Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 18, 2025
Aug. 18, 2025 Capitol Beat News
First of three new Georgia Power gas turbines arrives at Plant Yates
Dave Williams reports that the Georgia Power has received delivery of the first of three new gas turbines at Plant Yates near Newnan, the Atlanta-based utility announced Friday. The turbine was assembled by Mitsubishi Power in Savannah and transported to Plant Yates by truck and rail.
Excited About Partnerships: Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson. Photo credit: Hilary Kay
Aug. 18, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Augusta | Richmond County: From Obstacles to Opportunity
Jennifer Hafer reports, Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson woke up at 3:47 a.m. on Sept. 27 and found his neighborhood unrecognizable. Hurricane Helene’s high winds and historic flooding had toppled trees and snapped power lines.
Aug. 18, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why a divisive weed killer may come back to Georgia farms
Drew Kann reports, last year, in a victory for environmental groups, certain uses of a weed killer sprayed in fields in Georgia and across the country were barred by a federal court. Now, to the satisfaction of many cotton and soybean growers, the federal Environmental Protection Agency may allow farmers to use the herbicide again.
Aug. 18, 2025 GlobalAtlanta.com
Taiwan’s New Representative for the Southeast Arrives in Atlanta
Trevor Williams reports that a new top representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office has arrived in Atlanta and is now plotting out his plans for local impact as Taiwan faces a moment of global uncertainty. “This is a critical time,” says Jared (Chu-en) Lin, the new director-general at Taiwan’s longstanding government outpost in Midtown.
Aug. 18, 2025 Saporta Report
MARTA names chief counsel Jonathan Hunt as interim CEO
Delaney Tarr reports, at an Aug. 14 meeting the MARTA board appointed chief counsel Jonathan Hunt to serve as the agency’s interim general manager and CEO while a committee searches for a permanent replacement for Collie Greenwood. Greenwood, who had served as GM and CEO since 2022, abruptly left the agency on July 17 citing “immigration and personal matters.”
Aug. 18, 2025 Savannah Morning News
Savannah business accelerator launches second cohort for minority entrepreneurs
Ansley Franco reports that the City of Savannah will soon graduate the second cohort from its business accelerator program for small and minority entrepreneurs next month. LAUNCH Savannah is a 12-week intensive, in-person course built to support up to 15 local entrepreneurs in developing early-stage businesses.
Aug. 18, 2025 Newnan Times-Herald
Hearing Tuesday could set future rules as Coweta’s rural land faces data center crossroads
Jeffrey Cullen-Dean and Clay Neely report, Coweta County’s ongoing debate over data centers will be back in the spotlight Aug. 19 when commissioners hold the second public hearing on new regulations. The hearing comes amid months of controversy over “Project Sail,” a proposed 4.9 million square foot campus on 832 acres of rural conservation land in West Coweta.
Aug. 18, 2025 The Brunswick News
Rep. Carter throws support behind Superfund Research Center
Michael Hall reports that the U.S. Congressman representing Glynn County is urging the National Institutes of Health to open Georgia’s first Superfund Research Center in the Golden Isles. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1, sent a letter of support to NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya on Aug. 14 expressing Carter’s support of the request for funding for the center that was submitted by Emory University, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Aug. 18, 2025 Georgia Recorder
LGBTQ-friendly resources, policies recede on Georgia’s college campuses as DEI rollbacks continue
Amber Roldan reports, canceled pride graduation celebrations. Eliminated resource centers for LGBTQ students. Tighter rules for using a preferred name on class rosters and student IDs. These are some of the casualties on Georgia college campuses as a national push to erase DEI initiatives and programs takes hold.
Aug. 18, 2025 Rome News-Tribune
Ga. income tax committee to hold first session Tuesday
Staff reports that a state Senate committee studying ways to end Georgia’s income tax will hold its first meeting Tuesday at the Capitol. Two local lawmakers — Sens. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, and Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas — are among the 11 assigned to the Georgia Special Senate Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
Aug. 18, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Georgia Senate eyeing need-based college scholarships
Dave Williams reports that the state’s lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship program has been highly successful, covering most or all of college tuition for more than 2.2 million Georgians since its inception in 1993. But Georgia lawmakers are considering expanding state aid to public college and university students beyond the merit-based HOPE program to a need-based scholarship initiative.
Aug. 18, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vaccine-limiting legislation has for years passed through Georgia Legislature
Michelle Baruchman reports that investigators working to understand the motive of the man who shot 500 bullets at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week have uncovered his history of distrust toward vaccines, blaming the COVID-19 vaccine in particular on his health ailments. Scientific research repeatedly has shown the vaccine to be safe and effective, a sentiment echoed by health officials in the state.
