Georgia Trend Daily – May 4, 2026
May 4, 2026 Macon Telegraph
Feds back Georgia Power project with largest energy loan in U.S. history
Margaret Walker reports, Georgia Power became one of the first utilities in the nation on Thursday to break ground using the largest federal energy loan in U.S. history. The project will add two new 750-megawatt combined cycle natural gas units and 500 megawatts of battery storage at Plant Wansley in Heard County, about an hour north of Columbus, Ga.
May 4, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
The Business of Helping Others
Jerry Grillo reports, it takes more than talent, good ideas and hard work to breathe life into the American Dream. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development authority, learned this from her parents.
May 4, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He built an empire that helped build Atlanta. A new marker honors him.
Mirtha Donastorg reports, in 1952, a young plasterer and shoe shiner purchased a plot of land on the corner of Northside Drive and Fair Street, just south of downtown Atlanta, as the site where he would build his dreams. Just 22-years-old, Herman J. Russell chose the land for the headquarters of his fledgling business.
May 4, 2026 Valdosta Daily Times
Pinnacle Financial Partners and Synovus donate $50,000 to support disaster relief for Georgia wildfires
Staff reports, as wildfires devastate multiple counties in south Georgia, Synovus Bank, which merged with Pinnacle Financial Partners, has donated $50,000 to the American Red Cross to support disaster relief efforts in affected areas. “Our communities are home to our clients, team members and neighbors, and when disasters happen, we want people to know they’re not facing it alone. People matter to us, and caring for them is at the heart of who we are as a firm,” said Charlie Clark, state head of Georgia banking for Pinnacle.
May 4, 2026 Griffin Daily News
Georgia regional commissions see labor force and employment growth in February
Staff reports that Georgia Department of Labor announced April 23 that all of Georgia’s regional commissions reported labor force and employment growth in February. “Georgia’s latest labor market data shows continued growth in both the labor force and employment as more Georgians are working and stepping into opportunity across the state,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes.
May 4, 2026 Georgia.org
Georgia Recognizes Five 2026 ‘Small Business ROCK STARS’
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp, alongside the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA), celebrated the five 2026 Small Business ROCK STARS at the GEDA Spring Conference in Savannah. The event precedes Georgia Small Business Week, recognized May 3-9.
May 4, 2026 GlobalAtlanta.com
Rinnai Triples Down on Georgia With New Griffin Facility, Creating 50 Jobs
Trevor Williams reports that Japanese water heater manufacturer Rinnai is expanding again in Griffin, setting up its third facility in Georgia, the longtime headquarters of its North American operations. Rinnai America Corp., headquartered in Peachtree City, where it keeps an innovation center, in 2018 built a new factory on 69 acres in Griffin’s The Lakes at Green Valley, an industrial park that has carved out a niche with environmentally conscious Japanese firms.
May 4, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
New map shows where on 865 acres proposed Columbus data center would be built
Jordyn Paul-Slater reports that Choose Columbus, the marketing arm for the Development Authority of Columbus, has released a map showing where the Project Ruby proposed hyperscale data center would be built on 865 acres in northeastern Muscogee County, bordering Harris County and Talbot County. Project Ruby would be located toward the eastern side of the site with four buildings, closest to the high-voltage transmission lines and a power substation, according to the map.
May 4, 2026 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb Sheriff’s Office welcomes first graduating class of industrial maintenance program
Megan Jackson reports that the Cobb County Sheriff’s office celebrated Friday the first graduating class of a new industrial maintenance program meant to give inmates job opportunities. The program, hosted by Chattahoochee Technical College facilitated by the Technical College System of Georgia through a grant from BlackRock Inc., is a custom six-week program helping inmates receive an industrial maintenance technician certification.
May 4, 2026 The Brunswick News
Locals working to address challenges mental health issues present law enforcement
Michael Hall reports, in the absence of robust statewide mental health resources and hospitals, local advocates are teaming up with public safety entities to streamline the process of identifying who needs mental health services instead of incarceration and getting them into the right programs. That process often begins with a call that creates police interaction with someone experiencing a mental health crisis.
May 4, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Candidates in crowded race for metro Atlanta district are now battling for an open seat in Congress
Alander Rocha reports, a race for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District started with a crowded field of candidates who had hoped to unseat a longtime lawmaker, but after the late U.S. Rep. David Scott’s death in April, the seat is open for the first time since 2002. Beating Scott would have been an uphill battle for any of the six candidates hoping to be the district’s second-ever representative.
May 4, 2026 State Affairs
Lieutenant governor candidates face harassment records inquiry
Beau Evans reports that candidates for lieutenant governor who are former or current state lawmakers are facing new scrutiny over whether they used monetary settlements to resolve sexual harassment claims while in office. The in-depth inquiry comes amid recently filed records requests for documents of harassment settlements and follows passage of the “Epstein Amendment” this past legislative session.
May 4, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Kemp rejects calls to redraw this year’s political maps, early voting surge and other news
Ross Williams and Alander Rocha report, the U.S. Supreme Court this week dealt a major blow to a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prevented states from creating legislative maps that dilute the voting power of minority citizens. The decision is likely to have ripple effects on electoral maps around the country, but those effects will not be felt in Georgia until after this year’s election, according to Gov. Brian Kemp’s office.
May 4, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC poll: Bottoms leads as Democratic rivals for governor hope for runoff
Greg Bluestein reports, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is dominating the Democratic race for governor, but the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows the race is far from settled. The poll released Monday showed Bottoms with 39% support among likely Democratic primary voters, far ahead of former DeKalb County Chief Executive Michael Thurmond at 10%, former state Sen. Jason Esteves at 8% and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan at 7%. About one-third of voters remain undecided.
