Georgia delegates Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.
On July 31, 1777, the Marquis de LaFayette was commissioned a Major General in the Continental Army, serving without pay.
The cornerstone for the first United States Mint was laid in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 31, 1792, becoming the first building constructed by the federal government under the Constitution.
Former President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded President Lincoln upon his assassination and oversaw much of the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, died of a stroke in Tennessee on July 31, 1875.
August 1 was a big day for Benjamin Mays – he was born on August 1, 1895 and became President of Morehouse College on August 1, 1936.
On July 31, 1906, a bill to place a Constitutional Amendment on the November election for voters to decide whether to create an intermediate-level Georgia Court of Appeals was approved by the Georgia General Assembly.
PT-109, commanded by LTJG John F. Kennedy was sunk on August 1, 1943.
On July 31, 1962, the one-millionth immigrant was welcomed into Israel.
On August 1, 1982, Hank Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On August 2, 1983, the United States House of Representatives voted to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal holiday on the third monday in January.
On July 31, 1987, “The Lost Boys” was released. From the New York Times:
“The Lost Boys” is to horror movies what “Late Night With David Letterman” is to television; it laughs at the form it embraces, adds a rock-and-roll soundtrack and, if you share its serious-satiric attitude, manages to be very funny.
Nolan Ryan, the greatest pitcher in major league baseball history, won his 300th career game on July 31, 1990. During eight innings, Ryan threw 146 pitches, while today, many pitchers are pulled at around the 100-pitch count.
“In the old days throwing that many pitches was a normal game,” said Nolan Ryan, who tossed a record seven no-hitters and is the all-time leader in strikeouts, fifth in innings pitched.
Ryan, currently the Rangers’ team president, is an outspoken detractor of the recent trend toward monitoring pitch counts. In a recent Sports Illustrated article, Ryan expressed his belief that today’s pitchers are “pampered” and that there is no reason why today’s pitchers cannot pitch as much as he and his colleagues did back in the day. As a result, Ryan is pushing his team’s pitchers to throw deeper into games and extend their arms further, emphasizing conditioning over what some would call coddling.
As Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux told SI: “This generation of players has become a creature of the pitch count. Their ceiling has been lowered. It’s up to us to jack it back up.”
Although I think that time he whipped Robin Ventura should count as a win.
On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait.
President Barack Obama visited Georgia on August 2, 2010 – his first trip to Atlanta and second to Georgia after his election in November 2008. The occasion of his 2010 trip, like his trip to Atlanta yesterday, was to deliver a speech to the Disabled American Veterans Conference at the Hyatt Regency. From his 2010 speech:
As a candidate for President, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end. Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. And I made it clear that by August 31st, 2010, America’s combat mission in Iraq would end. And that is exactly what we are doing — as promised and on schedule….
As agreed to with the Iraqi government, we will maintain a transitional force until we remove all our troops from Iraq by the end of next year.
At the same time, every American who has ever worn the uniform must also know this: Your country is going to take care of you when you come home. Our nation’s commitment to our veterans, to you and your families, is a sacred trust. And to me and my administration, upholding that trust is a moral obligation. It’s not just politics.
That’s why I’ve charged Secretary Shinseki with building a 21st century VA. And that includes one of the largest percentage increases to the VA budget in the past 30 years. We are going to cut this deficit that we’ve got, and I’ve proposed a freeze on discretionary domestic spending. But what I have not frozen is the spending we need to keep our military strong, our country safe and our veterans secure. So we’re going to keep on making historic commitments to our veterans.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Brian Kemp announced two judicial appointments, according to a press release.
Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced the following judicial appointments: Randal “Randy” M. McGinley to the Superior Court of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable W. Kendall Wynne, Jr.; and Brent C. Carter to the State Court of Candler County, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable J. Kendall Gross.
Randal “Randy” M. McGinley has served as the District Attorney of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit since 2020. He began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Alcovy Judicial Circuit in 2011 and was appointed Chief Assistant District Attorney in 2017.
McGinley previously served as the President, Vice President, and Secretary of the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia. In 2025, his fellow district attorneys named him the District Attorney of the Year. He was appointed to the State Child Fatality Review Panel by Governor Kemp and to the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission by Lt. Governor Burt Jones, where he currently serves as the Chairman of the Investigative Panel.
