million to Tybee, allowing the beach renourishment project to move forward this winter as planned.
The City of Moultrie approved its 2026-27 budget Tuesday, lowering property taxes significantly but adding to the cost of solid waste and sewage services.
The budget includes six separate funds that add up to about $59.7 million. It was initially presented Sept. 1 by city Finance Director Tina Coleman.
The budget approved Tuesday is about $1.2 million less than the 2025-26 budget. Coleman said that’s because the City completed airport projects during the earlier budget period that were paid for by grants from the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Also on Tuesday, the city council approved a property tax rate of 6.071 mills, which is dramatically less than last year’s rate.
City Manager Pete Dillard explained that the city has reduced the tax rate every year since 2016, when the rate was 12.818 mills.
A government, such as the Moultrie City Council, sets its millage rate based on how much money it will need to fund its budget. Based on those calculations, the city expected to need a millage rate of 7.355 mills — slightly less than last year’s 7.545 mills.
But this is the first year of a new sales tax that offsets part of that property tax. Merchants have been collecting the Floating Local Option Sales Tax, or FLOST, since January, but only about six months’ worth of collections could be applied to this budget. The money the sales tax brought in during that time has pushed the city’s property tax down to 6.071 mills.
Dillard provided a list of the city’s millage rates back to the year 2000, and in that time the rate has never been as low as the one the council just approved.
Dalton residents will have two opportunities Monday to address city officials before the City Council considers adopting a 2026 property tax rate above both the current and rollback rates.
The final public hearings are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at City Hall. The council is scheduled to consider the final rate during its regular meeting following the evening hearing.
At a glance
• Proposed rate: 1.661 mills
• Current rate: 1.499 mills
• Rollback rate: 1.454 mills
• First hearing: 11 a.m.
• Final hearing: 6 p.m.
• Council vote: During the regular meeting following the 6 p.m. hearing
The council will decide whether to adopt the proposed rate of 1.661 mills or select a lower rate.
The proposed rate is 0.162 mills above Dalton’s current rate and 0.207 mills above the state-calculated rollback rate of 1.454 mills.
Under Georgia law, the rollback rate is intended to offset increased revenue from reassessments of existing property. Because Dalton’s proposed rate is 14.24% above rollback, it is legally advertised as a property tax increase.
Chatham County sent second-installment property tax bills that reflect the state-level Homeowner Tax Relief Grant (HTRG), according to the Savannah Morning News.
Second-installment property tax bills have been mailed to Chatham County property owners, with a payment deadline set for Nov. 16, according to a community announcement.
The bills reflect the state’s Homeowner Tax Relief Grant (HTRG) for 2026, which provides up to an $18,000 reduction in assessed value for eligible homesteaded properties.
“We want homeowners to understand exactly what they are seeing on their 2026 tax bills,” Chatham County Tax Commissioner Sonya L. Jackson said in the announcement. “This year’s bills include important tax relief provisions, including changes to Chatham County’s homestead exemptions and the state’s Homeowner Tax Relief Grant. We encourage everyone to review their bill and make sure they understand their exemptions, credits and payment responsibility. Eligible homesteaded properties receive up to a $18,000 reduction in assessed value, which can lower your property tax bill. HTRG does not apply to non-homesteaded properties.”
“We understand that receiving a property tax bill can sometimes raise questions, and our goal is to make the payment process as convenient, accessible, and straightforward as possible,” Jackson said in the announcement. “Our team is committed to providing every taxpayer with excellent customer service and ensuring that we efficiently collect and disburse the tax dollars entrusted to our office.”
The Chatham County Tax Commissioner’s Office collected 99.5% of property taxes billed in 2025, according to the announcement.
The office is responsible for billing, collecting and distributing property tax revenues to the appropriate taxing authorities. However, it does not determine property values or set millage rates; those responsibilities fall to the respective taxing and assessment authorities.
Habersham County was honored with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), according to AccessNorthGA.
The award honors the County’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. This marks the ninth consecutive year Habersham County has received the honor.
“We are extremely proud of our Finance Department for earning this recognition for the ninth year in a row,” said Habersham County Manager Tim Sims. “This award reflects the department’s continued dedication to accuracy, transparency and responsible financial management.”
Established in 1945, the GFOA program encourages state and local governments to exceed minimum accounting standards. It recognizes reports that fully disclose and effectively communicate financial information to the public.
An impartial panel reviewed Habersham County’s report and determined it met the organization’s rigorous standards. The Certificate of Achievement is widely considered the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial management.
The National Park Service is considering two land exchanges on Georgia’s Cumberland Island, a proposal that would bring environmentally sensitive private property into federal ownership while transferring other federal land to private owners.
The exchanges are part of a current National Park Service process at Cumberland Island National Seashore. The agency opened a public comment period Sept. 9 that runs through Oct. 16.
Under the proposal, the National Park Service would acquire private property on the ocean side of the island and transfer federal property on the marsh side to the private landowners.
The land transferred out of federal ownership would be protected by conservation easements that limit development and prohibit subdivision, according to the National Park Service.
In the first exchange, the National Park Service would acquire a 10-acre private property in designated wilderness. In return, the private owner would receive 20 acres on the marsh side of the island, according to The Brunswick News.
According to the proposal described by Cumberland Island Superintendent Melissa Trenchik, the owner would be permitted to build up to two single-family homes on four acres. The remaining 16 acres would be protected by a permanent conservation easement.
The second exchange involves a 119.3-acre private tract that the National Park Service would acquire in exchange for 60 acres of federal property.
Up to four single-family homes could be built on 12 acres of that property, while the remaining 48 acres would be placed under a conservation easement. Commercial development would not be allowed, and homes could not exceed 35 feet in height, according to the proposal.
Steve Boswell resigned his seat as Maysville City Council member for Ward 1, according to AccessNorthGA.
His resignation comes amid contentious meetings after a data center was approved for conditional use in January 2025.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to Steve for his time, public service, and contributions to the City of Maysville, and we wish him the best in future endeavors,” a letter from the city council read.
Before the resignation, the council consisted of three members who supported the data center project and two who had expressed criticism of it. The council now consists of Ward 4 Councilor Brodriche D. Jackson and Ward 2 Councilor Amanda Farley, both of whom have been critical of the project, and Ward 3 Councilor Richard Parr, who has voiced support for the data center.
Mayor Richard Presley, who has been supportive of data centers, reportedly would not be permitted to vote, as the mayor’s authority is limited to breaking a tie.
Under the city charter, the vacant council seat will be filled through a special election once the resignation is formally accepted by the council.
The council will discuss the timeline and application process for the special election at its next regular meeting.
We know from that newspaper article, and from Masonic ritual, that Washington placed an inscribed silver plate under the cornerstone at the southeast corner of this building. However, we do not know whether that meant the southeast corner of the Senate wing, the first section of the building to be completed, or the southeast corner of the whole building as intended, which would locate it over on the House side. Two centuries later, the Architect of the Capitol is still searching for that cornerstone. Metal detectors have failed to locate the silver plate.
The period for a new election of a Citizen, to Administer the Executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person, who is to be cloathed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those, out of whom a choice is to be made.
I beg you, at the sametime, to do me the justice to be assured, that this resolution has not been taken, without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation, which binds a dutiful Citizen to his country–and that, in withdrawing the tender of service which silence in my Situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness; but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.
On September 19, 1863, the Battle of Chickamauga was joined between the federal Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg.
The year 1881 began with Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in office. Hayes served out his first and only term and officially turned over the reins of government to James A. Garfield, who happened to be a close friend of his, in March 1881.
Just four months into his term, on July 2, Garfield was shot by an assassin named Charles Guiteau. Guiteau claimed to have killed Garfield because he refused to grant Guiteau a appointment. Garfield sustained wounds to his back and abdomen and struggled to recover throughout the summer. Though it appeared he would pull through in early September, the autopsy report revealed that the internal bullet wound contributed to an aneurism that ultimately killed Garfield on September 19.
Carter was preparing to give a speech at a Lions Club meeting. At about 7:15 p.m (EST), one of the guests called his attention to a strange object that was visible about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where he was standing. Carter described the object as being bright white and as being about as bright as the moon. It was said to have appeared to have closed in on where he was standing but to have stopped beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from him. The object is then said to have changed color, first to blue, then to red, then back to white, before appearing to recede into the distance. Carter felt that the object was self-luminous, but not a solid in nature. Carter’s report indicates that it was witnessed by about ten or twelve other people, and was in view for ten to twelve minutes before it passed out of sight.
Governor Brian Kemp issuedExecutive Order #09.17.26.01, appointing Nikia Smith Sellers as a Superior Court Judge for the Atlanta Judicial Circuit.
Former State Rep. Dexter Sharper (D-Valdosta) was sentenced after pleading guilty to COVID-related fraud, according to WALB.
According to the U.S. Northern District of Georgia Clerk of Court’s office, Dexter Sharper was sentenced to time served. He was also ordered to pay $10,096 in restitution and a $2,000 fine.
Sharper was one of three state representatives who were accused of lying on pandemic unemployment forms. The investigation involved multiple state and federal agencies, including the FBI and the Georgia Office of the State Inspector General. Authorities said Sharper collected nearly $14,000 in benefits.
“I respect the process and the outcome. I’m grateful to move forward, and my focus now is on my family, my faith, and continuing to serve my community in positive ways.” [said] Dexter Sharper, Former Georgia State Rep.
Sharper served District 177, which covers parts of Lowndes County, from January 2013 to March 2026, when he resigned. Sharper entered his guilty plea days after announcing he was stepping down in a post on social media.
The former state rep. says he has no plans for politics in his future; he is focused on the next chapter.
Alvin Payton Jr. now serves District 177 after winning a special election for the seat in June.
East Point City Manager Redmond Jones was placed on leave after allegations he received $15,000 in unauthorized payments, according to WSB-TV.
The issue came to a head after concerned East Point residents brought their concerns to City Council. Residents had also been sending council members emails and city records they said showed questionable payments to Jones.
According to those records, the payments included 64 hours of overtime, even though Jones is in a salaried position that does not receive overtime. He is also accused of increasing his car allowance from $500 to $1,000 a month.
Jones was already facing a two-day suspension over the increased car allowance, according to the report.
After residents spoke during a City Council meeting, council members went into executive session to discuss a personnel issue. Council then placed Jones on administrative leave for 10 days pending an investigation.
If a runoff is necessary in this year’s general midterm, it will be on Dec. 1 with early voting possible Nov. 23-25.
Georgians can still vote by mail, but they have to submit a request first. You can request an absentee ballot by submitting an application on securemyabsenteeballot.sos.ga.gov, by email, by mail, by fax, or in person.
Mail-in ballots may be requested 11-78 days prior to Election Day. More information can be found at georgia.gov/vote-absentee-ballot.
Those requesting a mail-in ballot must also be one of the following:
• Over 65 years old
• Have a physical disability
• Live overseas
• Be an active member of the military or a spouse or child of an active service member.
I think that last part is incorrect. I’ve checked the “Absentee voting in Georgia” guide and it does not appear that a qualifying condition is required to vote Absentee by Mail. The only place in the guide those conditions are mentioned is on Page 2, after “You may use the application to request that absentee ballots be sent to you automatically for every election remaining in the current election cycle, if you are eligible. To be eligible, you must be either:”
Republican nominee Rick Jackson holds a narrow lead over Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, according to a new survey released by Rasmussen Reports.
The poll of 1,019 likely Georgia voters found 48% would vote for Jackson if the election were held today, compared to 45% for Bottoms. Seven percent of respondents said they remain undecided.
Because the three-point spread falls within the survey’s margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points, the race remains a statistical dead heat heading into the November midterms.
The survey was conducted via telephone and online on Sept. 14, 2026, by Rasmussen Reports, with fieldwork by Pulse Opinion Research.
Jackson, a healthcare business founder who secured the GOP nomination after defeating Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a runoff, and Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, have both largely unified their party bases. The poll shows Jackson backed by 89% of Republicans, while Bottoms holds support from 88% of Democrats.
Among independent and unaffiliated voters, Jackson holds a slight edge at 43% to Bottoms’ 41%, with 16% undecided.
The survey highlights significant demographic splits across Georgia’s electorate, particularly by gender and age:
• Gender: Men favor Jackson by a 15-point margin (53% to 38%), while women favor Bottoms by seven points (51% to 44%), creating a 22-point net gender gap.
• Age: Older voters strongly back Jackson, who leads 63% to 34% among voters aged 65 and older. Bottoms holds a commanding lead among voters under 30, topping Jackson 58% to 34%.
• Race and ethnicity: Jackson leads among white voters (66% to 27%), while Bottoms carries strong support among Black voters (77% to 18%) and leads among Hispanic voters (52% to 38%) and other minority groups (49% to 39%).
• Household income: Jackson claims majorities among middle- and upper-middle-income voters earning between $50,000 and $200,000 annually, while Bottoms leads among households earning more than $200,000.
• Marital status: Married voters favor Jackson by 17 points (57% to 39%), while unmarried voters lean toward Bottoms (49% to 42%).
Voter preference closely aligns with the 2024 presidential contest. Approximately 83% of respondents who backed Donald Trump in 2024 said they plan to support Jackson, while 82% of those who voted for Kamala Harris back Bottoms.
For weeks, Bottoms held a slight lead over Jackson, who entered the governor’s race late and threw his personal fortune into his campaign to supersede the Trump-endorsed primary candidate.
Now, however, the tides appear to be turning to favor Jackson in the race’s final weeks.
Both maintain strong leads within their own parties. Jackson is supported by 89% of Republicans, and 88% of Democrats support Bottoms. Among unaffiliated voters, 43% said they would support Jackson, 41% said they would support Bottoms and another 16% said they were unsure, according to the report.
In a financial analysis published by AdImpact on Sept. 15, Republicans, in this case Jackson, is outspending Bottoms on advertisements nearly 10-to-1.
In future linear ad reservations, Republicans have spent $40.5 million, while Democrats have only spent $42,000.
In general election campaigned aired spending and future reservations, Jackson has spent $75.8 million, compared to Bottoms’ $8.2 million. Bottoms’ funding, however, largely comes in coordination with Project Battleground that has spent $7.9 million of Bottoms’ total.
Ms. Bottoms joined other Democratic candidates at an event in Macon, according to 13WMAZ.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, joined other local and statewide candidates for a voter forum in Macon ahead of Georgia’s Nov. 3 election.
The event, Middle Georgia Decides, was hosted by Middle Georgia Matters at the Mill Hill Community Arts Center. It gave voters a chance to hear candidates discuss issues and speak directly with people preparing to cast their ballots.
Bottoms told the crowd Middle Georgia residents need a governor who focuses on issues affecting their communities, including concerns over data center development and the potential demand on the Ocmulgee River.
“There are so many issues that are facing Middle Georgia,” Bottoms said. “Middle Georgia deserves to have a governor who is focused on the things that matter most, whether it be the construction of data centers that will draw millions of gallons from the Ocmulgee River.”
She also discussed health care access, calling for Georgia to expand Medicaid and create easier access for families.
“We need to make sure that we immediately begin to work to expand Medicaid in this state,” Bottoms said. “We also need to make sure that we have mobile health clinics in our communities.”
An[] attendee, Christina Howard, said affordable health care is among her biggest concerns.
“I feel that health care is the biggest issue right now,” Howard said. “Issues of it being affordable, you know, for children, pregnant women, the elderly.”
Roberson said voting allows people to take part in the political process.
“It’s important to vote,” Roberson said. “It’s a good feeling that you participate in something.”
Howard encouraged voters to cast a ballot.
“If you don’t get out there and vote, you have no say-so,” Howard said.
With less than 30 days until early voting begins in Georgia’s governor’s race, Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms will make multiple campaign stops in Augusta on Friday to talk about the cost of living, health care and education.
Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, will begin the day at Paine College, where she plans to meet with students and discuss how cuts to federal higher education funding under former President Donald Trump are affecting students at historically Black colleges and universities in Georgia.
She is scheduled to speak at Paine College at 3 p.m. The event will take place on campus at 1235 15th Street in Augusta.
Later in the afternoon, Bottoms will hold a “Community Conversations” event with Augusta residents to outline her plans as governor to lower grocery prices, expand Medicaid and boost education funding, including guaranteeing pre-kindergarten and raising teacher pay.
That meet-and-greet is set for 4 p.m. Friday at Central Station, 1857 Central Avenue in Augusta.
Her campaign says the visits are part of a broader push around the state to highlight economic issues facing Georgia families and to draw a contrast with her Republican opponent on education funding, health care access and utility costs tied to large data centers.
Ossoff is the only Democratic senator up for reelection in a state President Trump won in 2024, and he’s running against a Trump-endorsed candidate with a complicated history.
Still, Ossoff has maintained a strong lead in polls and now, a month out from the start of early voting in Georgia, his lead only seems to be growing.
In a poll published by Rasmussen Reports on Sept. 15, Ossoff has a strong lead in the Senate race, and it’s a gap Collins may not be able to close even by convincing undecided voters.
Ossoff earned 51% support among likely Georgia voters, while Collins would bring home 42% if the election were held today, according to the poll. There were still 6% of undecided voters, but even if they all voted for Collins, Ossoff would still take home the win, the poll shows.
Ossoff is popular across races, with 34% support from white voters, 84% support from Black voters, 57% support from Hispanic voters and 55% support from those who identify with a different minority group. Collins, on the other hand, had majority support from white voters, 60%, but only 12% support from Black voters, 31% support from Hispanic voters and 34% support from other minority groups.
Ossoff leads by 15 points among women, 55% to 40%, while Collins leads by just 2 points among men, 47% to 45%.
Collins does take home the majority of support from voters over the age of 65, with an 18 point lead over Ossoff, 59% to 40%.
The largest difference, however, comes from voters who are earning more than $200,000 a year. Ossoff leads Collins by 23 points for this demographic, according to the poll.
Previous polls from across the state have all said the same thing: the economy is the top issue in Georgia.
About 40% listed the economy as a top priority in surveys by AARP and Fox News.
Inflation and the cost of living was the top issue for survey takers from the UGA School of Public and International Affairs. The economy and jobs, as well as taxes were also listed as top concerns.
One third of poll takers for State Navigate said they believe Georgia’s economy has gotten “much worse” over the last year, with a majority of Wick poll takers agreeing the economy is getting worse overall.
It took five months to find a successor to University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue, and after looking far and wide the Board of Regents picked someone close to home.
The new university system leader already has a building named after him at Georgia Tech and served on the Tech Foundation board.
Thomas A. Fanning will come out of retirement to be the next leader of Georgia’s 25 public colleges and universities.
He comes to the job with a grounding in business, having led Southern Company for 13 years and chaired the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta board.
The Regents named him the sole finalist for the job on Wednesday.
“Our university system’s strong reputation brought us exceptional candidates from across the country, but Tom Fanning stood out immediately,” Board Chair David B. Dove said in a statement. “With four decades of experience running one of the largest energy companies in the nation, Tom knows how to manage complex operations, solve big problems and lead people. He cares deeply about Georgia, understands the power of higher education and has the proven leadership to guide USG forward.”
Southern Company serves about 9 million electric and gas customers in Georgia and eight other states. Fanning started there in 1980 as a financial analyst.
The Tech grad, who also earned a master’s degree in industrial management from the Institute, rose through 15 roles at Southern Company before being named chairman, president and CEO in 2010, a position he held until his retirement in 2023.
On the way, he served in management, finance, technology and strategy roles.
He has also served as inaugural chair of the federal Cybersecurity Advisory Committee when it first met in 2021. The group advised the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Fanning was awarded an honorary doctorate by Tech, where the new Student-Athlete Performance Center is named in his honor.
“The University System of Georgia is second to none when it comes to keeping a top-tier college education affordable and connecting students directly to great careers,” he said in a statement. “Having earned my degrees here and worked alongside these campuses throughout my career, I know how much this system means to Georgia families.”
Fanning succeeds Perdue, who announced his retirement in April, after leading the university system for four years. Before that, Perdue served as Agriculture Secretary for President Donald Trump during his first term in the White House and as Georgia’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction starting in 2003.
“It’s very costly,” [Sedrick] Rowe, a first-generation farmer who works his operation alone with one tractor, said. He has cut back on hired help as prices for nearly everything have climbed, and the fuel bill now limits how often he can put the tractor in the field.
Diesel set an all-time high Sept. 4, when AAA’s national average reached $5.85 a gallon, topping the record set in June 2022. It has kept climbing. By Sept. 14, the U.S. Energy Information Administration put the national average at $6.285 a gallon, up about $2.55 from a year earlier.
“We’re entering harvest season, and some of these large horsepower tractors, combines and cotton pickers — they use a lot of fuel,” Seth McAllister, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent in Terrell County, said. A cotton picker typically holds 150 gallons of diesel and runs every day, he said.
