James Oglethorpe and the Creek Indians signed the Treaty of Coweta Town, delineating geographic areas open to British settlement, on August 21, 1739.
On August 23, 1784, four counties is western North Carolina declared themselves the State of Franklin, setting up its own Constitution and treaties with local Indian tribes. In 1788, they rejoined North Carolina but would eventually become part of a new state, Tennessee.
On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner led the largest slave rebellion in American history; Turner was later hanged in Jerusalem, VA.
The first of the Lincoln-Douglass series of seven debates was held in Ottawa, Illinois, on August 21, 1858, pitting Democrat Stephen Douglass against Republican Abraham for the United States Senate seat held by Douglass. Expansion of slavery in the United States was the topic for the debates.
The Kimball Opera House, serving as the Georgia State Capitol, was sold to the state on August 23, 1870.
On August 21, 1907, Georgia Governor Hoke Smith signed legislation to place a Constitutional Amendment designed to disenfranchise African-Americans by requiring passage of a literacy test to vote. A number of exceptions allowed local officials to exempt white voters whom they wished to allow to vote; one exemption was for anyone descended from a U.S. or Confederate wartime veteran – the so-called “grandfather clause.”
On the same day, Gov. Smith also signed legislation prohibiting fishing on Sunday, subject to misdemeanor prosecution.
The sale of Coca-Cola Company from the Candlers was announced in the Atlanta Constitution on August 22, 1919.
On August 21, 1935, Benny Goodman and his orchestra began a seven-night stand at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, beginning the Swing Era.
Happy 67th birthday to Hawaii, which became the 50th State on August 21, 1959.
On August 23, 1961, four African-American citizens attempted to play tennis at Bitsy Grant Tennis Center in Atlanta, which was informally “whites only.” The Tennis Center was hastily closed rather than allow them to play, but it was the first volley leading to the eventual desegregation of Atlanta’s public recreation facilities.`
The 1968 Democratic National Convention began in Chicago on August 21, 1968. More than 3000 demonstrators disrupted the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 1968.
In 1972, it was the Republicans’ turn, as demonstrators struck outside the Republican National Convention.
Nolan Ryan recorded his 5000th career strikeout against Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s on August 22, 1989.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore (R-Cobb County) will end her term early, according to the AJC.
In an email to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, dated Aug. 18, Pridemore said she would be resigning effective Sept. 4. She had announced in February that she would not run for another term on the panel, which sets the rates and profits for Georgia Power and Atlanta Gas Light.
The governor’s office did not have an immediate comment.
It’s unclear who Kemp will appoint to Pridemore’s seat. The appointment would be temporary.
Republican Joshua Tolbert will face Democrat Shelia Edwards in that race in November.
“It has been an honor to serve Georgia in this position,” Pridemore said in an email to Kemp, his executive council and PSC Chairperson Jason Shaw. She sent the email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and declined comment.
“I can’t thank Commissioner Pridemore enough for her expertise in energy and her expertise in public policy that she leveraged here at the PSC for the benefit of all Georgians,” Shaw said in a statement.
This isn’t the first time a sitting utility regulator has resigned before the end of a term. GOP Commissioner Stan Wise stepped down in 2018, creating the vacancy that led to Pridemore’s appointment by Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican.
In 2021, Kemp appointed GOP Commissioner Chuck Eaton to a vacancy on the Fulton County Superior Court and chose Johnson to replace him on the PSC.
Pridemore was slated to run for a subsequent term in 2024, but state lawmakers extended her term after a legal challenge to Georgia’s statewide elections for the PSC.
She earlier this year lost in a crowded congressional primary to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk.
Stockbridge Mayor Jayden Williams faces new allegations, according to the AJC.
An allegation of sexual misconduct surfaced Thursday against Stockbridge Mayor Jayden 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.
A Stockbridge Police Department report, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, contained sexually explicit text messages allegedly sent between the student and the mayor. The report also said that, according to the student, nude photographs were exchanged between the two.
It was unclear Thursday whether the police confirmed the existence of the photos independently. Williams, in an interview Thursday night, said he and the student “never sent explicit photos towards each other” and that no sexual misconduct occurred, noting the man is an adult.
The report concludes the authorities found no evidence of criminal activity by the mayor but that “the nature of the communications and the mentorship relationship raise ethical and professional concerns regarding the conduct of a sitting elected official with a student participant who only met the official as a result of his interest in the official’s mentorship program.”
