Georgia Trend Daily – Aug. 26, 2025
Aug. 26, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Kemp headed to South America for trade mission
Dave Williams reports that Gov. Brian Kemp will lead a trade mission to Brazil and Argentina this week. The governor and First Lady Marty Kemp will join representatives from the state departments of Economic Development and Agriculture and the Georgia Ports Authority in meeting with executives from companies already operating in Georgia or building new projects here.
Difference Maker: Orrin Hudson, founder of the nonprofit Be Someone, has been teaching chess to students for 25 years. Photo credit: Contributed
Aug. 26, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Be Someone
Candice Dyer reports, when he was 13, Orrin Hudson was in and out of foster care. Lacking direction, he was a member of a gang and was headed for trouble.
Aug. 26, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Aerospace is a top Georgia industry. A new group plans to keep it that way.
Kelly Yamanouchi reports, from military cargo planes and crop dusters to Gulfstream jets, hypersonic aircraft and future air taxis, they’re all made or developed in Georgia as part of the state’s sprawling mix of aerospace companies. Now, some of the largest aircraft firms in the state are joining together to form the Georgia Aerospace & Defense Alliance, to advocate for one of the state’s top industries and back the state’s tax credit for research and development.
Aug. 26, 2025 Augusta Chronicle
Augusta Regional Airport will add another flight this fall. Here’s when, where it’s going
Miguel Legoas reports that for Augustans who can’t wait for fall break, Augusta Regional Airport has some news you may want to factor into your plans. On Monday, it announced an additional flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas.
Aug. 26, 2025 Gainesville Times
$1.2 billion data center proposed in southeast Hall County. Here’s where, other details
Jeff Gill reports, a $1.2 billion, 119-acre data center fueled by its power substation is proposed off Candler Road in southeast Hall County. The development would feature two or more buildings at 2400 O’Kelly Road, according to Hall County planning documents.
Aug. 26, 2025 Griffin Daily News
Tax millage rollback and data center votes on Spalding BOC’s agenda Aug. 28
Larry Stanford reports that the Spalding County Board of Commissioners are expected to approve the full rollback millage rate for the 2025 tax year at the start of their zoning public hearing on Thursday, Aug. 28. Also on the agenda is a proposed rezoning and special exception for a data center campus.
Aug. 26, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Columbus native cofounded this company aiming to revolutionize sleep
Jordyn Paul-Slater reports that a Columbus native intends to revolutionize how we sleep. Her plan? To reinvent the sleep mask. Jill MacRae cofounded the Inactive Company, a business dedicated to helping customers improve their sleep quality.
Aug. 26, 2025 Savannah Morning News
A food historian and chef are on a mission to preserve the long lost flavors of the South
Amy Paige Condon reports, in the fall of 1913, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce staged the Georgia Products Dinner, a promotional challenge to the state’s counties and hotels to host dinners that highlighted their best dishes made from local ingredients and products. On Nov. 18, 1913, 75 cities and counties across the state held those feasts―Chatham County among them―marking the first time any state in the nation “made a concerted effort to define its distinctive culinary culture.”
Aug. 26, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Kemp mobilizes Georgia National Guard to assist ICE
Maya Homan reports, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is sending approximately 75 members of Georgia’s National Guard to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with immigration enforcement efforts, his office announced Monday. The Peach State is joining 18 other states to mobilize a collective 1,700 troops nationwide.
Aug. 26, 2025 Newnan Times-Herald
Raffensperger seeks more power to fight fraud after Newnan-based Ponzi collapse
Clay Neely reports that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is calling for stronger enforcement powers in the wake of the collapse of Newnan-based First Liberty Building & Loan, which federal regulators allege was a $140 million Ponzi scheme. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused First Liberty founder Brant Frost IV of funneling millions of dollars to his family and conservative causes.
Aug. 26, 2025 State Affairs
Windfall from sports betting projected for Georgia
Beau Evans reports, Georgia stands to gain hundreds of millions in tax revenue from legalizing sports betting and casinos in the 2026 legislative session. That was the message from representatives from sports teams, casino executives and elected officials from neighboring states at a hearing Monday of a House panel studying the local impacts of legal gaming beyond the lottery.
Aug. 26, 2025 The Brunswick News
Low turnout a concern for PSC election
Gordon Jackson reports that incumbent Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols believes the Republican Party needs to do more to encourage younger people to get involved with the party. “We’ve got to replace ourselves. Colleges aren’t going to create conservatives,” he told The Coastal Republican Women’s Club at Monday’s monthly meeting.
Aug. 26, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Georgia committee discusses physician-assisted death for terminally ill Georgians
Alander Rocha reports, for Jennifer Bullard, the decision to seek a physician-assisted death was not an act of wanting to die but of taking control over how and when she died, said Bullard’s sister, Jamie McNeil. McNeil said that the medical aid in dying (MAID) option gave her sister a sense of dignity and peace, allowing her to coordinate a “beautiful passing” that included a final, intimate farewell with family and friends.
Aug. 26, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Another candidate joins expanding field seeking to be Georgia’s top lawyer
Ty Tagami reports that the list of candidates who want to be Georgia’s next attorney general keeps growing, with another Democrat entering the race. State Rep. Tanya F. Miller of Atlanta announced her candidacy outside the Gold Dome Monday.
Aug. 26, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia economist fired by Trump says she isn’t leaving the Fed board
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, President Donald Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Monday. But the Georgia-born economist said she’s not going anywhere.