Larger peanut operations often run three to five peanut pickers in a single field, McAllister said. That means at least five tractors, usually two more pulling dump carts, and a semi hauling peanuts from the field to the buying point.
“If we made the exact same yield in the exact same field, we would have double the cost for the fuel and the logistics getting it to market than we had a year ago,” he said.
Farmers have few ways to soften the blow.
“We’re price-takers, not price-makers,” McAllister said. “We have to harvest when the crop’s ready.”
Growers who didn’t lock in fuel prices ahead of time are paying current rates, and storage space for fuel on farms is limited, he said. Most farm equipment runs on red-dyed diesel, which is exempt from highway fuel taxes but can’t be used in on-road trucks. Most farmers took out their operating loans in January, before prices spiked.
“At this point, they’re either burning up equity or taking out additional loans to get them to the end of the season,” McAllister said.
Some growers are already cutting back in ways that could hurt yields. Most irrigation systems in the area run on electricity, but fields far from power lines depend on diesel pumps. Cotton and corn are largely finished with irrigation, McAllister said, but peanuts still need water — and the one expense farmers can cut right now is “simply not cutting the pivot on.”
The price spike also wiped out a rare bit of good news. Grower sentiment over the past year and a half has been “as dismal as I have heard in my career,” McAllister said. About six weeks ago, commodity prices began rising slightly for the first time in two years.
“But now that fuel has jumped up so much, it’s pretty much taking all that sting out of it,” he said. “It’s even worse now than it was.”
Diesel fuel prices have climbed above $6 a gallon at some gas stations across the CSRA, putting additional pressure on truck drivers and businesses that depend on fuel to make a living.
Truck driver Ronald Douglas said the rising cost of fuel is already affecting the routes he takes and what he earns at the end of the week.
“It lessens the routes of the mileage and it kind of goes into effect what I’m making at the end of the week,” Douglas said. “Sometimes I can do OK, but as of right now, the way the market is shifting and changing with fuel prices going up, it’s very hard.”
Douglas said the financial pressure is especially difficult for independent drivers and owner-operators who may not have some of the benefits and resources available to drivers working for larger companies.
“When it comes to the lease owner-operators and the independent guys out here, it’s very tough out here,” Douglas said. “Especially at the end of the week, if you got a house, you got kids, you spend most of your time 365 days a year over the road and you coming home with a little bit of nothing.”
The impact is also being felt by businesses that rely on vehicles to serve customers.
Dexter Chancey, co-owner of Chancey Towing Service, said the company is trying to keep more of its work closer to home as fuel costs rise.
“We still try to take care of any customers that want to go out of town, but we try to keep everything more local-based right now so we could take care of the customers in town,” Chancey said. “Try to stay a little bit closer to here due to fuel being what it is.”
Chancey said lower fuel prices could eventually allow the company to bring its rates back down as well.
“I’d love to see it come back down, you know, $4, $3 a gallon for regular gas, $4 for diesel,” Chancey said. “That would be great, that we could bring our rates back down to kind of make everybody happy.”
For drivers and businesses that repeatedly fill up throughout the week, even relatively small increases at the pump can add up as they work to keep their vehicles on the road.
Cotton harvesting season is about to begin on Lee Nunn’s 1,600-acre family farm near Madison, but what’s normally a highlight of the year couldn’t come at a worse time.
Diesel fuel prices have hit record highs practically every day in recent weeks, and Nunn is about to run two cotton harvesters up to eight hours per day.
“That’s almost $2,000 per day in diesel fuel expense running these pieces of equipment,” Nunn said. Ayear ago, he paid about half that cost. The extra expense is cutting into already “razor-thin” profit margins on the farm, he said.
“It’s depressing,” said Nunn, estimating he’ll pay $100,000 more this year in fuel costs compared to last year. “This is an expense that we don’t have any control over, and we can’t do anything about. I just have to suck it up and pay it.”
Record diesel prices ultimately could ripple through the economy as it’s the primary fuel used in freight transportation and agriculture.
“I don’t have an economics degree. I just got a common sense degree,” said Nunn, the farmer near Madison.
“No one is going to be shielded or sheltered from this expense,” he said. “You name a product, and I can guarantee you diesel was in it, either making it, supplying it, hauling it, delivering it some way.”
Fourteen unpermitted Flock surveillance cameras were removed in St. Lucie County, Florida, according to WPEC via WTOC.
More than a dozen Flock cameras were installed without permits in one Florida county, and nobody is claiming them.
St. Lucie County commissioners recently voted to remove Flock and other automated license plate readers from county roads and stop granting permits for the cameras.
The county said of the 66 known cameras, 14 do not have the permits to be installed there.
St. Lucie County Commissioner James Clasby said that’s concerning.
“Not knowing who they belong to, I think, is another issue. Perhaps that goes about the entirety of Flock camera reform,” Clasby said.
Commissioners said they don’t know who put up the unpermitted cameras, but they do have an idea for how to disable them.
“It’s like a bright red notice that says you have 30 days to remove this, and we will also bag the cameras so they’re not operable,” St. Lucie County’s interim administrator Mayte Santamaria said.
This is just the latest in the ongoing Flock camera dilemma.
An Indian River County deputy was recently put on paid leave after being accused of using Flock cameras for unauthorized reasons.
Last week, a Fort Pierce police officer was fired for using Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend’s car hundreds of times.
All over America, communities are trying to decide whether the benefits to investigators outweigh the risk to citizens.
St. Lucie County has decided it does not.
“There’s the potential for non-law enforcement to have cameras out there, and I’m not OK with that,” Clasby added.
St. Lucie County said all 52 previously authorized devices received revocation notices as of Monday. That gives the owners 30 days to remove them.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a man after receiving a Flock alert and deploying a drone, according to WTVM.
A man is in custody after a FLOCK camera alert led deputies on a pursuit through three counties and an hours-long search that ended when a drone equipped with thermal imaging technology located him hiding in the woods, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a FLOCK camera alert at approximately 4 a.m. on September 15, 2026, on a vehicle reported stolen out of Atlanta, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop in Pine Mountain, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver fled, nearly striking a Pine Mountain Police Department officer, leading deputies on a pursuit through Harris, Meriwether and Talbot counties, the sheriff’s office said.
The vehicle crashed on Highway 190 in Talbot County, and the driver fled into a wooded area on foot, according to the sheriff’s office. Georgia State Patrol responded and worked the crash.
An extensive search involving multiple agencies and a K-9 team did not locate the suspect that morning, the sheriff’s office said.
At approximately 12:35 p.m., the Harris County 911 Center received a report of a suspicious person in the Shiloh area near Highway 85 and Trammell Mill Road matching the description of the suspect involved in the pursuit, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Shiloh Police Department responded, helping establish a perimeter and direct responding units to circulate the area, the sheriff’s office said.
After hours of searching, the suspect continued to evade law enforcement, according to the sheriff’s office. A drone equipped with FLIR thermal imaging capabilities was deployed, and within minutes, a heat signature was detected in a heavily wooded area, the sheriff’s office said. Responding officers located the suspect hiding in thick brush and took him into custody without incident.
The suspect was identified as Alan Starling of Atlanta, Georgia, according to the sheriff’s office.
Starling was charged with:
• Fleeing or Attempting to Elude Law Enforcement
• Reckless Driving
• Theft by Receiving (Stolen Motor Vehicle) (F)
The Pine Mountain Police Department will pursue an additional charge of Aggravated Assault related to the suspect nearly striking an officer during the initial traffic stop, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office thanked the Shiloh Police Department, Meriwether County Sheriff’s Office, Talbot County Sheriff’s Office, Pine Mountain Police Department, Hamilton Police Department, Waverly Hall Police Department, Columbus Police Department K9 and the Georgia State Patrol for their assistance in the case.
“We also thank the citizens in the surrounding area for remaining calm, patient, cooperative during this difficult time. Their understanding and support helped Law Enforcement Officers safely bring the incident to a conclusion,” Sheriff Mike Jolley said.
A Tennessee woman is suing the City of Fargo, ND and its police department alleging an incorrect facial recognition match led to her arrest, according to KVLY via WTOC.
Angela Lipps, of Elizabethton, Tennessee, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in North Dakota against the city of Fargo and Fargo Police Department detective Lucas Heck.
Lipps was arrested in July 2025 after facial recognition software used by West Fargo police and a North Dakota intelligence center flagged her as a possible match to a suspect in a series of bank fraud incidents in the Fargo area.
According to the lawsuit, a woman used stolen identities and false identification to fraudulently obtain money from several banks in April and May 2025.
Fargo police investigated the thefts, and Heck received facial recognition results from a West Fargo police analyst and North Dakota’s state intelligence center suggesting Lipps was a possible lead.
The lawsuit alleges Heck moved forward with charges despite knowing Lipps lived in Tennessee, had never been to North Dakota, didn’t match the physical description of the suspect on surveillance video, and had no unexplained funds connecting her to the thefts.
The complaint said Heck failed to disclose that the facial recognition result was actually based on a photo from the suspect’s fake identification card, not the surveillance footage, and that facial recognition results were meant to be treated only as investigative leads requiring independent corroboration, not positive identification.
According to the lawsuit, West Fargo police noted that they did not believe the facial recognition results were strong enough on their own to bring charges.
Authorities ended up charging Lipps with eight felonies related to the bank fraud, the most serious of which carries up to 10 years in prison, according to the complaint.
A nationwide warrant was also issued for her arrest.
The lawsuit states that Lipps was arrested at gunpoint at a neighbor’s home in Tennessee by a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force while she was babysitting.
Lipps was allegedly held in a Tennessee jail before being extradited to North Dakota and detained at the Cass County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
The lawsuit claims Lipps remained in custody through Thanksgiving and her 50th birthday, and that jail staff denied her access to her dentures and medication for extended periods.
Prosecutors ultimately dismissed the charges on Dec. 24, 2025, after, according to the complaint, Lipps’ attorney produced bank records showing she was in Tennessee at the time of the reported thefts.
Lipps said she was released from custody with just four cents on her and no winter coat, in temperatures near 10 degrees while relying on an area nonprofit and a neighbor to get home to Tennessee.
The lawsuit accuses the Fargo Police Department of having no policy, training, or supervision governing officers’ use of facial recognition technology at the time, unlike the West Fargo Police Department, which restricts the tool to specially trained officers and prohibits arrests based solely on a facial recognition match.
Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski said in a March press conference, before resigning later that month, that the department made “investigative errors” but that the department implemented new facial recognition policies and training.
The lawsuit brings five claims, including unlawful seizure and arrest, due process violations, a civil rights claim against the city over its policies and training, false arrest and imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.
Lipps is seeking $10 million in damages, along with punitive damages against Heck and attorneys’ fees, and has requested a jury trial.
These are allegations contained in a civil complaint. Those named in the complaint did not immediately respond to the accusations.
Some worry artificial intelligence could one day rule humanity.
Robots have not taken over yet, but AI may be helping with a core function of democracy in Georgia’s largest county: writing ordinances and resolutions.
A Fulton County commissioner used an online tool to analyze legislation introduced by a couple of her colleagues and found that four proposals, including two that would change ethics policies and procedures, were likely written by AI.
“The idea that we’re going to have machines write what humans should be doing ethically … it opens a can of worms for me,” said Commissioner Dana Barrett, who did the review.
She said the two commissioners behind the legislation, Marvin Arrington Jr. and Bob Ellis, might be exposing the public to unintended consequences because, she said, in her experience AI tends to go overboard on details.
Capitol Beat ran the legislation through the same online tool, called GPTZero, and got similar results. The tool determined it was 100% likely that a proposed ordinance and two proposed resolutions were generated by AI, and it assigned another proposed resolution a 90% likelihood of AI authorship.
The tool cited qualities such as a lack of creativity, “robotic formality,” impersonal tone and mechanical precision.
The company behind GPTZero does not go into much detail on its website about how it works, except to say that it collects raw data, looks for similarities and draws a line between what it considers to be human- versus AI-generated text.
Ellis said in a statement that he, “like the rest of the world,” used “technology tools” to research his ideas and to refine his thoughts. He said he also asked the county attorney’s office to review his work.
He did not say whether he had outsourced the writing of his proposed ethics resolution to AI. He placed the 32-page document on the agenda for the commission’s meeting this week.
Arrington, who also had his legislation on the agenda, said AI use was widespread.
“Artificial intelligence is already being used throughout government, business, education, law, medicine, and nearly every other profession,” he said in a statement. “Public officials who are not learning how to use this technology responsibly are behind the ball. They need to catch up or get left behind.”
Arrington did not say AI had written his proposals, but, like Ellis, he said he had used technology “tools” and that those tools did not diminish or replace his judgment informed by 30 years as a lawyer and 12 years as a county commissioner.
“Suggesting that responsible AI assistance invalidates legislation or policy is like claiming that someone cheated because they used a computer instead of a typewriter,” he said.
Ellis, a Republican, accused Barrett, a Democrat, of launching a “juvenile” attack.
Arrington, a Democrat, said Barrett was taking “cheap political shots.” Arrington also found hypocrisy in Barrett having used an AI tool to sniff out AI writing.
Barrett said she used AI but only to confirm what she already suspected after reading the legislation and noting unusual language and formatting. She said she used AI with her own policy proposals, but she said she only used it for analysis and for editing of her original writing.
Barrett said she sympathized with her fellow commissioners’ desire to amend ethics policies and procedures but could not support their legislation as written.
She characterized her colleagues’ new proposals as “very extreme, especially where there is potentially not as much critical thinking or thoughtful lawmaking as there should be because of the use of AI.”
One of Arrington’s three proposals — about food insecurity and community gardens — did not pass in a vote Wednesday evening. He then held his other two items for a future meeting. One was about abolishing the county ethics board and the other was about limiting public comment at commission meetings.
Ellis also decided to hold his own ethics resolution.
Barrett and Arrington will leave office in a few months. In the meantime, Arrington said he planned to introduce a comprehensive county policy for AI use.
Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock is speaking out against the use of artificial intelligence-generated images after photos falsely claiming he was sick and fighting cancer circulated online.
According to Warnock, Georgia constituents not only commented on the images hoping for his recovery, but friends called the senator to wish him well, despite Warnock not currently experiencing any ill health.
The images ranged from what Warnock called “funny,” like an photo claiming he had regrown his hair, to what the senator called “bizarre,” and “scary.”
“Congress needs to act,” Warnock said in a video posted on social media Wednesday.
In photos shared by Warnock’s congressional office, the senator is depicted as having experienced a serious medical episode while delivering a speech.
“Panic spread across the packed square as Raphael Warnock suddenly experienced health issues and collapsed while delivering a speech,” the caption on the AI photo read.
Warnock was depicted with his eyes closed while three others surround him with concerned looks on their faces.
The issue is this never happened.
“I recently ran across this Facebook page that was posting tons of fake AI-generated images and stories about me. Some of it was funny. (One) post, for example, says that apparently I have regrown a full head of hair. I should be so lucky. I checked the mirror this morning. Not true,” Warnock said in a video posted on Instagram. “Some of it was bizarre, like (one) post that says I’ve had twin grandchildren.”
“As these tools become increasingly powerful, it will get harder and harder to distinguish fact from fiction, and there are already bad actors out there who are doing everything they can to divide us and confuse us, and this has huge implications for our democracy,” Warnock said. “What if hours before an election, someone created a page with AI-generated images, fake stories about candidates? How will voters know what’s true and what’s not true?”
“We have a whole lot of work to do where AI is concerned. AI is here; it is a part of our lives. We must deal with issues related to safety and jobs, but this underscores yet another issue: our democracy itself,” Warnock said. “Social media companies have to move quickly to label this material. Congress needs to act. We need guardrails. We need regulations. We need to figure this out. The future is already here.”
Georgia’s Joint Election Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee met for a third time Thursday. The committee of lawmakers is tasked with carrying out testimony and will eventually recommend a new way to cast and tabulate ballots in Georgia elections to their colleagues when the new session of the General Assembly resumes.
The third meeting focused primarily on cybersecurity around elections systems. The committee also heard from representatives of the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
Testifying before the committee, Blake Evans, who has been the agency’s director of elections since 2021, told lawmakers what many already have: that no matter what system they choose, election officials and poll workers, as well as voters, need time to learn it.
“Election officials start preparing for elections years in advance, really, and it takes time on the front end to really invest the energy and effort,” Evans said. “One of the main messages we wanted to get across is whatever the method is that is chosen for the future, that we want to make sure that election officials have the time to implement it.”
What seems likely – and has been from the early stages of switching voting methods – is a move to hand marked paper ballots, where voters bubble in their selection in a race.
A recent audit conducted by the SOS office after this year’s June runoff election showed the 23 discrepancies found in that election all occurred in ballots that had been marked by hand, most of them being absentee ballots. None of the 1,079,408 ballots utilizing a touchscreen ballot-marking device showed discrepancies.
Evans told the committee that errors in a hand marked paper ballot system needs to be a consideration they make when they make their recommendations to fellow lawmakers.
“There might be some unreadable marks that the scanner just can’t pick up and there needs to be a path laid out in law for how election officials can adjudicate those ballots to best express voter intent,” he said. “Many of them will do it perfectly, and some of them might make unreadable marks and we want to make sure that for those voters that we can catch as many unreadable marks as we can.”
Lawmakers also heard from several cybersecurity experts. Some suggested lawmakers factor more frequent updates of Georgia’s election software into their appropriations process, including the iOS operating systems that function on poll worker’s iPads that help them check voters in and make sure they’re at the right voting precinct.
“How many of you have a phone that is older than three years right now?” Michael Specter, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, asked lawmakers during his testimony. “Three or four years and basically something goes wrong. So when we talk about appropriations, I would recommend the committee consider every three to four years expect to have to switch out most things.”
The committee will meet again in early October to hear from vendors of election equipment.
Georgia seems poised to switch to a hand-marked paper ballot system for the 2028 election, but researchers and cybersecurity experts say there is a lot more to consider to ensure that voting stays secure and free from undue influence.
Election security concerns have long been at the forefront of the conversation around election equipment. Georgia’s current voting machines, which use a QR code to tally votes, have repeatedly faced criticism from advocates of hand-marked paper ballots, who say that ballots should be counted based on text that can be deciphered by humans.
State lawmakers have passed legislation to phase out the use of QR codes on ballots, but are still developing the guidelines that state lawmakers will use when selecting their next statewide voting system.
Sen. Max Burns, a Sylvania Republican who is co-chairing a special committee tasked with helping select Georgia’s next statewide election system, said he is hoping to land on a system that is as secure as possible, while maintaining the convenience that he said Georgia voters have come to expect.
“100% [security] is a goal,” he said. “We have to get as close to that as we can, and then we have to build other processes and mitigation opportunities around it to ensure that we address any potential challenges that we find.”
At a Thursday meeting at the state Capitol in Atlanta, cybersecurity experts and researchers gathered to share their insights with members of the legislative panel. Here are some of the election security issues state lawmakers will have to consider.
Equipment maintenance
Georgia’s current ballot-marking devices were purchased under a 10-year contract, and used statewide in Georgia for the first time in 2020. More than half a decade later the machines are still in use, but experts say the lack of software upgrades has left vulnerabilities in the system.
Whichever system the state turns to next, state leaders say, will likely be in use for at least the next decade. However, Geoff Hale, a fellow at the nonpartisan Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology, said technology and cybersecurity risks often evolve much more quickly, meaning that Georgia’s voting equipment will likely need to be updated several times over the course of its lifespan.
“Georgia is not purchasing something that will remain permanently secure,” Hale said. “Election security is a process and not a purchase.”
In addition to picking equipment that meets Georgia’s current specifications, Michael Barnes, the deputy director of information technology for voting systems for the secretary of state’s office, said lawmakers should ensure that the vendor they select has a plan to continue providing support, technology updates and spare parts for however long the state plans to keep using the system.
“What is the vendor providing, and what is their plan for providing that, not only for the initial deployment, but for five, 10, 15 years down the road?” he said.
Voter secrecy
The question of how to ensure that a voter’s selections remain private is another issue lawmakers will have to juggle.
Georgia’s constitution mandates that voters’ ballots be kept secret. However, rapid developments in artificial intelligence and other technology can make that harder to guarantee, especially in smaller counties. Last month, a Princeton University researcher claimed that he was able to use AI to tie thousands of voters in Heard and Cherokee counties to specific ballots with relative certainty by putting publicly available data through an AI tool.
The intersection of privacy and accessibility is another challenge. Precincts are required to keep at least one voting machine on hand for voters with disabilities according to federal law. But in jurisdictions where most voters mark ballots by hand, it may be fairly easy to determine how voters who used accessibility software voted.
Mark Lindeman, Philadelphia-based Verified Voting’s policy and strategy director, said that while he supported minimizing the role of ballot-marking devices in Georgia’s elections, there shouldn’t be restrictions on who gets to use the machines.
He noted that many voters who don’t consider themselves disabled may benefit from using a machine-marked system. A larger pool of people casting ballots marked by voting machines will also give voters with disabilities an increased level of anonymity when casting their ballot.