Stockbridge City Councilmember LaKeisha Gantt brought the sexual misconduct allegation to light during testimony in Henry County Superior Court on Thursday, during a hearing at which the mayor’s attorney asked a judge to stop another hearing scheduled for Saturday before the City Council that could result in the mayor’s removal from office.
The judge did not stop Saturday’s hearing from proceeding as scheduled.
Williams, the youngest mayor in the city’s history, turned 23 years old on Thursday.
Independent investigator Richard Hyde was hired by the city to look into whether the mayor committed ethical infractions or violations of the city’s code, and is expected to present his findings to the council at Saturday’s hearing.
The report says the student had met Williams via Instagram on Nov. 30 when the student responded to a social media post about joining the mayor’s political mentorship program through the city of Stockbridge.
The 2028 Democratic National Convention will not be in Atlanta, and the Mayor had some thoughts on it, according to Atlanta News First via WTVM.
Atlanta will not be the host city for the 2028 Democratic National Convention (DNC).
On Thursday, Democrats narrowed the list of potential host cities for their presidential convention to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia as their party looks ahead to a wide-open primary to succeed President Donald Trump.
In the wake of the decision, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said his party is “abandoning Atlanta, abandoning the South, and once again abandoning Black voters.”
“For the DNC to not even include Atlanta in the shortlist means that the DNC does not consider Atlanta or Georgia relevant to the past, present, or future of the Democratic Party,” Dickens wrote in a letter to local and national Democrats obtained by Atlanta News First. “It seems that [DNC Chair] Ken Martin doesn’t even believe himself when he said that the road to the White House runs through the South.”
“Georgia is the premier battleground state in the country,” said Georgia Democratic Party chair Charlie Bailey. “The road to the White House in 2028 will come straight through Georgia whether or not the DNC does.”
Earlier this month, the Atlanta City Council pledged up to $36 million in funding for the 2028 DNC.
Under the resolution, approved by the council on Aug. 3, the funding would have come from excess amounts of Atlanta’s hotel/motel tax. It also secured MARTA as the convention’s bus provider and allowed the mayor and chief financial officer to authorize any other necessary agreements.
The last — and only — time Atlanta has hosted a political convention was 1988, when Democrats nominated former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis to face Vice President George H.W. Bush. Dukakis had just won a hotly contested nomination battle over Jesse Jackson, while Bush was seeking to take advantage of then-President Ronald Reagan’s vast national popularity.
The 1988 convention was held at the Omni, now the site of State Farm Arena. Gov. Joe Frank Harris led Georgia’s delegation, which included former President Jimmy Carter and then-U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.
In 2026, all of Georgia’s statewide constitutional offices remain in the hands of Republicans, as does the state’s congressional delegation. Republicans also hold a majority in both the state House and Senate.
But Democrats have been pointing to victories in the state’s special elections, such as the Public Service Commission, as proof that the state is turning against President Donald Trump and GOP priorities.
Republican Rick Jackson touted his affordability policies at Tommy’s Barbershop in Buckhead, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times.
Facing renewed pressure over his business dealings as he runs for Georgia governor, Republican Rick Jackson pledged to end his healthcare contracting with the state by Dec. 31 if he wins the election against Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Appearing at an Atlanta barbershop with a handful of supporters Thursday, Jackson also pledged to cut taxes and the state budget during an event billed as a partial reveal of his affordability agenda.
If elected, he said he would eliminate state taxes on the electricity and natural gas delivered to residences. He said he would gradually cut the state income tax in half and also eliminate the state income tax on tips, building on the limited exemption passed into law by the General Assembly this year. He said he would sign onto a federal tax credit program that reimburses taxpayers for donations toward private school scholarships as Gov. Brian Kemp did earlier this year. And he said that sudden spikes in gasoline prices caused by international conflicts, natural disasters or other emergencies would trigger eliminations of the state motor fuel tax for at least 60 days.
“Government should not collect a windfall when families are being hit [by an] emergency,” said Jackson, speaking at a lectern at Tommy’s Barbershop in Atlanta.
“Earn More. Pay Less,” said a sign affixed to the lectern.
Jackson said he knew about economic distress, having been raised by an alcoholic mother who waited tables for a living. He said he had never met his father and had been on welfare at one point, according to a live video of the event provided through a partnership with C-SPAN.
Jackson pledged to freeze the rising home valuations that are driving up property tax bills.
