On July 26, 1775, the United States Postal Service was created by the Second Continental Congress, may God have mercy on their souls. Benjamin Franklin served as the first Postmaster.
On July 26, 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was founded.
On July 26, 1947, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act, structuring the military-intelligence industrial complex for many years to come.
The National Security Act had three main parts.
First, it streamlined and unified the nation’s military establishment by bringing together the Navy Department and War Department and establishing the Department of the Air Force all under a new Department of Defense. The DoD would facilitate control and utilization of the nation’s growing military.
Second, the act established the National Security Council (NSC). Based in the White House, the NSC was supposed to serve as a coordinating agency, sifting through the increasing flow of diplomatic and intelligence information in order to provide the president with brief but detailed reports.
Finally, the act set up the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA replaced the Central Intelligence Group, which had been established in 1946 to coordinate the intelligence-gathering activities of the various military branches and the Department of State. The CIA, however, was to be much more–it was a separate agency, designed not only to gather intelligence but also to carry out covert operations in foreign nations.
On July 25, 1972, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
On July 25, 1974, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of United States v. Nixon that executive privilege did not allow the White House to refuse to turn over audio recordings that had been subpoenaed by a special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal.
On July 27, 1974, the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved the first impeachment article against President Richard M. Nixon.
The first such impeachment recommendation in more than a century, it charge[d] President Nixon with unlawful activities that formed a “course of conduct or plan” to obstruct the investigation of the Watergate break-in and to cover up other unlawful activities.
The vote was 27 to 11, with 6 of the committee’s 17 Republicans joining all 21 Democrats in voting to send the article to the House.
The majority included three conservative Southern Democrats and three conservative Republicans.
On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush (41) signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A bomb exploded at a free concert in Centennial Park in Atlanta on July 27, 1996.
Police were warned of the bombing in advance, but the bomb exploded before the anonymous caller said it would, leading authorities to suspect that the law enforcement officers who descended on the park were indirectly targeted.
Within a few days, Richard Jewell, a security guard at the concert, was charged with the crime. However, evidence against him was dubious at best, and in October he was fully cleared of all responsibility in the bombing.
Former Georgia Governor Zell Miller took the oath of office as United States Senator on July 27, 2000. Miller would go on to win a special election for the remainder of the term in November 2000.
On July 27, 2014, former Braves manager Bobby Cox and pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with former White Sox player Frank Thomas, who was born in Columbus, Georgia.
On July 26, 2015, former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first pitcher inducted who had undergone Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.
Smoltz won the 1996 Cy Young award and reached the playoffs 14 times with Atlanta. The Braves won five pennants and the 1995 World Series with Smoltz on the roster. He’s the first pitcher to win more than 200 games and save at least 150 games. He’s also the first player inducted with Tommy John surgery on his resume.
Smoltz understood his debt to John.
“I’m a miracle. I’m a medical miracle,” Smoltz said. “I never took one day for granted.”
Smoltz also heaped praise on former manager Bobby Cox and teammates Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, who were inducted a year ago, and delivered a message to parents of the players of tomorrow as the number of Tommy John surgeries continues to escalate.
“Understand that this is not normal to have a surgery at 14 or 15 years old,” Smoltz said to warm applause. “Baseball is not a year-round sport. They’re competing too hard, too early. That’s why we’re having these problems.”
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Georgia posted a record number of jobs in June 2025, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Georgia has officially hit over 5 million people now employed in the state, according to the Georgia Department of Labor’s latest report.
Governor Brian Kemp shared the news on social media, calling it a historic achievement and a reflection of the state’s “pro-business approach.”
This marks the highest number of employed Georgians in state history, with 5,001,100 total jobs recorded in June 2025. Over the last year, that number has grown by nearly 30,000, a clear sign that Georgia’s economy continues to expand.
“This milestone belongs to all Georgians — the risk-takers, the builders and the communities driving progress,” Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes said in the report. “Momentum is building. Opportunity is real.”
Key sectors that hit record highs include:
• Health care and social assistance: 623,300 jobs
• Financial activities: 286,200 jobs
• Leisure and hospitality: 522,100 jobsJune alone saw job increases in areas such as:
• Health care and social assistance (+3,900)
• Arts, entertainment and recreation (+3,500)
• Administrative and support services (+3,100)
• Construction (+1,800)
• Local government and finance/insurance (each +1,500)
Other important numbers:
Georgia State Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) said the state Senate will repeal the state income tax, according to Atlanta News First via WTOC.
