Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 18, 2025

On August 18, 1591,the English settlement at Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of what is now North Carolina was found deserted.

On August 18, 1795, President George Washington signed a treaty with Great Britain called the Jay Treaty, after Supreme Court Justice John Jay who negotiated it. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison led opposition to the treaty.

On August 18, 1862, Confederate Major General of Cavalry J.E.B. Stuart was nearly captured, losing his distinctive hat and cloak and written copies of Lee’s orders near Verdiersville, Virginia.

The Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution urging the creation of a federal Health Department on August 18, 1908.

On August 18, 1916, the Cherokee Rose was designated the official state flower of Georgia by a joint resolution of the State House and Senate.

The practice of tipping service employees was outlawed by legislation signed on August 18, 1918.

Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey signed legislation regulating the practice of architecture and licensing practitioners on August 18, 1919.

The Georgia Board of Public Welfare was also created on August 18, 1919 when Gov. Dorsey signed legislation establishing that body and a companion bill that created the Community Service Commission.

Tennessee became the 36th state and the final state whose ratification was required to adopt the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920, which reads:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

On August 18, 1924, Gov. Clifford Walker signed legislation that would allow a referendum on a Constitutional Amendment to allow Atlanta, Savannah, or Macon to consolidate their respective municipal governments with their county governments. Macon-Bibb County merged in 2014 after voters passed a referendum in July 2012.

The Beatles played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on August 18, 1965. AtlantaTimeMachine.com has a couple images from the night.

On August 18, 1991, hardline Commies in the Soviet Union arrested Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev as part of a coup against Gorbachev’s reforms.

On August 18, 2015, Jeb Bush visited The Varsity in Atlanta. Here’s the funniest line from the CBS46 story:

Recently, Bush put a series of “Jeb No Filter” videos on YouTube and some say it’s a way to bring up his popularity.

“We’re going to work hard to earn the support of Georgians in the March 1 primary. It’s the second largest state in the primary, it’s our neighbor to our north, we’re going to be working hard,” Bush said.

While the instinct behind “Jeb No Filter” may have been good, it would take Donald Trump to show what No Filter really means.

The United States Postal Service announced a new stamp honoring the late former President Jimmy Carter, according to 13WMAZ.

President Carter died last December at the age of 100. The release of the Jimmy Carter Forever Stamp will coincide with what would have been his 101st birthday on Oct. 1.

According to USPS, the stamp design is a piece of 1982 oil-on-linen painting that was “created as a life study by artist Herbert E. Abrams in preparation for painting his official White House portrait.”

The Postal Service notes that a Forever Stamp always retains its value to whatever the current First Class Mail 1-ounce price is.

“The stamp program celebrates the best in American culture, places and people, and it is difficult to consider a more fitting honoree than former President Jimmy Carter,” said Peter Pastre, the USPS government relations and public policy vice president. “In his support and leadership of his beloved community, state, and nation, he lent his quiet, thoughtful and deliberate energy around causes he believed in, and most certainly in his conduct and accomplishments as a former President, Jimmy Carter truly personified the best in America. I am honored to participate in the reveal of this stamp art which fully evokes his humanity.”

The executive director of the Friends of Jimmy Carter organization, Kim Carter Fuller, said the group had the “distinct privilege of a front row seat to his life and legacy, and today’s reveal gives the world an opportunity to share his legacy with others on a daily basis.”

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Vice President JD Vance is likely to speak in Atlanta this week, according to the AJC.

We haven’t heard the details yet, but several state GOP leaders say Vice President JD Vance is set to visit Atlanta at the end of the week.

Vance was last in Atlanta in May for a fundraiser benefiting the Republican National Committee, which is holding a major meeting in Atlanta this week.

The meetings kick off tomorrow, and most of them will be behind closed doors. The general session begins Friday at the Westin Peachtree Plaza. That’s when Republicans will elect a new chair to replace Michael Whatley, who is stepping down to run for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina being vacated by retiring Sen. Thom Tillis.

The election won’t have drama. Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters is running unopposed, and he’s got the endorsement of President Donald Trump. Gruters is also the RNC’s treasurer, so Republicans will also have to elect someone to replace him.

Candidate qualifying begins today for the Albany City Commission in Wards 2, 3, and 5, according to the Albany Herald.

The Qualifying will be held in the Elections Office, located inside the Government Building, Suite 220, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. from Monday, Aug. 18, until Friday, Aug. 22.

The qualifying fee is $684.