McGinley earned a bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctor from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law. He and his wife have two young daughters and live in Walton County.
Brent C. Carter is a partner at the law firm of CarterFranklin, LLP, primarily focusing on personal injury cases. He currently serves as the Solicitor-General for the State Court of Candler County and previously served as the Chief Magistrate Judge of Candler County. He has served the citizens of Candler County in various legal and judicial capacities since 2005.
Carter earned a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University and a Juris Doctor from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law.
Carter and his wife, Candace, reside in Metter with their three children.
Governor Brian Kemp ordered state agencies to slow their spending, according to the AJC.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration has directed state agencies to freeze spending next year and prepare for possible budget cuts as the state faces new headwinds after years of post-pandemic surpluses.
The instructions come two months after Kemp signed an election-year income tax cut that blew a $1.3 billion hole in the budget. Georgia still has ample budget reserves and a growing economy, prompting credit rating agencies to give the state their top scores.
But the reserves are shrinking as state lawmakers cut taxes and increase spending. Also, steep federal spending cuts are on the way.
Although the Kemp administration said it believes Georgia will have enough money to pay for state services, the July 17 memo from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget said contingency plans for “efficiencies and savings” are needed to “help ensure the state can respond effectively to changing economic conditions or new budget priorities that require the reallocation of existing resources.”
“Through common sense, conservative budgeting, the State of Georgia has remained on strong financial footing the last several years and has weathered financial storms that have had worse effects on other regions,” Kemp spokesperson Annalise Morning said in a statement. “The Governor’s latest budget instructions will preserve that foundation and keep Georgia in a strong financial place for the future.”
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia enjoyed years of relatively easy budgeting. An influx of federal funding helped swell the state’s coffers. High inflation meant rising prices for consumers but also rising sales tax revenue for the state. A booming economy and population growth meant higher income tax receipts.
State spending grew 40%, to $38.5 billion, from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2027, which began this month. Sen. Blake Tillery, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee until he leaves office in January, said most of the new spending was for salaries, including raises for teachers, police officers and other state employees.
Georgia’s reserve funds also grew. The state’s undesignated reserves and “rainy day” fund — money set aside in case of revenue shortfalls — grew to a combined $16.5 billion two years ago. That was enough to run state government for nearly six months.
Awash in cash, Kemp and the General Assembly returned billions of dollars to taxpayers through reduced income tax rates and refunds.
But Georgia and other states also face fiscal headwinds. Last year, Congress approved President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will reduce federal spending and shift costs for some programs to the states.
The law is expected to cost Georgia $10 billion in Medicaid funding over 10 years. Among other things, Georgia also could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for food stamps. Much of the impact is still to come.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office has instructed Georgia state agencies to keep spending level as they prepare budget proposals ahead of next year’s legislative session.
Kemp is term-limited and signed his final budget earlier this year, cutting more than $300 million in new spending at the time to help pay for an income tax cut package that lawmakers passed earlier this year.
The next budget will be signed by Georgia’s new governor, who could be healthcare executive Rick Jackson, a Republican, or former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, but state agencies must submit their budget request by Sept. 1, giving Kemp some control over the process in his final months in office.
Office of Planning and Budget director Richard Dunn wrote in a memo sent to agency heads earlier this month that the budget for the next fiscal year has to maintain the current fiscal year’s level. Requests for funding increases must be approved by Dunn’s office and will be limited to an “urgent, unavoidable need that cannot be addressed through internal redirection without negatively affecting essential service delivery,” according to the memo.
Dunn touted the Kemp administration’s accomplishments but hinted at the uncertain economic conditions that await. As state agencies prepare their new spending plans, Georgia is also still bracing for the financial impacts of the federal tax and spending bill that passed last year.
“To sustain these achievements while implementing historic tax relief for our citizens, responsible fiscal management principles require that we continue to live within our means,” Dunn wrote in the memo.
The guidance instructed agencies to plan to redirect their current funds for non-mandatory spending and new projects and to draft contingencies plans that identify “potential efficiencies and savings.”
“While current revenue projections are expected to be sufficient to meet the state’s mandatory growth obligations, these plans help ensure the state can respond effectively to changing economic conditions or new budget priorities that require the reallocation of existing resources,” Dunn wrote.