“It doesn’t have to be hundreds in a polling place, but to protect voter privacy and dignity, it shouldn’t be just a handful,” he said.
Foreign interference
Federal cuts to election security systems and a recent spike in cyberattacks may also fuel the risk of foreign interference in the midterm elections. Already this year, several Georgia counties have been hit by cyber attacks targeting their water systems. States like Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin have also faced similar attacks, according to the FBI. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency put out an advisory in April warning that such attacks may be linked to Iran.
But experts say it’s impossible to implement a system that completely eliminates the risk of bad actors interfering with elections. According to Michael Specter, an assistant professor and cybersecurity researcher at Georgia Tech, the most secure systems assume that a breach will happen at some point and develop transparent protocols to disclose and adapt to such instances.
“A system is only secure if the adversary knows how the system works and it is still secure,” he said.
Switching to hand-marked ballots may lessen the risk of certain security breaches, but experts emphasized that no technology is impervious to manipulation.
“Ballot on demand [printing] does not remove software from the election entirely,” said Hale, the Center for Democracy and Technology fellow. “Instead, it changes where software sits in the process.”
Paulding County Elections Director Deirdre Holden said that she worries about bad actors trying to access voter data, but added that in her experience, state officials had been quick to respond in instances where counties had faced cyberattacks.
“We have a very, very robust state system that takes care of us that knows when things like that are going on and they alert us very quickly,” she said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigated local Georgia governments that printed election materials in non-English languages, according to the AJC.
Internal records reveal the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has examined which jurisdictions in Georgia offer election materials in languages other than English, raising new questions about the administration’s pursuit of investigating claims of noncitizen voting.
A Dec. 19 email from the acting director of border policy for the Department of Homeland Security references a “Criminal Checklist outlining requirements for prosecution of voter related charges.”
The checklist itself is redacted. Butthe email includes an attachment listing local election laws by state that require ballots be printed in languages other than English, suggesting the administration’s intent to potentially target those jurisdictions for law enforcement actions.
Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties are among the jurisdictions mentioned.
Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett are all densely populated counties with a majority of Democratic voters. Federal law requires Gwinnett County to distribute ballots in Spanish and English because a significant share of its residents primarily speak a language other than English. Cobb and DeKalb counties both distribute sample ballots in Spanish and Korean, according to the documents.
The email was delivered to Rob Law, the DHS undersecretary for strategy, policy, and plans. Other department officials also received the email, including Heather Honey, a prominent election denier and the department’s deputy assistant secretary for election integrity.
Georgia will elect a new secretary of state this year after the incumbent, Brad Raffensperger (R), made an unsuccessful run for governor in the primary. Penny Brown Reynolds (D) of Atlanta and state Rep. Tim Fleming (R) of Covington are the two nominees on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The Georgia secretary of state is the official keeper of the Great Seal of Georgia and oversees licensure and registration for nonprofits and businesses. Certain workers also require state licensing, such as nurses, contractors and plumbers.
The office also oversees elections, which is a hot topic for this year’s race in the wake of the SAVE America Act, a bill that would add more stringent identification requirements for U.S. voters. Supporters argue the bill will increase election security and limit voter fraud, while opponents say it will limit the ability of American citizens who lack transportation or certain forms of ID.
With a high-profile incumbent in Raffensperger out of the race, two newcomers — coming from different backgrounds — will face off for the seat.
Democratic nominee Penny B. Reynolds worked in the state legal system for around a decade, most notably as a judge. She left in 2008 to run the Daytime Emmy-winning show, “Family Court with Judge Penny.” She spent the better part of the 2010s involved in business ventures before returning to her alma mater, Georgia State University, as a professor. Reynolds joined the Biden administration in 2022, working as the USDA deputy assistant secretary.
The former judge has spent 2026 campaigning throughout the state with other prominent women of color. Organizations like the Krimson PAC and Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys endorse Reynolds.
Reynolds has said that she will fight for the rights of women and minority groups in the South. Activists and researchers say minorities are disproportionately impacted by restrictions on voter identification.
“This is my civil rights moment, and this is my moment,” Reynolds said in the August interview with Georgia Conservation Voters. “And it’s for Georgia, for all of us.”
Republican nominee Tim Fleming represents Georgia House District 114, comprising all of Morgan County and parts of Newton County and Walton County. He has been in Georgia politics for 24 years, so he is running on the slogan “Experience Matters.”
He has worked for Gov. Brian Kemp in several political campaigns, including an eight-year tenure in the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office as Kemp’s assistant. Before joining the Georgia House of Representatives in 2022, Fleming served as Kemp’s first chief of staff.
`Fleming received an endorsement from President Donald Trump via a post on Truth Social, in which Trump called Fleming a “MAGA Patriot.”
“I will be ready to lead — not learn,” Fleming said at a Marietta rally in July. “I also appreciate President Trump’s leadership in championing the SAVE America Act.”
Fleming, along with other Republicans, has called for investigation into Georgia’s 2020 election. He said there were “irregularities” in the polling. At the state house, Fleming chaired the Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Election Procedures.
“The legitimacy of our government — local, state and federal — rests squarely on the public’s trust in the electoral process,” Fleming said in July during the committee’s first meeting.
Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Republican Barbara Rivera Holmes to this position March 18, 2025, after Commissioner Bruce Thompson died from cancer.
Holmes was president & CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce before becoming the vice president of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission. She has also been an award-winning journalist.
Democratic challenger Nikki Porcher has served in the U.S. Air Force and has had a career working as a teacher and advocating for small businesses.
Holmes faced no opposition in the Republican primary May 19, receiving 775,173 votes.
In the Democratic primary, Porcher received 200,734 votes (61.9%) against Michelle Sanchez, who received 123,306 votes (38.1%) during a runoff held June 16.
The State School Superintendent manages public education in Georgia, serving as chief executive officer of the Georgia Department of Education and as executive officer of the State Board of Education. The superintendent oversees the allocation of state and federal education funds to local school districts, and sets and administers policies for curriculum standards and statewide testing.
Republican Richard Woods, the incumbent, taught high school social studies for 14 years and later served in various leadership roles that included principal, pre-K director and curriculum director. He was elected state school superintendent in 2014.
Democrat challenger Lydia Powell, an assistant high school principal, is also a former social studies teacher. In addition to educator and administrator, her roles have included culture and inclusion trainer and cheer and step team coach.
Woods held off challenger Fred Longgrear in a tightly contested Republican primary, winning with 51.5% of the vote to Longgrear’s 48.5%.
Powell won three-candidate Democratic primary, narrowly avoiding a runoff with 50.5% of the vote but finished far ahead of second-place vote-getter Anton Anthony, who had 29.8%.
The Georgia insurance and safety fire commissioner is a four-year, no term-limit executive role in the state government. The commissioner leads Georgia insurance industry regulation and state fire safety efforts through standards and best practices set by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
This seat is up for election on the Nov. 3 ballot. The incumbent, John F. King (R) is running against Keisha Sean Waites (D) and Colin McKinney (L).
Appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019 before being elected to a full term in 2022, King became the first Hispanic statewide official in Georgia. He grew up in Albany, served in the U.S. Army National Guard, worked as an Atlanta police officer and was chief of police for Doraville.
“When I was appointed Insurance Commissioner, I inherited a broken agency,” King wrote in an Aug. 18 Facebook campaign post.
Democratic nominee Keisha Sean Waites served three terms as the Georgia House District 60 representative for southeast Atlanta. She is a former Atlanta City Council member, though she resigned before completing her full term. She worked in the U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Division and held roles in the Legislative and External Affairs divisions of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
At FEMA, Waites worked on recovery response efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was on the external affairs team to help after the Haiti earthquake in 2010. She also helped organize tests of lead in Flint Michigan’s water in 2016.
Waites faces several ethics violations for using taxpayer money to print and mail campaign newsletters, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After resigning from city council, she received cease-and-desist letters for filming campaign videos inside Atlanta City Hall.
Cost of living is a high priority for Waites in her campaign.
“Georgia families are paying some of the highest insurance rates in the country — for their homes, their cars, and their healthcare,” Waites wrote in an Aug. 13 Facebook post. “As a homeowner, driver, and taxpayer, I know exactly how painful and frustrating this system has become. Georgians deserve relief, accountability, and leadership that understands their struggle firsthand. I’m running for Insurance Commissioner to deliver that change.”
State Rep. Chas Cannon, (R-Moultrie), who also serves as Colquitt County Administrator, spoke to a group of retired educators, according to the Moultrie Observer.
The program was presented by Chas Cannon, Colquitt County Administrator/Georgia State Representative. He informed the members of his duties on the local and state level and gave updates on current legislation. A question and answer session followed his presentation.
State Rep. Cannon also received the Georgia Municipal Association’s (GMA) 2026 “Champion of Georgia’s Cities Award,” according to the Moultrie Observer.
State Rep. Chas Cannon of Moultrie received a 2026 “Champion of Georgia’s Cities Award” from the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) in recognition of his support for Georgia’s cities during the 2025–2026 session of the Georgia General Assembly. The award was presented during the Moultrie City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The “Champion of Georgia’s Cities Award” is presented at the end of each two-year legislative term to state legislators who have demonstrated strong support for major municipal initiatives and priorities, the GMA said in a press release.
During the 2025–2026 legislative term, Cannon was a key voice on local government matters, sharing his expertise from experience in the area, the GMA said. In particular, he sponsored House Bill 244, revising the standards for local government audits while maintaining transparency.
His work in the General Assembly helped advance issues important to cities and the residents they serve across Georgia, the GMA said.
GMA CEO and Executive Director Larry Hanson and Deputy Executive Director Jim Thornton presented the award to Cannon on behalf of the association.
“We greatly appreciate Representative Cannon’s support for Georgia’s cities and his willingness to work with municipal leaders on issues that directly impact their communities,” said Hanson. “His leadership and commitment to strong local government have made him a valuable partner to cities across our state.”
Atlanta’s mayor, Andre Dickens, has announced a new legislation attempt that would codify and strengthen the city’s existing privacy standards as the city continues to partner with Flock Safety.
In an announcement Tuesday, the mayor said he would be introducing legislation at the Sept. 21 City Council meeting to “build on the existing safeguards established by the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and create a permanent, citywide framework for the responsible use of public safety cameras and other technologies.”
The mayor’s office hopes the members will move toward approving the steps in the next 60 days.
The legislation is aimed at attacking ten key areas, according to the mayor’s office: citywide standards, use policies, access controls, data governance, mandatory audits, independent oversight, vendor accountability, review of new technology, public transparency and temporary deployment safeguards.
“The legislation would also explicitly prohibit discriminatory or viewpoint-based use of covered technology and prohibit the use of City systems or data for personal, commercial, or other unauthorized purposes,” according to the mayor’s office.
“Technology that gives government extraordinary capabilities must come with extraordinary accountability,” Dickens said in the announcement. “Public safety is not a blank check, and neither is privacy an excuse to deny law enforcement tools that can help save lives and solve crimes. Atlanta will have both: effective public safety technology governed by clear rules, meaningful oversight and consequences when those rules are violated.”
Wayne County Commissioners voted to amend their data center ordinance, according to WSAV.
Some of the amendments include requiring private companies to pay for cleanup and removal a center goes out of business, requiring details about how they will reduce their massive water demands during regional drought or utility disruption and giving yearly compliance reports to ensure companies operate under county rules after approval.
The Richmond County School System has fired five school resource officers after an internal investigation and a review by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
The resource officers were terminated after POST recommended revoking their peace officer certifications.
Another officer will remain employed because her certification was not recommended for revocation. She will serve a 24-month probationary period and complete an ethics course under POST guidelines.
Superintendent Malinda Cobb said the district would reinforce expectations for accountability, professionalism, and public trust within its police department.
Some Baldwin County property owners expressed their thoughts on higher property taxes, according to 13WMAZ.
“If it goes up, I’ll probably end up losing my home,” [Milledgeville resident Tracy] Hall said.
Several commissioners presented possible approaches for resolving the county’s debt, including adjustments to the millage rate and the sale of county-owned property.
Vice Chairman Scott Little said the county has options beyond relying solely on a tax increase.
“We have several tools at our disposal that’s not only the mill rate,” Little said.
Little suggested Baldwin County consider selling Sibley Industrial Park, echoing an earlier recommendation from Interim County Manager Paul Van Haute.
Van Haute has recommended a 9-mill increase, though he emphasized that commissioners — not the county manager — will make the final decision.
While residents raised concerns about affordability, Little said county officials must find a solution to prevent more cuts to essential services.
“Are we ready to not have a fire department?” Little said. “I mean, the county would close.”
Hall said even a smaller increase would create financial strain for residents already dealing with higher costs.
“Times are hard; they’re not going to increase my pay,” Hall said.
Commissioners are expected to hold another week of hearings and gather additional feedback from taxpayers before voting on a final millage rate increase.
The Chatham County Tax Commissioner’s Office announced that second-installment property tax bills are being sent, according to WTOC.
Second installment property tax bills are officially in the mail to property owners across Chatham County, and payments are due Monday, Nov. 16.
The Chatham County Tax Commissioner’s Office announced that some homeowners may notice savings this year due to local homestead exemption changes and the state-approved Homeowner Tax Relief Grant (HTRG).
Under the relief grant, eligible homesteaded properties receive up to an $18,000 reduction in assessed value, which can lower the overall bill. The relief grant does not apply to non-homesteaded properties.
“We want homeowners to understand exactly what they are seeing on their 2026 tax bills,” Chatham County Tax Commissioner Sonya L. Jackson said. “This year’s bills include important tax relief provisions, including changes to Chatham County’s homestead exemptions and the state’s Homeowner Tax Relief Grant. We encourage everyone to review their bill and make sure they understand their exemptions, credits and payment responsibility.”
Dalton Public Schools revised their required property tax notice because the math wouldn’t math. From the Dalton Daily Citizen:
Dalton Public Schools has revised its legally required property-tax notice after receiving a new rollback rate, lowering the advertised percentage increase from 6.33% to 5.78%.
The district’s proposed rate remains unchanged at 8.05 mills.
Whitfield County Tax Commissioner Danny Sane said Thursday that his office compiles tax-digest figures supplied by the Whitfield County Board of Tax Assessors and provides the resulting rollback calculation to Dalton Public Schools. The district does not set the rollback rate.
The rollback rate is the millage rate calculated to produce approximately the same property-tax revenue as the previous year from property already on the tax digest, after accounting for reassessments and excluding revenue associated with new growth.
Because statutory notification schedules can begin before the tax digest is final, state rules allow estimated digest figures to be used earlier in the process. Those figures may later be revised.
The Dougherty County School System plans to create a task force to help families retain food assistance and navigate new reporting requirements as district officials warn that declining SNAP participation could eventually affect the federal provision that allows every student to eat free at school.
Superintendent Kenneth Dyer announced the plan Monday during his report to the Dougherty County Board of Education. He said the district intends to help parents understand benefit requirements, find work or job training, and complete required reporting online.
“I don’t believe people are losing their benefits because their financial situation has improved significantly,” Dyer said. “I think they’re losing the benefits because they’re not doing the reporting that’s required. So the needs are still there.”
Dougherty County schools participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision, which allows eligible high-poverty school systems to serve breakfast and lunch to all students without collecting individual household meal applications.
The federal reimbursement calculation depends on the share of students who are directly certified for free meals through their participation in programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Dyer said a substantial drop in that directly certified population could weaken the basis for the district’s universal meal program. He did not say Monday that free meals are ending or identify a date when the district might become ineligible.
“If our direct certification goes down, then we no longer qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision, so no longer do all of our students eat free,” he said, describing the potential consequence.
The concern, Dyer said, is that children could lose nutritional assistance at home while a decline in family enrollment also affects how the school district is reimbursed for meals.
The district plans to educate families about work, training and reporting requirements and connect them with employment and training opportunities. Dyer said online reporting may be one of the barriers preventing eligible families from maintaining assistance.
“We hope that we’ll be able to maintain their benefits so that our children won’t go hungry because of a lack of government assistance,” he said.
The National Park Service wants to acquire additional land on Cumberland Island and a local nonprofit opposes, according to WSAV.
The Park Service is looking to acquire land that includes live oak maritime forests, archaeological resources and habitat for nesting shorebirds and threatened sea turtles.
A Park Service spokesperson said the goal is to protect those resources, while moving private development potential to areas without those concerns. Even with some federally owned property becoming private ownership, conservation easements could limit how much of the land could be used.
A Wild Cumberland spokesperson, however, said 80% of the property would be conserved, while the remaining 20% could include up to six single-family homes with building footprints of up to 15,000 square feet each.
Kelly Cox, with Defenders of Wildlife, said, “It also is about clearing habitat, forests, and wetlands. It’s about new roads and vehicles, and noise and lights and sounds, and permanent human activity that can cause disturbance. And we’re concerned about that. Those changes can alter how wildlife uses their habitat and how they exist on this largely undeveloped island.”
A Wild Cumberland spokesperson said the two exchange proposals could set a precedent for more exchanges on the island.
The Mayflower left Plymouth, England, for the New World on September 16, 1620. Thirty-five of 102 passengers were members of the English Separatist Church seeking religious freedom from the Church of England. Originally aiming to reach Virginia, Mayflower eventually landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Forty-one delegates signed the United States Constitution, including Abraham Baldwin and William Few representing Georgia, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 before adjourning sine die.
The Battle of Antietam actually consisted of three battles. Beginning at dawn on September 17, Union General Joseph Hooker’s men stormed Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s troops around the Dunker Church, the West Woods, and David Miller’s cornfield. The Federals made repeated attacks, but furious Rebel counterattacks kept the Yankees in check. By early afternoon, the fighting moved south to the middle of the battlefield. Union troops under General Edwin Sumner inflicted devastating casualties on the Confederates along a sunken road that became known as “Bloody Lane,” before the Southerners retreated. McClellan refused to apply reserves to exploit the opening in the Confederate center because he believed Lee’s force to be much larger than it actually was. In the late afternoon, Union General Ambrose Burnside attacked General James Longstreet’s troops across a stone bridge that came to bear Burnside’s name. The Yankees crossed the creek, but a Confederate counterattack brought any further advance to a halt.
The fighting ended by early evening, and the two armies remained in place throughout the following day. After dark on September 18, Lee began pulling his troops out of their defenses for a retreat to Virginia. The losses for the one-day battle were staggering. Union casualties included 2,108 dead, 9,540 wounded, and 753 missing, while Confederate casualties numbered 1,546 dead, 7,752 wounded, and 1,108 missing.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Tyler Browning stayed the planned execution of Stacey Ian Humphreys for consideration of the effect of new legislation, according to the AJC.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Tyler Browning issued an order late Tuesday staying the execution of Stacey Ian Humphreys. He also granted the defense’s request for a hearing to determine whether the condemned man is eligible for resentencing under a new Georgia law.
That hearing is tentatively scheduled for sometime in the next two months, Browning said.
The judge’s order came less than 24 hours before Humphreys was set to die by lethal injection for the 2003 killings of two real estate agents inside the model home of a Powder Springs subdivision.
The state has argued that, should the court apply Georgia’s Survivor Justice Act to Humphreys, it would effectively nullify the death penalty. The law, which took effect last year, allows judges to consider a convicted person’s history as a victim of abuse when deciding their punishment.
Humphreys’ defense attorneys argued earlier Tuesday the 53-year-old should not be executed because years of childhood physical and sexual abuse served as a major contributing factor in his crimes.
The novel argument came just hours before four members of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles voted to deny clemency.
State prosecutors contend the Georgia law at the center of Humphreys’ argument is meant to protect those accused of killing or harming their abusers, not someone facing the death penalty for murdering two strangers more than two decades ago.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Sabrina Graham said Humphreys’ defense team is effectively using the new law against legislators’ intent.
“The purpose was for people who were subject to abuse by the victims that they harmed,” Graham told the judge Tuesday. “It was not to give people another chance to produce mitigating evidence that they already presented at trial and then ask the judge to resentence them based on that.”
She said the argument to apply the law to his case “creates a new exception to the death penalty.”
Humphreys’ attorneys said the way the law is written does not exclude him from claiming abuse was a significant contributing factor in his crimes.
“Your honor, it says what it says,” Kammer told the judge.
In his order, Browning sided with the defense, saying there’s nothing in the new statute limiting the new law to cases in which victims commit crimes against those who’ve abused them.
“While the GSJA may make more logical sense as a legal vehicle exclusive to victims who commit crimes against their abusers, neither the preamble for the bill nor the plain wording of the statutes limit it,” he said.
Prosecutors vowed to promptly appeal the judge’s decision in the hope of carrying out Humphreys’ execution within the allotted time frame.
For years, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been working to make the state a welcoming home for clean-energy manufacturing, including EVs, solar panels and batteries. Georgia went all out with tax breaks and a worker training program to attract EV and battery makers — and it’s worked.