Qualifying for Rome offices also opens today, according to WRGA News.

All seven seats on the Rome City School Board are on the ballot.

Voters will also decide three seats on the Rome City Commission, all in Ward Two, currently held by Elaina Beeman, Jamie Doss, and Randy Quick.

“We allow the maximum time that state law allows,” said Rome City Clerk Joe Smith. “Qualifying begins at 8:30 a.m. on Monday. It will run through 4:30 p.m. on Friday in my office downstairs at Rome City Hall. The qualifying fees are 3 percent of the annual salaries. So, that means $360 for Rome City Commission, and $180 for Rome Board of Education.

Gwinnett County municipal office qualifying opens today, according to the AJC.

Fifteen Gwinnett cities will hold candidate qualifying for this fall’s municipal elections in the coming days. The county’s newest city, Mulberry, is not holding an election this year because the legislation that set up the city charter stipulated the inaugural City Council — which was just elected last November — will hold office until the end of 2027.

Most of the cities in Gwinnett that are holding elections this year will only conduct qualifying from Monday until Wednesday, but Auburn’s qualifying period will last until Friday.

As for which offices are on the ballot, it’s mostly city council seats.

Voters in Grayson, Loganville, Norcross and Sugar Hill will be electing a mayor this year, however.

Meanwhile, Buford is also holding elections this year for two of its city school board seats.

City of Atlanta municipal qualifying opens today, according to the AJC.

Political hopefuls officially file paperwork during the city’s qualifying period that starts today, finalizing the candidate landscape of city elections for mayor, council president and all 15 council members. And four of the council races will be wide-open contests, after the incumbents announced they would not seek reelection.

Three of those new members will represent critical areas of the city — the conservative-leaning northern District 7 in Buckhead; Midtown’s booming District 2; and southwest Atlanta’s District 11, home turf for many of the city’s former mayors.

The council president race is marked by a matchup between two-term council member Marci Collier Overstreet and nonprofit newcomer Rohit Malhotra — a contest that pits a mayor-endorsed candidate against an advocate for more progressive policies who has been critical of the Dickens administration.

The void left by an exiting incumbent is especially big in Atlanta’s northern neighborhoods.

Longtime council member Howard Shook filled one of two seats representing Buckhead for more than 20 years. Shook spearheaded the city’s tedious budget process and served as a bridge between the mayor’s office and more conservative constituents.

From the AJC:

Sandy Springs mayor: The city north of Atlanta has only had two mayors in its two decades of existence. Incumbent Rusty Paul will face a major challenge this year from council members Andy Bauman and Jody Reichel. Dontaye Carter, who lost to Paul in 2021, is also running.

Atlanta City Council President: Council member Marci Collier Overstreet is running to succeed Doug Shipman, who isn’t seeking reelection. She’s got experience, having served two terms on the council, plus the backing of Mayor Andre Dickens. Rohit Malhotra, founder of the Civic Center for Innovation, is running on a platform to raise household incomes and invest in small business.

Atlanta City Council: Most of the action will be for the three open seats: District 7 in conservative-leaning Buckhead, District 2 covering Midtown, and District 11 in southwest Atlanta, which the AJC’s Riley Bunch notes is home turf for many of the city’s former mayors. But The most interesting news could be who isn’t running. Alex Wan in District 6 and at-large council member Matt Westmoreland haven’t drawn challengers yet despite angering some activists for their votes to approve the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

The State  Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability held their first meeting, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

The state’s lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship program has been highly successful, covering most or all of college tuition for more than 2.2 million Georgians since its inception in 1993.

But Georgia lawmakers are considering expanding state aid to public college and university students beyond the merit-based HOPE program to a need-based scholarship initiative. The newly formed state Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability will hold its first meeting on Monday at the state Capitol.

“In my conversations on both sides of the aisle, there’s been a recognition that getting more students into college is a must,” said Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, who will chair the committee. “[But] we have not turned our attention to need-based support.”

“I’m very concerned about the level of debt students come out of college with,” added Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee and a member of the new study panel. “The study committee is designed to explore as many avenues as we can to expand our graduation rates.”

The University System of Georgia’s six-year graduation rate has increased significantly during the last decade, surpassing 80% for the system as a whole and surging beyond 90% at the system’s research universities including the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.

The university system has taken various steps to boost graduation rates. The system has participated in the Complete College America program since 2011.