Property taxes fund local governments and schools rather than the state, but Jackson also said he would cut billions from the state budget, as well.
“There’s not a business in the world that I can’t cut 10% out of,” he said. “You can find waste everywhere.”
He said he would balance the cuts with increased revenue from economic growth and by updating software at state agencies to reduce waste.
“If I can’t do it, it can’t be done, but I’m going to get it done,” said Jackson, who founded and runs Jackson Healthcare, a staffing and workforce company based in Alpharetta.
Jackson has grown his business into a financial juggernaut that allowed him to pour more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign.
Some of that wealth came from doing business with the state.
The Bottoms campaign pointed to reporting Tuesday by 11Alive that said a subsidiary of Jackson’s company had renewed a multimillion-dollar contract to provide health services to a state agency. The contract signed by Jackson expires next summer, 11Alive reported, six months into the term of the next governor.
“Rick Jackson promised to unwind his state contracts at the same time he was cutting a secret new deal to make millions of dollars off of taxpayers into 2027,” the Bottoms campaign said in a statement the next day.
On Thursday, Jackson said that legally there was nothing stopping him from holding a contract with a state agency as long as he did not work for that agency. But he said any outstanding contracts could and would be canceled should he win the election. He said he wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Candidates are rolling out cross-party endorsements, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Now, two Democratic sheriff’s and a prominent Buckhead Democrat have publicly backed [Republican Rick] Jackson for governor, according to reporting from Atlanta News First and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a move that could push him over the edge for swing voters or Democrats with concerns about Bottoms’ mayoral record.
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk and Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy have announced their support of Jackson in the governor’s race, according to Atlanta News First.
The sheriff’s told the outlet they were concerned about public safety and support of law enforcement heading into the next four years.
“Public safety is more important than political affiliations,” Paulk told the outlet. Peavy said Jackson will be a “true partner” of law enforcement.
Billy Linville, a prominent Democrat in the Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead, is also creating a group to help sway swing voters into considering a split ticket in November to support Jackson, he told the AJC.
“I plan to communicate, remind and inform Democrats and independent voters that, in fact, Rick Jackson, is a better choice,” he told the outlet. “I don’t agree with Rick on every policy position. But his life story and struggle are a window into his character.”
He also called Jackson a “decent man,” and said Bottoms “refused, or was unable, to lead and govern” during her time as mayor.
Jackson celebrated the endorsement in a post on X, saying “Billy Linville and I may not agree on every issue, but we both want Georgia to be strong and prosperous. Honored to have his support!”
In the Senate race, it’s the Democrat who is pulling in support from conservatives.
Shelley Wynters, a conservative talk radio host in Atlanta, was one of the first to speak out in support of Ossoff shortly after the primary election. The self-described “never scared Black and Conservative” media personality said in an interview with the Senator that he saw his first term as a “job interview,” and that he hadn’t seen any reason to remove Ossoff from his post.
“I’m here to tell you live on the radio that I am team Ossoff for the rest of the summer and I will do everything I can possible on this show to get you re-elected,” Wynter said following an interview on air with Ossoff. “I see re-elections as a job interview, and in my humble opinion, I’ve seen nothing from Senator Jon Ossoff that requires me to say you’re fired from the job.”
Ossoff’s actions while Senator also earned him praise from Georgia Christian broadcaster and “conservative truth-teller” Erick Erickson.
“You talk to farmers in South Georgia, they can get him on the phone. They can get his staff on the phone. They can get help,” Erickson said during a recent segment. “You talk to Republicans in Houston County, very Republican part of the state, they know they can reach out to Ossoff, and he doesn’t care that they’re Republican. If they need something, he’s going to get it done.”
He has also been endorsed by Mayor Julie Smith, of Tifton, and Mayor Scott James Matheson, of Valdosta, who are in nonpartisan positions, but are both openly conservative and registered Republicans.
“He’s been very good to South Georgia, and in my nonpartisan role as mayor, I have to look to someone who takes care of their constituents. I’m a Republican, but there are times when a person exceeds the party. They go above and beyond,” Smith told the AJC. “I don’t have to track him down. He tracks me down.”
A political scientist and professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Bernard Fraga, previously told USA TODAY the 2026 cycle is similar to the issues faced in 2022. In that case, a controversial Senate candidate, Republican Herschel Walker, lost his race to Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock, while popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp won his race against Democrat Stacey Abrams.