The move drew criticism from the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. According to GBPI, inflation over the past eight years means the state is currently spending less per resident despite budget growth. Organization chief Staci Fox criticized Kemp’s administration for prioritizing tax cuts that will decrease funding to the state’s future budgets instead of spending on healthcare and education.
“While Gov. Kemp has already unilaterally issued budget cuts that will harm the most vulnerable Georgians, the budget instructions issued for the 2027 legislative session make clear that our state cannot afford to continue prioritizing corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else,” Fox said in a statement.
The guidance comes after an income tax cut bill Kemp signed into law earlier this year. The tax cut lowered the rate from 5.19% to 4.99% and exempted some overtime and tips from being taxed and caused a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall for next year’s budget.
That led to the governor cutting $300 million in new spending to address the deficit, which included $9.3 million for services for people with disabilities and $30.7 million for transportation funding for schools. He said then that not cutting some of those new services would have left the next governor with a “mess.”
State Rep. Sharon Henderson (D-Covington), previously suspended from office, pled guilty to federal charges, according to 13WMAZ.
Sharon Henderson, a suspended member of the Georgia House of Representatives, pleaded guilty on Thursday to making false statements to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars of emergency pandemic-era unemployment assistance payments.
Henderson, 67, of Covington, admitted in federal court to lying on her application and weekly certifications to collect $17,811 in federal pandemic unemployment benefits.
“While running for and holding political office, Representative Henderson was fleecing taxpayers, lying to steal money from federal programs intended to help people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
In 2020, in response to unprecedented economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 emergency, Congress created special unemployment compensation programs to provide cash assistance to individuals who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Applicants had to provide their recent work histories and confirm, among other things, that COVID-19 was the reason they were unemployed.
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, in June 2020, Henderson applied for federal pandemic unemployment benefits, claiming that her current employer was Henry County Schools.
However, Henderson had not worked for Henry County Schools for almost two years. Before that, she had only worked for five days as a substitute teacher. Additionally, when she worked those five days in 2018, Henderson signed an acknowledgment that noted substitute teachers were not eligible to draw unemployment wages.
In her unemployment benefits application, Henderson falsely stated that she had worked for the school system throughout 2019 and as recently as March 10, 2020; that she had paystubs as evidence of that employment; and that her place of employment was closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
She then submitted fraudulent weekly certifications claiming that she was unable to reach her place of employment because of a COVID-19 quarantine. She filed eight of those fraudulent certifications in June 2021, after she was sworn in and serving as the state representative for District 113. She is not seeking re-election.
Henderson’s case is the third involving Georgia state lawmakers and pandemic unemployment fraud.
Two other Georgia State Representatives were previously convicted of similar pandemic unemployment assistance fraud:
• Karen L. Bennett, former State Representative for District 94, pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2026, to federal charges of making false statements to collect $13,940 of pandemic unemployment benefits.
• Dexter L. Sharper, former State Representative for District 177, pleaded guilty on March 11, 2026, to federal charges of making false statements to collect $13,825 of pandemic unemployment benefits.
From the Capitol Beat News Service:
In March, former Democratic state Rep. Dexter Sharper pleaded guilty to lying to the government to receive unemployment benefits. And former Democratic state Rep. Karen Bennett was sentenced to time served in April after pleading guilty to a felony charge for lying to the government.
Henderson previously claimed she was unfairly targeted for federal prosecution. But a review by a magistrate judge in April recommended rejecting Henderson’s request to dismiss the indictments against her.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Regina Cannon wrote “there is no evidence to suggest that she was unlawfully targeted for prosecution, nor that prosecutors in this District utilized improper methods to secure the Indictment.”
Federal prosecutors recommended sentencing Henderson to one year of probation, with the first two months being served in home detention, according to the plea agreement. They also recommended she pay $17,811 in restitution.
U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown said the 67-year-old would be sentenced Nov. 3.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp suspended Henderson from her legislative post in January. Amid the tumult, Henderson launched a bid for state Senate District 43, which covers parts of Rockdale County. She finished second in a three-person May Democratic primary. Incumbent state Sen. Tonya Anderson won by a wide margin.
A governor’s office spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for a comment about whether there would be a special election to fill Henderson’s seat in the General Assembly. The General Assembly is not in session, but Kemp could call a special session to redistrict the state before the scheduled end of Henderson’s term in office.
