Georgia Trend Daily – Jan. 23, 2026
Jan. 23, 2026 WABE
Metro Atlanta under winter storm watch as state of emergency takes effect
Patrick Saunders reports that Metro Atlanta is preparing for the potential of its first major winter storm of the year. The storm looks on track to mostly hit areas north of I-20 with snow, sleet and freezing rain possible beginning Saturday.
Jan. 23, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
The Patisserie on Main
Sucheta Rawal writes, one one of the best French-style patisseries I’ve found is not in Paris – or even Atlanta – you might be surprised to learn it’s tucked away in the charming small town of Madison. Located on South Main Street in Madison’s historic downtown, The Patisserie on Main looks like it was plucked straight out of a French village.
Jan. 23, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After $8.6B merger, Atlanta banking firm to accelerate hiring in 2026
Amy Wenk reports, fresh off a $8.6 billion merger, what’s become one of the country’s largest regional banks says it will ramp up hiring as it looks to take market share across the Southeast. Pinnacle Financial Partners, the Nashville bank that combined with Columbus-based Synovus Financial early this month, plans to hire up to 250 bankers this year — a jump from 2025 when the two banks combined hired 217.
Jan. 23, 2026 The Brunswick News
State unemployment rate up slightly
Gordon Jackson reports that the Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday the state’s unemployment rate for December 2025 was 3.6%, up slightly from a revised 3.5% in November. The state’s unemployment rate was 0.8% lower than the national unemployment rate.
Jan. 23, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
More than $600,000 raised to train Muscogee teachers to help students in new way
Mark Rice reports that teachers in Columbus public schools serving children from high-poverty environments will be trained in a new way to help their students. The Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, in partnership with the Muscogee County School District, announced the launch of the Buntin Schools of Excellence initiative during a news conference Thursday at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, the first school participating in this program.
Jan. 23, 2026 Macon Melody
Bibb development authority broadens role from clean air to community projects
Laura Corley reports, in the early 1970s, the federal government began to crack down on smog-producing industries. Like many other companies at the time, Georgia Power needed to come into compliance with the stricter emission standards mandated by the federal Clean Air Act. Its coal-fired, steam-generating plant — between the Ocmulgee River and Arkwright Road — had been identified in a report by the Council on Economic Priorities as a “major offender.”
Jan. 23, 2026 The Current
McIntosh pauses all building on Sapelo Island
Mary Landers reports that the McIntosh County Commission on Thursday imposed a 30-day moratorium on building in the Gullah Geechee enclave of Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island. The moratorium follows Tuesday’s decisive countywide vote that repealed a controversial 2023 zoning amendment allowing larger structures to be built in Hogg Hummock, an historic district that’s home to Gullah Geechee people whose ancestors were once enslaved in Coastal Georgia.
Jan. 23, 2026 Savannah Morning News
Bryan County Commissioner releases statement on nickle refinery
Latrice Williams reports that Oklahama-based startup Westwin Elements said it has presented officials in Bryan County a petition with 3,000 signatures from Georgia residents as a show of support for a proposed nickel refinery. The company, which currently operates a demonstration plant in Lawton, Ok., says the facility it is proposing to build in Richmond Hill will be the first of its kind in the United States.
Jan. 23, 2026 Healthbeat Atlanta
Georgia nurses say fear of discipline keeps them from seeking addiction treatment
Rebecca Grapevine reports, Georgia nurses who have struggled with – and even overcome – addiction want to see the state adopt a less punitive approach to discipline that would remove some of the obstacles to treatment and employment. A bill before the state legislature that has broad bipartisan support as well as support from the state nursing board would change how Georgia handles such cases.
Jan. 23, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Kemp suspends Georgia lawmaker charged with pandemic relief fraud
Ross Wiliams reports, Gov. Brian Kemp has suspended from office a Democratic lawmaker charged with unemployment fraud in connection with COVID-19 pandemic relief. Kemp, a Republican, announced Thursday that Rep. Sharon Henderson would be suspended from office until her case is resolved or her term ends.
Jan. 23, 2026 Gainesville Times
Gov. Kemp proposes $2K teacher bonus. Here’s what that means for local schools.
Danny McArthur reports, in his final State of the State address on Jan. 15, Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a one-time, $2,000 bonus for all state employees, including educators. The impact locally will largely depend on how the bonus is funded, said Hall County school board chairman Craig Herrington. In the past, the state has typically not covered every employee.
Jan. 23, 2026 Savannah Morning News, The Imprint
Senator discusses Georgia’s latest efforts to better support foster youth
Jordan Anderson reports that the challenges are documented and well-known: Young people aging out of foster care are more likely to experience behavioral, mental and physical health challenges. They are more vulnerable to homelessness, employment and academic difficulties and incarceration.
Jan. 23, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Raffensperger rebuffs pressure campaign to hand over sensitive voter data to feds
Maya Homan reports that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is refusing to turn over sensitive personal information from Georgia’s voter rolls to the U.S. Department of Justice in response to the Trump administration’s ongoing legal campaign aimed at forcing state and local officials to disclose voter roll information to the federal government. But pressure from some lawmakers and other state officials for him to turn over the data is mounting, despite Raffensperger’s repeated claims that doing so would violate state law.
Jan. 23, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Senators side with DOJ in fight for Georgia voter list with personal information
Mark Niesse reports that a Georgia Senate panel approved a resolution Thursday calling on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to turn over the state’s unredacted voter list to the U.S. Department of Justice — including voters’ Social Security and driver’s license numbers. The Senate Ethics Committee voted along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed, to advance the resolution to a vote by the full Senate.
Jan. 23, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chris Carr proposes anti-corruption plan aimed at public officials
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, Attorney General Chris Carr is pitching what he calls the toughest anti-corruption crackdown in the nation. It’s a sweeping proposal that he hopes will jolt his bid for governor and amp up the pressure on a top Republican rival.