Georgia ranks eighth in the nation for state and local tax burdens, according to the Tax Foundation. Now, a Georgia senator is leading a push to eliminate the state income tax altogether.
On Thursday, Republican state Sen. Blake Tillery, chairman of the Senate committee on eliminating the state income tax, announced plans to file legislation that would phase out Georgia’s personal income tax in 2026— a move that would cut more than 5% from the average worker’s paycheck.
“My mission is simple — eliminate Georgia’s income tax in its entirety,” Tillery said during the announcement, flanked by posters highlighting the proposal.
Until now, Georgia lawmakers have opted to reduce the income tax rate gradually. But eliminating it entirely would leave a roughly $16 billion gap in state revenue. Tillery said the committee will look at how other states have tackled similar policies.
Nine states currently do not levy a personal income tax, including Tennessee and South Dakota. However, an analysis by U.S. News & World Report shows that many of these states rank low in affordability, and often have higher costs of living or property taxes. Tennessee, for example, raised its sales tax to 7% to capitalize on tourism revenue.
“I would wonder if more people go through Sevierville than Hartsfield,” Tillery said, referencing Georgia’s busy international airport.
Still, critics warn that raising the sales tax could disproportionately affect low and middle-income families.
Democratic state Sen. Ed Harbison, one of three Democrats appointed to the committee, said he’s open to ideas — as long as essential services like education and healthcare are protected.
“There are a lot of people who want to see casinos coming — maybe they could pay for those kinds of things,” Harbison said. “I have an open mind in that regard.”
The committee is expected to meet several times and release its recommendations before disbanding in December, ahead of the 2026 legislative session.
Question: where the article says Georgia ranks eighth in the nation for state and local tax burden, is that eighth highest or eighth lowest?
One Answer: the Tax Foundation ranked Georgia eighth lowest combined state and local tax burden for calendar year 2022. However, the same group ranked Georgia the 39th highest (eleventh lowest?) for “tax burden” among the states in the same calendar year, defining “tax burden” as “state and local taxes paid by a state’s residents divided by that state’s share of net national product.”
Presumably, this is related to the State Senate Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax. From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald:
The state Senate is about to begin laying the groundwork for making Georgia the 10th state with no income tax.
Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, who chairs the budget-writing Senate Appropriations Committee, announced plans Thursday for a series of hearings a newly created committee will hold later this summer and fall to pave the way for him to introduce legislation during the 2026 General Assembly session to eliminate Georgia’s income tax.
“This is about competitiveness, economic freedom, and letting hardworking Georgians keep their money in their pockets,” Tillery said during a news conference inside the state Capitol.
Tillery will chair the new Senate Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax, which will include eight Republican senators and three Democrats. The panel is being formed by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the Senate’s presiding officer, who has pledged to make getting rid of the state income tax a key platform plank as he seeks the GOP nomination for governor next year.
Georgia Republicans have long made reducing the tax a major priority but have stopped short of abolishing it altogether. This year, the legislature’s Republican majorities passed a bill backed by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp that cut the income tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year.
Various proposals to repeal the tax that have sounded good on the campaign trail have prompted concerns over how to replace the lost tax revenue. States that don’t have an income tax have tended to offset that revenue with higher sales taxes.
Tillery said the nine states currently doing without an income tax have not suffered the financial catastrophe detractors have predicted. While the list mostly includes Republican-led states like Texas, Tennessee, and Florida, the Democratic-controlled states of New Hampshire and Washington also have done away with their state income taxes.
Tillery said he’s not entering the committee process with preconceived ideas of how to replace the revenue Georgia would lose by abolishing the state income tax. He said he wants to hear from Jones, fellow committee members, and from representatives of the nine states without an income tax.
“We’ve got plenty of ideas to choose from,” he said.
The committee will have until Dec. 15 to report its findings and recommendations to the full Senate.
Georgia ranked fifth among the states for highest STD rates, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Invigor Medical, a health and wellness clinic in Washington, took a deep dive into states’ numbers of sexually transmitted diseases based on 2023 data from the CDC. Here’s what we know:
Georgia ranked the 4th highest overall in STD numbers with 1,020.9 cases per 100,000.
