Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 5, 2025

Sept. 5, 2025 Augusta Chronicle

$78 million of Hurricane Helene recovery funds spreading across Georgia. Here’s where it’s going

Miguel Legoas reports, in addition to hurting and killing multiple residents, last year’s Hurricane Helene did devastating damage to Georgia’s homes, businesses, and overall infrastructure. That’s why more help is needed. On Wednesday, FEMA announced $97 million for 138 state and local recovery projects.

Sept. 5, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

Preparing to Lead – FLEX Cherokee

Susana Hills reports that Georgia FLEX (Foundational Leadership and Entrepreneurial Experience) program is a statewide initiative that empowers high school students to develop real-world entrepreneurial and leadership skills through hands-on learning and community engagement. The program debuted in the Cherokee County School District for the first time this school year.

Sept. 5, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Home Depot completes $5.5B deal to boost pro business

Amy Wenk reports that Home Depot said Thursday it has completed a $5.5 billion acquisition, its latest move to boost business from professional contractors. The home improvement giant said it finalized a deal to buy Tucker-based GMS Inc., a distributor of specialty building products including drywall, ceilings and steel framing.

Sept. 5, 2025 GPB

Film and TV work is drying up in Georgia. But the state’s film office director remains confident

Orlando Montoya reports that the Georgia Film Office says 245 film and television productions in Georgia spent a combined $2.3 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June. That’s down by nearly half from the same period in 2022.

Sept. 5, 2025 GlobalAtlanta.com

Report: France Retains Role as One of Georgia’s Top Job Creators

Trevor Williams reports that France has retained its role as a top-five investor in Georgia by jobs created, continuing its steady trajectory of partnership with the state, according to an annual report released in May by the French embassy in Washington. Investment by French companies in Georgia supported a combined 25,300 jobs in 2024, the embassy calculated in a state-by-state breakdown using U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data collected in 2022, the latest available.

Sept. 5, 2025 WSB Radio

Georgia Tech receives historic $100 million gift from alumnus John Durstine

Miles Montgomery reports that Georgia Tech has received a major gift from alumnus John W. Durstine, marking the largest single donation in the school’s history. Durstine donated $100 million to the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

Sept. 5, 2025 Marietta Daily Journal

‘We hid our river’: Chattahoochee RiverLands project seeks to reclaim a regional treasure

Megan Jackson reports, the Chattahoochee River is not a boundary wall between counties, but connective tissue that unites. That’s the way Wyatt Ray, Chattahoochee program director for the Trust for Public Land, sees it.

Sept. 5, 2025 The Brunswick News

GEC to host Superfund education events tomorrow, Monday

Taylor Cooper reports that Glynn County is home to four Superfund sites and 12 state-designated hazardous waste sites, said Rachael Thompson, Glynn Environmental Coalition executive director. One of GEC’s roles in the community is to educate the public on the ins and outs of each site — who contaminated them, how and the cleanup actions being taken.

Sept. 5, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Columbus government sues Norfolk Southern and other railroad companies

Brittany McGee reports that the Columbus Consolidated Government has sued Norfolk Southern and other railroad companies to recover land the city argues the companies agreed 175 years ago to return. Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford, the Columbus law firm representing CCG in the case, filed the complaint Aug. 28 in Superior Court of Muscogee County.

Sept. 5, 2025 Savannah Morning News

Savannah area Hyundai plant site raided by ICE and Homeland Security agents

Ansley Franco and Joseph Schwartzburt reports that a helicopter hovered over the Hyundai plant site in Bryan County as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) officers raided the facility Thursday morning, a Georgia State Trooper told the Savannah Morning News. The entry to the plant was blocked off by several Georgia State Patrol cars and the Savannah Morning News (SMN) was told to exit the private property by the trooper, at the request of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA).

Sept. 5, 2025 Macon Telegraph

Here’s how GA is trying to legislate AI that’s used in your health care

Sundi Rose reports that Georgia is leading the way in AI-assisted health care and as a result, is actively shaping legislation to regulate the use of AI. These policy changes reflect a cautious acceptance of AI technology that aim to balance innovation with protections for consumers and patients.

 

Sept. 5, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Pete Hegseth emphasizes Fort Benning name, but gives nod to Hal Moore in speech at base

Kelby Hutchison reports, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth emphasized the name of Fort Benning but showed appreciation for its former namesake while speaking to the newest graduates of the Army base’s Officer Candidate School. Making a public appearance at the Columbus-area military installation Thursday, Hegseth spoke to the 77 newest officers of OCS Class 501-25, who entered their new ranks as second lieutenants with their loved ones in the audience and the top brass at the podium.

Sept. 5, 2025 State Affairs

Hemp drinks, gummies under scrutiny in Georgia House

Beau Evans reports that Georgia lawmakers are moving to tighten rules on how gummies and beverages made from hemp can be sold in the state following a failed push earlier this year to ban the products. Low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive chemical in hemp and marijuana, have been legal in edibles and drinks since 2024 for people age 21 and older.

Sept. 5, 2025 Georgia Recorder

Recount confirms results of last month’s special state Senate election as runoff looms

Ross Williams reports that shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office said the recount had been completed and the vote totals had not changed, confirming that a runoff between Democrat Debra Shigley and Republican Jason Dickerson will take place later this month. “Our battle-tested voting system and its verifiable paper trail delivered a recount matching the original results – allowing county officials to quickly move forward and focus on the runoff,” Raffensperger said in a statement.

Sept. 5, 2025 Capitol Beat News

Activists call for greater scrutiny of data centers

Dave Williams reports that a citizen activist from Fayette County asked state lawmakers Thursday to carefully consider the effects a wave of data centers is having on local communities. Diana Dietz, a retired public health nurse, told members of a state House subcommittee “giant industrial poles” associated with a massive data center under construction in the county southwest of Atlanta are removing trees from what used to be scenic residential areas.

Sept. 5, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gabriel Sterling joins Republican race for Georgia elections chief

Mark Niesse reports that Gabriel Sterling, a leading defender of Georgia’s voting system who famously called for President Donald Trump to condemn election threats in 2020, entered the Republican race for secretary of state on Thursday. Sterling, 54, immediately becomes the most well-known candidate in the race to succeed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, his former boss.