“I think it’s possible that if voters, particularly Republican voters, are thinking about splitting their tickets, that the direction that split is going to go is in favor of Ossoff for Senate, but Jackson for governor,” Fraga said. “I think that it just really reflects kind of natural proclivities of their campaigns and their relative strengths. I think that if we weren’t in such a nationalized political environment where it seems like we’re so divided, this wouldn’t at all be surprising. … It’s really just surprising, given the broader environment, that voters still, not most of them but some of them, are willing to vote for a person and not just a party.
Both candidates for State School Superintendent say they want to change the public school system, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times.
Georgia’s longtime Republican state school superintendent is touting his experience to fend off his Democratic challenger, who calls herself a change agent.
Lydia Powell, an assistant high school principal in Henry County, wants to unseat Richard Woods, saying test scores indicate that schools need new leadership.
Woods, a former high school history teacher, is in his twelfth year in office, having served three terms alongside two governors. He said he needs more time to improve student performance.
As leader of the Georgia Department of Education, the state superintendent monitors academic performance and ensures school districts follow the law while spending state and federal funding that passes through the agency.
Woods and Powell answered questions from an expert panel convened by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education last week in Atlanta.
The urgent issues they discussed included the teacher workforce, state funding and literacy, the latter being a focus of state lawmakers.
This spring, Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Georgia Early Literacy Act into law. It requires new curricula and training with a focus on the phonics-based teaching methods that have been credited with accelerating reading skills in other Southern states.
The legislation also added $70 million to the formula that drives state education spending, enough to hire a classroom literacy coach in more than 1,300 schools serving kindergarten through third grade.
Woods took some of the credit, saying he had previously advised the Legislature to spend the money.
“Several years ago, I said, ‘We need reading coaches in the state of Georgia.’ The General Assembly decided to wait, and I’m glad they finally followed up with the plan,” Woods said, adding that he had already sent some literacy coaches to the lowest-performing schools using a limited fund controlled by the education department.
“I gave the General Assembly a number. They said, ‘That’s way too much,’” he said. “But lo and behold that’s about the number that they funded this year with coaches.”
Powell has been in education for a quarter century and is an adjunct professor in educational leadership at Thomas University, according to her biography on the website of Hampton High School, where she is assistant principal. She said she would improve third-grade literacy rates by expanding access to state-funded prekindergarten.
She pointed to English language arts scores from the 2024-25 Milestones tests that showed 35% of third-grade students scored at least proficient, meaning 65% did not. “We’re asking teachers to continue to remediate,” she said. “We can make some changes at that preschool level” to help them.
Georgia pre-K is not under the superintendent’s purview. Rather, it is administered by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, whose commissioner is appointed by the governor.
But superintendents can use their position to try to influence the governor and lawmakers on policy, such as expansion of pre-K.
Another area that requires collaboration across government is the recruitment and retention of skilled teachers.
Woods said at least three times during the event at The Gathering Spot that he would bolster teaching ranks by pushing to increase pay for veteran teachers. A cap on the automatic annual state-funded pay raises for teachers takes effect after their 21st year.
Rural schools tend to have more difficulty hiring teachers, so Powell said the state should help those rural communities pay for recruitment incentives, such as housing subsidies and childcare.
Powell also said she would push lawmakers to give more funding to schools with high concentrations of poverty, adding that she would make her presence known at the state Capitol.
“You have to be loud, you have to be obnoxious,” she said.
Woods said his lobbying style had already proven effective. He noted the numerous failed attempts over the years to overhaul the state’s education funding formula, largely unchanged since the 1980s. So, he said he advocated for smaller changes, working with lawmakers and the governor this year to increase funding for transportation.
The fiscal year 2027 budget includes $38.5 million for new school buses.
Woods said his longevity in office has allowed him to cultivate valuable relationships, including with former superintendents from other states who, he said, now work at the U.S. Department of Education and will pick up the phone when he calls.
Powell pointed to performance measures, including test scores.
“We talk about being the number one place to do business, but we’re ranked one of the lowest to educate children, and I want to be the change agent in that work. I’ve seen too many students be left behind, too many families continue to go through those cycles of poverty,” she said. “Our eighth-grade math scores have gone down once again, and I know that we can make changes to that.”
Woods said he had assembled a “great team” at the education department and that he wanted more time to build on that.
He said a strong foundation in math and reading is “not negotiable” but pushed back against critics who say Georgia is underperforming.