Georgia had the 5th highest amount of chlamydia infections with 71,294 new cases, 646.4 per 100,000.
Georgia had 30,307 new cases of gonorrhea (5th highest in the U.S.) with 274.8 per 100,000 (3rd highest).
Georgia had 8,183 new cases of syphilis (5th highest in the U.S.) with 74.2 cases per 100,000 (12th highest).
Georgia had 2,359 new cases of HIV (5th highest in the U.S.) with 74.2 cases per 100,000 (the worst in the nation).
Georgia ranked 17th in the nation for the number of at-risk youth, according to the Savannah Morning News.
WalletHub determined where the most at-risk youth is by analyzing all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. on their health, education and employment. These two overall metrics were broken up into several smaller ones like rates of youth poverty, teen pregnancy, and youth using drugs.
Georgia ranked in the top 20, at No. 17 specifically. The state scored well in health (at No. 12 best), but poorly in education and employment (at No. 11 worst).
Georgia was particularly bad with its percentage of youth without a high school diploma, tying for third highest percentage with Arizona and Indiana.
Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams says his department budget is too low, according to WRDW.
According to the sheriff’s office, Burke County has a $94 million operating budget, but Sheriff Alfonzo Williams’ team only gets $11.6 million.
The sheriff’s office says this impacts every citizen in Burke County.
It says the underfunding means fewer deputies on the road, increased response times, strained resources for investigations and a difficulty to recruit and retain personnel.
“We are committed to serving and protecting this county with integrity, but we can’t ignore the reality: we are severely underfunded, and it’s taking a toll,” said the sheriff’s office.
This comes three day after Burke County Board of Commissioners filed a motion to dismiss Williams’ writ of mandamus. They also filed an answer and counterclaim to Williams’ lawsuit.
The sheriff’s legal battle against commissioners is a civil case. He’s filed a writ of mandamus lawsuit against them because he claims they and the county manager are illegally interfering with his budget decisions.
“Our community deserves a fully supported and properly equipped sheriff’s office. Public safety should be a top priority — and it starts with giving our law enforcement officers the resources they need to do their jobs effectively and safely,” said the sheriff’s office.
Burke County Commissioners responded to the lawsuit, according to WRDW.
The commissioners filed a motion to dismiss Williams’ writ of mandamus, plus they filed an answer and counterclaim to Williams’ lawsuit.
The sheriff’s legal battle against commissioners is a civil case. He’s filed a writ of mandamus lawsuit against them because he claims they and the county manager are illegally interfering with his budget decisions.
A mandamus lawsuit is a case asking a judge to make someone either do something or stop doing something.
In seeking to get the writ of mandamus dismissed, commissioners allege:
• It’s the wrong type of action to file because a mandamus is meant to cover single or determinate actions instead of continuous and variable ones.
• The sheriff seeks to compel commissioners to undo past acts, which a mandamus doesn’t cover
In their counterclaim, commissioners allege, among other things, that:
• The board has the exclusive authority to set the budget of the sheriff, and the sheriff has the discretion to decide how his budget will be spent.
• The board has the duty to make payment upon the spending decisions of the sheriff as long as there are enough unobligated funds and as long as the expenditures fall within the sheriff’s legal powers.
• The framework, budget and accounts of the sheriff are subject to the board.
• The board requires the sheriff to obtain purchase orders and designate the appropriate line items from the budget for payments.
• If there aren’t enough unobligated funds in a line item to make a payment, the sheriff will have to move funds from another line item.
• The commissioners have control over county property, including cars. The sheriff has some discretion for painting and marking cars assigned to him, but doesn’t have authority over repairs and maintenance.
• Commissioners say they can take away the sheriff’s cars if they think the vehicles are being used in a wasteful, negligent or ineffective manner.
• Commissioners say they can use revenues from speed-limit cameras on public safety initiatives as they see fit, including ones that don’t involve law enforcement.
• The board exercises total control over the line item of the sheriff’s budget related to liability insurance to cover the sheriff and his staff.
The board says Williams appears to be challenging these rights and responsibilities by threatening criminal prosecution.
Harold A. Hinesley, senior judge of the Superior Courts of Georgia, has agreed to conduct proceedings in the case after local judges recused themselves.
Jefferson City Council member Dawn Maddox is resigning, according to AccessWDUN.