New legislation governing speed cameras is in effect, according to WRDW via WALB.
A Georgia lawmaker has been working on legislation aimed at protecting drivers from school zone speed cameras, even as students remain on summer break.
Georgia Rep. Dale Washburn said he began pursuing changes to school zone camera policy after House Bill 225 — a measure that would have banned the use of school zone cameras — did not pass.
“We started this past session, I began to work on the way to be able to send back either my bill or 651 with changes in it,” Washburn said.
Under House Bill 651, which is now law, tickets can only be issued on school days during school hours. Large warning signs must be placed within 500 feet of a school zone, and camera revenue must fund public safety initiatives, among other requirements.
Washburn said constituent feedback drove his continued work on the issue.
“I get calls from all over the states. Calls and emails from people who are saying, you know, I just want to let you know about this ticket I got,” Washburn said.
Washburn said the most significant element of the new law is a requirement for a local referendum, which goes into effect July 1, 2027. The provision would allow Georgia drivers to decide whether school zone cameras are used in their communities.
“The most significant piece is the requirement of a local referendum, because the people that I hear from they will vote them down,” Washburn said.
Washburn said he plans to monitor the law’s implementation closely and has not ruled out further legislative action.
“I’m going to be watching it carefully,” Washburn said. “If I have to, I’ll go back and reintroduce a bill to ban them in Georgia if we do not see significant change.”
The Election Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee is considering new rules for elections, according to Atlanta News First via WALB.
Georgia officials are launching a new bipartisan panel tasked with redesigning how the state votes by transitioning away from QR-code ballot tabulation ahead of the 2028 election cycle.
The newly formed Election Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee was established by Senate Bill 3EX, authored by state Sen. Max Burns, during the 2026 special legislative session. The committee faces a Jan. 31, 2027, deadline to deliver its recommendations to state policymakers for procurement, appropriations and implementation.
But as state leaders push to replace Georgia’s touchscreen-and-scanner equipment, some local voters question whether a change is even necessary.
“It’s not hard to press buttons on a screen. We all have embraced technology. Why we think it’s a problem with voting doesn’t really add up,” Rockdale County voter John Lyons said.
Fellow voter Phil Pritchard agreed, noting that the current setup is straightforward and reliable.
“This was pretty easy. I don’t have a problem with this,” Pritchard said. “I work with computers a lot, and I know they can be hacked but there is so much care taken.”
Local election administrators warn that reversing course to a hand-marked paper system will bring massive logistical hurdles, including longer lines.
“They need to understand when you go to a ballot on demand hand marked paper ballot system,” Paulding County Elections Supervisor Deidre Holden said. “A machine is not doing this for you anymore. You’re physically bubbling in your choices. That’s going to be time-consuming.”
Holden, one of the public members appointed to the panel, said political debates often ignore the day-to-day realities of running a polling place.
“This committee will be really invested in the process of what it’s going to look like,” Holden said. “And I think to, what I plan on bringing is reality. Politics doesn’t need to be involved in it. Needs to be hearing what we experience every day during early voting and election day, what the voters are saying, what they like, what they don’t like, what we like, what we don’t like. I think that it’s important that they hear that from someone who actually has their hands in it and is doing it every day.”
The joint legislative committee will be co-chaired by state Rep. Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia) and state Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania).
Anderson warned that the state cannot simply pass a mandate without considering local resources.
“Our elections are run by our counties,” Anderson said. “They’re the ones who have to make whatever we tell them the system is, they’re the ones that have to make it work.”
Burns insisted the overhaul is a necessary, long-term pivot as technology and demands change.
“I have been kind of in this space for a number of years now, and I think we’ve made progressive, positive steps forward,” Burns said. “Is it ever going to get to a final position, a finality? And the answer is probably not because technology changes and opportunities change. So it’s an evolution. I’ll tell you, this is a major step. This is a major decision point. It will set us up for the next decade.”
Elections systems researcher Ben Taylor warned that Georgia is searching for a perfect system that does not exist, and every method has its drawbacks.