Georgia-based bus manufacturer Blue Bird started selling electric buses commercially in 2018 and built an expanded factory for electric buses in 2023. In 2022, Hyundai built a plant near Savannah that it said would be dedicated to making EVs. In 2024, Kia started making EVs at its West Point plant. And in 2025, Rivian broke ground on its manufacturing plant near Atlanta. The Hyundai and Rivian operations are two of the biggest economic development projects in Georgia history. The state has also worked to attract other parts of the EV and clean energy manufacturing sector, including battery makers and recyclers and solar panel companies.
Under the second Trump administration, the economic outlook for these companies has been destabilized. In addition to ending federal EV tax credits for car buyers, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on battery packs, charger hardware and other components; loosened rules around emissions from gas-powered cars; and ended the Biden administration’s push to make government vehicle fleets electric.
At Kia’s plant in West Point, a long and constantly varied line of vehicles moves steadily forward on the assembly line, step by step gaining all the trimmings that turn metal shells into driveable cars.
This plant functions more like a short-order cook than a traditional assembly line. Instead of producing big, uniform batches, Kia has designed the plant to manufacture cars according to unique specifications — each one a different model, color or trim. There are gas-powered, hybrid and electric cars rolling off the line here. Kia says it has done this to make more of the cars people most want to buy at any given moment.
Right now, that means hybrids.
“What we’ve seen is a transition back away from maybe full EV vehicle building to this kind of a middle-of-the-road opportunity,” said factory CEO Stuart Countess.
Electric cars are still the future, he said. But for several reasons, including price and charging access, consumers just aren’t there yet. Changes to federal policy are a major factor, too.
“We had a tax incentive credit that did go away,” Countess said. “Sales were really moving in the right direction, but once it went away, it became a much different environment.”
Just as Kia has ramped up hybrid production, its sister company Hyundai has added hybrid production to the lineup produced at its massive plant near Savannah, which was originally built to make EVs.
“It’s kind of a messy period we’re in right now,” said Stephanie Valdez-Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive. “But I think the manufacturers are adjusting.”
At the same time, battery makers throughout the state have started shifting to producing storage batteries for electricity storage in addition to ones made to power vehicles.
“The state continues to have a lot riding on the success of both the electric vehicle but also the battery market,” said Stan Cross of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, or SACE.
Georgia leads the region in EV and battery manufacturing, but the growth has stumbled, with layoffs at SK Battery earlier this year. More than $4 billion in investment has been canceled or scaled back in the last year across the Southeast, according to SACE – though that’s dwarfed by the nearly $74 billion in manufacturing investment that’s moving ahead.
U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) transferred more then $3 million dollars to the Democratic Party of Georgia, according to the AJC.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is tapping his formidable fundraising operation to transfer more than $3.6 million into the Democratic Party of Georgia’s coordinated campaign, an investment aimed not just at securing his own reelection but boosting Democrats up and down the ballot.
The spending, which the campaign disclosed for the first time Wednesday, was made over the past two years and offers some of the clearest evidence yet of how deeply Ossoff has invested in a state party operation that he helped overhaul ahead of the 2026 midterms.
He has also installed two longtime operatives in key roles. Kyle Tromley, a former Ossoff political director and veteran Democratic operative, was tapped in December to lead the coordinated campaign. Caroline Saudek, a six-year veteran of Ossoff’s fundraising operation, joined the state party in January to help raise money.
The moves illustrate Ossoff’s attempt to not just win reelection against Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins but also burnish himself as an architect of the broader Democratic effort in Georgia.
He is trying to run up his margin against Collins, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump who embraces the “MAGA Mike” label, in hopes that a decisive victory could also help Keisha Lance Bottoms’ bid for governor and other Democrats down the ballot.
Billionaire Rick Jackson has pumped some of his fortune into an infrastructure his campaign for governor calls a “concierge service” that targets persuadable voters. The Georgia GOP, meanwhile, is focusing increasingly on energizing core conservatives who may need a nudge to vote in an election where Trump isn’t on the ballot.
The Democratic coordinated campaign now has more than 100 field staffers and 30 offices around the state, many of them in regions with competitive downballot races. More than 50 campaigns are participating in the effort, according to party officials.
The operation organizes door-knocking canvasses and phone banks, trains volunteers and helps coordinate ballot access efforts. Party officials say organizers have knocked on tens of thousands of doors since early summer.
The state party is also separately expanding beyond marquee races. On Tuesday, Democrats launched “Project Downballot,” a new effort to target Republicans running for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general.
State Rep. Tanya Miller (D-Atlanta), who represents District 62 in the Georgia House, and state Sen. Brian Strickland (R-McDonough), who represents District 42 in the Georgia Senate, are the nominees for attorney general after Chris Carr did not seek reelection for the position. He instead ran for governor but lost in the Republican primary.
The attorney general advises the governor and other state agencies, boards and commissions. The AG can represent state departments in civil court and represent the state in the U.S. Supreme Court. The AG also can review and prepare state contracts and legal agreements.
Across the state, the AG’s office can oversee agencies that prosecute suspects of crimes such as human trafficking, gang activity and Medicaid fraud. This office also does capital felony appeals before the Georgia Supreme Court as well as prosecuting public corruption and illegal acts when it comes to state business.
Both candidates won their primary race by a wide margin. Miller defeated Robert Trammell with 461,643 votes (84.6%) to 83,983 (15.4%) in the Democratic primary May 19. Strickland received 366,251 votes (71.9%) as opponent Bill Cowsert received 143,260 (28.1%).
Miller has more than two decades of courtroom experience as a prosecutor and assistant district attorney in Fulton County and worked as an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Strickland is an attorney and a partner at a law firm in Atlanta.
Republican Regina “Reggie” Liparoto announced she is running for State House District 141, according to WTVM.
Reggie Liparoto announced her campaign for Georgia House District 141 today, challenging state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, the Georgia House minority leader, for a seat Hugley has held since 1992.
Liparoto announced her campaign at a Republican luncheon in Columbus. Her biggest target is Hugley’s record on property taxes.
“I think the longer you’re in office, the more sedated you become, the more compliant you become, complacent — and I think you’re not really working for the people anymore. And so, because of those 34 years, I believe I have a lot more to offer: a lot more energy, a lot more time, a lot more legislative ideas that will be put into action, and I will work to make those happen,” Liparoto said.
“She had the power to make that go away for Georgia, and people are struggling with property taxes, not even a cap. And the reasoning behind that for her, the come up is, it helps our schools. Well, there are other ways to help fund our schools,” Liparoto said.
Hugley says she has already delivered tax relief this year and disputes how Liparoto’s plan would work.
“What the Republicans, who have been in the majority for the last 20 years, what they wanted to do was create a scenario that was not property tax relief, but a property tax swap. So we need to call it what it is. What it would require is that homeowners would receive a homestead exemption, but every shopper would have to pay additional sales tax — that would include renters, seniors, working families, and people who do not own homes,” Hugley said.
Hugley points to a Homeowners Tax Relief Grant passed this year with bipartisan support.
“This business about substituting sales tax for property tax may work in your larger areas, but some of our smaller communities don’t even have a grocery store in their district,” Hugley said.
Hugley says her three decades in office are an asset, not a liability.
“Longevity matters, and leadership matters, because we have to understand how the government works and how our system works,” Hugley said.
Both candidates say they are focused on District 141 voters.
“I will be mindful of everybody’s needs — not just a Republican need or a Democratic need, but all the people of District 141, what’s going to be best for us,” Liparoto said.
Muscogee County has more than 130,000 active registered voters, about 36,000 of them in District 141.
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 5. Early voting runs Oct. 13 through Oct. 30, ahead of the Nov. 3 election day.
Georgia Senate District 15 will elect a new State Senator for the first time in more than thirty years, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
State Sen. Ed Harbison (D-Columbus) is the longest-serving member of the Georgia Senate, representing District 15 for 33 years. But in March, he announced he wouldn’t seek reelection so he could retire from the legislature at the age of 84.
So in the November election, voters in this district, which comprises Macon, Marion, Talbot, Taylor and Schley counties as well as portions of Chattahoochee County and Muscogee County, will choose a new candidate to represent them in Atlanta.
Georgia state Rep. Teddy Reese (D-Columbus) opted to seek office in the state capitol’s other chamber. He won the Democratic nomination this year and will face Republican candidate Chuck Hand of Butler in November for the right to succeed Harbison.
District 15 needs someone in this seat with experience in Atlanta, Reese said, and someone who knows how to move legislation. “I have a track record of doing that,” Reese said. “I have spent four years in the Georgia House of Representatives, and all four years I’ve been successful at either being a sponsor or co-sponsor on legislation that has been signed by the governor.”
Hand, a construction worker, was an officer in the local Republican Party.
When the news came out that Harbison was retiring, the party “didn’t want to leave a hole in the ticket there,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer.
They didn’t want anyone running unopposed for a seat, he said. Hand was already running for the Congressional District 2 seat, currently filled by U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Albany). Hand dropped out of the congressional race to run for the state senate seat.
“I think it’s very exciting,” Hand said. “Whether it be Teddy or me, it’s going to be exciting because it’s going to be a change. I’m telling the people that I’m trying to get votes to pick me and vote for my change. But the reality is, either way, we’re going to see some change coming up.”
Albany City Commissioner Diana Brown will host a public meeting for her District 2 constituents, according to the Albany Herald.
Albany City Commissioner Diana Brown will hold a Saturday meeting to discuss voting issues and blight. The town hall meeting will be held at 11 a.m. at the Nativity Academy Learning Center, 2115 S. Madison St.
Personnel from the city’s Code Enforcement Department will be among the speakers.
The proposed rate is 1.125 mills, or approximately 7.83%, higher than the district’s current rate of 14.375 mills. It is 1.255 mills, or 8.81%, above the calculated rollback rate of 14.245 mills.
The rollback rate is designed to produce approximately the same revenue from existing property as the previous year after reassessments. Georgia law describes a rate above the rollback rate as a tax increase and requires three public hearings before final adoption.
According to the district’s legal notice, the difference between the proposed and rollback rates would amount to approximately $122 on a home with a fair market value of $242,857 and approximately $100 on nonhomestead property valued at $200,000.
Some Baldwin County property owners say higher property taxes will hurt them, according to 13WMAZ.
Some Baldwin County homeowners say a proposed increase in the county’s millage rate could make it harder for them to remain in their homes as officials look for ways to address county debt.
Tricia Clark, who has owned her Baldwin County home for 23 years, said she is worried that a potential doubling of the millage rate would add to household costs already strained by higher insurance, food and gas prices.
Clark said she may no longer be able to afford to stay in her home if property taxes rise.
“So how is that fair to us as citizens that we have to pay for a hole that you put yourself in?” she said.
At a recent meeting, Interim County Manager Paul Van Haute said doubling the millage rate was the only way to eliminate the county’s debt.
District 4 Commissioner Andrew Strickland said he opposes a tax increase and is working with other commissioners on alternative proposals.
“I think fairly soon you’ll see commissioners are going to start putting forward proposals for consideration,” Strickland said.
For homeowners such as Clark, the uncertainty surrounding the county’s financial plan is creating concern about the months ahead.
“How can I continue to live? I can’t live,” Clark said.
Baldwin County is holding three public hearings on the tax increase.
• Thursday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 18 at 10 a.m.
• Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 a.m.
After the final hearing, commissioners will vote on the millage rate.
Statesboro City Council rejected a proposed property tax millage rate hike and retained their rate from the previous year, according to WSAV.
The city of Statesboro did not move forward with a proposed millage rate increase Tuesday evening.
After multiple residents voiced opposition, Statesboro City Council unanimously voted to not raise the millage from 8.625 mills as well as not cut any city employee positions.
This move is still a tax increase.
“What we’re required by law is to set a revenue neutral tax rate so you don’t have to have a hearing,” Statesboro City Manager Charles Penny said on Sept. 8. “Our rate would have to be 8.24 [mills] and then on top of that, we got five months of [Floating Local Option Sales tax (FLOST)] funds that were not anticipated and that was $1.4 million. What that does is that then takes that 8.24 down to [7.165 mills].”
While the city will collect additional revenue in 2026 despite no millage rate increase, Penny said money will still need to be moved around.
“We will have to use fund balance in order to fund the rest of the year because they either have to cut expenses or you have to raise revenue,” Penny said Tuesday. “Cutting expenses, which would mean cutting personnel, because that’s the only place we have to get it and [Council was] specific, they do not want to cut personnel, so in effect, they will spend fund balance.”
The city was faced with the decision to cut approximately 60 positions or raise taxes to cover an approximately $4 million shortfall coming into Tuesday.
Penny said by not increasing the millage, the city will still be approximately a million dollars short.
“It could be $1,000,000 [or] $1,300,000 of fund balance,” Penny said about what is needed. “Our fund balance is $6.5 million. If you pull another million [or] $1,200,000. You’re going to pull it down to like $5.2 million.”
Currently council has a target policy for its fund balance total to match 25% of the general fund balance total.
The City of Tifton, Tift County, and the Tift County Board of Education set their respective property tax millage rates, according to the Tifton Gazette.
The millage rate is multiplied by the taxable value of a piece of property to determine the tax that’s owed on that property.
The Tiftarea’s three governing bodies approved their new millage rates for the upcoming fiscal year at their meetings over the last two weeks, all three pursuing a reduction in rate compared to years prior.
The local school district elected to set the millage rate at 11.777 at their Sept. 8 meeting, a slight diminishment from the previous year’s rate of 12.275. Renee Guess, Tift County Schools chief financial officer, reported that the school district had determined its rollback rate as 11.777 as well, and recommended the millage rate set to the same value.
In a special called meeting Monday, the Tifton City Council moved to reduce the city’s millage rate to 6.114, lowering the rate from 6.262 in 2025. City officials reported that Tifton’s property tax levy and general fund budget had similarly decreased.
Lastly, the Tift County Board of Commissioners followed that same night, establishing a millage rate of 8.225 for unincorporated and incorporated county areas and 0.952 for the Special Tax District, marking a reduction from the FY26 rates of 8.427 and 1.116, respectively.
After nearly two hours of debate and public pressure for tougher safeguards, Augusta commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a new data center ordinance without adding last-minute changes they had just spent the afternoon discussing.
A separate attempt to extend the city’s moratorium on new data center applications for another 30 days narrowly failed.
The vote means Augusta will begin regulating where and how data centers can be built under a 29-page framework that’s been under revision for months — while any additional changes to noise, buffers, community benefits and other standards will have to come back later as formal amendments.
Commissioners first considered a substitute motion from District 2 Commissioner Stacy Pulliam to extend the moratorium another 30 days. That motion failed on a 5-6 vote:
The ordinance:
• Bans data centers from residential and agricultural zones.
• Requires public hearings and commission approval for most new data centers in industrial, business and mixed-use zones, with the process tied to the size of the facility.
• Creates five size categories, from small “accessory” setups under 2,000 square feet to “data center campuses” of 500,000 square feet or more.
• Sets noise limits at 65 decibels by day and 60 decibels at night at the property line next door.
• Requires buffers of at least 500 feet from homes and farmland, which in some cases can shrink to 300 feet with a visual berm and to 100 feet along certain roads.
• Requires closed-loop cooling systems that recycle water and bans private wells for cooling.
• Requires 8-foot security fencing around facilities.
• Exempts telecommunications infrastructure like wireless and broadband equipment from being regulated as data centers.
• Encourages community benefits agreements with potential developers, although key pieces remain expectations rather than enforceable mandates.
The ordinance does not apply to the large QTS data center already under construction on Gordon Highway near the Haynes Station neighborhood. City attorneys and staff reiterated that QTS received zoning approvals before the moratorium.
Pulliam initially floated a longer extension — potentially into December — pointing to other communities that spent months crafting data center regulations.
Plunkett cautioned commissioners that a lengthy moratorium could be treated as its own zoning action and might require a public hearing, possibly allowing the current moratorium to expire before a new one could be properly adopted. That, he warned, could open the door for new applications under old rules.
The City of Washington hosted a discussion session about data centers, according to WJBF.
People in Washington gathered Monday night for a community forum to learn more about a proposed data center project and voice concerns about transparency, infrastructure and noise.
Event organizer Amy Potter said the forum was planned because some community members felt they had not received enough information from local government about plans involving CleanSpark.
“We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors that a data center was coming,” Potter said. She said community members began asking city and county leaders questions before learning more about CleanSpark’s plans.
CleanSpark currently operates a Bitcoin mining facility in Washington. The possibility of expanding into high-performance computing has prompted questions from some people about what another facility could mean for the community.
For Washington resident Angela Booker Fanning, one of the biggest concerns is the city’s existing water infrastructure.
“Our pipes that carry our water, they need to be replaced,” Fanning said. “They are very, very old, aged, and my concern is with this data center, with the prospective data center coming, it could collapse.”
Noise is another concern raised by people at the forum. Washington resident Ken Parris said the community should have a voice in weighing the potential economic benefits of expansion against its possible impacts.
“If it’s gonna bring more noise, is that a trade-off that we want to take for the revenue it brings to the community, or we don’t want the noise?” Parris said.
The central message from several people at Monday’s forum was a desire for greater transparency and involvement before additional decisions are made.
A vote involving property connected to the proposed project is expected Friday.
Effingham County officials are considering stricter regulations for heavy industrial development as they review zoning ordinances amid ongoing opposition to a planned data center.
During a work session Tuesday night, county staff said they plan to strengthen ordinances related to heavy industrial use, among other uses.
“We do have lighting provisions currently, but we understand that we do need to strengthen some of our standards,” said one county staff member. “A lot of these standards will be strengthened and addressed in our heavy industrial and our I-1 ordinances.”
County Manager Tim Callanan added that the county is going to strengthen the noise portion in their ordinance regulations but that the county has already added a section for low frequency and some tolerances, but did not go into detail on what those are.
Staff went on to say the county will also include standards for emergency backup generators for their heavy industrial ordinance and data center ordinance, including buffers, locations, setbacks and screening among other standards.
She went on to say the data center will be placed in the county’s table of permitted uses as a conditional use.
“We will have attached conditions, so they will have additional things that they’ll have to abide by,” staff stated. “We’ll have water and sewer standards that require documentation of anticipated demand and capacity. We would require traffic studies, and that would be established as objectively triggered based on project characteristics.”
Byron City Council voted to adopt a data center ordinance, according to 13WMAZ.
Byron city council voted Monday night to approve a comprehensive data center ordinance, setting strict regulations on where and how these massive facilities can operate if they choose to locate in the city.
The ordinance, which underwent months of public forums and community tours, outlines specific standards for noise levels, water usage, property setbacks and environmental compliance. It marks a significant decision for the small Georgia city as it attempts to balance economic development with community protection.
“We are determined to remain a city with a small town feel,” Byron Mayor Michael Chidester said during Monday’s meeting. “We will not fill up with people coming willy nilly from other places.”
The approved ordinance requires data centers to maintain certain noise levels. Buildings must be set back at least 1,000 feet from schools, churches and hospitals. The facilities must also implement closed-loop cooling systems and comply with state and federal environmental standards.
However, some residents want even tighter protections in place.
Pam Price, a Crawford County resident who participated in a council-sponsored tour of existing data centers around Atlanta, also said she has concerns about noise after witnessing the facilities firsthand.
“We visited five or six data centers,” Price said. “The sheer size of some of those construction sites was just crazy. The noise was loud, there were hundreds of workers. Rural land was totally done away with — no trees, just lots of concrete and steel.”
However Price there were some stops on the tour where the noise level was surprisingly low. Despite the ordinance’s passage, Price said she would have preferred stricter noise regulations.
“I would have liked to have seen them lower the sound restrictions even more to protect citizens living close to the site,” Price said. “The ordinance has some good things in it, but I do feel like that could have been lowered even more.”
Warner Robins Police Chief Wayne Fisher says they are understaffed by 20 officers, according to 13WMAZ.
As the city continues to grow, Police Chief Wayne Fisher said that while an increase in officers could be in order, the priority is filling current vacancies before requesting additional positions.
“But it doesn’t make sense at this point to make a requisition for increased staffing until we can at least fill the vacant positions that we have,” Fisher said.
The staffing numbers at Warner Robins Police have fluctuated in recent years. While the department received a significant staffing boost last year, retirements and officers leaving have contributed to another shortage.
“So we are currently sitting at about 20 officers short, but then we’re also working with the technologies to where we can utilize technology in certain areas to free up law enforcement to have greater presence and opportunity within the community,” Fisher said.
Despite a need for more staff, Fisher said the department will not lower its standards to fill openings quickly.
The new facility will feature direct vessel access and Class I rail service via Norfolk Southern, the press release said. Breakbulk cargo is goods that can’t fit standard containers due to size, shape or weight.
The company has dubbed the new facility “Foundation 3.”
