Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 2, 2026
Sept. 2, 2026 Georgia Ports Authority
Georgia Ports generates $181 billion in economic impact annually, supports 605,000 jobs
Staff reports, Georgia’s ports support 605,616 full- and part-time jobs at Peach State businesses, yielding $44 billion in annual income, according to the latest study from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. “This report confirms what we’ve seen for years: our Ports are exceptional drivers of job creation and economic activity, both in the booming coastal region and in communities across Georgia,” said Governor Brian Kemp.
Sept. 2, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Up and Away: The Future of Georgia Airports
Jerry Grillo reports, there’s a well-used adage from the mid-20th century jet age that aviators still use to capture the allure of air travel: “A mile of road will take you a mile, but a mile of runway will take you anywhere.”
Sept. 2, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UPS shuffles executive ranks as it charts its new strategy
Amy Wenk reports, UPS said Monday it will shuffle some leadership roles as it shifts to a new operating model aimed at boosting its worldwide reach. The changes come as UPS evolves from a carrier of small packages to a provider of global logistics services.
Sept. 2, 2026 Georgia Recorder
New invasive insect poses ‘serious threat’ to Georgia farmers
Ross Williams reports, a grass-eating invasive pest has been spotted in Georgia, and it could mean further headaches for cattle ranchers and farmers. The pasture mealybug has been spreading across the Southeast since it was first confirmed in Texas last October, and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper announced recently the insect had been spotted at a turf business in Decatur County in the southwest corner of the state in August.
Sept. 2, 2026 Macon Telegraph
Georgia Power drops more details about OpenAI contract. PSC meeting heats up
Kala Hunter reports, the largest single-user of power in Georgia history will be OpenAI’s 1,400-acre, 3.2-gigawatt Project Camellia data center in Effingham County, which finalized its deal with Georgia Power on Wednesday evening in a joint letter to the Georgia Public Service Commission. The PSC staff had an extra 13 days to review the contract after public scrutiny and pushback from some of the commissioners two weeks ago pressured more financial safeguards, preventing Georgia Power customers from footing the bill for OpenAI’s energy cost.
Sept. 2, 2026 The Current
How much water will Effingham’s OpenAI data center need? A lot – but not on site.
Mary Landers reports, when Effingham County announced plans for a massive OpenAI data center last month, area residents immediately questioned where it would get its water and how much it would need. Data centers have a reputation as water hogs, and the Savannah area has struggled in recent years to meet growing demands for water while protecting its natural water supplies.
Sept. 2, 2026 Athens Banner-Herald, Grady Newsource
Green homes cost more to build as Athens faces housing shortage
Reilly O’Neill reports, in Athens-Clarke County, the push toward 100% clean energy by 2035 is colliding with a stubborn housing shortage. For the people working to solve both problems, the tension is constant.
Sept. 2, 2026 Albany Herald
Dawson’s $10.2 million sewer project leaves major financial questions unresolved
Kathryn Crockett reports, the resignation of Dawson’s finance director Friday adds new urgency to understanding a city financial picture that has become increasingly difficult to reconcile. Dawson has struggled to bring recurring revenues in line with the cost of normal operations.
Sept. 2, 2026 WABE
Georgia scientists find a species no one had documented in 15 years
Molly Samuel reports that scientists recently found an animal that only lives in Georgia, once was relatively common, but has virtually disappeared. The Altamaha spinymussel hadn’t been documented in 15 years, until one turned up in a survey earlier this summer. Altamaha spinymussels historically lived in the Altamaha River and a few tributaries.
Sept. 2, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Why the Trump administration wants more roads in forests. How this will impact Georgia
Kala Hunter reports, for 25 years, a portion of the national forests in Georgia has been free of roads, designated for hiking, backcountry treks, providing clean drinking water and fishing, secluded from development. Such roadless areas comprise 43 million acres of wildland in the United States, including 63,000 acres in Georgia’s national forests.
Sept. 2, 2026 GPB
Georgia officials say Trump mail-in voting restrictions face legal challenges
Sarah Kallis reports that President Trump’s executive order impacting mail-in voting is back in litigation — and back on hold. But elections experts in Georgia say many of the proposed changes will face legal limitations.
Sept. 2, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Georgia voters weigh governor, Senate races and key amendments
Joe Hotchkiss reports that Georgia’s General Election will test whether the state’s recent competitiveness becomes a more durable Democratic coalition or remains a narrow, candidate-specific opening. Georgia voters will also decide three legislatively referred amendments.
Sept. 2, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Bottoms ups the ante in feud over debates in race for Georgia governor
Alander Rocha reports, months after the campaigns of Republican Rick Jackson and Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms first issued challenges to the other over when, where and how to debate ahead of the November elections, there’s still little agreement on how voters will hear from each of the two candidates for governor. So far, both campaigns have agreed to only one town hall-style debate hosted by Atlanta News First and Gray Media on Oct. 6.
Sept. 2, 2026 Georgia Press, Appen Media
Fear, votes and money: How attack ads actually work
Joshua Wilson reports, with hotly contested races for U.S. Senate and governor both underway, attack ads have become a fixture of daily life for Georgia voters — and one researcher said that is by design. David Schweidel, the Goizueta chair in business technology and a professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, has spent years studying how political advertising shapes voter behavior.
Sept. 2, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
7 counties that could shape Georgia’s race for governor
Sophia Eppley reports, in a tightening race for governor, the path to victory could wind through the margins of some densely populated metro Atlanta counties and the leftward trends of previously reliable Republican areas. Recent polls show a toss-up between Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson.