“The trade-off is, all right, we can go to some other tabulation process that does not have QR codes, but maybe still uses a ballot marking device, a computer, as you say, or maybe we do the hand-marked paper ballot,” Taylor said. “But the problem there, as the Secretary of State’s office also pointed out is that to the extent there were any tabulation errors, they happened entirely on absentee ballots, which are, in Georgia, hand-marked paper ballots where you circle in the oval. So that’s the trade-off. To what extent do we have higher error rates? And what does that mean for voter confidence? And what does that mean for the cost of administering elections? Like, does this take more time? Do we have to have more tabulation counters and more folks involved with this? So all of these are trade-offs that they’re going to have to think about.”
The nine-member bipartisan panel is comprised of legislative appointees and public members selected by Georgia’s top officials:
Public members (Appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp): Deidre Holden, Paulding County elections and voter registration supervisor; Chris Harvey, executive director of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council and former state elections director; and Sam Hatcher, executive counsel for the Governor’s Office.
House Members (Appointed by Speaker Jon Burns): House co-chair Rep. Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia), Rep. Tim Fleming (R-Covington), and Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta).
Senate Members (Appointed by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones): Senate co-chair Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania), Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia), and Sen. Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville).
The committee will convene its first meeting on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, at 10 a.m. in room 606 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta.
Under Senate Bill 3EX, the committee must seek input from election officials, cybersecurity experts, and disability advocates before submitting its final report on Jan. 31, 2027. The legislation also establishes mandatory statewide hand recounts in certain close statewide elections and provides state reimbursement for eligible county recount costs.
The candidates for United States Senate have differing plans for rural healthcare, according to 13WMAZ.
Rural healthcare has become a central flashpoint in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race.
Congressman Mike Collins and Sen. Jon Ossoff have both offered starkly different diagnoses of what’s ailing the state’s hospitals — and how to fix it.
Both candidates say strengthening rural healthcare access is a priority for their campaigns, though they diverge sharply on the cause of the crisis and the solution. Georgia voters will decide between the two competing visions when they head to the polls in November.
Collins toured Monroe County Hospital this week, using the stop to lay out his healthcare platform as he continues his Senate campaign. He pointed to federal dollars he says he’s already helped secure for rural hospitals, and pledged to push for more if elected.
“My plan as your next U.S. senator, it’s to use my business experience to build on that record, and make life more affordable, more safe, and more prosperous for every Georgian,” Collins said. “And a part of that means making healthcare more accessible and more affordable to every person in our state.”
Collins said he’s focused on continuing that funding stream.
“We got $218 million delivered for rural hospitals across the state,” Collins said. “And in the Senate, I will push to double that amount, to help bring even more support to our rural hospitals and make healthcare more accessible across our state.”
On Medicaid, Collins pushed back on criticism of cuts he’s voted for in Congress, framing the changes as an effort to eliminate fraud rather than cut benefits for those who qualify.
“What we’re doing is cleaning out the waste, fraud, and abuse there, and making sure that people on that system, on Medicaid, are actually eligible for that so that they have that,” Collins said. “And we’re making sure that it is sustained.”
Ossoff, campaigning separately, has argued Collins’ voting record tells a different story than the one Collins is presenting on the campaign trail.
He pointed to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Lavonia, which is closing its birthing unit, as evidence of the real-world impact of Medicaid cuts Collins supported in Congress.
“He voted for the largest Medicaid cut in American history, and to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians,” Ossoff said.
Ossoff has also pointed to a broader wave of rural hospital closures across the state as a sign the current approach isn’t working.
“Rural hospitals in Georgia are in crisis,” Ossoff said. “21 closed in 20 years.”
With fewer than 100 days until Georgia’s November midterm election, the state’s high-profile U.S. Senate race is entering a more combative phase as Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican Rep. Mike Collins sharpen their attacks against each other.
At separate news conferences Thursday, both candidates sought to define the race and cast doubt on their opponent’s record.
Ossoff focused heavily on health care, accusing Collins of supporting Medicaid cuts that he says are hurting rural Georgia hospitals and forcing some to close labor and delivery units.
The senator pointed to nurses at St. Mary’s Hospital in Lavonia, who this week blamed Medicaid funding reductions for the closure of the hospital’s birthing unit.
“That hospital is shutting down its birthing unit, citing the Medicaid cuts that Mike Collins voted for,” Ossoff said. “He voted for the largest Medicaid cut in American history.”
