Georgia Trend Daily – July 21, 2025
July 21, 2025 GlobalAtlanta.com
Trump’s 50 Percent Tariff Threat: A Chance to Bolster Brazil’s Brand in Georgia?
Trevor Williams reports, since he emerged on the scene in 2016, President Donald Trump has largely kept Brazil out of the U.S. trade crosshairs. For one, it’s one of few Latin American countries with which the U.S. has a goods surplus.
July 21, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Gimme shelter: Atlanta’s Housing Crunch
Kenna Simmons reports, Atlanta – and all of Georgia, really – is not alone in facing a housing crisis. Nationwide, estimates of the housing shortfall range from 1.5 million units in metropolitan areas to up to 5.5 million overall, depending on whom you ask (the National Association of Home Builders in the first instance and the National Association of Realtors in the second).
July 21, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fresh plans emerge for entertainment district near Tyler Perry Studios
Amy Wenk reports, prolific Atlanta filmmaker Tyler Perry could be reviving plans for an entertainment district near his namesake studio campus. A new filing with the state calls for the 38-acre project at Fort McPherson.
July 21, 2025 Griffin Daily News
Spalding County BOC approves first data center in county
Larry Stanford reports, by votes of 4-1 each, the Spalding County Board of Commissioners approved two rezonings for the first data center in the county. District 1 Commissioner Gwen Flowers-Taylor cast the dissenting votes on the rezonings, but joined the rest of the commissioners in approving the two special exceptions allowing the data centers.
July 21, 2025 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb seeks input on $10.3M Bells Ferry Road bridge replacement
Jack Lindner reports that Cobb County is asking for the public’s feedback on a proposed bridge replacement project along Bells Ferry Road over Noonday Creek. Located next to the Noonday Creek trailhead, the 160-foot bridge was constructed in 1959, but is beginning to show signs of deterioration, according to county officials, and does not meet current standards.
July 21, 2025 Macon Telegraph
Bibb County Schools eye property tax hike due to federal freeze on $6.8 million
Myracle Lewis reports that a federal funding freeze under President Donald Trump’s administration loomed large over the Bibb County Board of Education’s committee meeting Thursday, prompting concerns about district finances and the potential for higher property taxes. The Trump administration withheld nearly $7 billion in congressional-approved K-12 education money just weeks before schools are set to reopen.
July 21, 2025 Capitol Beat News
State pausing review of data center plans
Dave Williams reports that an Atlanta-based environmental advocate is criticizing the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) decision to pause state reviews of new data center proposals. While the decision will not stop local governments from approving data center projects, it will rob local water planners of the state’s valuable input, Chris Manganiello, water policy director for the nonprofit group Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, said Thursday.
July 21, 2025 Albany Herald
Gov. Kemp suspends Camilla mayor from office
Lucille Lannigan reports that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued an executive order suspending Kelvin Owens as Camilla’s mayor, July 17, effective immediately. This comes after Camilla’s mayor and two other city officials were arrested and indicted on election interference and conspiracy to commit election fraud on May 28.
July 21, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Georgia conservationists push to ‘finish the job’ of protecting Okefenokee from mining
Leon Staff reports, Georgia environmentalists are still celebrating a conservation group’s announcement last month that it plans to purchase thousands of acres of land targeted for mining near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. But they read the win, they say, not as a moment to pop the champagne, but a call to action.
July 21, 2025 Rome News-Tribune
NW Ga’s U.S. House District 14 race taking shape
Diane Wagner reports that the 2026 race for Northwest Georgia’s U.S. House District 14 seat is taking shape as declared candidates filed their first round of campaign finance statements with the Federal Election Commission. Incumbent Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, led the pack as expected, with $627,788 in her war chest.
July 21, 2025 The Brunswick News
Candidates announce candidacy to replace Carter
Gordon Jackson reports that the election for the First Congressional District in Georgia is still 16 months away, but it is already attracting a lot of attention. Four Republican candidates and three Democrats have already announced intentions to seek the seat that will be vacated by incumbent U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1, who has announced his candidacy for the seat held incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. Ossoff is seeking reelection to his seat.
July 21, 2025 State Affairs
Vaping under the microscope as Georgia House study committee launches review
Beau Evans reports that lawmakers tackled vaping in Georgia during the second meeting of their ad hoc study committee on smoking. The House Study Committee on the Costs & Effects of Smoking, which is made up entirely of health care professionals, has aimed to create a better understanding of issues related to smoking and vaping in the state ahead of the 2026 legislative session.
July 21, 2025 Capitol Beat News
More changes may be coming for Georgia’s voting system
Ty Tagami reports, Republican lawmakers have pushed through numerous changes to Georgia’s voting system in recent years, reacting to a concern, mostly among conservatives, that lax security produced stolen elections. Now, House Speaker Jon Burns has empaneled a study committee to consider more changes, with the Republican from Newington selecting a likely candidate for secretary of state to lead it.
July 21, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp tells Georgia agencies not to expect more money in coming year
David Wickert reports, Gov. Brian Kemp has directed state agencies to prepare for tight budgets as Georgia braces for the impact of federal spending cuts. The governor’s budget office has directed agencies to prepare amended fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027 budgets with no spending increases, except for enrollment-based programs such as schools and health care.
