Georgia Trend Daily – March 12, 2025
March 12, 2025 Rough Draft Atlanta
Mayor Dickens launches bid for second term
Collin Kelley reports that Mayor Andre Dickens launched his re-election campaign on Tuesday, March 12, with a focus on public safety, infrastructure, housing, and education. With $1.4 million in campaign funds and support from notable figures such as former Mayors Andrew Young and Shirley Franklin and former State Sen. Jason Carter, Dickens said he wanted a second term to complete his vision of Atlanta.
March 12, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Economic Development Around the State
Christy Simo reports that Georgia was named No. 1 for Best Business Climate in a survey of expert site selectors across the country by Site Selection, dethroning last year’s winner, Texas. Survey participants ranked states based on factors that relate to maintaining a business-friendly environment like workforce availability, training programs and cost of living.
March 12, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Delta, other airlines cut growth forecasts amid fears of economic uncertainty
Emma Hurt reports that Delta Air Lines halved its forecasted profits and revenue growth for the first quarter on Monday, citing a drop in domestic “consumer and corporate confidence.” On Tuesday morning, Southwest and American Airlines followed suit thanks to less government-related travel and consumer travel hesitancy, and all major airline stocks took a tumble in after-hours trading Monday.
March 12, 2025 Saporta Report
Atlanta’s Ray C. Anderson Foundation to sunset in five years
Maria Saporta reports that the ray of light known as the Ray C. Anderson Foundation will sunset its operations by the end of 2030. The environmentally focused Foundation — named after the late corporate visionary Ray C. Anderson – decided it was time to “lean in” — to have as much impact as quickly as possible rather than be a foundation that lives on in perpetuity.
March 12, 2025 Savannah Morning News
‘Very positive thing for our community’: DABC sees need, opportunity for new airport
Latrice Williams reports, last year, local officials announced the city of Richmond Hill, Bryan County and its Development Authority would each contribute $62,000 for an airport study. Now, the project has taken the next step as the county approved the establishment of an airport authority.
March 12, 2025 Savannah Morning News
Savannah sites with significant Black history placed on Georgia Trusts’ Places in Peril list
Evan Lasseter reports that this city with a rich supply of historic properties, it is not uncommon to find some in need of saving. This year, two historic properties in Savannah have received state attention for being under threat.
March 12, 2025 Dalton Daily Citizen
Whitfield County commissioners approve rezoning for data center despite opposition
Charles Oliver reports that members of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 Monday to approve a request by Core Scientific to rezone from general agriculture and rural residential to heavy manufacturing 173.3 acres on Old Tilton Road in Dalton. The decision was greeted with loud and sustained jeers from the sometimes rowdy crowd that packed the commissioners’ meeting room in the courthouse.
March 12, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Will Georgia ban plastic bags in stores? A new law may change the way consumers shop
Sundi Rose reports, you might want to stock up on reusable totes because plastic bags could be a thing of the past. Georgia lawmakers are currently debating a statewide ban that could take effect as soon as next year.
March 12, 2025 Newnan Times-Herald
State lawmakers divided on Coweta school tax relief plan
Will Thomas reports that disagreements from Coweta’s state delegates regarding the school board’s local tax relief proposal have delayed a vote on the resolution. School Board Chairman Buzz Glover said the delay stems from Rep. Josh Bonner and Rep. David Jenkin’s concerns surrounding the proposal’s 5 percent assessment cap and removal of the 20-mil millage rate cap.
March 12, 2025 GPB
Here’s what to know about Section 504 protections for Georgia students with mental health needs
Ellen Eldridge reports that for over 50 years, the federal Rehabilitation Act has provided a way for parents to make sure schools accommodate the special needs of their kids. In May of 2024, the Biden administration expanded a piece of the Act, called Section 504, to include “gender dysphoria.”
March 12, 2025 State Affairs
Houses passes $37B budget, funds 700 prison guards
Beau Evans reports that house lawmakers on Tuesday passed a $37.7 billion state budget for next fiscal year that includes millions of dollars to hire 700 new guards in Georgia prisons. The budget, which funds the state government from July 2025 to June 2026, also includes $500 million for public schools to cover increased enrollment this year and next.
March 12, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Senate panel to consider bill that hands Georgia lawmakers more say over State Election Board
Stanley Dunlap reports that a last-minute House election bill that advanced on Crossover Day last week would give new authority to the House speaker and Senate president to remove State Election Board members during the legislative offseason. If the Legislature approves the current version of House Bill 397, it would give the two chamber leaders powers to remove members from a board that was at the forefront of controversial election rulemaking in 2024.
March 12, 2025 The Brunswick News
Tort reform legislation clear Senate
Gordon Jackson reports that supporters of tort reform say Georgia’s ranking as the nation’s No. 1 state for business 11 years in a row is threatened by frivolous lawsuits and runaway verdicts. What will help matters is state Senate Bill 68. Strongly supported by the business community, the bill passed the Senate and is now under consideration by the House.
March 12, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; Georgia legislature considers alternative path for corpses
Ty Tagami reports that legislation that would regulate an alternative method for disposing of the dead is moving through the Georgia General Assembly, leaving astonished lawmakers in its wake. “You’re blowing my mind here today because I didn’t know this was allowed,” said Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, chairman of a committee that heard Senate Bill 241 last month.
March 12, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vote to block transgender bill could hurt Jon Ossoff, new poll finds
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, no matter who challenges Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff next year, we can be sure any GOP contender will hammer him over his stance on transgender rights. A poll released Wednesday from Cygnal — a favorite pollster of state Republicans — shows why.