Ossoff also renewed criticism stemming from a CNN report published two weeks ago that raised questions about Collins’ alleged ties to neo-Nazis and white nationalists.
The senator’s campaign cited reporting involving a former Collins aide who allegedly had contacts with white nationalists while working to help a Holocaust denier, as well as a neo-Nazi propagandist whom the campaign says had close ties to the congressman.
“It’s now been two full weeks that Congressman Mike Collins has refused to answer how much he or his business paid this neo-Nazi,” Ossoff said. “He’s refused to answer, and it’s unacceptable.”
Ossoff also called on Collins to disclose whether the individual was ever paid by his congressional office, campaign or business, while referencing an ongoing federal investigation into the alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars involving Collins’ office.
The Collins campaign quickly rejected the accusations, accusing Ossoff of attempting to distract voters from his own record.
In a statement, the campaign said Georgians deserve answers about Ossoff’s past associations and his record on Israel, adding that Collins remains focused on “delivering results for Georgians.”
Collins also held a separate news conference Thursday at Monroe County Hospital in Forsyth, where he pushed back on Ossoff’s criticism of his record.
The exchange marks the latest escalation in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races, with both campaigns increasingly shifting into general election mode ahead of November.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms will campaign for Governor in Savannah this weekend, according to the AJC.
This morning, Bottoms was at a “coffee and conversation” at Kinlaw Rosenwald School in Woodbine.
This afternoon, she will be in Brunswick for two events. The first is a healthcare roundtable at 12:30 p.m. at an undisclosed location. The second is at 6 p.m. at Selden Park Gym. Those wanting to RSVP can submit their info at keishaforgovernor.com/tour.
On Friday, Bottoms will be in Richmond Hill at a veteran’s healthcare roundtable at 11:30 a.m. at an undisclosed location.
Finally, on Saturday, Bottoms will speak at the Georgia Democratic Convention at the Savannah Convention Center. She’ll be part of the morning session featuring multiple elected officials and nominees speaking from 9 a.m. to noon. Guest forms for the event can be found at georgiademocrat.org/2026-convention.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens criticized Fulton County Commissioners for their decision to fund jail renovations rather than joining a tax extension proposal, according to the AJC.
In a scathing letter to the Fulton County Commission, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens blasted the county’s plan to spend more than a billion dollars on jail renovations instead of supporting his decades-long tax extension proposal.
The letter, dated Thursday, says the two votes — one approving a $1.3 billion financing plan for jail upgrades, and a second in opposition to the extension of six Tax Increment Financing districts that would drain revenue away from the county — “tell a story” about the commission’s priorities.
The letter appears to signify a souring relationship between the city and county after the commission voted earlier this month to opt out of the second-term mayor’s controversial plan to extend the tax districts for 30 years and invest the money in underserved neighborhoods.
Savannah speed cameras will be issuing tickets again as the school year starts, according to WSAV.
Most cameras will be reactivated Monday, the first day of the school year for Savannah-Chatham County Public School System students. The cameras will be active 45 minutes before school starts, stay on throughout the school day, and turn off 30 minutes after dismissal.
“Per Georgia law, violations will be enforced based upon ten miles per hour over the reduced speed limit when a reduction for the speed limit for a school zone is in effect and ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit for the school zone when no reduced speed limit is in effect,” a Savannah Police spokesperson said.
They will be only operati[ng] on school days and won’t issue citations on weekends, holidays or weather-related school closures.
Macon-Bibb County broke ground on a new jail, according to 13WMAZ.
Thursday morning, Macon-Bibb leaders broke ground on the next phase of the project, construction of a building officials say is intended to reduce overcrowding and improve safety for inmates.
“We’re not building this so as to add more inmates in the jail,” Macon-Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said. “We’re wanting to build it so that we can be more efficient than the inmates that we have, and do everything we can to reduce that jail population.”
“We’ve been running over 1000 inmates, and that’s a little bit over our capacity for the facility that we have here now,” Davis said. “But this (new project) really wasn’t designed and really built, in our view, to give us more room to put more inmates in; it was to use space more efficiently to deal with the types of inmates that we have now. We have many more inmates now who have mental health issues. We have many other inmates now who have behavioral and discipline issues. So this space that we’re building will help us to deal with those types of inmates.”