Woods said eighth-grade math scores “were down a little bit” but overall scores rose.
Indeed, scores on the math Milestones tests reached record highs last school year in fourth through sixth grades and in high school algebra. The increases came after the education department implemented new math standards during the 2023-24 school year.
Only eighth-grade students scored lower, with their proficiency rate falling by 1 percentage point to 46%.
But the gains came despite relatively low overall performance.
Students are placed in one of four categories based on their scores, from distinguished at the top to proficient, developing and beginning.
The highest percentage of students who scored proficient or distinguished in math was in fourth grade, at 50%. That means half were not proficient.
Woods said the percentage of third graders reading on grade level was higher than the 35% that lawmakers and others, including his opponent, have pointed to. The state education board adopted a more targeted score, called a Lexile measure, that is extracted from some Milestones test answers.
Based on that measure, 65% of third-grade students can read at or above grade level, he said.
“Yes, there does need to be change as you’ve heard today, but working together, we can make that — instead of just a dream — we can make that a reality,” he said.
In that way, both Powell and Woods are campaigning as change agents.
Fort Valley City Council voted to censure Mayor Shakeena Reeves, according to WTVM.
The Fort Valley City Council has formally censured Mayor Shakeena Reeves and imposed significant restrictions on her authority following allegations of misconduct.
Council members first voted on Aug. 13 to limit the mayor’s authority by suspending all city-issued credit cards and fuel cards. Then, during Tuesday night’s meeting, they approved an amendment adding even stricter restrictions to that resolution.
Under the amended resolution, Mayor Reeves must surrender her work-issued laptop and turn over her keys to all non-public city buildings in Fort Valley. She can only use a city-issued computer while physically in her office.
The original Aug. 13 resolution also revoked all city credit cards issued to the mayor. Going forward, any city-related purchases must be pre-approved by the city administrator.
The council’s action centers on two main allegations. According to the resolution, council members say the mayor made statements to media and governmental bodies claiming that former city employees engaged in criminal misconduct, claims that the council says contradict a recent finding from the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
Second, the council alleges that Mayor Reeves misrepresented her authority to financial institutions in order to approve financial transactions without proper City Council oversight. 13WMAZ reached out to the members of Fort Valley city council for further context on these allegations but did not hear back.
When asked about these specific allegations, the mayor did not directly address them in her response. Instead, Mayor Reeves issued a statement arguing that the council’s actions amount to silencing her voice.
Below is the full statement from Mayor Shakeena Reeves:
“The Council is using its majority vote to silence me, but ultimately, the citizens are the ones who suffer. This is bigger than one Mayor and four Council members. This is about whether we are going to use our positions to address the problems facing Fort Valley or use our votes to limit the voice and effectiveness of an elected official. I was elected by the people to serve as Mayor, and I believe my responsibility is to advocate for them—especially when it comes to the stewardship of their tax dollars, the City’s financial stability, and the services they depend on. I would hate for Fort Valley to become known as the city that lost its charter or its ability to govern effectively because elected officials were more focused on trying to humble the Mayor than addressing the problems facing our community.”
“We have real issues that require our attention: expenses exceeding revenue, financial stability, accountability, service delivery, and protecting taxpayer dollars. Those should be the issues receiving our time, energy, and votes. We do not have to agree on everything. But we should be able to disagree without losing sight of why the citizens elected us. Fort Valley has a legacy of excellence. Let’s not allow internal political battles to become more important than the future of our city. The citizens put us here, and ultimately, the citizens decide who remains here. My hope is that we can put pride and personal differences aside, get into alignment, and focus on doing what is right for the people we were elected to serve.”
To provide context on the council’s authority, 13WMAZ spoke with City Attorney Jim Elliott. He confirmed that under Fort Valley’s government structure, the city council does have the legal authority to take this action. Elliott explained that Fort Valley operates under what’s known as a “weak mayor system,” meaning the city council holds most of the decision-making power in city government, while the mayor’s role is more limited.
Four out of six council members voted to approve the amendment and original resolution.
The resolution includes several protective provisions. It explicitly states that the action does not constitute a finding of misconduct, does not limit the mayor’s constitutional or charter authority, and does not prejudge the outcome of any future investigations or legal proceedings.
The restrictions will remain in effect until the city council votes to modify or rescind them.
Gary Jones was the only candidate who qualified for the Special Election for Mayor of Grovetown, according to WJBF.
