Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 23, 2025
Sept. 23, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Kemp indicates visit to South Korea not reaction to federal raid
Ty Tagami reports that Gov. Brian Kemp’s upcoming trip to the Republic of Korea was planned “well before” the federal immigration raid on Georgia’s Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant west of Savannah, his office said, indicating the two are unrelated. “Governor Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp will travel to Japan and the Republic of Korea this fall on a mission focused on strengthening economic ties with two key partners,” Kemp’s office said Sunday.
Sept. 23, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Where are they now? 40 Under 40 – John Ahmann
Jana Lawrence reports that John Ahmann, a 2001 Georgia Trend 40 Under 40 honoree, currently serves as CEO of Westside Future Fund. At the time of his 40 Under 40 honor, he was Senior Vice President for Community Development at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Since then, he has continued to lead with the goal of improving communities and institutions in Atlanta.
Sept. 23, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta-based PrizePicks sells majority stake for $1.6B to lottery operator
Zachary Hansen reports that fantasy sports giant PrizePicks announced Monday it agreed to sell a majority stake for $1.6 billion to a Swiss lottery operator. PrizePicks, which is undergoing expansion to its Atlanta headquarters, agreed to sell a more than 60% stake to Allwyn International AG, according to a news release.
Sept. 23, 2025 Rome News-Telegraph
TAD vote set for Levy’s River District project in downtown Rome
Diane Wagner reports that Rome City Commission is expected to approve Monday tax allocation district financing for local developer Ira Levy’s $2.5 million mixed use project in the River District. Under TAD financing, increases in property taxes due to improvements are funneled back into the improvement project for a set number of years.
Sept. 23, 2025 Macon Telegraph
Ossoff ‘cautiously optimistic’ that Ocmulgee Mounds will become a national park
Margaret Walker reports, speaking at the Macon Rotary Club on Monday, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) said he remains “cautiously optimistic” that a bipartisan bill to make the Ocmulgee Mounds Georgia’s first national park will succeed. Advocates hoped the measure would pass through both the House and Senate last year, but it stalled as the U.S. government shifted its focus toward Hurricane Helene relief funding, according to Seth Clark, Macon’s mayor pro tem and the executive director for Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative.
Sept. 23, 2025 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb to consider extending student housing moratorium
Isabelle Manders reports that the Cobb County Board of Commissioners is set to vote this week on whether to extend a temporary moratorium on applications for student housing developments for another 180 days. According to Community Development Director Jessica Guinn, this will be the second six-month extension on requests and likely the last.
Sept. 23, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
A data center pushed her from ‘forever home.’ Now she’s fighting another one in LaGrange
Kala Hunter reports that in 2018, Cyndie Hutchings and her husband, in their mid-40s, transplanted from Cincinnati to Georgia in an effort to escape cold winters and find their forever home. Cyndie Hutchings needed nature and land, and her husband’s only requirement was to be within an hour of the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for work travel.
Sept. 23, 2025 Savannah Morning News
ICE is targeting immigrants without criminal convictions for arrest in Georgia
Ansley Franco reports that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has followed closely behind President Donald Trump’s hardline stance of focusing immigration enforcements on “criminal aliens.” But law enforcement agencies across Georgia are targeting immigrants without criminal convictions for arrest, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson.
Sept. 23, 2025 GPB
Tuesday is the last day to vote in suburban Atlanta race to replace former state Sen. Brandon Beach
Sarah Kallis reports that Tuesday is the final day to vote in the special state Senate runoff election in a north metro Atlanta district. Democrat Debra Shigley and Republican Jason Dickerson advanced to the runoff after getting the most votes during the August special election.
Sept. 23, 2025 State Affairs
Homeowner horror stories fuel call for HOA reforms
Beau Evans reports, for Sen. Sheikh Rahman, D-Lawrenceville, some homeowners associations in Georgia have gone too far. The four-term lawmaker kicked off a recent Senate hearing by highlighting a Kennesaw man’s fight to save his house after his local HOA moved to seize the property in 2024 over $9,000 in unpaid fines and legal fees — all for not pressure-washing the house’s exterior.
Sept. 23, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Former judge and Biden official announces campaign for Georgia secretary of state
Maya Homan reports that Penny Brown Reynolds, a Biden administration appointee and former Fulton County state judge who also settled family disputes on TV, has announced her candidacy for secretary of state. She is one of the first Democratic candidates to enter the race, joining voting rights advocate Adrian Consonery Jr.
Sept. 23, 2025 Capitol Beat News
State school safety efforts contribute to kids missing class
Ty Tagami reports, efforts to make Georgia schools safer are exacerbating student absenteeism, a major problem that lawmakers have been studying since this summer. Many students who are awaiting a tribunal for an alleged disciplinary infraction may be out of school for several weeks before they get a hearing on their guilt or innocence, Darlene Lynch told lawmakers at a hearing Monday.
Sept. 23, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘Sounds good to me’: Trump on Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern merger
Emma Hurt reports that neary two months after Union Pacific announced its intended $85 billion acquisition of Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern, President Donald Trump is signaling his support for the country’s first transcontinental railroad company. When asked about the proposed merger, Trump told reporters on Friday: “I mean, sounds good to me, to be honest with you. I’m a very big fan of the head of … Union Pacific.”
