Georgia Trend Daily – May 11, 2026
May 11, 2026 Georgia.gov
Governor Kemp Announces Relief for Taxpayers Impacted by Wildfires
Staff reports that Gov. Brian P. Kemp, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) on Friday announced that certain return and payment deadlines for taxpayers have been extended for Georgians impacted by the Georgia Highway 82 Wildfire and the Pineland Road Wildfire in Clinch, Echols, and Brantley Counties. “We are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to helping those impacted by the unprecedented drought conditions that led to the South Georgia wildfires,” said Gov. Kemp.
May 11, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Atlanta’s Momentum Is Reshaping Where and How Wealth Is Built
Brittain Prigge reports, across Georgia and the broader Southeast, a quiet but powerful shift is underway. Individuals, families and business leaders are increasingly choosing this region not just as a place to live, but as a place to build. At the center of that movement is Atlanta.
May 11, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Questions dog the $4B Forge Atlanta project. Neighbors wonder what’s next.
Zachary Hansen reports that along a stretch of low-rise businesses in the shadow of the city of Atlanta’s jail, an upstart development team has promised to build a nearly $4 billion campus of futuristic high-rises with seven-figure condos and high-end office space. Public disclosures showed its parent company reported no revenue and had less than $6,000 in cash on hand a few months before the Development Authority of Fulton County in October gave initial approval to a $10 million property tax break.
May 11, 2026 WSB Radio
Georgia businesses feel pressure on costs as gas prices continue to rise
Miles Montgomery reports that Georgia businesses are continuing to feel the impact of rising gas prices as fuel costs continue to climb across the state. Georgia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chris Clark said many companies were already struggling with the effects of tariffs and inflation.
May 11, 2026 GlobalAtlanta.com
French Power Products Producer Holds Grand Opening in Gwinnett, Advancing Plans to Hire 300
Trevor Williams reports that French company Socomec held a grand opening in Wednesday on a Suwanee facility the electrical component provider says will eventually employ 300 people. Socomec, which has 4,800 employees around the world and notches more than $1 billion in revenues, is the latest French company to set down roots in Gwinnett County, home to the French-American Chamber of Commerce and a variety of French firms in biotech, logistics and beyond.
May 11, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Land disturbance permits filed for Columbia County data center plans
Joe Hotchkiss reports that updated Columbia County paperwork filed with state authorities shows the development progress of two large data center projects, hotly contested by many rural residents.
May 11, 2026 Macon Telegraph
Oglethorpe Power breaks ground on $3.3B Monroe natural gas plant to meet rising demand
Margaret Walker reports that Georgia’s growing electricity demand is driving another major natural gas expansion, with Oglethorpe Power breaking ground Thursday on a $3.3 billion natural gas power plant in Monroe County. The Smarr Combined-Cycle energy facility, planned off Rumble Road and across the street from the new Buc-ee’s, which broke ground last month, is expected to come online in 2029.
May 11, 2026 Athens Banner-Herald
USDA to bring new science jobs to Athens lab
Wayne Ford reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to begin renovating its Field Services Laboratory in Athens this summer as it provides for an increased number of employees at the new Science Center.
May 11, 2026 WABE
Experts ‘cautiously optimistic’ after strong right whale calving season
Emily Jones reports that North Atlantic right whales, which give birth off the coast of Georgia, the Carolinas and Florida each winter, had their most successful calving season in more than 15 years. There are only about 380 right whales left, so every new baby is considered critical to keeping the species from going extinct.
May 11, 2026 Gainesville Times
Lake Lanier selected as one of 12 national sites for Leave No Trace conservation initiative
Jeff Gill reports that the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, a Colorado-based group that educates people on how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly, has picked Lake Lanier as one of 12 sites nationwide for a community conservation initiative. The group’s Spotlight program recognizes communities working to address the impacts of increased outdoor recreation through onsite education, stewardship and restoration efforts, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers press release Friday, May 8.
May 11, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Calls for investigation, transparency after immigrant death at Stewart Detention Center
Brittany McGee reports that immigration advocates are pushing for an investigation into a death at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, last month, as U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) are pushing for more transparency in the reporting of deaths of people in custody. Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old from Cuba, died at the Stewart Detention Center while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to a May 1 news release from ICE.
May 11, 2026 Georgia Recorder
GOP candidates for governor continue to spend big as election day looms
Alander Rocha reports, candidates running to be Georgia’s next governor are shelling out millions ahead of the May 19 primary election even as a large number of voters remain unsure about which candidate to support. With about 30% of likely Republican voters still undecided according to recent polling, two leading Republican nominees together have spent over $80 million in hopes of chipping away at each other’s support.
May 11, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Kemp signs farm, forestry and fishing bills and answers an enduring question about Georgia’s official fabric
Ty Tagami reports that people who raise chickens in their backyards won’t have to “candle” their eggs. Restaurants that serve shrimp will have to let diners know if it is from abroad.
May 11, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Brian Kemp bets his clout can lift Derek Dooley. The test is almost here.
Greg Bluestein reports, for much of his second term, Gov. Brian Kemp has been the most popular Republican politician in Georgia, a status that helped him muscle his agenda through the Legislature and carve out a national profile independent of Donald Trump. Now he faces a different test: whether he can transfer that popularity to someone else. The latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows how difficult that has proven.