Albany City Commissioners voted to pause new data centers, according to WALB.
The Albany City Commission had a much larger audience than usual, and a number of those present were on hand hoping that commissioners would approve a moratorium on permitting data centers.
That group was not disappointed as the commission approved a 12-month pause on allowing data centers, with a possible six-month extension if the initial halt proved insufficient for drafting regulations to govern the facilities.
“I feel pretty great,” Aidan Tison, who has appeared before the commission in the past requesting a moratorium, told an Albany Herald reporter after the meeting. “We kind of took what the (Flint) Riverkeeper recommended (to the commission). We shot for 18 months and got 12.”
Commissioners also added a requirement to enlist an outside entity to assist in the process. That effort would be in addition to the Albany-Dougherty County Planning Commission’s role in drafting the regulations.
Talbot County will develop zoning rules for large battery storage systems, according to WTVM.
Talbot County planning officials are drafting new zoning language to regulate large battery energy storage systems after a private company called to ask about building one in the county, even though no formal application has been filed.
The move came up Monday night at a planning meeting, where staff said the inquiry revealed a gap in the local zoning code.
Allison Slocum of the River Valley Regional Commission told the board and public that a phone call from a prospective developer exposed the problem.
“We’ve just had someone call saying that they were interested in building one in the county,” Slocum said. “We looked at our ordinance and realized our ordinance did not reflect that land use at all.”
Battery energy storage systems are industrial facilities that store electricity. They differ from data centers, which process, store and route data. The two types of facilities are often used together to manage heavy power demands.
Talbot County already has one battery storage facility, built by Georgia Power in North Talbot. Because Georgia Power operates as a utility, it was not required to follow local zoning rules. A private developer would be.
Staff are now drafting a “text amendment”, new language that would spell out where battery storage sites can be located and under what conditions.
At Monday’s meeting, Slocum and board members focused on safety and neighbor impacts, including construction traffic, road damage, fire protection and environmental risks. Officials said they are reviewing national fire codes and discussed requiring developers to train local first responders.
Lowndes County Commissioners will begin work on a data center ordinance, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners hosted a data center information session on Jul. 28 following the regular meeting. During this meeting, representatives from the community and the Commissioners spoke to citizens packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the meeting room about the prospects of a data center and what requirements are being written into an ordinance to combat major concerns.
The immediate takeaways from this is that there are allegedly no data centers planned for the area, and if any interested parties come to Lowndes County in order to create one, they will have to wait until the ordinance is finalized.
The following proposed legislation is a consideration rather than a formal draft, so no votes will be passed on this until it is finalized. All proposals made during the session will be reconsidered with further information and shared with the public before a vote can be made.
“As soon as the ordinance is drafted, when it’s in draft format, we will share it publicly so that the citizens of our community can go ahead and take a look at it and provide additional feedback before the commission decides to vote,” Dukes said.
There was no concrete confirmation on whether a data center in the area would decrease property values, nor was it addressed in a way that would facilitate further conversation during the session.
“I can’t remember a call that I’ve gotten that somebody’s complaining because the value of their property is going down,” Commissioner-At-Large Bill Slaughter said. “I get complaints because the value of their properties is increasing, that’s when I get calls.”
Sea turtles hit a record number for nesting sites, according to The Brunswick News.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources reported this week that the when the number of loggerhead turtle nests surpassed 4,071 on Coastal Georgia’s beaches, a new record was set, topping the previous mark set in 2022.
Georgia Ports finished their fiscal year slightly lower than the previous year, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The Port of Savannah finished its 2026 fiscal year modestly behind the previous year’s volumes, rounding the year out strong with an 18% increase in June’s volumes over last year, the Georgia Ports Authority announced at its Tuesday board meeting.
GPA closed the fiscal year in Savannah .6% below fiscal year 2025’s volume, a year marked by volatility from tariffs and international conflict. The final numbers show that traffic at the Port of Savannah strengthened in the fiscal year’s second half given volumes were down roughly 2% year-over-year halfway through the fiscal calendar.
Fiscal year 2026 saw 5.67 million twenty-foot equivalent units moved through the Port of Savannah, short of the 5.7 million in fiscal year 2025. GPA’s revenues finished at $838.8 million, the second highest fiscal year in authority history.
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