In 2022, the system launched the website Georgia Degrees Pay to show the value of a degree. The following year saw the start of GEORGIA MATCH, a direct admission program that involves sending letters to high school seniors listing the public universities, colleges and technical colleges they are academically eligible to attend and explaining how to claim a spot being held for them at the institution of their choice.

But Orrock said there remains room for improvement.

“Our workforce shortages are well documented,” she said. “More college graduates are a way for our state to attract businesses looking for the skill sets of college graduates.”

Georgia and New Hampshire are currently the only states that don’t offer a need-based scholarship program in their four-year public colleges and universities. But bringing need-based scholarships to Georgia will have to overcome an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality.

University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue noted that the system’s Board of Regents has held the line on tuition for seven of the last 10 years.

Decisions by the General Assembly eliminating the special institutional fees the system began charging students during the Great Recession and restoring the funding cuts to HOPE made during the same economic downturn have helped keep tuition in check, he said.

“We welcome the discussion,” Perdue said of the upcoming study committee. “We’ve got a great story to tell.”

“We have some of the highest quality education at the lowest cost in the nation,” Burns added. “That’s a positive for Georgia.”

A key issue shaping the upcoming debate over higher education affordability will be whether the state should focus more on helping deserving high school students who can’t afford college gain access to postsecondary education or on students who are nearing a degree but struggling to pay for the final credits they need to graduate.

Orrock said high school counselors have told lawmakers that some high-achieving high school students are not enrolling in college because their families can’t afford it. While the GEORGIA MATCH program has helped, she said many students receiving letters informing them of university system institutions they are qualified to attend don’t end up enrolling.

Orrock said the late Hank Huckaby, who as a senior staff member helped then-Gov. Zell Miller launch HOPE and later served as university system chancellor, was a proponent of need-based scholarships.

“He said, ‘If you want the biggest game changer to make your workforce, economy, and families thrive, it’s need-based,’ ” she said.

But state Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, said giving a financial boost to college students nearing a degree is more important. Martin was the lead sponsor of legislation the General Assembly passed in 2022 offering students who have earned at least 80% of the credits required for their college degree grants of up to $2,500 to help pay their tuition.

“If you want to start a need-based scholarship, you start at the end,” he said. “At that point, students have proven they can do the work.”

Another factor lawmakers will have to consider is the cost to Georgia taxpayers of launching a need-based scholarship program.

The HOPE program is currently running a surplus of $1.6 billion, according to the resolution that created the study committee. But Martin said the legislature shouldn’t put those funds toward need-based scholarships without careful consideration.

“Just because there’s money doesn’t mean you spend it,” he said. “We shouldn’t put any new program in because we happen to have a surplus in the lottery or otherwise.”

While Martin and other conservative Republicans are wary of the potential fiscal impact of offering need-based scholarships, Orrock said there’s been GOP buy-in to at least giving the idea serious consideration.

Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the state Senate, got behind Orrock’s resolution to form the study committee and appointed the Democrat to chair the effort, a rare opportunity in the legislature for a member of the minority party.

“There’s interest in it by leadership,” Orrock said. “If we can put together a good-faith grant program, it will be win-win for Georgia and a win-win for bipartisanship.”

The Georgia State House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Georgia’s Medical Marijuana and Hemp Policies meets in Augusta, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

A state study committee gathering information on cannabis use in Georgia will soon convene in Augusta.

Rep. Mark Newton, R-Augusta, is chairman of the House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Georgia’s Medical Marijuana and Hemp Policies, visiting several other Georgia cities for the remainder of 2025.

Its goal: to help shape policy on medical marijuana and products containing hemp, and to scrutinize more recreational cannabis products with hemp extracts such as delta-8, THCA and THC-O that can be bought over-the-counter.

“As a physician in Georgia’s medical community, I’ve seen how critical it is to provide safe, effective care to patients across our state,” Newton said in prepared remarks. “I’m committed to identifying ways to improve patient safety while offering clear, consistent guidance for physicians statewide.”

Marijuana is illegal in Georgia as a Schedule 1 drug, although Augusta is one of several Georgia cities that voted to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

The policy allows discretion in charging offenders, suggesting a $150 fine and no jail time for people 21 and older. But offenders still can be arrested under state law, which carries a penalty of up to 12 months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

In 2024, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a regulatory framework permitting sellers and makers of hemp products in the state.

The time and place of the Aug. 21 committee meeting is expected to be announced soon.

Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R-Jackson) will campaign speak at a meeting of the State Senate Special Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax, according to the AJC.