“Foundation 3 reflects our continued commitment to investing in the infrastructure, capabilities and services our customers need to grow,” said Troy Gouger, vice president of operations of Colonial Terminals, in the press release.
The new terminal will be equipped to handle a variety of goods including steel, forest products, project cargo, palleted products and general cargo, the press release said. The facility hosts an 810-foot dock for a wide range of cargo vessels and an on-site railyard with more than 14,000 feet of tracks.
Colonial Terminals’ investment in new breakbulk capacity comes a few years after the Georgia Ports Authority moved its breakbulk operations to the Port of Brunswick. The move was part of GPA’s plans to turn Ocean Terminal into a container terminal.
I was in my car that morning, on the way to my job when I heard on the radio of the first plane hitting. The announcers thought at first that it must be a small plane and likely an accident. Seventeen minutes later all doubt vanished as the second hit. I called Mrs. GaPundit at home. Over the next hour, a third plane hit the Pentagon and a fourth went down in a field in Pennsylvania. We watched on television as the towers burned, then collapsed.
The Family Room opened in April 2002 in space donated by Brookfield Office Properties, the owners of 1 Liberty Plaza, across Church Street from the trade center site. By presenting what was known as a medical examiner’s family identification card, victims’ relatives were admitted during regular workdays and at night, on weekends and on holidays.
On the 20th floor, behind a door marked “The Family Room,” relatives could settle into ample leather couches or stand at windows 15 and 20 feet wide. The room was intended for “quiet contemplation,” said a 2002 notice from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which created and maintained the space, just a few doors down from its own headquarters and those of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation.
When the Family Room at 1 Liberty Plaza was replaced this summer by a new private gathering space in the National September 11 Memorial Museum pavilion, the [New York] State Museum and the memorial museum painstakingly documented the older room, and the State Museum acquired what contents family members themselves did not choose to reclaim.
There are materials in the Family Room collection related to about 1,000 victims, Mr. Schaming said, or roughly one-third of all casualties that day. “It is the most singular collection of the faces of people who were killed on 9/11,” he said.
A separate plaque will have the names of 582 police officers, firefighters, construction workers, cleanup volunteers and others who spent time in the rubble of the World Trade Center in the days or months after the attacks and, years later, died of a variety of causes that they, their families or their doctors suspected were linked to toxic ash and smoke at the site. There will be room to add more names.
“I think what the town of Hempstead is doing is nothing short of honorable,” said John Feal, a longtime advocate for 9/11 responders with health problems. “People who lost a loved one to illness suffer just like someone lost on that day. Hopefully this will offer some ease and comfort to them.”
In May, officials at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced plans to set aside a commemorative space at the World Trade Center to honor rescue and recovery workers.
New York’s police and fire departments also have memorials for personnel who have died of illnesses since Sept. 11. A 9/11 memorial in Staten Island recently added a plaque with the names of residents there who have died of illnesses.
Feal’s charitable organization also maintains a memorial wall to 9/11 responders in Nesconset, New York.
“Tomorrow we mark 25 years since the horrific attacks of 9/11,” Kemp wrote in a social media post Thursday. “In memory of the lives taken from us and in recognition of the heroic first responders, flags across Georgia will be lowered and a statewide moment of silence will be held to honor their impact and loss.”
A moment of silence will be observed at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center, the order says.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) will campaign with U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta), according to the AJC.
Harris will headline a Fulton County Democrats dinner on Oct. 30 and campaign alongside Ossoff, part of a broader push by the former Democratic presidential nominee to visit battleground states.
Harris has also recently featured in fundraising appeals for former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor.
The October visit will come four days before the Nov. 3 election and on the final day of early voting in Fulton County.
Her return to Georgia also carries some political baggage. Harris lost the state to Republican Donald Trump in 2024 by 115,100 votes after Joe Biden had narrowly carried Georgia four years earlier. Republicans will eagerly work to tie Ossoff to her political brand.
But Ossoff’s camp sees little downside in adding Harris to the mix. His advisers believe they can fire up Democrats while still making a play for swing voters and Republicans turned off by Trump and Collins.
The visit will inevitably draw more attention to the 2028 speculation surrounding both Harris and Ossoff. Ossoff’s rising national profile has fueled chatter about a White House bid, but he has repeatedly tried to squelch it. Harris has left the door open.
“We all, in one way or another, have chosen, no matter what your profession or what you do every day, in some small or big way, we have chosen to serve,” she said at an October 2025 stop in Atlanta. “And I’m not walking away from that.”
Retired Judge M. Gino Brogdon Sr. denied a motion by Stockbridge Mayor Jayden Williams to exclude allegations of sexual midconduct from proceedings seeking to remove Williams from office, according to the AJC.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last month on one misconduct allegation against Williams, involving an 18-year-old high school junior who met the mayor through his interest in a city-sponsored political mentoring program, according to a police report.
But a motion Williams’ attorney filed Wednesday says the mayor faces allegations he had personal, romantic or sexual relationships with “multiple” high school students who were “adults.” The allegations include that “one or more individuals participated in, or were associated with,” activities connected to the mayor, such as programs, initiatives or mentorship, the document says.
The motion, filed with the city clerk’s office and obtained by the AJC, also signaled concern that Williams’ testimony potentially could incriminate him in a future criminal case and violate his Fifth Amendment rights if the city forces him to testify without giving him certain protections. The motion asks to quash a subpoena compelling his testimony.
In addition to allegations of sexual misconduct, Williams is accused of misusing a city-issued credit card and vehicle, along with retaliatory or intimidating conduct toward city employees.
Retired Judge Gino Brogdon Sr. will preside over Saturday’s hearing. He denied almost all of the requests in Kenner’s motion during a virtual hearing Thursday evening. The only request Brogdon granted is that the city identify any witnesses whose testimony would support the sexual misconduct allegations.
Officials said Saturday’s hearing will function similarly to a trial, with attorney Robbie Ashe acting as prosecutor . Ashe and Kenner can make opening statements, call witnesses and make closing arguments.
Four of Stockbridge’s five council members are expected to hear the case and potentially vote on whether to oust the 23-year-old mayor, the city’s youngest ever elected, from office.
Brogdon has removed Councilmember LaKeisha Gantt from the panel that could make that decision, ruling she has shown bias against the mayor and “animus” toward him.
Earlier this week, Governor Brian Kemp’s Office released state revenue data for August 2026, according to a Press Release.
The State of Georgia’s net tax collections for the month of August approached $2.50 billion, for an increase of $85.4 million, or 3.5%, from August 2025 (FY 2026), when net tax collections totaled $2.41 billion.
The changes within the following tax categories account for August’s overall net tax revenue increase:
Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax collections for the month approached $1.20 billion, representing an increase of $40 million, or 3.5%, from roughly $1.16 billion in August 2025 (FY 2026).
The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net increase:
Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of void checks) increased by $4.3 million or 6.7%.
Income Tax Withholding payments for August increased by $49.3 million, or 4.4%, from FY 2026.
Individual Income Tax Return payments decreased by $3.5 million, or 9.2%, from August 2025.
All other Individual Income Tax categories, including estimated payments, were down a combined $1.4 million.
Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections in August totaled roughly $1.79 billion, for an increase of $129 million, or 7.8%, over FY 2026. Net Sales and Use Tax increased $44.6 million, or 5.4%, compared to August 2025, when net Sales Tax revenue totaled nearly $821.8 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $911.9 million for an increase of $81.9 million, or 9.9%, over last year, while Sales Tax refunds increased by $2.4 million, or 29%, compared to August FY 2026.
Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections for August totaled $18.4 million, a decrease of $21.4 million, or 53.8%, from FY 2026 when net Corporate Tax revenues totaled $39.8 million.
The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net decrease:
Corporate Income Tax refunds issued (net of voids) were up $27.6 million, or 153.2%, over FY 2026.
Corporate Income Tax Return payments increased by $1.7 million, or 13.9%, from August 2025 (FY 2026).
All other Corporate Income Tax payments, including estimated payments, were up a combined $4.5 million.
Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections for the month decreased by $6.6 million, or 3.3%, from August 2025, when Motor Fuel tax collections totaled $199.5 million.
Motor Vehicle – Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fee collections for August increased by $8.3 million, or 27.4%, while Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections decreased by $0.8 million, or 1.2%, compared to the previous fiscal year 2026.
Georgia collected nearly $2.5 billion in net tax revenue in August, a 3.5% increase from August 2025, extending the overall year-over-year gains recorded in July.
The August increase was driven by receipts from individual income taxes and sales taxes, according to figures released by Gov. Brian Kemp’s office this week.
Individual income tax collections rose 3.5% from a year earlier. The nearly $1.2 billion in monthly revenue from the individual income tax was up $40 million from August 2025.
The rise in individual income tax collections reversed declines in June and July.
Net sales and use tax collections of more than $866 million were up $44.6 million, or 5.4%, from August 2025.
That increase built on a year-over-year rise in sales tax receipts in July.
Likewise, the adjusted sales tax distribution to local governments continued upward, totaling $911.9 million in August. It was an increase of $81.9 million over August of last year, or 9.9%.
Revenue from some categories fell.
Corporate income tax collections declined $21.4 million year-over-year, a 53.8% fall from August 2025. The total August collection in that category was $18.4 million.
Receipts from the motor fuel tax fell $6.6 million, or 3.3%, from August 2025, while tag and title fee collections for August increased $8.3 million, or 27.4%.
The decline in motor fuel tax receipts was slightly lower than the year-over-year fall of more than $10 million in July.
Yesterday, Governor Kemp announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded nearly $500 million in grants for water infrastructure, according to a Press Release.
Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the state $499,385,000 to help communities impacted by Hurricane Helene strengthen the resilience of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and respond to water-related emergencies. This funding is a result of the 2025 American Relief Act and will be administered by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA).
“As communities across Georgia continue to recover from the most destructive storm in state history, these funds will help accelerate that ongoing work,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Georgia will be better able to weather future storms and ensure the well-being of its residents, and I want to thank EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the Trump administration, and all those who supported the Helene Resilience Funding package.”
To be eligible for Helene Resilience Funding (HRF), communities must demonstrate impacts from Hurricane Helene and propose an eligible project designed to reduce the risk and vulnerability of flood damage or enhance the resilience of drinking water and wastewater systems to rapid hydrologic changes or natural disasters.
In preparation for the final award of the funding, GEFA issued a call for projects in the fall of 2025. A list of submitted and fundable projects is available on GEFA’s website. GEFA also received funding under the American Relief Act to assist communities in responding to drinking water and wastewater emergencies.
The total Helene-related funding awarded to GEFA is distributed across five funding categories:
HRF wastewater: $124.9 million
HRF decentralized wastewater (septic systems): $8.96 million
HRF drinking water: $359.5 million
Emergency wastewater: $3.3 million
Emergency drinking water: $2.75 million
The first group of individual project awards will be presented to the GEFA board of directors for consideration at its November meeting. For more information, email helenefunding@gefa.ga.gov.
Neither of the two state loans helping to pay for this city’s $10.2 million sewer overhaul has covered any construction at the wastewater treatment plant, the state lending agency told The Albany Herald last week — an account that does not explain a $109,886 charge city officials told the City Council in August would be paid with loan money.
Both loans have been frozen since at least mid-August because Dawson has not completed its annual audits. The City Council has not been told that in any public meeting record The Albany Herald/Dawson News has reviewed.
State records released to The Herald also refer to a second Dawson water project — a “Drinking Water” project separate from the sewer work — that appears in no city record The Herald has obtained and has not been described to the council or the public since at least February.
The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, which holds both loans, said in written answers Sept. 3 that the larger of the two, tied to the treatment plant, “has only drawn engineering funds.” It said the second loan pays a different contractor for sewer line work and “is not co-funded with any other funding source.”
Between them, the two statements account for no payment to Southern Champion Construction, the Savannah firm rebuilding the plant under a $7.54 million contract. At an Aug. 13 work session, the council was told a change order adding two floating aerators at the plant “will be funded through GEFA in the amount of $109,886.” The change order is not on Thursday’s agenda.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs announced more than $40 million dollars in federal grants to local governments, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
[T]he Georgia Department of Community Affairs announced federal grants totaling $40.9 million to 42 communities across the state.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocates these funds annually to Georgia’s Community Development Block Grant program, which is administered by DCA.
Georgia’s CDBG program is available to non-entitlement local governments and specifically targets rural communities, according to the DCA’s announcement of the grants. After a competitive and thorough evaluation process, applications are scored, rated, and ranked. Grants are awarded based on overall merit, the DCA said.
The Georgia State House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on the Impact of Online Platforms on Georgia Youth met in Augusta, according to WJBF.
Augusta University welcomed the Georgia House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee as they hosted a meeting Thursday at the Georgia Cyber Center.
The group was created in 2025 by House Speaker Jon Burns. They’re studying the impact of online platforms on youth in the state of Georgia. The goal is to eventually strengthen safety protections, address mental health concerns, and promote age appropriate access to online content.
The Committee is chaired by State Representative Rob Clifton (R) of Evans.
“The numbers are – they’re painful to hear. The amount of kids. I don’t have it in front of me, but there’s something around every, I think, one in every four kids by 14 will encounter a predator online or at least be exposed to a conversation that wasn’t appropriate,” Clifton said. “Technology is great and what we’re going to do. But there’s got to be a communication and got to be back to the family dinner table we got. How was your day? You know, we got to get back to talking more.”
Representatives from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Child Enrichment, and Augusta DA Jared Williams presented best practices and statistics of apps and platform misuse in the aera.
Republican Rick Jackson unveiled an expansive pitch to voters Tuesday as he campaigns against Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms to win the governor’s office.
Speaking before a small invitation-only group at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter, Jackson made five campaign promises that were broad in scope but narrow in detail.
His appearance came after Bottoms held an event at a Lawrenceville grocery store last week to unveil a plan to target the rising cost of living by encouraging local officials to waive their taxes on groceries.
The “Jackson action plan,” as he called it, goes far beyond one problem and one solution.
He reiterated the state tax-cutting plan he unveiled at an Atlanta barbershop last month: reduce income taxes by half, eliminate the tax on tips, suspend the gasoline tax during price spikes and eliminate taxes on energy for residential and small-business customers.
Jackson said at that campaign stop last month that he would pay for those tax cuts by increasing government efficiency, for instance with new computer systems, and by cutting the budget.
His new tax plan builds on something he announced last month: taking a bite out of rising local property taxes by freezing property values. On Tuesday, Jackson said he would require local governments to hold a public hearing and take a recorded vote before raising property taxes.
Georgia law already requires local governments to advertise extensively and to hold three public hearings before voting to set a property tax rate that does not fall enough to offset any increase in tax proceeds caused by rising property values.
Jackson said he would attack housing costs by expediting permitting and inspections, which are largely functions of local government. He said he would ensure no data centers are approved unless they would not increase local utility costs. For the college-bound, he said he would freeze tuition, room and board at Georgia’s public colleges and technical schools.
And he said he would build on Gov. Brian Kemp’s template for Medicaid with “intelligent” expansion.
Kemp’s Pathways to Coverage program limits access by requiring participants to work, attend college, care for others or volunteer their time.
Jackson said he would expand coverage for those who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but too little to afford other coverage.
Unemployed able-bodied adults would be trained and linked to employment, he said. Meanwhile, he would discourage people from swapping private insurance for Medicaid.
“I believe every Georgian should have access to healthcare coverage or insurance,” said Jackson, who founded and operates a healthcare staffing company. “So on day one, I will close the coverage gap with intelligent Medicaid expansion. We will cover those who need it the most and keep work requirements in place for those who are able. And we will not force the 500,000 people who have subsidized private plans onto a government plan.”
Jackson said he would reduce overall medical costs by requiring “meaningful price transparency” so patients can price shop. He did not say how he would accomplish this.
He said he would pursue fraud, waste and abuse in state healthcare programs by using “modern technology.”
And he said he would use the state’s bulk-purchasing power to drive down drug and healthcare-related costs.
“Nothing is more important than making Georgia more affordable,” Jackson said. “Many Georgia families are working harder than ever and still feel like they’re falling behind. Affordability is a crisis and government needs to treat it like one.”
But Jackson also said public safety was the most important part of his plan. “Nothing else in this plan works if a family does not feel safe in its home, a child does not feel safe in walking to school, or a small-business owner is afraid to open the door,” Jackson said.
Jackson said he would end child sex trafficking and set high standards for law enforcement while providing the “right” resources. He took a dig at his opponent for her handling of public unrest when she was mayor of Atlanta.
“Keisha Lance Bottoms’ record in Atlanta offers a warning about what happens when police morale and staffing are not treated as priorities,” Jackson said. “As governor, I will make public safety a daily responsibility, not a talking point after a crisis.”
The Georgia Constitution gives the state broad authority to exercise police power, but the state Supreme Court clarified the extent of that authority when it comes to private property rights.
In an opinion Wednesday, the state’s high court overturned lower courts that said the state had no obligation to compensate a farming company for crop loss caused by law enforcement activity.
The case stems from a drug-interdiction operation by the Governor’s Drug Suppression Task Force in the summer of 2021.
Three police helicopters and an airplane flew so close to legal hemp crops in Dahlonega that they destroyed two rows of plants.
The owner, Blue 42 Organics, is licensed to grow hemp in Georgia. As required, the company had logged the coordinates of its operations.
But that didn’t stop the police from flying near enough to the company’s crops for the aircraft’s rotor wash and prop wash to cause an estimated $37,000 in damage.
The company sued, and the state Department of Public Safety convinced a trial court that it had no obligation to pay for the damage. The state argued that its use of police power made it “categorically exempt” from the state constitutional prohibition on the taking of private property without “just and adequate” compensation.
The trial court dismissed the case, so the company appealed. Then, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal.
When the state high court agreed to hear the case, the National Hemp Association filed a brief in support of Blue 42 Organics.
Hemp crops became legal after Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. The Georgia Legislature followed with its own regulatory law.
The association said in its brief that the federal and state laws would be worthless if the Supreme Court allowed the state to inadvertently destroy hemp crops during what the brief described as “a routine aerial survey for marijuana” in the absence of an emergency.
“If state law enforcement agencies can destroy licensed hemp crops — without checking readily available licensing databases, without coordinating with the regulatory agency that issued the license, and without any obligation to compensate the farmer — then the federal-state regulatory framework that Congress and the Georgia General Assembly built is rendered meaningless,” the association’s brief said.
The outcome turned on the interplay between sovereign immunity, which shields the state from lawsuits; eminent domain, which allows the government to take land when compensating the owner; and on the extent of state police power.
The Georgia Attorney General’s office argued that the crop destruction was caused by police action rather than eminent domain, so the state did not have to compensate the owner.
That argument did not convince the high court.
The opinion, written by Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson, said case law allowed police to destroy private property without compensating the owner while either abating a nuisance or acting during “urgent necessity.”
But the Department of Public Safety’s motion to dismiss the case had failed to argue that either condition applied in the crop destruction, the opinion said.
Instead, the agency had argued that it was immune from being required to pay compensation through a “categorical police power exemption.”
That argument did not persuade the high court.
With all justices concurring except one who was disqualified, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals decision, ruling that the Department of Public Safety had failed to identify a categorical exemption that would apply to such a “routine” police action.
“The Constitution’s promise to protect private property rights would be an empty one if the State is permitted to avoid paying just compensation for taking or damaging private property merely by invoking the police power,” the opinion said.
The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System hired a project manager for their Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education (E-SPLOST) program, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System’s $700 million Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales program now has a new manager.
The SCCPSS Board approved an $18.9 million contract for Hoar Program Management to serve as the project manager for the school system’s ESLPOST portfolio, which includes renovation of the board’s 208 Bull St. into an educational hub for architecture and urban design.
Hoar Program Management was selected from an initial seven bids, which were assessed on experience, the work plan costs and interviews. That initial seven was refined to three potential managers, resulting in Hoar being recommended to the board by district staff.
The contract is for a five-year period and comes as the board recently made other notable-SPLOST related moves. The board approved its architect for 208 Bull St.’s renovation at its August meeting, a $135,000 contract that initiated design for the project.
Georgia’s Secretary of State joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Trump administration’s proposed actions on mail-in ballots, according to Atlanta News First via WTVM.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and a coalition of county election supervisors across the nation are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to block a last-minute federal rule governing mail-in ballots.
In a bipartisan amicus brief filed Wednesday, the officials warn that forcing new mandates on local offices just weeks before the November midterm elections invites widespread administrative chaos and voter disenfranchisement.
While the 38 current and former election officials from 10 states take no position on the legal authority or policy behind the new rule, they argue that the logistical demands simply cannot be met in the 48 working days remaining before Election Day.
The rule, titled “Ballot Mail for Federal Elections” and issued in late August, imposes sweeping new requirements on election offices nationwide.
