Georgia Trend Daily – Nov. 18, 2025

Nov. 18, 2025 Georgia Ports Authority

Port of Savannah container volumes up 4% through October

Staff reports that the Port of Savannah handled 4.8 million twenty-foot equivalent container units in calendar year 2025 through October, up 183,250 TEUs or 4 percent. Monthly volumes in October totaled 452,934 TEUs, a decrease of 8.4 percent or 41,325 TEUs compared to October 2024.

Nationally renowned artist, Kathryn Mapes Turner teaching students during the Wildlife Art Workshop.

Nov. 18, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

30 Years of Culture: The Economic Impact of the Wildlife Arts Festival

Jana Lawrence reports that Thomasville Center for the Arts, a dynamic non-profit located in the bustling, small town of Thomasville, Georgia pays annual tribute to a powerful idea—one that has evolved into a cherished tradition throughout the Southeast. This idea flourished and became the Wildlife Arts Festival—an event which celebrates the vital role of the arts in driving cultural vibrancy, shaping Southern identity and inspiring economic growth in the Southeast.

Nov. 18, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tariffs hurt Georgia’s ports in October. There’s cautious optimism for 2026.

Emma Hurt reports that Georgia’s bustling Savannah port wasn’t so busy in October, with container volumes down 8.4% compared to the same month a year ago, as the effects of global tariffs continued. But Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch is optimistic that the second half of the fiscal year, starting in January, will see improvement at its Savannah and Brunswick ocean ports.

Nov. 18, 2025 Mercer University

Dr. Penny L. Elkins elected as Mercer University’s 19th president

Larry Brumley reports that the Mercer University Board of Trustees, meeting on the historic Penfield Campus in Greene County on Nov. 14, unanimously elected Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D., as the institution’s 19th president. Dr. Elkins will succeed current Mercer President William D. Underwood, who has served as the University’s 18th president for almost two decades, on Jan. 1, 2026.

Nov. 18, 2025 Athens Banner-Herald

Book distributor is closing its door at Commerce facility, laying off 289 workers

Wayne Ford reports that Baker & Taylor, a company with a giant warehouse facility in Commerce and one of the nation’s largest distributors for books for libraries, will close permanently before the end of the year. The company, founded in 1828, announced it is laying off its 289 employees at the plant following the “unforeseen termination of a sales transaction,” according to documentation associated with a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.

Nov. 18, 2025 Valdosta Daily Times

Amazon expands in Georgia with new Valdosta delivery station

Staff reports that as part of its continued investment in Georgia, Amazon announced Friday that its new last-mile delivery facility in Valdosta is now fully operational and serving customers throughout the region. This facility will help improve delivery speeds for customers, boost local economic growth, and create more than 100 jobs and driver opportunities, Amazon said in a press release.

Nov. 18, 2025 Gainesville Times

Data center off Ga. 365 is being proposed as part of $300 million, mixed-use development

Jeff Gill reports that another data center could be part of a proposed 284-acre, mixed use development, Big Red Apple Innovation Corridor, at 1900 Level Grove Road off Ga. 365 in Habersham County. The development, with an estimated value of $300 million at buildout, “will include some residential components, some commercial and retail components, and some industrial components, including a portion of property for a data center,” according to a development of regional impact document filed with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

Nov. 18, 2025 Marietta Daily Journal

Cobb’s new Renaissance Fair becomes instant hit with festival-goers

Jack Lindner reports that hundreds from across metro Atlanta were transported to the 16th century Saturday during Cobb’s inaugural Big Shanty Bazaar. The county’s new Renaissance fair saw over 100 locals lined up outside The Big Shanty Art Station prior to the festival beginning, according to Roxanne Thompson, facility coordinator of The Art Station and organizer of the fair.

Nov. 18, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

A ‘one-of-a-kind’ children’s bicycle playground will be constructed in Columbus

Brittany McGee reports that a new bicycle park is coming to the city after the Columbus Council approved an agreement allowing MidTown Inc. to construct the project. Mayor Skip Henderson and the MidTown Inc. board and staff will gather for a groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. to celebrate the start of creating the MidTown Children’s Bicycle Playground in Dinglewood Park at the intersection of 13th Street and Warren Williams Boulevard.

Nov. 18, 2025 The Brunswick News

Gullah Geechee Georgia Museum holds grant opening

Terry Dickson reports that the Gullah Geechee Georgia Museum has filled its home, the former Needwood Baptist Church at 5142 U.S. 17, Brunswick, with artifacts and memorabilia. A couple of more were added at Saturday’s grand opening with the donation of a West African mask and a commissioned drawing of the church and grounds.

Nov. 18, 2025 Saporta Report

Birds Georgia Announces Statewide Georgia Birding Trail to Celebrate Centennial

Adam Betuel reports, as part of its 100th anniversary celebration in 2026, Birds Georgia will launch the Georgia Birding Trail, a landmark legacy project designed to connect people, birds, and nature while strengthening the state’s growing nature-based economy. Georgia will become one of more than 25 states with a statewide birding trail, building on the successful regional trails developed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Nov. 18, 2025 Georgia Recorder

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is charting a path for a post-Trump era, GOP observers say 

Ross Williams reports, what’s going on with Marjorie? That’s the question President Donald Trump had reportedly been asking senior Republicans about Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene last month as she publicly disagreed with him over policies like Affordable Care Act subsidies and the genocide in Gaza, as she put it.

Nov. 18, 2025 The Current

Buddy Carter skirts a reckoning on Epstein controversy

Craig Nelson reports, this week was poised to be a pivotal one in the political life of Coastal Georgia Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter. Until, that is, President Donald Trump did an about-face late Sunday and urged House Republicans to approve legislation this week that would compel the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.

Nov. 18, 2025 Capitol Beat News

Lawmakers consider paring tax credits and exemptions to offset income tax cuts

Ty Tagami reports that a state legislative committee is eyeing cutbacks in $30 billion worth of tax credits and tax exemptions to offset the potential elimination of an income tax that generates $16 billion for state government. “It is not a question of if we go to zero, it’s when and how we take our income tax to zero,” said Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, leader of the Special Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax. “It’s an issue of competitiveness.”

Nov. 18, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Feud between Raffensperger and the State Election Board heats up

Caleb Groves reports that the strained relationship between Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the State Election Board is fraying. The latest divide came last week when the board, which Democrat and Republican state lawmakers have described as dysfunctional, found out that secretary of state investigators would no longer attend board meetings to present cases.