Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 25, 2026

Feb. 25, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Pratt & Whitney invests $200 million in Columbus facility with another expansion

Jordyn Paul-Slater reports that Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday in Columbus an expansion of a legacy Columbus business. Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Virginia-based RTX, is investing $200 million to expand its Columbus operations.

Feb. 25, 2026 Georgia Trend Exclusive!

Fighting A-Fib

Mary Anne Dunkin reports, a growing number of people in Georgia – and across the nation – are being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. The condition is projected to affect more than 12 million Americans by 2030, according to the American Heart Association.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Fewer people can afford to buy homes. That’s also hurting Home Depot.

Kelly Yamanouchi reports that Home Depot saw a decline in profit in 2025 amid a slowdown in the housing market and economic uncertainty. The Vinings-based home improvement giant saw its net earnings decline to $14.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, down 4.4% from $14.8 billion in 2024. Its 2025 fiscal year ended Feb. 1.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Georgia Historical Society

Georgia Historical Society to Host Discussion on America’s National Commemorations During Turbulent Times as Part of US250 Commemoration

Staff reports, as part of its statewide commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Georgia Historical Society (GHS) will present “A United States but a Divided America: How We Have Celebrated the Nation’s Birthday During Turbulent Times.” This special panel discussion will examine how major national commemorations have unfolded during periods of deep division. It will take place tomorrow, February 26, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at Christ Church Episcopal in Savannah.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Savannah Morning News

Bryan County’s $183 million airport project awaits GDOT approval

Latrice Williams reports, it has been nearly a year since Gov. Brian Kemp signed The Richmond Hill-Bryan County Airport Authority Act, or House Bill 763. In doing so, it enabled the county to establish an airport authority board. The total investment is expected to cost $183 million, according to Bryan County’s website.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 The Brunswick News

Cumberland visitor plan draws criticism

Gordon Jackson reports, a proposed visitor use management plan for Cumberland Island National Seashore is not generating endorsements from the environmental community. More than a dozen organizations have raised concerns about the plan by the National Park Service that includes allowing e-bikes, more than doubling the daily visitor capacity, adding commercial facilities, motorized boat tours, kayak rentals and more.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Gainesville Times

Sale of Oakwood warehouse to ICE finalized; local tax losses could reach $771K

Jeff Gill and Ben Anderson report, the sale of an Oakwood warehouse to the U.S. government for an up to 1,600-bed ICE center has been finalized — and local governments could lose hundreds of thousands in property tax revenue. A warranty deed filed in Hall County on Thursday, Feb. 19, shows a sale of property at 3605, 3611, 3613 and 3619 Atlanta Highway between CRP/AI Oakwood Owner LLC and the Department of Homeland Security for $68.2 million.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Georgia Press

7 candidates vie to be Democratic gubernatorial candidate

Zoe Seiler reports, Democratic candidates running to be Georgia’s next governor discussed education, healthcare and elections during a forum on Feb. 19 hosted by the DeKalb and Fulton Democrats. The governor is the chief executive officer of the state and is responsible for upholding the state Constitution and for executing laws passed by the Legislature.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Georgia Recorder

2 attorneys launch campaigns challenging GOP-appointed justices on Georgia’s highest court

Jill Nolin reports that two prominent attorneys have launched campaigns for the Georgia Supreme Court, challenging two sitting justices who were originally appointed by former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. Former Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, a personal injury attorney and former president of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, stood together Tuesday at Liberty Plaza outside the state Capitol.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Capitol Beat News

Protesters in Georgia could face harsher sanctions under new state legislation

Ty Tagami reports, bills to restrain public protests have advanced in Georgia’s House and Senate in the wake of shooting deaths in Minneapolis that shocked the nation. One would expose people charged with blocking roads to stiffer financial penalties.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 WABE

Bill to ban cell phone usage at high schools clears Georgia state House

MeiMei Xu reports that Georgia state representatives passed a bill Tuesday to extend the bell-to-bell ban on personal devices in elementary and middle schools to high schools. House Bill 1009 passed the Georgia House of Representatives 145 to 20.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 State Affairs

‘It feels pretty dead’: Social media, AI regulations stumble in the Senate

Beau Evans reports that Sen. Sally Harrell, D-Atlanta spent months crafting legislation she hoped would become the first rules on social media and artificial intelligence to have any real teeth in Georgia. She co-led a study committee that brought in experts from across the country.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Marietta Daily Journal

Cobb DA describes ‘massive disparity’ in state, federal funding for child support services

Isabelle Manders reports, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office is asking state lawmakers to help close what they described as a “massive disparity” in funding for its child support services division — a program that serves thousands of children across the county. District Attorney Sonya Allen and Louie Hunter, the office’s director of communications and governmental affairs, appeared before the Cobb Legislative Delegation Tuesday to outline the growing gap between state and federal funding and the actual cost of operating the program.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Georgia Recorder

Cell phone ban for high schools, school metal detectors, literacy bill move through Georgia House

Ross Williams reports that the Georgia House passed a slew of bills Tuesday that could reshape the way public school students learn. The chamber approved bills including a ban on cell phones for high schoolers, a requirement to install weapons detectors at school entrances and a bill aimed at boosting reading rates that Speaker Jon Burns called “arguably the most impactful education legislation passed by this House since the HOPE Scholarship was created three decades ago.”

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Capitol Beat News

Senate panel rewrites bill protecting Georgians from data centers’ power costs

Mark Niesse reports that Georgia senators rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have explicitly prevented power companies from passing on data centers’ costs to customers, instead advancing a bill with fewer consumer protections. The 9-3 vote by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee is the latest round in this year’s battle over rapidly growing data centers, the engines for artificial intelligence technology that require enormous amounts of new electricity capacity in Georgia.

 

Feb. 25, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Property tax measures under Gold Dome ignore renters, advocates say

Michelle Baruchman reports, Republican state lawmakers rush to address the affordability crisis in the state with tax cut plans, one group has fallen through the cracks of many of their proposals: renters. Earlier this year, House Speaker Jon Burns unveiled a proposed change to the state’s tax code that would eliminate property taxes on primary single-family residences.