District 2 City Councilmember Dawn Maddox said she turned in her resignation to the mayor and city council on Wednesday, July 16. She says she will attend the upcoming city council voting session on July 28 as her final meeting.
Maddox was first elected to the District 2 post on the council in 2021. She said she was led to resign after recent disputes involving the city’s police department.
Maddox said she has made a recommendation to the mayor and city council for an interim replacement for her District 2 seat. Maddox’s term was set to expire this year, meaning the seat will be up for grabs in the November General Election.
Local police departments are preparing to deal with digital IDs, according to The Brunswick News.
More than 500,000 Georgia residents have downloaded their digital driver’s licenses and IDs and the number continues to grow.
As it does, local police departments are eyeing a future in which officers must carry with them a digital ID reader to use during traffic stops and other police interactions.
That equipment, however, won’t be required for police departments for another two years, until July 1, 2027.
“We are preparing for what will come but do not currently have the digital readers,” said Angela Smith, Brunswick’s interim police chief and sole finalist for the permanent position.
She said the city police force will be ready come 2027.
The Glynn County Police Department is in a similar situation. While it does have some equipment already, the full roll out of digital license readers will come together over the next two years, a spokesperson said.
Georgia’s digital ID law, which passed the General Assembly as House Bill 296, took effect July 1. It creates a system in which Georgians may download and possess a digital version of their state identification on their smartphones or other devices that they may present to law enforcement and for other uses.
Until digital license readers are required equipment for police officers, Susan Sports, spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Drivers Services, said motorists should still carry their physical license and be prepared to present it.
“Today, Georgia digital licenses and IDs are only accepted at select airports through the Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints,” a statement from the DDS said earlier this month. “Other use cases will be added in the near future, including an option to use a mobile driver’s license for VIP service when visiting DDS customer service centers.”
Other new state laws increase requirements on schools, according to WJBF via WSAV.
House Bill 874 is now into effect and requires all K-12 public schools to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) and an emergency action plan in place.
It also requires CPR training for school staff and emergency drills for fast response.
Another new law mandates public schools to transfer student records to a new school system within five business days.
Senate Bill 123, now going into law, addresses chronic absenteeism in schools which bans schools from expelling students solely due to absences and requiring school to have an attendance review plan.
House Bill 268, or the School Safety Act will require schools to have mobile panic alert systems, digital mapping of school grounds, and increased mental health support for students and a behavioral threat management team if students make a threat.
The Distraction Free Education Act requires elementary and middle schools to have a cell phone free zone for K-8 students starting next July, but will require school districts to come up with a plan by January 2026.
Earlier this year, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed seven bills into law focusing on students and teachers including one that ensures fairness in school sports, safety measures in schools and improving the quality of education in Georgia.
House Bill 538 from 2023, the “Georgia Early Literacy Act,” led to student gains in low-performing schools, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Moultrie Observer.
A two-year-old Georgia law requiring teachers to use the “science of reading” in their lessons has led to literacy gains in the state’s lowest performing schools, the Georgia Department of Education announced Wednesday.
House Bill 538, which passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives and with just one ‘no’ vote in the Senate, called on the state agency to overhaul teacher training and develop new literacy tests.
The education department responded last fall by sending literacy coaches to 60 schools that had been performing in the bottom 5%.
Scores on the new reading tests improved 15%, with the strongest gains in kindergarten, according to the agency.
The law, which took effect in July 2023, required all public schools and school systems to provide onsite teacher training, with model lessons for students and prompt instructional feedback. It also required all teachers in kindergarten through third grade to complete literacy training by the beginning of this month.
The education department coaches reached 1,000 teachers and affected 18,000 students, the agency said, noting that teachers reported improvements in their confidence, their instructional ability and their use of data.
“Targeting intensive supports where they’re most needed, by placing coaches directly in our most challenged schools, has shown immediate promise,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said, adding that the initiative laid “a strong foundation for lasting, statewide literacy success.”
Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson welcomed newly-sworn in Justice Ben Land to the Court, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.
“The Supreme Court congratulates and welcomes Judge Land. His background and experience, including years as a state appellate judge, trial court judge and litigator, position him well to serve on the state’s highest court. My fellow justices and I look forward to working with him.”
Land has most recently served on the Georgia Court of Appeals, the state’s intermediate appellate court, to which he was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022. Prior to that, he served as a trial judge on the Superior Court for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King (R) is dropping out of the United States Senate race, according to WSAV.
