Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 17, 2026
Feb. 17, 2026 WSB Radio, Cox Media
Rev. Jesse Jackson, iconic civil rights activist, dies at 84
Bob D’Angelo reports that the Rev. Jesse Jackson, an iconic civil rights activist who worked with Martin Luther King and spent more than six decades advocating for racial equality, economic justice and voting rights, died Tuesday, his organization announced. He was 84.
Creating Buzz: The Busy Bee Café is opening a third location in Atlanta. Photo credit: Contributed
Feb. 17, 2026 Georgia Trend Exclusive!
Busy Bee Café Expanding Again
Kathleen Conway reports, a legendary soul food restaurant is expanding in Downtown Atlanta. The Busy Bee Café will open a new location at The Mitchell, an apartment tower in Centennial Yards across the street from Mercedes-Benz stadium.
Feb. 17, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TSA officers working without pay during latest government shutdown
Emma Hurt reports that funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security expired over the weekend, starting another partial federal government shutdown that could disrupt air travel for Americans. It has left essential workers required to do their jobs without pay, including at the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection, as travelers across the country start school winter break travel.
Feb. 17, 2026 Savannah Morning News
Savannah changes groundwater pumping to ease stress on aquifer
Jillian Magtoto reports that Savannah plans to shift how it will extract groundwater from the nearly 50 wells it operates, likely beginning this year. The city has pulled from the Floridan Aquifer since the 1880s, but paper mills in the 1930s increased uptake such that land subsided and saltwater filled the gaps, harming wildlife and corroding pipes.
Feb. 17, 2026 Griffin Daily News
Griffin wins Visionary City Award for Southside police precinct and community center
Larry Stanford reports that the City of Griffin has been named a 2026 Visionary City Award honoree by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), partnership with Georgia Trend magazine. Griffin was recognized in the Medium Cities category for the City of Griffin Police Department South Precinct and Community Center, located at 730 Anne St., across from Anne Street Elementary School, Raymond Head Jr. Park, and the Heritage Apartments.
Feb. 17, 2026 The Brunswick News
City uses $16,000 grant on traffic safety equipment
Staff reports, the city of Brunswick has received a $16,000 grant to expand traffic safety protections for first responders and motorists, officials announced this week. City spokeswoman Gracie Jordan said the funding, awarded through the Statewide Traffic Incident Management Services Program, will provide new high-visibility equipment to police, fire and public works crews responding to roadside incidents, particularly at night.
Feb. 17, 2026 Marietta Daily Journal
Ransomware disrupts Marietta’s online payments; backup system in the works
Staff reports that Marietta officials hope to have an alternate digital payment system for business license payments online sometime in the next week after BridgePayNetwork Solutions, one of the city’s online payment gateway providers, was the victim of ransomware attack. City Manager Bill Bruton said the city is working with another third party company to get another digital payment system up online until the ransomware attack is resolved.
Feb. 17, 2026 Rome News-Tribune
President Trump to visit Rome Thursday
Adam Carey reports that the Floyd County Republican Party has been contacted by the White House in preparation for a possible visit by President Trump to Rome and Floyd County on Thursday. The FCRP was contracted to provide staff in preparation for the visit.
Feb. 17, 2026 Georgia Recorder
The race is on to replace former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in northwest Georgia district
Ross Williams reports, early voting began Monday in the race for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, and candidates are racing to set themselves apart from the crowd – and often from the district’s previous representative, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene resigned from her seat last month, spurring more than 20 candidates to throw their hats in the ring, including 16 Republicans, three Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent candidate.
Feb. 17, 2026 Valdosta Daily Times
Senate bill seeks to incentivize people to live in rural areas
Adelia Ladson reports, several bills relating to state income tax have been working their way through the Georgia General Assembly. The Rural Incentive Act (SB 453) is one that local legislators Sen. Sam Watson, Sen. Russ Goodman, and Sen. Carden Summers have co-sponsored.
Feb. 17, 2026 Decaturish
Georgia House members announce housing legislation package
Zoe Seiler reports that Democratic Georgia House members are working to address various housing issues. State Reps. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), Phil Olaleye (D-Atlanta), and others announced a bipartisan package of legislation on Feb. 12 to address affordability. That package also seeks to expand housing supply, strengthen tenant protections, and encourage more affordable housing development.
Feb. 17, 2026 State Affairs
Lawmakers eye crackdown on corporate ‘home poaching’ in Georgia
Beau Evans reports that cutting property taxes isn’t the only target area in a bipartisan crackdown on rising housing costs for the 2026 legislative session. Lawmakers in the House and Senate are pressing for a breakthrough this year on bills aimed at preventing large corporate investors from snapping up thousands of homes in Georgia, which critics blame as a major cause of local affordable housing issues.
Feb. 17, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Shift away from embalming has lawmakers rethinking Georgia’s requirements for funeral home directors
Andre Butso reports that the demographics in Georgia are changing, and so is the way people choose to ceremoniously depart this world. Embalming, or the practice of preserving a body to delay decomposition, was the preference of most Georgians just a few decades ago, says Sen. Rick Williams, a Milledgeville Republican and a licensed funeral director and embalmer for over 50 years.
Feb. 17, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Tax cut for low wage workers would slow construction of apartments for low wage workers
Ty Tagami reports that an income tax cutting proposal designed by Georgia’s Senate Republicans to address the election year affordability issue would also cut into the supply of new housing for low wage earners, potentially harming some of the same people it would help. Senate Bill 476, approved by the Senate last week, would return billions a year to taxpayers, and it would pay for that by reducing and then eliminating some $30 billion in tax credits and exemptions.
Feb. 17, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trump to tout his economic agenda in northwest Georgia visit Thursday
Greg Bluestein reports that President Donald Trump is set to headline his first event in Georgia since he recaptured the state in 2024, with plans to travel to Rome on Thursday to promote his economic agenda. The appearance in northwest Georgia comes weeks after the FBI raided Fulton County’s elections center and seized truckloads of 2020 ballots, reigniting bitter political divides over the president’s attempt to undo his narrow defeat here six years ago.
