Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 3, 2026
Sept. 3, 2026 State Affairs
Georgia’s voter roll ‘99.8%’ accurate for 8M voters, state audit finds
Beau Evans reports, election officials gained a confidence boost ahead of the 2026 midterms amid a new state audit that found nearly all 8 million people currently registered to vote in Georgia did so legally in recent years. More than 99% of voters registered as of September 2025 were verified as accurate from driver’s licenses, social security paperwork and county-level address checks, according to the audit released Wednesday by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounting.
Sept. 3, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
High Speed Rail in Georgia?
Ben Young writes, many blame an inefficient transit system for Atlanta traffic. But as World Cup visitors learned, MARTA handled 4.7 million rail trips with no major incidents over 35 days – even with Five Points Station half closed!
Sept. 3, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia has no peers for data center construction. It now leads the US.
Zachary Hansen reports that much of the United States is experiencing a data center boom amid the surge in artificial intelligence, but new data show Georgia is on another level. No other place in the country has as much data center space under construction as the Atlanta area did in the first half of 2026, at least as measured by the amount of electricity they’re projected to consume, according to new data from real estate services firm CBRE.
Sept. 3, 2026 WABE
DeKalb County expands free business incubator for entrepreneurs
Marlon Hyde reports, costs continue to rise, and as a result, many Georgia entrepreneurs are struggling to grow their businesses. On the weekends, business owner Amanda Stevens sells sweet treats like frozen grapes and watermelon cakes to kids and families from her food trailer, Candy Lady on Wheels.
Sept. 3, 2026 Chief Healthcare Executive
WellStar plans to acquire another Georgia hospital
Ron Southwick reports that Wellstar Health System is looking to add another hospital to its portfolio, continuing the system’s recent expansion efforts. Wellstar and Stephens County Hospital said Wednesday that they have reached an agreement on a deal.
Sept. 3, 2026 GlobalAtlanta.com
Mercedes-Benz Launches Tech Hub on Atlanta’s Westside
Trevor Williams reports that Mercedes-Benz in July launched a tech hub on Atlanta’s Westside that the German auto maker calls “more than a physical building,” making good on a longstanding promise to expand innovation capabilities in the city serving as its U.S. home. The 60,000-square-foot space at 384 Northyards Boulevard was set to bring 160 employees, including teams that will conduct research and development in support of the brand’s manufacturing operations across the Southeast U.S.
Sept. 3, 2026 GPB
Effingham County Commissioners confront the public for the first time. One apologizes
Jillian Magtoto reports, just under a hundred people attended the Effingham County Board of Commissioners meeting on a Saturday morning. They would hear publicly, for the first time, how the $20 billion deal arrived to their county.
Sept. 3, 2026 Saporta Report
Smyrna’s riverfront neighborhood adds to city’s changing landscape
Adrianne Murchison reports, a stretch of Smyrna along the Chattahoochee River that was once dominated by industrial uses has a new identity. The city is putting finishing touches on the new riverfront community.
Sept. 3, 2026 Macon Telegraph
Macon-Bibb delays tax vote, accepts $5.6M for Gray Highway pedestrian trails
Laur Corley reports, though the millage rate adoption was on the Macon-Bibb County Commissioners’ agenda for its meeting Tuesday evening, the item was removed because the county failed to meet the legal requirements for public hearings, county spokesperson Chris Floore said. In other action, commissioners voted Tuesday to accept $5.6 million to help address one of the deadliest roads for pedestrians in Bibb County: Gray Highway.
Sept. 3, 2026 Savannah Morning News
Massive 1,350 home development proposed for Effingham | Exclusive
Latrice Williams reports that a Washington state-based developer has proposed a massive mixed-use development in Effingham County that would include 1,350 housing units, commercial space and parks uses. Blue Fern Development submitted a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) application Aug. 5 for Fetzer Landing to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, which was reviewed by the Coastal Regional Commission of Georgia.
Sept. 3, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Georgia’s purple-state test puts Senate, governor’s office in play
Joe Hotchkiss reports, 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. Races to watch include a U.S. Senate race pitting a Democratic incumbent against a former U.S. House Republican, and a governor’s race between a popular Democratic former mayor of Atlanta and a self-made healthcare billionaire who embraces President Donald Trump.
Sept. 3, 2026 Fox 5 Atlanta
How Georgia governor candidates plan to tackle taxes and online safety
Staff reports, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson held competing press conferences on Wednesday to outline their priorities for Georgia’s economy and public safety ahead of the gubernatorial election. Democratic candidate and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms outlined her economic vision inside a crowded Lawrenceville grocery store on Wednesday.
Sept. 3, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Bottoms’ affordability plan: encourage cities and counties to eliminate their taxes on groceries
Ty Tagami reports, with voters upset about the cost of living, both candidates for governor are rolling out affordability plans to woo them. After Republican Rick Jackson pitched cuts to income and energy taxes last month, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms unveiled her proposal Wednesday to lower grocery bills by cutting the sales tax.
Sept. 3, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrats challenge the ‘moderate Republican’ brand in Atlanta suburbs
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, Democrats have spent years chipping away at Republican dominance in Atlanta’s close-in suburbs. Now they’re targeting some of the toughest voters left to crack: Georgians who will vote Democratic at the top of the ticket but still back Republicans for the state Legislature.