Among them: mandating specific barcode-compatible envelope designs, enrolling every mail voter in an as-yet-untested federal portal before a ballot can be mailed and requiring election workers to hand-deliver outbound ballots to postal facilities for piece-by-piece scanning and verification.
Election administrators across Georgia said the changes arrive at the worst possible time, when budgets are spent, procedures are finalized and the election calendar is already in motion. Federal law requires ballots for overseas and military voters to be sent by Sept. 19, and general absentee mailings will follow shortly after across Georgia’s 159 counties.
Local election leaders joining Raffensperger on the brief include supervisors and directors from across metro Atlanta and rural Georgia, representing Cherokee, Paulding, Bartow, Carroll, Lowndes, Muscogee, Whitfield, Chatham, Morgan, Irwin and Heard counties, as well as former members of the Georgia State Election Board.
According to the brief, most local election offices already have their envelopes designed, approved and printed for the 2026 general election. Vendor reorders often take up to two months, meaning offices cannot meet the rule’s strict envelope requirements. Noncompliant mailings face rejection by postal facilities under an all-or-nothing standard.
The brief also warns retail postal counters are unequipped to handle piece-by-piece barcode scanning for mass mailings. For rural Georgia counties operating with small staffs and limited tech support, the mandate would require workers to travel long distances to regional postal entry units for manual verification.
Macon-Bibb County election officials are preparing to send out thousands of absentee ballots ahead of November’s election while monitoring a legal fight over proposed federal mail-ballot rules.
Georgia election officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to keep the new rules on hold until after the November election. They say implementing the changes at the last minute could add pressure for local election offices.
The Trump administration wants the U.S. Postal Service to require new steps before absentee ballots can be delivered. Those proposed steps include a federal voter-verification system, unique barcodes and new envelope requirements.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the proposed postal rules. The administration has asked the Supreme Court to step in.
Macon-Bibb County Election Supervisor Thomas Gillon said his office is continuing to follow Georgia’s current absentee-ballot procedures as the legal fight continues.
“It’s a year-round process to make sure everything is categorized and arranged properly,” he said.
Gillon said election offices across the state rely on guidance from state officials when laws or procedures change.
“We get advice from the Secretary of State staff, and so we’re 159 counties that will all be reacting the same way to any state or federal laws,” Gillon said.
For now, Macon-Bibb County plans to begin mailing absentee ballots Oct. 5. Gillon said each voter must receive the ballot that matches the districts where they live, which makes the process time consuming.
“Each voter is assigned to a particular combination of districts whether it’s U.S. House, state House, state Senate, county commission, water authority, school board and the like, and each ballot is unique in that respect,” Gillon said.
Gillon said he expects Macon-Bibb County to mail a few thousand absentee ballots by November.
He said his office is monitoring the legal developments but remains focused on its election preparations.
“One day at a time. We keep up with what’s going on, but we don’t panic,” Gillon said.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 23.
Georgia Representative Mike Collins took the stage at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday night with a strong message: “Democrats failed Laken Riley.”
Collins, who authored the Laken Riley Act following the murder of the 22-year-old nursing student on the University of Georgia campus by an undocumented immigrant in 2024, is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia against incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.
Collins has been endorsed by President Trump, but has had to navigate multiple controversies and ties to white nationalist figures as Ossoff has maintained a strong lead in statewide polling. Trump’s approval in Georgia has also declined throughout his second term, and messages like 2020 election fraud peddled by Trump and Collins hasn’t appealed to voters the same way it did two years ago.
But, Collins’ race remains of national importance to Republicans as Ossoff sits as the only Democrat up for reelection in the Senate in a state that Trump won in 2024.
That’s why on Wednesday, Collins spent much of his time on stage attacking Ossoff and doubling down on his pro-Trump message.
Collins touted his authoring of the Laken Riley Act, which requires detention without bond for noncitizens accused of crimes ranging from burglary to causing the death of another person.
“Because of our work, y’all, over 20,000 criminal, illegal aliens are off our streets, behind bars, or back where they came from,” Collins said.
He also painted his opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, as a radical who opposed the bill.
But Ossoff was among a dozen Democrats to vote for the Laken Riley Act, helping to send it to President Trump’s desk in the second week of his second term.
Two candidates for Houston County Commission Post 2 oppose new data centers, according to 13WMAZ.
Shane Gottwals and Rutha Jackson are running for Houston County Commission Post 2 in November. Both candidates say they have concerns about the impact data centers could have on local resources and residents.
Incumbent Gottwals said he has heard of inquiries about potential data center development in Houston County, but he is not aware of a formal proposal.
“If you had to ask me for a yes or no vote in general on data centers. I’m a big no at the moment,” Gottwals said.
Jackson also opposes data center development, questioning how much water and electricity the facilities would require and who would pay for the infrastructure needed to support them.
“My question then becomes, why are they necessary in the areas in which they are trying to place them? And who’s going to pay for it?” Jackson said.
Jackson said she is concerned that costs associated with development could eventually be passed on to residents.
“Eventually it will fall on the citizens in that area,” she said.
The issue is also drawing attention at the federal level.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has called for a statewide moratorium on new data center construction, with exceptions for projects that meet certain safeguards. His proposal calls for protections against increases to residents’ water and electric bills, restrictions on tax incentives and protections from pollution.
Warnock’s proposal came after he met with residents in Effingham County, where OpenAI has proposed a large data center project. Residents raised concerns about the facility’s potential impact on utility costs, water use, noise and light pollution.
Gottwals said he would support a moratorium.
“I would vote in favor of a moratorium,” he said.
But Gottwals said he does not believe decisions about data center development should ultimately be made at the state level.
“I would always, almost always be in favor of counties having control over matters of development because every county’s different,” he said.
Gottwals said the issue could become an important factor for voters in local races across Georgia.
“I genuinely think the data center issue can win or lose campaigns depending on what county we’re talking about,” he said.
Gottwals and Jackson are competing for the Houston County Commission Post 2 seat in November.
13WMAZ reached out to candidates and commissioners in other Central Georgia counties who support data center development for their perspectives. We have not heard back.
The debate comes as Georgia considers how to balance the economic investment associated with data centers with concerns over the infrastructure and resources needed to operate them.
County commissioners extended the moratorium on data centers for another 180 days after a discussion Sept. 1, which was witnessed by more people than usual.
[Count Administrator and State Rep. Chas] Cannon went over some of the more specific water-related restrictions in an ordinance from Floyd County that he had been referencing during the discussion with the commissioners.
Another resident asked if [County Attorney Lester] Castellow could explain more about the county not being able to ban a data center outright.
“What I said was, an outright ban raises constitutional issues because you’re taking away the private property rights of everybody in the county,” he told her and someone asked what about zoning. “That’s what we’re talking about doing is looking at zoning as the way to regulate it and we’re looking to deal with all these issues in a manner to protect the people of Colquitt County.”
[Commission Chair Denver] Braswell clarified it even more by saying, “The banning question. It kind of steps on your right as a property owner of what you can and can’t do. I think what he is saying is we haven’t given you the due process or you haven’t had the chance to make your argument if we just blanket ban it.”
He said a blanket ban would take away everybody’s rights, but a zoning rule would allow for public hearings where people could make their case for or against a project. Then, each specific instance could be decided on, he said.
Someone spoke up and said that there were other places that had bans on data centers and Castellow replied that their cases had not been litigated all the way up to the Supreme Court to determine whether those bans violate due process.
“I would not advise this board to ban them,” he said.
He said that was why he had suggested that the commission extend the moratorium for another 180 days because they were dealing with very complicated issues not just legally but factually and technically.
“Everybody here has raised some really good points and we have really good resources to aid us in dealing with these,” Castellow said.
Cannon said that if commissioners came up with an ordinance, the cities within the county could mirror it or come up with something completely different.
In a press release from the Town of Braselton Friday, Sept.11, the agency said that the termination took place on Aug. 20, 2026. The investigation determined that the officer had misused the system in 2024 and 2025.
The name of the officer was not released, as the case was turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.
“When made aware of potential misuse occurring during the former administration, we took immediate action to investigate and hold the individual accountable,” Interim Chief Zack Tiller said. “This past behavior occurred before our current safeguards were enacted. Today, our Flock camera system is strictly monitored to ensure it is used solely to fight crime and protect our community.”
The agency said that an audit of all Braselton employees authorized to access the Flock camera system uncovered no other instances of misuse.
“The Town of Braselton takes Flock camera system misuse seriously,” the Town said in a statement . “No misuse will be tolerated. The Braselton Police Department is committed to protecting the public from any improper use of the Flock camera system and ensuring the system is used solely to keep the public safe from criminal activity.”
The termination marks the 15[th] instance of Flock misuse in the northeast Georgia region amid ongoing audits by various agencies.
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale is asking the FBI to investigate a $15 million dollar shortfall in Baldwin County’s budget, according to 13WMAZ.
Barksdale says he’s not satisfied after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) concluded their own investigation into the county’s $15 million budget shortfall, and he’s asking the FBI to step in.
In February, the county fired its manager Carlos Tobar. Financial audits then revealed missed payments and untracked spending, totaling $15 million.
The GBI confirmed they completed their investigation into the deficit, but Barksdale said Tuesday that it “raises more questions than answers.” He says the investigation did not examine bank records or show how the money was spent.
The budget shortfall has Baldwin neighbors feeling the pressure. Pamela Peacock says she was at the meeting where commissioners announced the shortfall, and she and other neighbors want answers.
“We need to know where the money went, and I’m thankful for Mr. Barksdale to come out and say let’s look into it further because the people of the county do deserve to know what happened to all that money,” Peacock said.
Also in support of the federal investigation is District 5 Baldwin Commissioner Scott Little.
“If our DA feels like there’s a reason to bring in these other agencies, I fully support him,” Little said.
In the meantime, the county has discussed increasing property taxes to help make up for the deficit. Right now leaders are considering increasing the millage rate by 9.3 mills to 19.066 mills.
Peacock and her neighbor Michelle Kent say that increase would bring their property taxes up by roughly $2,000 a year. Both agree that they want answers, but worry they will have to foot the bill in the meantime.
“Gas prices, you got groceries, and now your property taxes are gonna be up to 19. And when they raise it to 19, when is it gonna come back down?” Kent said. “It’s ridiculous that the citizens have to suffer for their mismanagement.”
Little says he does not support the proposed increase, and wants to discuss other possible solutions with county commissioners. In the meantime, he says he wants Baldwin neighbors to get answers. He says the FBI will help them figure out how the problem happened so local leaders can focus on fixing it.
“The more important priority here is that we right the ship,” Little said. “Figuring out how to get us forward and get us out of the hole and moving forward without essentially bankrupting all of our citizens so I feel like right now that’s where the focus needs to be.”
State Sen. Carden Summers (R-Cordele) and state Rep. Jaclyn Ford (R-Tifton) met with local residents in Tifton, according to the Tifton Gazette.
State Sen. Carden Summers and state Rep. Jaclyn Ford sat down with local leaders over coffee, juice, and the most important meal of the day the morning of Sept. 3 to discuss their recent developments, hot topics and issues on their radar, and the projects they hoped to pursue moving forward as part of their work in the state Senate and House, respectively.
Members of several local organizations, ranging from city and county governments, their various departments, and Tiftarea businesses, and representatives of other state and federal legislators like U.S. Rep. Austin Scott and Gov. Brian Kemp, took part in the morning event.
The two state legislators took the stage together, collaborating on sharing the news of what they had done in their respective prior sessions and what they planned to do in the future.
Ford focused on recent accomplishments, proudly reporting on the reform she had helped secure to remedy issues in education, insurance, and the workforce.
This included the implementation of literacy coaches in elementary schools across the state to address low literacy rates among students, the creation of nearly 200,000 jobs and extension of maternal leave for state employees from six to nine weeks, and the passing of the Georgia Property Owners’ Bill of Rights to extend protections for homeowners, generational family farms, and agricultural lands, among others.
Ford also expressed her intention to hold insurance companies accountable and reduce insurance rates, asserting her work in an insurance study committee over the summer last year aided in decreasing premiums among at least ten insurance companies around the state.
In contrast, Summers discussed hot-button issues that he and his colleagues from the state House hoped to bring attention to in their upcoming sessions, including the decline in support for rural healthcare, data centers, and tax incentives.
Summers claimed that he held a neutral stance regarding data centers, but leaned in favor of them due to the benefits he perceived they could bring, especially if they could majorly benefit rural areas of Georgia. However, he decried what he saw as misinformation regarding the centers, believing that the majority of outcry had blown the issue out of proportion.
When asked about Flock cameras, a similarly divisive topic, he stated he would vote against them if prompted to take a stance at this time, but saw merit in their usage if equipped with the proper regulations.
Summers also promised to review the state’s policy on tax incentives for major industries like film or airlines, lamenting that these industries rarely kept their profits in state, and asserted he and the county’s state representatives would do everything in their power to provide for rural healthcare.
In closing, the two state legislators asked their constituents to not only remain in contact with them, but familiarize themselves with other legislators from around the state, stressing that doing so would aid them in more easily passing the policies and reform they desired for their communities.
Cordele Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brad Rigby has resigned, according to WALB.
The Cordele Judicial Circuit originally had eight prosecutors tackling cases, but it now only has two. According to a source close to the matter, six prosecutors left their positions, including the now-former district attorney, Brad Rigby.
“After careful consideration, I have decided that it is the appropriate time for me to step down from this position and pursue the next chapter of my professional and personal life. I appreciate the confidence placed in me during my tenure…” [said] Brad Rigby, Former District Attorney, Cordele Judicial Circuit
Rigby’s resignation comes just months after a recent investigation by WALB that uncovered more than 4,200 unindicted or pending criminal cases in the Cordele Judicial Circuit.
“There are a lot of cases that no one could possibly be handling right now because there’s just not enough people. We know already that the backlog was crippling,” Chris Cohilas, a legal expert, said. “You can’t get the work done unless you have prosecutors, and if you don’t have prosecutors, that backlog is not getting smaller, it’s getting bigger. And if it’s getting bigger, then you got a bigger problem.”
A source close to the matter says the district has had to cancel hearings and move cases due to the need for immediate help.
As of now, Governor Brian Kemp’s office says the governor will appoint someone to fill the vacancy. The office will provide an update once the appointment is made.
With the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, the American government established a permanent Treasury Department in hopes of controlling the nation’s debt. President George Washington named his former aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, to head the new office. The former New York lawyer and staunch Federalist stepped in as Secretary of the Treasury on September 11. Hamilton soon outlined a practical plan for reviving the nation’s ailing economy: the government would pay back its $75 million war debt and thus repair its badly damaged public credit.
Calhoun’s two-sentence letter, directed to Brig.-Gen. William Ward stated: “Sir: The fortune of war has placed Atlanta in your hands. As mayor of the city I ask protection of non-combatants and private property.”
On Sunday, September 2, more than 250 Allied warships lay at anchor in Tokyo Bay. The flags of the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and China fluttered above the deck of the Missouri. Just after 9 a.m. Tokyo time, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed on behalf of the Japanese government. General Yoshijiro Umezu then signed for the Japanese armed forces, and his aides wept as he made his signature.
Supreme Commander MacArthur next signed, declaring, “It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past.” Nine more signatures were made, by the United States, China, Britain, the USSR, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand, respectively. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed for the United States. As the 20-minute ceremony ended, the sun burst through low-hanging clouds. The most devastating war in human history was over.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans a voter fraud investigation in Georgia, according to WRDW.
Georgia is among nine states where the Department of Homeland Security plans to launch a voter fraud investigation, according to a memo obtained by CNN.
The memo says the investigation will run until mid-October, ahead of midterm elections.
Earlier this year, the FBI raided the Fulton County elections office as part of an investigation into potential “irregularities” from the 2020 election. The county has denied any wrongdoing and is fighting back in court.
Police Blotter: A Georgia Department of Corrections officer found himself on the wrong side of the bars after alleged misuse of Flock surveillance cameras, according to 13WMAZ.Continue Reading..
On September 1, 1865, Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood withdrew his troops from Atlanta, destroying supply depots and setting ablaze 81 railcars loaded with ammunition.
Major Robert “Robbie” Silas was arrested Monday night and booked into the Wilkes County jail, according to GBI officials.
Early Tuesday morning, he was seen being escorted out of the Wilkes County jail into a Richmond County patrol car. Jail personnel were seen holding blankets over Silas to cover him.
According to jail bookings, Silas is charged with pandering, solicitation for sodomy and violation of oath by public officer in Richmond County.
Silas is currently over the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Division.
Silas has been employed with the sheriff’s office since 1987.
Law enforcement sources say that agents from the GBI served a search warrant at Silas’s home in Hepzibah late Monday.
The sheriff’s office says it will release more information on Tuesday.
Two Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputies were arrested and fired over alleged misuse of Flock surveillance cameras, according to WRDW.
Investigator Sean Morrow and Deputy Jose Ferrer were charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office.
According to investigators, Morrow and Ferrer knowingly accessed the Flock License Plate Reader system to search license plate numbers for personal reasons. The searches were not connected to any active criminal investigation, call for service or intelligence gathering.
Morrow and Ferrer were booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center. After the arrests, both deputies were fired.
“Sheriff Eugene Brantley remains committed to ensuring the integrity and accountability of every member of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office,” the agency said in a statement. “Allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated, and employees found to have violated the law or agency policy will be held accountable.”
The investigation is ongoing, and officials have not released any further details.
This has been a recent problem in law enforcement across the county, including within the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office[.]
Tift County Sheriff Gene Scarbrough announced a deputy was demoted for misusing Flock surveillance cameras, according to WALB.
A Tift County deputy has been demoted, and his access to sensitive confidential data systems has been revoked after an internal investigation found he misused a law enforcement database, according to the Tift County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Gene Scarbrough said the issue was discovered after the sheriff’s office did audits of the data systems used by the agency.
According to the sheriff, discrepancies were found within the agency’s FLOCK system, prompting an internal investigation.
The investigation determined the deputy had misused the system by searching his personal data, the sheriff’s office said.
As a result, the deputy was demoted from a recent promotion; his access to all sensitive, confidential data systems was also revoked.
After the investigation, Sheriff Scarbrough said his administration issued a memo to the entire agency emphasizing a “zero-tolerance” policy for behavior that could damage the community’s trust.
Deputies were also told to review policies about confidential data systems and their proper use.
The sheriff’s office has not released additional details about what information was searched or whether the matter could result in any further disciplinary action.
Former Covington Police officer Michael Canty was arrested by the GBI for allegedly misusing Flock surveillance cameras, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday that Michael Canty, 29, of Covington, was arrested Aug. 26 and charged with misuse of a license plate reader system and violation of oath of office.
The Covington Police Department asked the GBI to investigate on Aug. 6 after allegations surfaced involving the department’s Flock Safety license plate reader system.
According to the GBI, preliminary information indicates Canty accessed the system for a purpose unrelated to law enforcement.
The GBI did not provide additional details about what information was accessed or how the system allegedly was misused.
Canty is a former Covington Police Department officer. Following his Aug. 26 arrest, he was booked into the Newton County Jail.
The GBI said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Once investigators finish their work, the case will be turned over to the Alcovy Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
An analyst with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department was fired for alleged misuse of Flock surveillance cameras, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
A crime analyst for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center was recently fired after authorities reported that he allegedly misused the Flock camera system.
The department began the crime center a year ago and hired Nick Barker as its crime and intelligence analyst. The system uses not only Flock cameras but other security cameras throughout the city to investigate criminal incidents.
Barker was relieved of his duties on Aug. 27, when police received a complaint from his ex-wife alleging he was misusing the Flock system, according to police. That led to an investigation and his subsequent firing.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been asked to investigate Barker’s use of the system. In addition, police said the department’s Office of Professional Standards will conduct an administrative investigation.
“Trust is the foundation of our relationship with the community we serve, and there is no greater responsibility than protecting that trust. I am deeply disappointed by the former employee’s actions and their impact on the confidence our community places in this department,” Athens-Clarke Police Chief Jerry Saulters said in a statement released about the investigation.
The chief said he is “committed to moving forward with a complete examination of ACCPD’s ALPR technology and how we use these systems.”
On Thursday, Georgia Agriculture announced the adoption of the EPA’s Aug. 20 national fuel waiver. It runs Tuesday, Sept. 1, through Sept. 15 and allows temporary flexibility on certain ethanol blending and volatility requirements to help increase fuel availability, prevent supply bottlenecks, and ease pressure on gas prices.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said “By adopting this federal waiver, we’re able to increase the available supply of fuel, while maintaining strict quality standards and certifying pumps across the state to ensure Georgians get what they pay for.”
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms wants to debate Republican Rick Jackson in Macon, according to 13WMAZ.
The Democratic candidate for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, is challenging her Republican opponent Rick Jackson to a debate in Macon, but there’s no word on whether Jackson will join.
On Monday, Bottoms’ campaign said she will participate in the “Middle Georgia Matters” debate on Sept. 17, saying that she wants voters across the state to hear from both Jackson and herself in one room.
