Georgia Trend Daily – May 27, 2026
May 27, 2026 The Current
Jekyll Island plans could increase hotel capacity by more than 13%
Mary Landers reports, plans that call for up to 185 new hotel rooms as well as a new parking lot on Jekyll Island have residents and supporters worried about the future of the state-owned barrier island. The Jekyll Island Authority, which oversees the conservation and development of the island, plans to develop a boutique hotel of up to 125 rooms on its golf course.
Young woman talking to psychologist in the office
May 27, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
The First 72 Hours of a Mental Health Crisis: 5 Things That Matter Most
Dr. David Jones reports that most people don’t plan for a mental health crisis. But millions will experience one this year, often with no clear idea of where to turn. It shows up during moments of loss, stress, illness, or major life changes. When it does, the first few days can feel overwhelming, emotional, and urgent.
May 27, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why renovated Atlanta office buildings have a leg up on their competition
Zachary Hansen reports, in the years since COVID-19 upended the market, there’s been way more empty space in the Atlanta area than companies want to lease. The bulk of that available space seemingly blurs together — functional but a little blasé.
May 27, 2026 Georgia.org
Southerfield Road Industrial Park Earns ‘Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development – Select’ Status
Staff reports that the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), in cooperation with the Sumter County Development Authority (SCDA), today announced that the Southerfield Road Industrial Park has earned “Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development” (GRAD) certification with “Select” status. The site’s new “GRAD Select” status provides an additional seal of approval that makes it especially attractive for future industrial development.
May 27, 2026 Savannah Morning News
Savannah approves weapons deal with Rep. Clyde despite Jan. 6 remarks
Ansley Franco reports, the City of Savannah approved a contract with a Georgia Representative who called the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection in the nation’s capitol a “normal tourist visit.” During its May 14 meeting, Savannah City Council approved the purchase of a weapons system with Clyde Armory, a business based in Athens, Ga.
May 27, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
$85 million mixed-use development in Columbus envisioned with band music center
Mark Rice reports that the High School Band Directors National Association plans to build in Columbus a facility comprising a museum, hall of fame, learning resources center, audio/visual technology center, performance hall and headquarters HSBDNA executive director Oliver Boone told the Ledger-Enquirer the nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1985 in Daytona Beach, Florida, has outgrown its space on the RiverPark campus of Columbus State University, where it’s been since 2005.
May 27, 2026 The Brunswick News
Meeting to discuss arsenic in groundwater at old coal ash pond
Michael Hall reports, arsenic is lurking in the groundwater at the site of an old coal ash pond at Plant McManus in Glynn County, and the company that operated the pond is hosting a public meeting Thursday to discuss its corrective action plan. Georgia Power is hosting a meeting from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Brunswick Library, 208 Gloucester St., to lay out the steps it will take to remediate the highly toxic metalloid that was discovered in a monitoring well at the former coal-burning power plant.
May 27, 2026 Newnan Times-Herald
Historical marker honors first Black doctor in Coweta
Jeffrey Cullen-Dean reports, a new historical marker was placed in the Chalk Level neighborhood in honor of Dr. John Henry Jordan, one of the neighborhood’s prominent residents. Jordan was the first African American doctor in Coweta County and established the first black hospital in the county, next door to his Chalk Level home.
May 27, 2026 WABE
Georgia Medicaid now covers lactation care via telehealth
Jess Mador reports, this spring, for the first time in Georgia, people with health insurance through Medicaid can get coverage for breastfeeding support services via telemedicine. Maternal health advocates say the change would help improve access to lactation care statewide.
May 27, 2026 Athens Banner-Herald
Athens, Oconee voters show reluctance to new sales taxes
Wayne Ford reports, sales tax referendum on the ballots of some north Georgia counties for last week’s primary election reflects a silent but strong message that many voters didn’t want more taxation.
May 27, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper files lawsuit over muddy water coming from Columbus construction site
Alander Rocha reports that the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper has filed a federal lawsuit against the owner and developer of an apartment complex in Columbus that alleges ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act. The lawsuit, filed last week against Phenix City, Alabama-based developer SCorUSA and apartment complex Aspire at Old Guard in Columbus, alleges the companies failed to follow regulations intended to protect waterways from muddy stormwaters during the construction phase.
May 27, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Federal court says Georgia’s Medicaid rules shortchanged medically fragile 3-year-old
Ty Tagami reports, the policies that Georgia uses to approve or deny services for children enrolled in Medicaid fail to satisfy federal requirements for adequate care, according to a new federal court ruling. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a federal district judge’s order requiring the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) to provide nearly five times more in-home nursing care to a child at risk of dying than the state had approved through a contractor.
May 27, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia primary closes chapter on officials who resisted Trump in 2020
Caleb Groves reports that President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about his 2020 defeat in Georgia have never stopped shaping state Republican politics, and the race to succeed outgoing Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is a case in point. Raffensperger famously balked at Trump’s pressure to “find” enough votes to overturn the 2020 election, and it has shaped his political legacy.