King’s announcement comes two months after he announced his bid for Senate in May of this year.
“I got into the U.S. Senate race to beat Jon Ossoff, not distract from the mission,” he said in a post on social media. “Right now, it’s clear there’s little path forward to the nomination, so today I’m suspending my campaign.”
Instead of continuing his run for Senate, he will be running for reelection in his current position as Insurance Commissioner.
“I’m running for re-election as Insurance Commissioner to finish the job I started six years ago, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep Georgia’s state offices red and back a Senate nominee who supports President Trump’s agenda,” he said.
King was appointed to his current position by Governor Kemp in 2019 and elected to the position in 2022. King is a native of Mexico and is Georgia’s first Hispanic statewide elected official.
From the Associated Press via AccessWDUN:
A spokesperson for Collins confirmed that Kemp called Collins Thursday to tell Collins he would be supporting Dooley. Although Collins hasn’t yet officially announced his campaign, the spokesperson said Collins looked forward to being the nominee.
“Congressman Collins and the governor had a positive call,” the spokesperson said. “The Congressman reiterated to the governor he is focused on continuing to deliver on President Trump’s agenda and looks forward to the governor’s support after he wins the primary.”
Former state Senator Eric Johnson, who is supporting U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, said King’s decision reflects how important money and high-profile backers are in politics, calling his decision to drop out “a casualty of the lack of ability to self-fund.”
“It will be interesting to see what the base Republican voter thinks about somebody trying to handpick their senator,” Johnson said, adding he is supporter of Kemp.
Carter is one candidate who can self-fund — of the $3.6 million his campaign raised through June 30, $2 million was a loan from the candidate. Carter has already spent $2.5 million, including television ads seeking to build support.
A spokesperson for Carter slammed Kemp’s move to boost Dooley.
“Politicians don’t elect our Senators — the people of Georgia do,” the spokesperson said in an email. “There’s only one candidate in this race who is a MAGA Warrior and only one who will take the fight to radical liberal Jon Ossoff.”
Democrat Michael McCord announced he is running for the First Congressional District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-SSI), according to WTOC.
[From the campaign’s press release:]
Michael McCord, a former blue-collar worker turned business consultant, officially launched his campaign for Congress in Georgia’s 1st Congressional District today with a message focused on grit, hard work, and fighting for forgotten communities.
McCord, who grew up in a trailer and worked in automotive manufacturing and warehouses before building a successful consulting firm, says his campaign is about restoring common sense and working-class representation to Washington. Since 2019, his business consulting work has saved small businesses across South Carolina and Georgia over $1.5 million last year alone, working with some of Savannah’s most well-known businesses to help them navigate economic challenges.
“I wasn’t born into politics. I was born into struggle,” said McCord. “I’ve punched a clock. I’ve swept shop floors. I’ve also sat at boardroom tables. I know what it means to fight your way up — and I’m running to fight for the folks who are being left behind by both parties.”
Running as a Democrat, McCord is positioning himself as an independent-minded alternative to career politicians and political dynasties, pledging to be a voice for rural Georgians, military families, working-class voters, and the small towns and communities across South Georgia too often overlooked.
McCord’s announcement comes as rural parts of Georgia’s 1st District face a healthcare crisis, with communities losing Medicaid access and healthcare facilities, rising costs, hospital closures, crumbling infrastructure, and a shrinking economic future for many small towns. He says the time for party politics is over — and the time for practical, honest leadership is now.
“This campaign isn’t about left vs. right. It’s about right vs. wrong,” McCord said. “We need leaders who won’t sell us out — who’ll show up in every corner of this district, not just when it’s convenient or politically safe. While my likely opponent Jim Kingston may have his father’s name and Wall Street connections, I have something more valuable: real experience helping working families and small businesses survive.”
His campaign slogan, “Built from the Bottom. Fighting for the Middle,” reflects both his personal story and his mission: to cut through the noise and focus on real solutions for middle- and working-class families.
McCord will officially kick off his campaign with a public launch event at Lulu’s Chocolate Bar on Whitmarsh Island on August 20th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The public is invited to meet McCord and learn more about his vision for Georgia’s 1st District.