“Georgians deserve to hear directly from candidates for public office with multiple debates around the state,” Bottoms said. “I’m ready to debate Rick Jackson in Atlanta, Macon and Savannah. It’s time for Slick Rick Jackson to stop hiding behind his billions of dollars made off of insider state contracts and to start debating the issues that matter to Georgia families.”
The announcement came with a slew of other debate opportunities, including debates in Savannah, Columbus and Atlanta.
But, in a response to the calls for a debate, Jackson’s campaign is throwing some cold water on the conversation.
They claim that Bottoms has been dodging debate requests for over a month, and questions the campaign’s intentions of the challenging Jackson to debate.
“Only the flailing campaign of a failed politician would spend more than six weeks ducking a debate, then suddenly demand six of them after Georgia begins to learn the truth about her disastrous record as mayor of Atlanta,” Jackson campaign spokesman Garrison Douglas said in a statement. “The fact is Keisha Lance Bottoms has become desperate and can’t talk her way out of what she did to Atlanta.”
Jackson has accepted one of the debates — a television town hall up in Atlanta — but it is unclear if he’s agreed to any of the other wdebates mentioned by Bottoms.
Bottoms says that she will take part in the following debates:
Middle Georgia Matters in Macon: Sept. 17
11Alive’s debate: Sept. 22 (simulcasted on 13WMAZ)
Atlanta News First: Oct. 6
WJCL’s debate in Savannah: Oct. 13
CNN’s nationally televised debate in Atlanta: TBD
13WMAZ reached out to Jackson’s press office to comment on whether they will take part in the Macon debate. They did not immediately respond.
It comes as the race for governor sits in a dead heat, according to some polls, with Bottoms and Jackson neck-and-neck.
Atlanta News First will host a debate between Ms. Bottoms and Mr. Jackson, according to WTOC.
WTOC’s sister station, Atlanta News First, announced Monday that it will host an exclusive, live gubernatorial town hall debate between Rick Jackson (R) and Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, at 8 p.m.
The one-hour debate will broadcast live from Assembly Studios, Gray Media’s state-of-the-art studio production facility in Atlanta. The event will follow a modified town hall format, giving undecided local voters the unique opportunity to ask questions directly to the candidates about the most pressing issues facing the community.
“By bringing undecided voters face-to-face with the candidates in a town hall format, we are ensuring that the questions that matter most to families in metro Atlanta are answered directly on our stage,” Schrader said. “We are proud to leverage the world-class production capabilities of Assembly Studios to deliver this vital civic broadcast.”
To provide comprehensive coverage, WTOC’s sister station will also produce dedicated 30-minute pre- and post-debate programs. “On the Record: Live,” hosted by Doug Reardon, will serve as the pre-debate show beginning at 7:30 p.m. and the post-debate analysis airing immediately following the debate at 9 p.m. Both programs will be available for all participating Georgia Gray stations to air or stream.
In Savannah, viewers can watch the debate live on WTOC or stream it live on WTOC+ on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV or the WTOC mobile app.
Bottoms, though, said one debate is not enough. She’s challenging her opponent to six total debates. In a Monday morning statement, Bottoms said, “Georgians deserve to hear directly from candidates for public office with multiple debates around the state It’s time for slick Rick Jackson to stop hiding.”
Thus far, Jackson has only committed to taking part in the Oct. 6 town hall.
The gubernatorial town hall debate is part of Atlanta News First’s robust election coverage. Just two nights later, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, Atlanta News First will also host and broadcast the highly anticipated, exclusive Georgia U.S. Senate debate between incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) and challenger U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R) live from Assembly Atlanta.
Additional details regarding voter participation, streaming access, and local broadcast listings for both events will be announced closer to the dates.
Bottoms, the Democratic nominee, and Jackson, the Republican nominee, have both agreed to two debates later this fall ahead of the Nov. 3 election, but multiple others have been agreed to by one candidate or the other.
Bottoms and Jackson have now both publicly agreed to two televised debates.
A town hall debate hosted by Atlanta News First will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, according to the news outlet, and streamed across all Gray Media stations in Georgia. The town hall style will allow undecided local voters to ask questions directly of the candidates.
They will also take the stage on Oct. 12 with the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young debate. It will be streamed live on YouTube and broadcast on Georgia Public Broadcasting at 8 p.m., and will last an hour.
Both candidates have stated they would participate in additional debates should the dates, times and rules be agreed upon.
Meanwhile, the Jackson campaign reported on their outreach efforts, according to the AJC.
The Republican nominee for governor said this morning his campaign has made 1.3 million voter-contact calls, knocked on 330,000 doors and sent 2.2 million nonautomated text messages since the general election began.
Now Jackson is layering a statewide coalition structure on top of that operation, naming 59 Georgians to leadership roles spanning 14 congressional districts and 13 constituency groups.
The effort is chaired by Nick Ayers, a veteran GOP mover-and-shaker with close ties to President Donald Trump. Longtime GOP activist Ginger Howard is a co-chair.
The broader roster includes current and former lawmakers, sheriffs, business leaders, veterans and party activists.
Among them are former U.S. Reps. Tom Price and Lynn Westmoreland; former Georgia Senate leaders Eric Johnson, John F. Kennedy and Butch Miller; and Joan Carr, the wife of Attorney General Chris Carr.
“This team is dedicated to helping to make sure that no matter their ZIP code or passions, Georgia voters are organized, energized, and turned out to vote and defeat Keisha Lance Bottoms this November,” the campaign said.
My dad has been making phone calls from home to voters for the Jackson campaign. I don’t remember him ever doing that before, despite being a life-long (at least during my lifetime) Republican.
Georgia voters will also decide three legislatively referred amendments. Each is a statewide yes-or-no choice so that they can draw support or opposition across party lines depending on concerns about public safety, tax policy, and judicial elections, noted Ballotpedia.
Here is a breakdown:
• The Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund would allow the state Legislature to dedicate revenue to a specialized emergency communications fund. It is primarily about allowing dedicated funding for communications upgrades.
• The Conservation Use Property Tax Amendment would raise the acreage limit for agricultural and timber land eligible for Georgia’s conservation-use tax assessment program from 2,000 to 4,000 acres. It asks voters whether larger landowners should be eligible to enroll more acreage under a favorable tax-assessment program for the purposes of conservation. Voter approval is required for legislation concerning property tax exemptions.
• The Nonpartisan Probate Judge Elections would require probate judges to be elected in nonpartisan elections rather than by party affiliation. The probate-judge proposal would align probate elections with the nonpartisan structure already used for other Georgia judicial offices, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Ocmulgee Mounds National Park Redesignation Act by U.S. Rep Austin Scott (R-Tifton) and others would create a new National Park, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Representative Austin Scott introduced the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park Redesignation Act, or House Resolution 9416, earlier this summer on June 24. The bill, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Sanford Bishop and other Georgia lawmakers, was brought before the House Federal Lands subcommittee on July 1, where Bishop testified the bill was a “small, albeit meaningful step forward.”
HR 9416 elevates the status of the park from a “national historical park” to the typically more renowned “national park,” but does not include language about the establishment of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Preserve.
In previous bills, the boundaries of the proposed preserve encompassed 25,000 acres through Twiggs and Houston counties that followed the Ocmulgee River floodplain, according to prior Telegraph reporting.
The elimination of the preserve also removes the addition of co-management of the park between the National Park Service and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The federal government must consult the tribe on changes to the land, but co-management would give more authority in decision making to Muscogee (Creek) leadership.
“Where we’re at, this version of the bill stripped down, unfortunately, is probably our best chance under this administration,” said Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative chief executive officer Tracie Revis, whose advocacy organization assisted in drafting the bill. “If that’s the best we’re going to get out of it, then let’s run with it and still keep momentum going.”
At the end of the Biden administration, Senate Bill 4216, entitled “Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act”, made it out of committee and was added to the legislative calendar, ready to be heard on the Senate floor.
Disaster relief legislation after Hurricane Helene took priority, however, and the bill was pushed to the side as the congressional session ended. The same bill was introduced by Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in 2025 during the new session, but a new administration created new barriers.
Revis points to the Trump administration’s priority to limit the expansion of federal lands as the primary reason for cutting the preserve out of the new bill.
National Park Service associate director Mike Caldwell said in a December 2025 hearing that the agency opposed Senate Bill 1131 because its focus was on maintaining the current sites rather than expanding.
“They didn’t oppose the bill as a whole. They didn’t oppose the merits of the bill, the reasoning behind the bill,” Revis said. “They just opposed the idea of expansion of any federal property.”
It is unclear whether a companion bill without the preserve will be introduced in the Senate, especially as Ossoff campaigns against Republican Mike Collins for his Senate seat ahead of the November election.
Suburban Democratic candidates are linking their Republican opponents to national GOP priorities, according to the AJC.
Two of their top recruits, Adam Cleveland and Beth Fuller, offered a glimpse last weekend of how they plan to make that case.
At a fundraiser at an Alpharetta diner, Cleveland and Fuller repeatedly argued that voters should judge GOP incumbents not by their brands, but by their party’s policies.
Cleveland, a lawyer challenging Republican state Rep. Scott Hilton, framed Georgia’s 2019 anti-abortion law as an example of GOP power run amok.
“Our Republican colleagues lack the most important tool necessary for a fix,” Cleveland said. “The right tool for this job is a spine.”
Fuller, running against GOP state Rep. Deborah Silcox, came at the argument through public health, relying on her background as a contractor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She described losing her job amid federal cutbacks and watching the agency where she worked for a decade come under attack.
“The Legislature right now are moving us backwards. It’s time to move forward and to do that, we have to vote Democratic,” she said.
The strategy comes with a complication.
Silcox was one of the few House Republicans who voted against Georgia’s 2019 anti-abortion law. Hilton wasn’t serving in the Legislature when it passed.
So Democrats can’t simply cast either Republican as an architect of the law, even if they’ve supported many of Gov. Brian Kemp’s other priorities.
Instead, they’re making a broader argument that if suburban voters oppose the Republican agenda, they should hold the incumbents responsible for keeping the GOP in power.
“Their opponents are telling the world they’re moderates,” state Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, said of the Republican incumbents. “I don’t believe that. They sure don’t act like it with their votes. They sure don’t act like it with their policies.”
Augusta City Commissioners continue working on a data center ordinance, according to WRDW.
Augusta leaders extended a pause on data center development to gather public feedback on a proposed data center ordinance.
Residents shared their input at a meeting Monday night.
The proposed rules would require a 500-foot buffer between data centers and residential or agricultural property. The draft also sets a 65-decibel noise limit at the property line. The ordinance would require data centers to use closed-loop cooling systems and would ban private wells at the sites.
The QTS data center adjacent to the Haynes Station neighborhood will not be subject to whatever rules come out of this process. Future data centers would have to adhere to the guidelines.
Meanwhile, Mayor-elect Steven Kendrick weighed in on a data ordinance.
Kendrick said Augusta should use the public meetings to hear residents’ concerns and continue on its path of developing a strong, enforceable ordinance that allows the city to consider responsible datacenter development without compromising its neighborhoods, natural resources or taxpayers.
“Augusta should not give every data center an automatic yes, but we also should not give an entire industry an automatic no, either” Kendrick said. “Our responsibility in government is to establish strict standards, identify appropriate locations and determine whether a proposed project provides a genuine long-term benefit to our community.”
Kendrick said an Augusta ordinance should restrict data centers to carefully selected areas and require substantial buffers, enforceable noise limits, water-use restrictions and reporting, responsible cooling technology, stormwater and wetlands protections, generator and emissions controls, and safeguards against infrastructure costs being shifted to residents.
Data center developers should also be required to fund independent environmental, infrastructure and fiscal-impact reviews, he said.
Any tax or development agreement should include guaranteed annual payments, clear performance requirements, clawback provisions, decommissioning security, public compliance reporting and consultation with the Richmond County School System, he said.
Statesboro’s mayor and council are proposing an increase in the city’s property tax rate stated as producing an almost 34% tax increase, with three public hearings to be held Sept. 8 and Sept. 15. City Manager Charles Penny says the increase is needed to fund the Statesboro Fire Department after the loss of other sources.
All three hearings will be held in the council chambers at City Hall. The first two are scheduled for noon and 6 p.m. on Sept. 8. The last hearing is set for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, also the start time of the regular meeting at which council can act to set the millage rate.
In the city government’s explanations, the main reason for the tax increase was last year’s split with the county over funding the fire service. Since July 1, 2025, the county government has used the revenue from its own fire service property tax exclusively to fund the Bulloch County Fire Department, expanded to serve the entire county outside Statesboro. So the county no longer pays a share to the city, whose SFD previously provided primary response into the unincorporated area for five miles from the two long-established Statesboro fire stations.
“All of that is because of the cost of fire. …,” Penny said in a phone interview Monday. “We added no new employees (in any department), and the cost of the fire (service) was almost $3 million.”
If property values had remained the same, the proposed not quite 1-mill (0.975-mill) increase in the city’s tax rate to 9.6 mills from the 2024 and 2025 rate of 8.625 mills would be an 11.3% hike. But under the Georgia law known as the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, local governments must reduce their millage to counteract inflation in assessed property values or advertise any resulting increase as the full difference between the new rate and the potential “rollback rate.”
Three public hearings are then required before the governing board, in this case City Council, adopts a tax increase. Statesboro’s city rollback rate this year, as determined by the Bulloch County Board of Tax Assessors staff, would have been 7.165 mills. So, the net increase based on the rollback rate as advertised in the city’s “notice of property tax increase,” on page 8A of the Aug. 27 Statesboro Herald, is 33.98%.
A mill is $1 tax on each $1,000 worth of property as assessed for taxes, and most property in Georgia is assessed at 40% of its county-appraised market value.
Based on supposedly average-value properties, the following examples for the cost of the tax increase were cited in the city notices. The tax on an owner-occupied home with a fair market value of $255,000 and the standard homestead exemption will be approximately $243.50 higher with the proposed 9.6-mill rate than it would have been at the rollback rate. The tax for a non-homestead property with a $375,000 fair market value will be approximately $365.25 higher than it would have been if the city adopted the rollback rate, according to the notices.
That article does an excellent job of explaining the property tax procedures.
Effingham County Board of Education members voted to reduce their property tax millage rate, according to WTOC.
The Effingham County Board of Education voted unanimously Monday morning to lower the school district’s millage rate to 16.45 mills, delivering another property tax rollback to local residents.
The decision represents a significant drop from the previous rate of 18.018 mills. Prior to that, the millage rate sat at 18.45 mills.
School officials said the deeper tax cut was directly funded by proceeds from the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority’s (ECIDA) recent land sale to artificial intelligence research company OpenAI.
“By leveraging the proceeds from the OpenAI transaction, we are in a unique position to deliver meaningful tax relief to our community while maintaining our high standards of academic excellence,” Effingham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford said. “Our priorities remain supporting our educators and students, and easing the financial burden on our residents.”
The lower rate will apply to the 2026 property tax year.
Governor Brian Kemp appointed two new Gwinnett County Superior Court Judges, according to AccessNorthGA.
Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed Veronica H. Cope and Kathrine M. Armstrong to the Superior Court of the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit.
A press release from Kemp’s office said Cope will fill the seat left vacant by the death of Superior Court Judge Deborah Fluker. Armstrong’s appointment is tied to changes made under House Bill 1215, which became law as Act 450 in 2026.
Cope has served as a judge on the Gwinnett County State Court since being elected in 2020. Before taking the bench, she practiced law for nearly 20 years, handling commercial litigation, insurance defense, felony criminal cases and juvenile matters.
She previously served as president of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers and has been involved with several legal and civic organizations in Gwinnett County. She has received the Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award and the Kathleen Kessler Award from the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.
Cope earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with distinction. She received her law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. She lives in Gwinnett County and has three sons.
Armstrong has served as chief judge of Gwinnett County Recorder’s Court since 2019. A lifelong Gwinnett County resident, she began her legal career in the Gwinnett County Solicitor-General’s Office before moving into private practice, where she focused on family and criminal law.
Armstrong is the daughter of the late Mark E. Layng, who served as a Gwinnett County magistrate judge, and the granddaughter of the late John C. Layng, a former Superior Court judge in Northern Illinois.
She earned degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia and her law degree from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. She attended law school while working full-time as a legal assistant in the Solicitor-General’s Office. Armstrong is also a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett’s Class of 2022. Armstrong and her husband, Greg, have two children.
An agreement to resolve a federal lawsuit brought by Georgia and other states and U.S. jurisdictions would require Meta to impose new limits on teen accounts on its social media platforms while also giving parents the option for more control.
The operator of Facebook and Instagram also agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to the plaintiffs as part of the settlement proposal filed Wednesday in federal district court in California.
The proceeds would be shared among 47 states, Washington, D.C. and several U.S. territories, with Georgia to receive between $100 million and $135 million, state Attorney General Chris Carr’s office said.
Carr called it a landmark agreement, suggesting in a statement that there could be future cases, “and while Meta is the first to come to the table, they shouldn’t be the last. It shouldn’t take lawsuits, legislation or investigations to do the right thing.”
The lawsuit grew from a bipartisan, nationwide investigation that alleged Meta had designed Instagram to addict children despite the resulting mental health harms the company documented but did not publicly disclose, Carr’s office said.
The settlement also would resolve claims against Meta for sharing nonpublic information about Facebook users with Cambridge Analytica and others ahead of the 2016 election.
The leader of Fairplay, a Boston-based organization that has pressured state and federal lawmakers to act, heralded the settlement as a “watershed moment” protecting children from “addictive and dangerously designed social media.”
Still, Fairplay Executive Director Josh Golin said the court agreement did not exact enough concessions from Meta.
“We are disappointed that the settlement does not turn off by default recommendation algorithms that connect kids to predators and send young people down dangerous rabbit holes,” Golin said in a statement. “In general, the settlement is too focused on offering parents tools rather than restricting harmful features.”
The agreement calls on Meta to limit teen access to its platforms to two hours per day with access restricted from midnight to 6 a.m. and to restrict notifications during school hours. It also would limit features linked to eroding mental health, such as plastic surgery filters and “like” counts.
Meta already bans accounts for those under 13. The settlement would require the company to implement better processes to identify users that young and delete their accounts.
The agreement also would require that Meta encourage parents of teens ages 13 to 17 to take supervisory control over their children’s accounts.
Parents who take that step would be notified if their child communicates with another adult on the platform or engages in repeated searches for terms related to suicide, self-harm or eating disorders.
Meta would also have to give teens a “reasonably accessible” option to turn off algorithmic feeds, something parents could also control if their child’s account was enrolled in parental supervision. The account would then be restricted to content from accounts the teen follows, in chronological order.
Child-protection advocates were disappointed that those features required parents to opt in.
“If it’s not a default, it doesn’t get picked up,” said Sharon Winkler. “That’s pretty weak.”
Winkler has testified before the Georgia General Assembly about the risks of unbridled child access to social media.
Her son, Alex Peiser, died by suicide at age 17 in 2014, and she blames the Instagram algorithm that she said sent him dark memes, such as images of corpses, after he broke up with his girlfriend.
“He didn’t want to see pro-suicide stuff,” she said. “He wanted breakup songs” and support.
Winkler was also disappointed that the protections against child-adult interactions were optional rather than automatic.
“Good start but much more work to go,” she said.
Under the terms of the agreement, the settlement funds could pay for a variety of services, including crisis intervention, after-school or summer programs, youth mental health programming, outdoor activities, and investigations and litigation to improve teen safety on social media.
A spokeswoman for Carr’s office said Georgia’s proceeds would go into the state treasury.
An Albany Herald analysis of foreclosure-sale advertisements across 39 southwest Georgia counties identified 604 advertisements from January through June 2026, compared with 395 during the same six months of 2025 — an increase of 52.9%.
That increase almost exactly mirrors a statewide trend independently identified by ATTOM, a national real estate data company.
ATTOM reported 8,433 Georgia properties with foreclosure filings during the first half of 2026, up 52.4% from the same period last year. That was the third-largest year-over-year percentage increase among states with at least 500 filings.
Georgia also had the nation’s 11th-highest foreclosure rate during the first half of the year, with 0.19% of the state’s housing units — about one in every 539 — receiving a foreclosure filing.
The two datasets measure different things. ATTOM counts properties receiving default notices, scheduled-auction notices or bank repossessions and attempts to count each property once. The Herald analysis tracks residential notices advertising properties for foreclosure sale under Georgia’s nonjudicial foreclosure process.
But the nearly identical year-over-year increases provide independent evidence that what is happening in southwest Georgia is part of a broader statewide shift.
ATTOM reported 4,549 Georgia properties with some type of foreclosure filing during the first quarter, up 77.8% from the first quarter of 2025. Foreclosure proceedings were started on 4,356 properties.
By June, 1,328 Georgia properties received foreclosure filings, equivalent to one in every 3,420 housing units.