A special election for mayor of Grovetown is now cancelled after Gary Jones ran unopposed, the Columbia County Board of Elections decided.
According to an announcement the City of Grovetown posted to Facebook on Thursday, Jones qualified for the position.
A date for the swearing-in ceremony of Mayor-elect Jones is expected to be announced at a later date.
Back in March of this year, Jones resigned from the office of mayor to run for chair of the Columbia County Commission. Allison Couch won in that race.
Three candidates qualified in a Special Election for Statesboro City Council District 2, according to the Statesboro Herald.
A race is apparently underway for the vacant District 2 seat on Statesboro City Council, after three candidates – Kathleen Keehner, Maleek Jones and Loletta Donaldson-Elliot – qualified for the special city election that will be held along with the Nov. 3 county and state election.
This contest will appear only on the ballots of voters who reside in Statesboro Council District 2. The District 2 seat has been vacant since former councilmember Paulette Chavers, who had served more than six years, resigned in May. The special election winner will fill the unexpired term through 2027. To continue for a full four-year term, that new council member would need to seek election in next year’s regular city elections.
Keehner, Jones and Donaldson-Elliott completed their “notice of candidacy” paperwork at the office of City Clerk Leah Harden at City Hall during the last two days of the three-day qualifying period, which ended at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Each candidate also paid a $330 qualifying fee, the amount of which is based on 3% of last year’s salary for a council member.
Flocked: A LaGrange Police Department officer is being investigated for alleged misuse of surveillance cameras, according to WTVM.
An internal investigation is underway into a LaGrange police officer for alleged misuse of the police department’s License Plate Recognition system, known as Flock cameras.
The LaGrange Police Department sent out a notice to the public saying it is conducting an investigation for alleged misuse of the city’s Flock cameras from March to December of last year.
Re-Flocked: Statesboro City Council voted to approve the Police Department’s renewal of their Flock contract, according to the Statesboro Herald.
With unanimous approval from City Council, the Statesboro Police Department has obtained a five-year renewal of its contract with Flock Safety for 54 of the cameras and other features, at a total cost of almost $1.15 million.
“Flock information has become a critical part of SPD’s activities, from the investigation of ‘hit and run’ crashes to homicide investigations,” Akins wrote.
“As a sampling,” he reported, “Flock has contributed significantly to the investigation” of 22 stolen vehicles recovered, four missing persons, three robberies, one kidnapping, 12 aggravated assaults and eight homicides.
“Two of those homicides would have been extremely difficult to solve absent the Flock technology,” Akins stated.
Bloomingdale City Council voted to adopt a data center moratorium, according to WSAV.
The 180-day moratorium would temporarily pause applications, permits, licenses, construction and operations of a data centers with the city. Leaders said this pause would allow them to properly address those types of facilities.
“We need to put a moratorium on this because if someone did come in, we don’t have to hold them up,” [Mayor Dennis] Baxter said. “Then we can be prepared.”
“We need to look at our water sources, the amount of that we have,” Baxter said. “Also, our sewer and to see if we can even accommodate a facility like this within our corporate city limits.”
Council members voted to approve the moratorium, and it will extend until February 2027.
Houston County Board of Education members and House County Commissioners lowered their respective property tax millage rates, according to 13WMAZ.
Houston County homeowners may see a lower school portion of their property tax bills after the Board of Education approved a new millage rate for 2026.
The school district set its rate at 11.677 mills, down from 11.719 mills in 2025. Superintendent Richard Rogers said the rollback comes as the district expects to bring in more than $84 million in tax revenue.
Rogers said the community’s renewal of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or E-SPLOST, in November’s election helped make the rollback possible.
“We’re able to fund renovations and new schools and the STEM Academy out of E-SPLOST funds,” Rogers said. “Their support of the E-SPLOST allows us to make good decisions with the millage rate.”
Rogers said continued growth across Houston County also contributed to the lower rate.
“We will bring in about 3.72% more funds, but it’s all from new homeowners, new businesses, not our existing homeowners,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the 11.677-mill rate marks the district’s lowest rate since 1992.
“It’s saved our homeowners, our existing homeowners, about $312,000 existing homeowners and business owners,” Rogers said.
The Houston County Commission also approved a rollback millage rate for the fiscal year, setting its rate at 8.419 mills.
The Jackson County Board of Education voted to adopt the full rollback for their property tax millage rate, according to AccessNorthGA.