Jones, a GOP candidate for governor, is set to headline Tuesday’s meeting of a special Senate committee exploring ways to phase out the levy, which now stands at 5.19% and is set to drop to 4.99% by 2027. He has said getting rid of the tax is vital to making Georgia more competitive with other states, such as Florida and Tennessee, which don’t have income taxes.

The panel is expected to explore how to offset lost revenue, including eliminating popular tax breaks and economic development incentives. Few states, however, have been able to gut income taxes deeply without offsetting them with other revenues such as higher sales taxes or new fees.

Critics warn it could jeopardize billions of dollars in funding for health care, education and infrastructure, shifting more of the tax burden onto poorer households. But the idea has earned growing support from some rank-and-file Republicans, who point to other southern states with lower tax rates.

Click here for more information on the Committee and a livestream of tomorrow’s meeting.

Dalton says that door-to-door solicitation requires a city permit, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

In recent weeks, Dalton residents have complained about unwanted solicitors knocking on their doors to sell products or services. While that can be annoying, it can also be intimidating — in at least one case, a resident reported that the salesperson wasn’t willing to easily take no for an answer and kept trying to make a sale. In Dalton, it’s illegal to solicit door-to-door without a permit. And currently, nobody has applied for or been issued such a permit.

Chapter 82 of the city’s Code of Ordinances states that “It shall be unlawful for any solicitor to engage in solicitation activities in the city without first obtaining a permit from the city.”

Solicitors must apply for a permit from the City Clerk’s office each week that they intend to go out knocking on doors. Additionally, the ordinance requires solicitors taking cash deposits or taking orders for cash-on-delivery purchases to furnish a $500 cash bond to the city. Anyone who has previously been convicted of certain crimes or who currently is facing charges involving allegations of assault, battery, theft or other crimes cannot be issued a permit.

If an applicant meets all of the requirements in the ordinance, the Dalton Police Department would issue a permit and identification badge to each person who is allowed to solicit. However, even with a permit it is still against the law to solicit in neighborhoods or areas with posted prohibitions against solicitation.

The penalties for violating the city’s solicitation ordinance are serious. Section 82-27 states that “any solicitor or individual engaged in door-to-door solicitation who violates any section of this article shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 20 days or both or to labor on the streets, sidewalks or other public works for a period not exceeding 20 days.”

There are some exceptions to the law. The ordinance specifies that minors under the age of 18 who are soliciting donations or selling any property to finance extracurricular athletic programs, artistic programs, social programs, etc., are allowed to go door-to-door provided that the principal of their sponsoring school approves.

Political candidates may solicit campaign funds provided that the candidate has already qualified to run and is seeking election to a local, state or national elected office. And nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organizations or churches are also exempt from the permitting requirements.

Check out the municipal ordinance here.

Bulloch County Board of Education members voted to place a Special Purpose Local Option Sale Tax for Education (E-SPLOST) on the November ballot, according to the Statesboro Herald.

The Board of Education approved a resolution Thursday to place the ESPLOST-6 referendum on a Nov. 4 Bulloch County ballot. It would be for a five-year extension – which probably won’t begin until three years from now – of one of the county’s four existing local 1% sales taxes, which with the state’s 4% tax make the total here 8% on non-exempt items. Now, the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners is set to act Tuesday on an agreement that would place a referendum for a “ninth penny” sales tax called the FLOST on the same ballot.

That “Floating Local Option Sales Tax,” for which the city and town councils of Statesboro, Brooklet, Portal and Register are taking votes of their own on the intergovernmental agreement with the county, would generate revenue to replace a portion of property taxes for the county government and the cities and towns in exchange for a mandatory, partial rollback of their millage rates. If approved by voters Nov. 4, that new 1% sales tax would be collected beginning Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson and school board members have been talking about the renewal of ESPLOST, the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, for months. But  one thing missing from some of the conversations, until made clear during the board’s  Aug. 14 evening regular meeting, is just how far in advance a Nov. 4, 2025, referendum for the sixth five-year installment of the tax will be taking place before the proposed extension’s actual start date.

The current five-year ESPLOST, approved by Bulloch County voters in November 2022 and the fifth such installment in the past two decades, will continue to be collected through September 2028 unless it first reaches its $110 million revenue cap, which appears unlikely. So the ESPLOST now headed for a Nov. 4, 2025 referendum and referred to as ESPLOST-6 would begin to be collected Oct. 1, 2028 and continue until Sept. 30, 2033, if approved by a majority of voters. Money from the current ESPLOST was already earmarked for construction of one added school, a new Southeast Bulloch High School. The cost estimate for that school, including athletic facilities, has risen to about $160 million to $170 million, surpassing the limit of the current tax.

