Georgia Trend Daily – March 2, 2026
March 2, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Alabama and Georgia end decades-long legal conflict
Ty Tagami reports, last week, Alabama finally raised a white flag after nearly four decades of legal battles with Georgia in one front of what came to be known as the “Tri-State Water Wars,” which included Florida. The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta granted Alabama’s request to dismiss its appeal that challenged water use in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin.
March 2, 2026 Georgia Trend Exclusive!
Building a New Legacy
Brian A. Lee reports, it’s taken years to get there, but women now represent around 11% of the construction workforce. An even smaller percentage of women manage to rise to the top in the male-dominated field. Four women construction professionals in Georgia are making their mark on not only the built environment, but also on the communities they serve.
March 2, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FCC approves landmark merger between Cox Communications and Charter
Savannah Sicurella reports, the Federal Communications Commission has signed off on a landmark merger between Cox Communications and Charter Communications, paving the way to create the largest cable TV and broadband provider in the U.S. Cox Communications, based in Sandy Springs, is the third-largest cable operator in the nation. Charter, based in Stamford, Connecticut, is the second-largest.
March 2, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Need a job? Forbes says 2 Georgia employers among best of the best
Miguel Legoas reports, as of December, there are more than 270,000 job openings in Georgia, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among the elite in Forbes and Statista’s list of “America’s Best Large Employers” are Delta Air Lines at No. 13 and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at No. 45.
March 2, 2026 GlobalAtlanta.com
Consul: New Japanese Investments in the South Underscore Longstanding Friendship
Trevor Williams reports, with his prime minister set to visit Washington next month and a recent trade deal facing an uncertain future, Japan’s consul general in the Southeast U.S. hasn’t slowed down since landing in Atlanta four months ago. And neither has Japanese investment in the surrounding states, Consul General Kenichi Matsuda said during a celebration of Emperor Naruhito’s 66th birthday at his residence in Buckhead Wednesday.
March 2, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Fort Benning names building for Olympic boxer, distinguished soldier from Columbus
Kelby Hutchison reports, Columbus native who won an Olympic gold medal in boxing and later served a distinguished 30-year career in the U.S. Army was honored by Fort Benning with a building dedicated in his name Friday. CSM Edward “Eddie” Crook Jr. is now the namesake of Fort Benning’s Sand Hill Soldier Performance Readiness Center.
March 2, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Several Georgia races shed candidates as qualifying week looms and races take shape
Alander Rocha, Jill Nolin, Ross Williams and Maya Homan report, this past week – the last before candidates officially qualify to run – brought plenty of news about who won’t be appearing on the ballot this year. Seth Clark, a former Macon-Bibb commissioner who recently launched a bid for Georgia lieutenant governor as a Democratic voice for “middle Georgia,” announced Friday he is suspending his campaign, citing personal circumstances.
March 2, 2026 Marietta Daily Journal
Q&A: Chris Carr discusses run for governor, public safety and tax cuts
Isabelle Manders reports, having served as Georgia’s attorney general since 2016, Chris Carr has now set his sights on the governor’s mansion, launching a bid to succeed Brian Kemp as the state’s chief executive. Carr sat down with the Marietta Daily Journal last week to discuss his platform, including his approach to immigration, taxes and economic development.
March 2, 2026 Healthbeat Atlanta
A health care executive is running for Ga. governor. His company has had about $1B in state contracts.
Rebecca Grapevine reports, the latest candidate to enter the Georgia Republican primary for governor is a health care executive whose company supplied hospital and nursing home workers during the Covid emergency under a state contract. Billionaire Rick Jackson’s companies have been paid nearly a billion dollars by state agencies since fiscal 2020, according to a Healthbeat analysis of government records.
March 2, 2026 Albany Herald
Community organizer launches campaign for Labor Commissioner seat
Staff reports that community organizer and advocate Michelle “Michi” Sanchez has officially launched her campaign for Georgia Labor Commissioner, pledging to transform the office from a quiet administrative agency into a powerful advocate for the state’s working families. Sanchez enters the Democratic primary with a platform focused on combating wage theft, protecting workers from exploitation, and restoring accountability to an office she says has failed working people for too long.
March 2, 2026 The Brunswick News
Democrat announces candidacy for District 179 seat
Gordon Jackson reports that Republican incumbent Rick Townsend of St. Simons Island will face a challenger to the District 179 House of Representatives seat in the November general election. Domestic relations lawyer Lawyer Holle Weiss-Friedman has announced her candidacy. She will run as a Democrat.
March 2, 2026 WSB Radio
Proposed bill would limit early voting locations in Georgia
Ashley Simmons reports, Georgia lawmakers are considering a sweeping overhaul of the state’s elections under new legislation at the Gold Dome. The bill would move the state fully to hand-marked paper ballots and limit where early voting can take place.
March 2, 2026 State Affairs
The Gold Leaf: Week seven of the 2026 legislative session
Beau Evans reports, lawmakers tackled week seven with Crossover Day looming on March 6, the deadline for bills to clear at least one chamber to remain alive in the 2026 legislative session. The House and Senate passed nearly 100 bills over a three-day sprint this week, including an ambitious measure to make sure thousands of children learn how to read by the third grade and a $43.6 budget that is the largest taxpayer spending plan in history.
March 2, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Lawmakers take up special license plates, early screening in attempt to help Georgians with autism
Ross Williams reports, the Georgia Senate last week passed a bill that would allow Georgians with autism or other developmental disorders and their family members to request to receive a special license plate. Senate Bill 433 passed the chamber unanimously with the help of a little star power. Connor Tomlinson, one of the stars of Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum,” made several appearances at the Capitol to testify that the bill would help Georgians like him.
March 2, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Fines for insurance companies could rise under new Georgia legislation
Ty Tagami reports that after approving one-time income and property tax rebates for Georgians earlier this week, the state House returned with four more affordability measures, this time aimed at insurance costs. The legislation passed by the House Thursday aims to curb excess insurance industry billing and profits while increasing what’s covered and punishing drivers for inadequate insurance.
March 2, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
US-Israeli strikes on Iran show partisan divide among Georgia candidates
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, addthe Middle East to the growing list of fault lines in Georgia’s top races. The ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran are sharpening contrasts between Republicans forcefully backing the attacks and Democrats like U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who warn against “another regime change war-of-choice.”