The Jackson Board of Education (BOE) approved the Fiscal Year 2027 millage rate and final budget during a meeting early Thursday morning.
The Jackson BOE press release indicates the new millage rate is now 15.253, the lowest for Jackson County in over 25 years. The Bond Millage rate will remain the same at 2.6 mills, marking the BOE will be lowering the millage rate for the 11th time in the past 13 years.
“I want to commend our Board of Education, our finance department and our leaders for being fiscally responsible, which in return has allowed us to implement a full millage rollback,” Jackson County School System (JCSS) Superintendent Dr. Philip Brown said Thursday. “This is another win for our community and school system.”
The approval of the final budget ensures Jackson County will have a budget of $171 million in expenditures. JCCS says Approximately 86 percent of the budget is personnel cost for the system, which includes state-mandated employer contribution increases in state-health premiums.
“It is no secret that Jackson County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country, and that means more people are wanting their children to grow up in our school system,” Brown said. “With that comes a tremendous responsibility to ensure we not only offer a top-tier educational system, but also ensure we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. It is our duty to make sure the future of Jackson County is positioned for long-term success.”
Loggerhead turtles set a Georgia record with more than 4000 nesting sites, according to WSAV.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says 4,138 loggerhead nests have been recorded statewide, surpassing the previous record of 4,071 nests set in 2022.
The record is another sign that Georgia’s loggerhead population is continuing to recover after decades of decline, although wildlife officials say the population has not yet returned to historical levels.
“This year was the highest number we’ve had over that 38-year period,” said Mark Dodd, the Sea Turtle Program Coordinator for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GaDNR), and a senior wildlife biologist.
Dodd has worked in sea turtle conservation for 28 years and said nesting numbers have increased by approximately 3.5% to 4% annually over the past 15 to 20 years.
“We are in this recovery period, but we still have a ways to go to get to historic nesting levels,” Dodd said.
Georgia’s loggerhead population has seen significant changes over the past several decades.
DNR’s standardized surveys began in 1989, providing biologists with consistent data to track nesting trends. Dodd said the state recorded fewer than 400 nests in 2004, a low point that raised serious concerns about the species’ future in Georgia.
Since then, the overall trend has reversed.
DNR estimates Georgia historically had roughly 6,000 to 7,000 loggerhead nests in the 1950s. The current total remains below that level, but the recent increase represents significant progress compared with the lows of the early 2000s.
Dodd said biologists are focused less on any single record season and more on the long-term trend.
“We don’t want to get too excited about a record year or low years,” he said. “What’s really important is that trend.”
That trend has been increasing, although Dodd said the state’s population model predicts nesting could eventually plateau for 10 to 15 years.
One reason is the species’ long reproductive timeline. Loggerheads typically don’t become sexually mature until they are about 30 to 35 years old.
That means the hatchlings produced today won’t return to Georgia beaches to nest for decades.
The record-setting numbers are based on thousands of individual nests monitored throughout the Georgia coast.
During a recent visit to Ossabaw Island, Dodd demonstrated to WSAV what happens after a nest hatches.
Loggerhead nests typically incubate for about 60 days. Once hatchlings emerge, crews wait approximately three days before digging into the nest to determine its reproductive success.
The excavation provides information that cannot be determined simply by looking at the tracks left behind in the sand.
DNR crews count hatched eggs, unhatched eggs and hatchlings that did not successfully emerge.
At one Ossabaw Island nest, Dodd counted 90 hatched eggs and one dead hatchling.
That information becomes part of the larger dataset used to evaluate the health of Georgia’s loggerhead population.
“That allows us to track the population, determine whether it’s going to increase or decrease based on our management,” Dodd said.
Ossabaw Island is among the Georgia beaches having an especially strong nesting season.
Dodd said the island has recorded roughly 780 loggerhead nests this year.
Cumberland Island has recorded nearly 1,300 nests, while Blackbeard Island has recorded several hundred.
The state’s largest nesting beaches can see significant differences in the total number of nests because of their size, but Dodd said nesting density is generally relatively consistent across Georgia’s barrier islands.
The increase in nesting numbers follows decades of conservation work aimed at improving loggerhead survival.
That includes protecting nests from predators, relocating nests that are vulnerable to flooding and monitoring beaches for hatchlings and stranded turtles.
Georgia’s sea turtle conservation effort also involves reducing threats in the water.
For Georgia, the 2026 record is an important benchmark – and a sign that decades of conservation work are having an impact.
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