Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 14, 2025
Aug. 14, 2025 WSB Radio
Metro Atlanta population grows to estimated 5.3 million residents
Miles Montgomery reports that the Atlanta Regional Commission said the region added 64,400 new residents during the past year to grow the 11-county metro Atlanta population to an estimated 5.3 million. The population within the city of Atlanta is 542,715, ARC data shows.
Aug. 14, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Economic Development Around the State
Christy Simo reports, Kubota Manufacturing of America celebrated the grand opening of its 700,000-square-foot facility, which began manufacturing front-end loaders for its tractors this summer. The $190 million project will allow the company to produce 170,000 units a year and brings 500 jobs to the area.
Aug. 14, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GE Appliances’ $3B U.S. manufacturing investment will boost Georgia factory
Amy Wenk reports that a familiar home appliance maker on Wednesday pledged to invest $3 billion over five years in its U.S. operations and workforce, a plan that will include an expansion of production in Georgia. Louisville, Kentucky-based GE Appliances says the expansion will create 1,000 jobs across five states, many in the Sun Belt.
Aug. 14, 2025 Saporta Report
Georgia film is changing. Can industry leaders keep up?
Delaney Tarr reports that the state of Georgia’s film industry changes depending on who you ask. The economic juggernaut is booming, according to advocates and executives who see the moment as a chance for “innovation.” Some struggling filmmakers and employees at empty production houses are a little more concerned.
Aug. 14, 2025 WABE
As summer winds down, counties unclear on future for Lake Lanier parks after Army Corps closures
Marisa Mecke reports, after the Army Corps of Engineers closed several recreational spots along Lake Lanier right before Memorial Day, Georgia counties are still figuring out what the future will be for these parks as the summer season winds down.In May, the Army Corps announced its plans to close 20 parks along Lake Lanier. A spokesperson for the Corps said the closures were due to understaffing, with several vacancies unfilled due to the federal hiring freeze and Corps staff opting to retire under the federal deferred resignation program.
Aug. 14, 2025 Rome News-Tribune
State zoning professionals set to meet in Rome
Adam Carey reports that the Forum River Center is hosting the annual meeting of the Georgia Association of Zoning Administrators, which will be in town for a three-day conference starting Thursday. GAZA holds conferences twice per year, in the winter and summer, for zoning administrators and city planners from around the state.
Aug. 14, 2025 Albany Herald
Hundreds of reports of alleged human rights abuses continue to come out of ICE detention centers
Lucille Lannigan reports that reports and stories of abuse, medical mistreatment and inhumane conditions continue to flow from immigration detention centers across the U.S., including southwest Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., released a report on a months-long investigation that identified “more than 500 credible reports of human rights abuses” across six different immigration detention facilities.
Aug. 14, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Columbus Council votes on new city law critics say criminalizes homelessness
Kelby Hutchison reports that Columbus Council passed a controversial ordinance Tuesday, making it illegal to camp on public property, which some critics say would criminalize homelessness. The new city law passed in the council 9-1 vote. District 7 Councilor Joanne Cogle, a candidate for mayor, cast the lone no vote.
Aug. 14, 2025 State Affairs
Rural doctor shortage, ambulance delays focus of House lawmakers
Beau Evans reports that lawmakers are taking another stab at improving access to doctors and hospitals in rural areas ahead of the 2026 legislative session. Georgia has long faced a shortage of primary care physicians and speedy travel to health care services in sparsely populated rural parts of the state, where residents often skip out on routine checkups and face delays in reaching hospitals during emergencies.
Aug. 14, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Chancellor Sonny Perdue poised to receive $50k pay raise
Ross Williams reports that Chancellor Sonny Perdue, head of the University System of Georgia, could be getting a pay raise to the tune of $50,000, bringing his salary to $572,500. The Board of Regents voted to move the raise forward Tuesday and kick off a 30-day waiting period before they can vote on the raise.
Aug. 14, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Appellate court hears election law challenges
Dave Williams reports, lawyers representing the state and the Republican National Committee asked a federal appellate court Wednesday to reverse a lower court order blocking two provisions of a controversial election reform law the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed in 2021. A U.S. District Court judge granted a preliminary injunction in 2023 to civil rights and voting rights groups challenging a provision in Senate Bill 202 that prohibited volunteers from providing food and water to voters waiting in long lines within 150 feet of a polling place.
Aug. 14, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jason Esteves floats $1 billion fund to help small businesses
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, in the last campaign for Georgia’s top job, Gov. Brian Kemp’s Republican rival turned the mega tax breaks used to land Hyundai and other headline-grabbing economic development projects into an attack line. At stops in his hometown of Columbus on Wednesday, Democratic state Sen. Jason Esteves said he would preserve massive incentive packages to lure huge projects, which sometimes top $1 billion.