The resolution sets the revenue limit for proposed ESPLOST-6 at $175 million, an amount Wilson doesn’t expect will be reached. But it also authorizes a bond issuance or other debt of up to $120 million to complete the new high school and potentially other construction, to be repaid from the sales tax.

Now, during their regular meeting that begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Bulloch County commissioners are slated to vote on an intergovernmental agreement creating a brand-new Floating, or “Flexible,” Local Option Sales Tax. This is unrelated to the ESPLOST, except that both sales tax referendums appear to be headed to the same ballot.

A 2024 Georgia law, enacted as House Bill 581, created multiple options for local property tax relief. One of these is a special “floating” homestead exemption that, after freezing the value of owner-occupied homes as assessed for taxes at 2024 levels through this year, will be followed next year and beyond by a provision limiting assessment increases to the inflation rate of the national Consumer Price Index.

Another key provision is the FLOST, available to counties where neither the county government nor any of the cities in that county opted out of the floating homestead exemption.

If approved by a majority of Bulloch voters in November, the additional 1% sales tax will take effect Jan. 1, 2026 and last for five years unless renewed. But as Chairman David Bennett of the Board of Commissioners explained in an interview, the revenue legally couldn’t be distributed to the cities or used by the county until July 1, 2027. So property taxpayers wouldn’t actually see the resulting millage rate rollback for more than a year, giving the local governments time to build the new revenue into their fiscal year 2027-28 budgets.

However, the FLOST rollback, unlike the homestead exemption, will apply to all types of taxable property.

Because it is meant to offset property taxes, the distribution of the FLOST revenue among the county and cities will be based on their previous year’s property tax collections as a share of the total property tax (not including school tax) collected by all of the local governments. Based on their 2024 property taxes and sales taxes as an example, the FLOST could provide a 39% rollback of each local government’s millage rate.

This will be explained further when the commissioners discuss and probably act on the FLOST agreement next week.

Dalton City Council called a Special Election on November 4, 2024 for voters to decide three property tax referenda, according to the City Council Agenda Packet.

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council announce that a General Election shall be conducted on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 for the following elected positions: Councilmember Ward 2, Councilmember Ward 4, and two (2) City of Dalton Board of Education positions presently held by Matt Evans and Manny Meza.

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council announce that a Special Election shall be conducted on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 for the following homestead exemptions:

Act 109, SB 234: Independent school district ad valorem taxes for education purposes; provide a homestead exemption

Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from City of Dalton independent school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in an amount equal to the amount by which the current year assessed value of a homestead exceeds the adjusted base year assessed value, including any final determination of value on appeal pursuant to Code Section 48-5-311 of the O.C.G.A.. as amended of such homesteads?

(  ) YES  (  ) NO

Act 340, HB 835: School district ad valorem tax; increase homestead exemption

Shall the Act be approved which increases the homestead exemption from City of Dalton independent school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes for residents of that school district who are 70 years of age or older to $325,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead?

(  ) YES  (  ) NO

Act 344, HB 843: ad valorem tax for municipal purposes; increase homestead exemption

Shall the Act be approved which increases the homestead exemption from City of Dalton ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes for citizens age 70 years or over to the amount of $325,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead?

(  ) YES  (  ) NO

Dawson City Council voted to terminate the contract of City Manager Cherysh Green-Caldwell, according to the Albany Herald.

Councilman John Harris led the 4-3 vote to terminate City Manager Cherysh Green-Caldwell’s contract. Councilman William Durr, Councilwoman Melissa Marshall and Mayor Robert Aaron also voted in favor of the termination. Councilman Leon Ferguson and Councilwomen Iri Pittman and Sondra Walker voted against. This vote came after a lengthy executive session.

City Attorney Tommy Coleman said the council terminated Green-Caldwell without cause, meaning the city must continue to pay her until the end of her contract, on Dec. 31. Aaron said Green-Caldwell had made personnel decisions with department heads that various council members, including he, did not approve.

Now, Dawson is again without a city manager. This comes after a five-year period of instability within the role after two previous city managers were removed from their position.

“I don’t know what the future holds, but they’re going to have to find somebody to run the city, and it’s increasingly difficult in rural Georgia to find somebody to come and do these jobs,” Coleman said.