The most dramatic increase among the Albany area’s two largest housing markets was in Dougherty County.
The Herald analysis identified 94 unique residential properties advertised for foreclosure from January through August, compared with 50 during the same period last year and 44 in 2024.
Tariffs on Canadian goods may cause issues for South Georgia, according to WRDW.
A Georgia cattle farmer and local economists are warning that retaliatory tariffs will ultimately hurt consumers’ wallets, driving up the cost of everyday goods from fuel to food.
As trade negotiations continue, supporters and critics are divided over whether the long-term impact will help or devastate American businesses.
“Everything, whether it’s tariffs or whatever they do, it’s going to end up back on the consumer,” said Scott Craig, a cattle farmer at Family Roots Farm.
Craig said rising costs for fertilizer, fuel and equipment are already squeezing his bottom line, leaving him with few options but to pass those expenses along.
Georgia is facing pressure as Canada targets state exports, including steel, lumber and pecans, in its retaliatory tariffs.
“I haven’t seen a business in Georgia say, ‘These tariffs have been awesome for me,’” said Tom Smith, an economist at Emory University.
Smith warned that the potential impact on local businesses could be catastrophic, potentially forcing some out of business because northern buyers may stop purchasing their products. He added that business owners watching this unfold in real time are left feeling overlooked.
“That person is going to be freaking out saying, ‘Why doesn’t anybody care about me?’” Smith said.
The Trump administration maintains that the trade measures will ultimately serve American agricultural interests.
“I think this is going to be very positive for the American farmers,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Last year, Georgia exported a record $60.3 billion in goods, with Canada accounting for $6.8 billion—roughly 11% of the state’s total exports.
Despite the shifting landscape, some business leaders remain optimistic about the state’s ability to adapt.
“Georgia businesses have remained resilient and nimble through evolving trade negotiations,” said Daniela Perry of the Georgia Chamber Foundation.
But back on the farm, Craig said consumers are already feeling the pinch directly where it hurts most.
“They also have to see their food bill going up every week they go to the grocery store,” Craig said.
Higher gas prices since the U.S. attacks on Iran have cost Georgians $1.4 billion dollars, according to the AJC.
Georgians have spent an extra $1.4 billion on gasoline since the start of the Iran war in late February, putting additional financial pressure on households and businesses, according to an analysis from Brown University.
Higher gas prices have contributed to persistent inflation, strained some household budgets and made it more costly to do business.
“For me, it’s another thing that should not be as expensive as it is,” Decatur resident John Mead said at a gas pump Thursday near the former North DeKalb Mall. “When you add it all up, you’re like, ‘Where’s all my money?’ Between healthcare, gas, food, it costs a lot to live.”
In metro Atlanta, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.81 as of Thursday, according to AAA data. That’s up $1 per gallon since the war started.
On Thursday, the state Department of Agriculture announced it has adopted a recent federal fuel waiver to increase supply.
“As high fuel prices persist, we’re taking action to give Georgians a break at the gas pump,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, who is running for reelection in November, said in a news release. “By adopting this federal waiver, we’re able to increase the available supply of fuel, while maintaining strict quality standards and certifying pumps across the state to ensure Georgians get what they pay for.”
Larger companies also have reported rising fuel costs. Home Depot recently said it would use $730 million in tariff refunds it received from the federal government to largely offset “cost pressures related to fuel, energy and other product input costs,” according to a second-quarter conference call.
The Brown research focused on gasoline and household impacts. Diesel prices, meanwhile, have been disrupted not only by the Iran war but also Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries.
On Thursday, the average price for a gallon of diesel in metro Atlanta was nearly $5.47, pennies away from the highest-ever recorded price in June 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. On an inflation-adjusted basis, however, the price in today’s dollars would have to be about $6.25 a gallon for diesel to eclipse the prices of four years ago.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Larry Walker (R-Perry) said legislators should be thinking about Flock surveillance cameras, according to 13WMAZ.
As the debate over Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), such as Flock cameras, continues in Georgia Senator Larry Walker from Perry says lawmakers need to be prepared and informed before the next legislative session in January.
“We like to do things based on facts and data in the Georgia Senate and introduce legislation that is reasonable, responsible, and meaningful,” Walker said.
Walker drafted a letter to leaders of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association and the Association of Chiefs of Police this month. It calls for lawmakers, law enforcement, and the public to start having conversations about ALPRs and how the legislature should go about regulating them. He says he’s heard concerns surround the cameras from both constituents and law enforcement.
“I’ve talked to sheriffs in particular that have had some problems in their department and are concerned, they want to be able to continue to have this tool, but they want to be sure it’s used properly,” Walker said. “We want to have the actual facts. We want to talk to the relevant parties and do it the right way.”
Walker’s letter also includes some questions about ALPRs, like who should have access to camera data, and whether citizens have a say before local leaders decide to install cameras. Walker says he’s hoping to have some answers before the 2027 legislative session, when laws surrounding ALPRs may come to the floor.
Walker says he wants to support law enforcement, but he knows there are serious concerns about privacy. In Central Georgia and across the state, there have been over a dozen cases involving charges of Flock camera misuse by law enforcement.
“We’ve got to walk that balance between being responsible about people’s privacy and also keeping the community safe,” Walker said.
Walker isn’t the only one encouraging conversations about Flock.
Senator John Albers announced Tuesday lawmakers created a task force with law enforcement to take a closer look at the cameras and figure out how to regulate them before any legislation hits the Senate floor.
“We have to be smart and have a balanced approach,” Albers told 11Alive Tuesday. “We have to be smart and thoughtful. While there were issues and actions that happened that we do not like and were wrong, we also have to point out the positives.”
Meanwhile, Walker agrees that balance is best practice. As Georgia moves closer to the 2027 legislative session, he says both law enforcement and the public should have a chance to make their voices heard.
“I hope we’ll, like we generally do, reach a common-sense, balanced approach,” Walker said.
Any legislation regarding ALPRs would be introduced during the 2027 legislative session.
Parents in crisis will soon have a new way to safely surrender a newborn in Georgia.
Georgia’s first Safe Haven Baby Box will open Friday at Henry County Fire Station 6, 30 Fairview Road in Ellenwood.
The climate-controlled device allows a parent to anonymously surrender a newborn at any time. Once the exterior door is closed, it locks and alerts first responders.
“These are what we do, saving lives and we have the opportunity to save the life of our smallest ones,” Henry County Fire Chief Pat Wilson said.
The box became legal under House Bill 350, which took effect July 1. Wilson said the effort to legalize baby boxes began in Henry County, and the fire station’s location near major roads and interstates will make it accessible to parents in crisis.
“It’s all anonymous, they can come up to that door — once they open that door they place the baby inside the box, they close the door, that box is locked, the only way to access the child is from inside the building,” Wilson said.
Opening the exterior door triggers an alarm for firefighters and 911 dispatchers. Police are also notified, and dispatchers can monitor the inside of the box through a camera. The department’s goal is to reach a surrendered newborn within five minutes and take the child to a hospital for additional care.
“To ensure one, the baby is being cared for properly, get them to the hospital get them that additional care,” Wilson said.
Stockbridge resident Amie Anderson spent years advocating for the law, which was co-sponsored by state Sen. Brian Strickland. Wilson said that history makes Henry County a fitting location for Georgia’s first box.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes, the Indiana-based nonprofit behind the program, says 27 states have operating baby boxes. Georgia will join that group Friday. The organization, which works to prevent infant abandonment, has installed more than 400 boxes nationwide since 2016 and operates a 24/7 call and text hotline for parents seeking information about safely and legally surrendering an infant.
The Henry County box cost about $25,000. Wilson said Stockbridge Community Church paid for it and will cover monitoring costs for the next 10 years.
“They’re paying for the monitoring, everything for the next 10 years for this box, that is so incredible,” Wilson said.
Henry County hopes to install five baby boxes over the next two years.
“To step up and say we need to have this in our community as well, so we ensure the state of Georgia that every child is safe,” Wilson said.
Under Georgia law, parents may surrender newborns up to 30 days old at hospitals, police stations and fire stations without facing criminal charges.
A blessing ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday at Fire Station 6.
Colquitt County was able to lower property taxes because of the Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST) passed by voters, according to the Moultrie Observer.
Colquitt County’s decrease in millage rate was attributed to the collection of FLOST over the last five months. This year’s millage rate is 6.717 for unincorporated areas and 9.518 for incorporated areas. In comparison, last year’s millage rate was 9.197 for unincorporated and 11.767 for incorporated.
When County Administrator Chas Cannon first presented the proposed property tax rates at a commission meeting earlier this month, he said, “You can see the impact of FLOST, there, on the incorporated, unincorporated. Pretty steep reduction. We expect that to go further next year.”
The Colquitt County Board of Commissioners adopted the millage rates at their Aug. 25 meeting, a day after the Colquitt County School Board adopted its rates.
The Colqiutt County Board of Education adopted its millage rate as 7.721 on Aug. 24. The City of Moultrie’s proposed millage rate is 6.071, and the council is expected to adopt it Sept. 15.
The Georgia State Transportation Board elected its new executive leadership team at its monthly board meeting Aug. 20.
Dennis McEntire, representing Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District, was elected chair; Tim Golden, representing Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, was elected vice chair; and Cathy Williams, representing Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, was elected secretary.
The new positions are effective immediately. Board elections are held annually to ensure all regions of the state are represented at the executive leadership level of the board.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) is financially mismatched in his Senate campaign against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, but GOP groups are stepping up, according to the AJC.
He had $2.1 million in cash on hand as of June 30, according to his most recent campaign finance filing. Ossoff had $42.6 million, and he possibly raked in millions more after his comments regarding a top aide to President Donald Trump went viral.
Put another way, Ossoff has raised more money this campaign cycle than any other federal candidate nationally, while Collins barely makes the top 50 among Senate candidates.
But help is on the way. The Senate Leadership Fund, a political committee controlled by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, has committed to spending $44 million in Georgia in hopes of defeating Ossoff.
The Senate Leadership Fund will spend most of the money pledged to boost his campaign on TV and digital ads starting around Labor Day, although a portion will also be dedicated to polling and other voter outreach like mail.
A related advocacy group, One Nation, recently put out an ad accusing Ossoff of raising taxes on Georgians by voting against the One Big, Beautiful Bill, which contained a series of targeted tax breaks. That group has pledged $15 million, which will almost all be spent on attack ads.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s official campaign arm for Senate races, said it is taking advantage of a recent court ruling that allows political parties to coordinate more extensively with campaigns. A spokesperson for the group declined to share specifics about how that will play out in Georgia but said it is taking place.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms campaigned for Governor in Columbus, according to WTVM.
Bottoms held a “meet and greet” at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, where voters had a chance to hear her vision for the state of Georgia.
Bottoms said some of her main priorities are lowering healthcare and housing costs, expanding Medicaid and fully funding public schools.
“I want be the favorite Governor of everybody who wants better in this state and that begins with all of us. This election is not about perfection, but this election is about choices we have for us,” Bottoms said.
Bottoms is facing Republican Rick Jackson for Georgia’s top job. Jackson made a campaign stop in Columbus a couple of weeks ago. He said his top priorities are aggressive tax relief, cost of living affordability and cracking down on illegal immigration.
Both candidates are expected to make more stops in Columbus as the campaigning continues.
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen (R-Augusta) announced Community Office Hours for September, according to WRDW.
During the events, Allen’s staff will be available to assist constituents with issues involving FEMA, social security, veterans affairs, Medicare and other federal agencies.
Allen will not be in attendance, but his caseworkers will be on-site to meet individually with residents.
“If you need assistance dealing with a federal agency, our dedicated caseworkers stand ready to help you. Please visit my team during Community Office Hours in September or contact one of our district offices for more information,” said Allen said in a statement.
Columbia County says a deal with Google may lower property taxes over time, according to WRDW.
A deal between Google, the Columbia County Development Authority and the county itself for a $17 billion data center investment has been approved, county officials said.
Columbia County has approved a memorandum of understanding for the project, which officials say could eventually help eliminate a portion of homeowners’ property tax bills.
The Economic Development Authority of Columbia County approved the agreement, representing a commitment of at least $17 billion, one of the largest private investments in county history.
County Manager Scott Johnson said the county will receive $40 million a year from Google for seven years. The Development Authority will receive about $5 million a year.
“It gives us the opportunity to be able to fully fund the homestead tax relief grant. Should the voters approve that in November, we’ll be able to fully fund that grant,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the agreement allows property tax relief to begin in year one. The county expects the first check at the end of this year or early next year.
“We made certain promises to our taxpayers, and we let Google know in advance that they were gonna have to do certain things to be able to do business in Columbia County. And property tax relief was at the forefront of that. So we negotiated a deal that’s probably never been negotiated before,” Johnson said.
Johnson said this is the first deal like this he’s seen made between a data center company and a local government with this large of a fee structure. The project is set to be one of the largest of its kind in the country.
“I don’t know that anybody’s ever worked with their development authority as close as we did here in Columbia County to find a legal way to get those fees back in the hands of the taxpayers through property tax relief,” Johnson said.
County Commission Chairman Doug Duncan has said the county’s goal in attracting data centers is to eliminate its share of homestead property taxes. The County currently collects around $25 million a year in those taxes. The $40 million would go towards alleviating that.
Full relief won’t come to homeowners immediately. Voters will decide in November whether the money can be used to reduce their property taxes.
There is currently an $18,000 cap on tax relief each home can receive. The county is lobbying the state for a constitutional amendment to remove that cap.
“Changing Georgia’s constitution is extremely difficult to do. It requires a lot of heavy lifting. But again, if a county is sitting with millions of dollars in the bank that they want to give back to their constituents, I mean, why would our legislature or why would our voting public not approve that?” Johnson said.
Johnson said the state provides a $2,000 homestead credit, and the county added an $8,000 credit last year, bringing the total to $10,000. House Bill 439, if approved for Columbia County’s use in November, adds an $18,000 credit, for $28,000 total off a home’s assessed value. That constitutional amendment would eliminate that cap, allowing for full relief.
“I’d be extremely disappointed if the voters didn’t pass House Bill 439, because that’s exactly what they asked us to do: find a mechanism to be able to provide this tax relief. If they vote that down, we do not have a vehicle anymore. We can’t give the money back,” Johnson said.
Johnson said data center zoning in Columbia County makes up less than 3% of the county’s total landmass.
Johnson said the property taxes the data center will pay when it’s fully built will be substantial, estimating several billion dollars over 25 years. The county currently takes in $42 million in total property taxes.
Johnson mentioned raising salaries for firefighters, deputies and government employees, along with building and maintaining parks with the additional money. How that money will be used long-term hasn’t been determined.
Johnson also said the school system could do something similar to alleviate school board taxes in the County, lobbying for a bill and constitutional amendment on their own.
When News 12 asked the Columbia County Board of Education if they planned on pursuing this, they replied, “We greatly appreciate the support and collaboration of our local and state government leaders and delegates. We look forward to exploring future funding opportunities that could provide meaningful relief for taxpayers.”
The Development Authority also says it will invest the funds it receives from this deal back into the community for economic development.
County officials have said additional details on a comprehensive tax relief plan will be announced as the process continues.
If you’re trying to build a data center in Georgia, this is the way.
Savannah City Council voted to adopt a 155-day moratorium on new data centers, according to WSAV.
Savannah City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a 155-day moratorium on large-scale data center developments in the city.
The moratorium puts a temporary pause on large data center projects, including plans to convert large warehouses or industrial buildings into data centers.
Mayor Van Johnson said the pause will give city leaders time to better understand what large-scale data centers could mean for Savannah.
“Before Savannah approves facilities of this scale, we have to fully understand what this means for our electrical grid, for our water sources, for our infrastructure capacity, our land use, what it means for our neighborhoods, and our taxpayers,” he said. “We need to fully understand how many permanent jobs actually create and what public resources they actually require and whether the economic benefits are worth it over long-term impacts.”
The 155-day moratorium gives city leaders time to review Savannah’s current zoning ordinances and determine whether changes are needed before more data center developments move forward.
The decision comes as local leaders face growing pressure from technology companies looking to expand, as well as plans for data center construction in neighboring areas like Effingham County. Currently, there are 235 active data centers in Georgia, with more than 4,700 operating nationwide and another 750 planned.
The newly passed ordinance places a temporary ban on:
• Data center developments with an electrical capacity of 10 Megawatts or greater.
• Industrial buildings of 200,000 square feet or more being built or converted for data center use.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who discussed the potential moratorium during his weekly press conference earlier this week, reiterated his long-held stance that massive data centers do not belong inside Savannah’s city limits.
“We need to fully understand how many jobs one can create, what public resources are required and whether the economic benefits are worth the long-term impacts,” Mayor Johnson said.
While the moratorium temporarily protects the city from new projects, city leaders acknowledged that they will continue to face expansion pressure from the tech sector as they work to establish permanent guidelines.
District 3 Commissioner Gregg Poole started off by announcing they would be extending a moratorium on data centers and detention centers by another 180-days, putting it on the agenda after the public hearing.
The board voted 5-0.
The public hearing at the last voting meeting on Aug. 14 got heated, with many citizens feeling the ordinance on data centers did not go far enough, with some wanting an outright ban.
A similar 180-day moratorium was approved on Feb. 26 of this year. 181 days have lapsed since then.
That [new] moratorium will run until Feb. 23 of 2027.
Tybee Island City Council voted to amend their Short Term Vacation Rentals ordinance, according to WTOC.
The changes include dividing the island into sectors and placing caps on short-term rentals in specific areas to allow growth in some zones while protecting others.
Additionally, the updated ordinance requires properties to designate emergency contacts to address issues immediately or face a fine. It is a move that residents hope will help with enforcement and curb violations from property owners.
The new ordinance is set to take effect Jan. 1. City leaders said this will allow property owners and management companies time to comply.
Both Bibb County Commissioners and school leaders are considering maintain their millage rates, which could mean higher property taxes for some Bibb County homeowners.
The Bibb County School District is currently sitting at a millage rate of 14.674 mills, the same as last year. The Bibb County Commission is sitting at a rate of 9.575 mills, also the same as last year. With increased property values, the district would increase property taxes by 9.33% for the average homeowner. On the Commission side, the average homeowner would see a 9.28% increase.
That means a homeowner with a $200,000 property value could pay an additional $150 in property taxes next year.
For some homeowners, the potential increases are concerning. Faye Sanders has owned her home in Macon for 25 years.
“Everybody’s already struggling now as a whole,” Sanders said. “That’s taking away from your groceries, that’s taking away from your extra change, your gas that you got to use to get to work. So now look at transportation, how you gonna get your transportation because now you’re using your extra money to go towards that?”
On the school side, the district is facing a $15 million budget deficit. Board President Daryl Morton says about eight million of that deficit is state-mandated expenses, like literacy coaches and employee health insurance, which a tax increase could help eliminate.
On the county side, Mayor Lester Miller says the county is operating on a tight budget, and has made difficult cuts on their end. In the past, he says the county has been able to roll back their millage rate to keep up with rising home values. However, higher operating costs made that difficult this year.
“We’re not able to roll the millage rate back again, because we would have to cut services to do so,” Miller said.
Miller says the commission is prioritizing funding public services, especially public safety in the 2027 fiscal year.
In November, Bibb voters will have the chance to vote on homestead tax exemptions for seniors citizens 65 and older, which Miller is looking forward to offering for taxpayers.
But for now, Miller says they need to maintain the millage rate to continue providing services to Bibb.
“We can’t continue to pay our officers, and our public safety pay and meet all the obligations for citizens that they want for our streets and for our parks and whatever expenses we may have by not increasing the millage rate at all,” Miller said.
The Hall County Board of Commissioners has approved the millage rate increase 14.12% higher than the rollback rate.
Heated discussions took place at the first public hearing on Aug. 14, with the rate for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 being proposed at 3.565 mills.
Hall County Director of Financial Services Taylor Samples has said that the increase did not show the full story, noting that decreases in special tax districts will make the overall millage rate go down.
The only increase will be seen by Gainesville property taxpayers.
Richmond County Board of Education lowered the property tax millage rate, according to WRDW.
Richmond County property owners won’t see a school tax rate increase this year, according to the Richmond County Board of Education.
The board says the school millage rate will drop slightly from 18.74 in the current budget year to 18.252 for the next one — a reduction of 0.488 mills.
Board leaders say they know many families are feeling financial pressure and wanted to avoid adding to the burden through higher school taxes.
“Our absolute highest priority is providing a top-quality education for every student in Richmond County while remaining fiercely protective of our community’s hard-earned money,” Board President Shawnda Stovall said in a statement.
She said the board is looking for ways to run the district more efficiently instead of raising the tax rate, and that they “hear” and “value” local taxpayers.
The board says it will continue to focus on:
• Keeping its finances transparent.
• Supporting students and schools responsibly.
• Acting as a careful steward of public funds.