“This campaign isn’t about left vs. right. It’s about right vs. wrong,” McCord concluded. “We need leaders who won’t sell us out — who’ll show up in every corner of this district, not just when it’s convenient or politically safe.”
Police Blotter: Steven Kelly discussed his prior arrests in connection with his campaign for Mayor of Columbus, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Columbus mayoral candidate Steven Kelly was arrested in February 2018 for driving under the influence and again for simple battery in June, according to Columbus Police Department records.
“I knew there were issues that would be made public,” Kelly wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday. “And I still remain committed to transparency, accountability, and the values that have guided me throughout my life: service, resilience, and a dedication to doing better for my family, myself and for the people of Columbus.”
Kelly is the third candidate to file to run for Columbus mayor after fired city manager Isaiah Hugley and former Muscogee County sheriff candidate Mark LaJoye.
After the DUI arrest, Kelly went through alcohol treatment and counseling, he told the Ledger-Enquirer. He went through multiple programs to address his alcoholism and mental health.
“I didn’t let the DUI define me,” he said. “I still went on to do a lot of great things in the military, but I did learn that I had to fix myself. . . . That was a turning point in my life that I knew I needed to be better and do better.”
When it comes to his simple battery arrest from June, Kelly declined to provide many more details other than to confirm that he and his wife faced consequences from a domestic violence incident.
CPD records show that there were minor injuries from the altercation, and his wife also was charged with simply battery.
“All aspects of the actual case and the details of the case, I would like to keep that private until it is resolved, because of the integrity of the case and for the privacy of my wife and daughter,” Kelly said.
However, despite the case, Kelly said his wife is going to be campaigning with him after they go to court next month.
United States Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) asked the US Department of Justice to investigate the Bibb County Jail, according to 13WMAZ.
Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate conditions at the Bibb County Jail, according to a press release from the office of Raphael Warnock.
The press release says Warnock and Ossoff wrote a letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, asking for a federal investigation into the Bibb County Jail.
“The pattern of violence at this facility is troubling,” the letter said. “We have been encouraged by local officials’ recent efforts to address Bibb County Jail conditions. However, given the extremity of the reported health, safety, and civil rights concerns that persist in the jail, we urge the DOJ to conduct a full and thorough investigation.”
The senators’ request comes as local Bibb County leaders are working on several jail reforms, such as finding alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders.
The letter highlighted the jail fight from early June that injured four and killed one inmate, as well as an inmate being thrown hot water in his face. The letter was sent to the DOJ Thursday, and cited coverage from The Telegraph and other local outlets to show the severity of issues at the facility.
Ossoff and Warnock also said living conditions are concerning at the Bibb County Jail. This issue has been pointed out by Macon’s NAACP president, Gwenette Westbrooks, and Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs. The two are regularly touring the jail and ensure changes are being made to address the issues, which include “cracked walls, broken plumbing, poor lighting and unsanitary conditions (that) create an environment no human should be subjected to,” the NAACP said previously. The NAACP presidents also requested in May that the DOJ investigate the jail after they described the jail.
All of these incidents resulted in a protest outside the jail in late May, which led Sheriff David Davis to walk outside the sheriff’s office to speak with protesters.
Davis agreed with the protesters about the severity of the issues at the jail and mentioned how most of the incarcerated people in the jails were “folks who really don’t want to be there,” and would be destructive and disruptive in the jail.
However, he encouraged them to protest “because I need something done about this facility here,” he said.
District 3 Commissioner Stanley Stewart was also among the crowd of protesters.
“We have been encouraged by local officials’ recent efforts to address Bibb County Jail conditions,” the senators said in their letter. “However, given the extremity of the reported health, safety, and civil rights concerns that persist in the jail, we urge the DOJ to conduct a full and thorough investigation into conditions at this jail and whether the rights of any individuals who work at or are incarcerated at these facilities may have been violated.”
From another story in the Macon Telegraph:
Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said he will cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice if Attorney General Pam Bondi pursues a federal investigation into the Bibb County Jail.
A Macon criminal prosecutor and the Georgia NAACP also expressed support for a federal investigation into the jail, after U.S. senators from Georgia reported the facility’s unsafe and unsanitary conditions to the DOJ on Thursday. The sheriff’s office oversees the jail.
“I am aware that Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate conditions at the Bibb County Jail,” Davis told The Telegraph in an email. “Members of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and I look forward to working with the Department of Justice on this investigation if and when the Attorney General grants this request.”
Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard said she wants the jail to be held accountable for people’s safety.
“As a member of this community, I support ongoing jail reform efforts while ensuring that accountability and public safety remain our top priorities,” Howard told The Telegraph in a statement Thursday evening.
Miller and Sheriff Davis have created initiatives to keep those in the facility safe, and have acknowledged they want upgrades to the jail, but Griggs said the efforts were not enough.
“The sheriff is trying his best with the resources he has, but. … we believe that things need to be done immediately,” Griggs said.
Augusta Commissioners continue working on a proposed Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum (SPLOST 9), according to WJBF.
Dublin City Schools say they reduced absenteeism through offering a health clinic for students and staff, according to 13WMAZ.
Dublin City Schools has reduced chronic absenteeism by nearly half after implementing a year-round health clinic for students and staff, officials said.
Absentee rates were 69% at the beginning of the 2024 school year and 84% by the end of the school year, according to La’Ronda Fleming, federal programs director at Dublin City Schools.
“We’ve done sports physicals, well checks, we’ve helped the staff with, been doing bus driver physicals, just with some of the staff’s primary care that they need,” [staff Nurse Practitioner Kate] McCullars said.
With Dublin City Schools starting classes next week, officials say the clinic has experienced an influx of students seeking required immunizations and health screenings. District officials hope the summer preparation will minimize classroom disruptions once school begins.
The year-round clinic model allows Dublin City Schools to provide continuous healthcare access to students and staff throughout the calendar year, addressing medical needs before they result in extended absences.
Bulloch Action Coalition ended their effort to bring two referenda to the ballot through petitions, according to the Savannah Morning News.
A 501c4 nonprofit corporation identified as a civic and social organization, the politically active BAC launched the double petition drive in August 2024, seeking enough signatures to place two questions on a ballot before Bulloch County voters. If such a referendum had been held, one question would have asked, “Shall the motion passed by the Bulloch County … Commissioners approving a memorandum of understanding for a well mitigation program between Bulloch County and Bryan County be repealed?” The other would have asked the same thing about “an intergovernmental agreement between Bulloch County and Bryan County to provide water and sewer services.”
Both of those motions were made by the Board of Commissioners during a June 27, 2024 meeting, as noted again in the BAC’s July 23, 2025 press release announcing the suspension of the petition drive. The release referred to those motions as “the devastating decisions” made by the board on that date.
In the release, the Bulloch Action Coalition cited two reasons for halting the petition and referendum drive.
The first reason is the state’s approval of $501.7 million funding, in the midyear fiscal 2025 supplemental budget, for the Coastal Georgia Regional Water Partnership’s plan to extend surface water supplies, particularly from the Savannah River, to meet the needs of the Hyundai plant and other growth in the region. Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed the plan and signed the budget in March.
Then with the state funding, the Coastal Georgia Regional Water Partnership plan, involving the city of Savannah, Bryan County and Effingham County, is projected to accomplish the move to surface water much sooner, in five years, as the BAC acknowledged in its release.
“The decision to suspend the referendum efforts was based on the belief that no amount of money over the commitment of almost $502 million by the State could get us to surface water any quicker than the Governor’s plan to provide water to the Hyundai Megasite in three years from the Savannah River and two years later from Effingham County at Ebenezer Creek on the Savannah River.” the release stated.
“We are still disappointed in the decision by the previous Bulloch County Board of Commissioners to proceed with making these terrible decisions despite the outcry by citizens,” BAC co-founder Lawton Sack said in the release. “However, we are so thankful that the State of Georgia heard the voices of Bulloch County citizens and acted appropriately when the Board of Commissioners would not. We are staunchly committed to continuing our efforts to echo the voices of citizens and to be a watchdog of our local government.”
Bryan County schools said most of their budget increase is due to rising employee benefits costs costs, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Bryan County Schools approved its 2026 budget June 26. Approved spending is $145 million, $12 million higher than in 2025.
The bulk of the increase went towards health benefits for classified employees, such as bus drivers and custodians, among other positions, according to Habets.
“The total budgeted expense for health insurance benefits for FY2026 is $21.5 million and TRS contributions are budgeted at $16.4 million,” said Habets. “That rate is increasing significantly, and the state does not offset that. There’s also an increase to the teacher retirement contribution and that’s required by the state.”
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