Aaron said the search for a new city manager will begin immediately. As mayor, he will serve as the interim city manager until a new person is found.

“We as a council have to get on the same page,” he said. “No matter what our differences are . . . we need to find the best candidate that we can find. In the past, it was hard for us to come together. Until we can do that, we won’t have stability.”

Thomasville City Council will host a public event next week, according to WALB.

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the community can ask questions, share concerns, and hear updates from city leaders at the Thomas County Public Library, at 201 N. Madison St., from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.

Anyone who cannot attend Tuesday’s event is encouraged to connect with city leadership at a city council meeting or workshop.

Police Blotter: the GBI arrested Eric L. Loggins, husband of Richmond County Solicitor General Omeeka Loggins, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Eric L. Loggins, 53, of Augusta, turned himself in to the Richmond County jail on Friday. He has been charged with one count of terroristic threats and acts, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

On July 8, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to investigate “allegations of a person who made terroristic threats during a property dispute in Augusta,” the GBI said in prepared remarks. “Investigators determined that Loggins was responsible for making threats against an employee of a local surveying company who was conducting work on June 30, 2025, at the request of Loggins’ neighbor.”

The case will be given to the Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution after the GBI concludes its investigation.

Loggins’ wife, Omeeka Loggins, has served as Richmond County’s solicitor general since 2016, prosecuting state court cases.

United States Representative Buddy Carter (R-SSI) supports a proposed Superfund Research Center in Coastal Georgia, according to The Brunswick News.

Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1, sent a letter of support to NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya on Aug. 14 expressing Carter’s support of the request for funding for the center that was submitted by Emory University, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and the Morehouse School of Medicine.

“The Georgia-based Superfund Center proposal, as it currently stands, aligns with President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Service priorities initiated through his February 13, 2025 Executive Order entitled, ‘Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission,’” Carter wrote. “In particular, the Georgia-based Superfund Research Center proposal would promote President Trump’s priorities by: Prioritizing gold-standard research from one of our country’s leading institutions, eliminating environmental toxins, and preventing an epidemic of chronic diseases — including metabolic disorders like stroke, heart disease and diabetes.”

“The proposal includes a study that would help inform risk reduction interventions, as well as an engineering component to explore the best ways to carefully cleanup the contaminants from the sites, which are in th very delicate ecosystems that people rely on for fishing, shrimping, tourism and more,” Carter wrote. “Establishing a Superfund Center in Glynn County will provide gold-standard research in studying the health effects of hazardous substances that exist in the environment and residents of Glynn County, Georgia, as well as in dozens of sites around the United States.”

“I support this important pilot study creating Georgia’s first Superfund Research Center,” Carter said. “I hope you will give full and fair consideration to this application while continuing to abide by applicable laws, rules, and regulations.”

United States Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) met with Georgia farmers in Keysville on Saturday, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Warnock will tour Three Bees Pecan Farm in Keysville at 3:30 p.m. He’ll hear from farmers about how tariffs are cutting into already thin profit margins.

The visit runs until 4:40 p.m. at the farm on Highway 88 East.

From WRDW:

Senator [] Raphael Warnock visited three local pecan farmers to discuss the impact of the ongoing tariff war on Georgia farmers.

Georgia is the largest grower of pecans in the nation, and nearly 30 percent of the pecans grown in the us are exported to other countries.

Jeb Barrow’s family has run Three Bees Pecan Farm for nearly 130 years.

Last year, the pecan farmer lost around 40 percent of his crops.

This year, fewer of his crops are going to China due to higher tariffs.

He and other local farmers told Warnock they support trade with India, and marketing pecans to the country could help fill in the gap left by China.

Warnock says he supports tariffs, but only when they support and do not hurt American farmers and the rest of American citizens.

“I have a great deal of respect for farmers. It’s tough work. There is so much you don’t control, like the weather. The profit margin is already narrow, and so this kind of uncertainty, it seems to me, is unhelpful. What I want to see us do is have a bipartisan conversation that centers around ordinary people that put forward reasonable solutions. There is no question people have been struggling for a long time,” said Warnock.

The MARTA board appointed chief counsel Jonathan Hunt as interim CEO, according to the Saporta Report.

[Collie] Greenwood, who had served as GM and CEO since 2022, abruptly left the agency on July 17 citing “immigration and personal matters.” Greenwood, who is Canadian, agreed to a mutual separation with the board and took early retirement.