Georgia Trend Daily – June 3, 2026
June 3, 2026 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp: Authority Brands Relocates HQ, Creates 390 Jobs in Cobb Co.
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp on Tuesday announced that Authority Brands, a portfolio of well-known home-service brands, will establish its new headquarters — known as the Franchisee Success Center — in Cobb County, creating 390 new jobs and investing $13 million over the next several years. “We’re proud that Authority Brands has chosen to relocate to the No. 1 state for business, where our pro-jobs approach and strong workforce help companies succeed,” he said.
June 3, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
From Landmark to Reborn Opportunity
Chris Eachus reports, for decades, Atlanta’s growth was measured by what got built next. New towers, new districts, and large-scale office and mixed-use developments reshaped the skyline, expanded the city, and helped establish Georgia as one of the country’s strongest commercial real estate markets in the Sun Belt. That momentum is still present, but the economics are changing.
June 3, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At the Hyundai Metaplant, manufacturing grows to three models — and counting
Adam Van Brimmer reports that roads around Hyundai Motor Group’s sprawling Metaplant campus west of Savannah bear the names of the South Korean automaker’s brands: Hyundai, Kia and Genesis. Models bearing two of those nameplates are now being manufactured inside the factory.
June 3, 2026 Savannah Morning News
Gov. Kemp, Hyundai celebrate production of Kia Sportage Hybrid
Latrice Williams reports that Hyundai Motor Company announced Tuesday that it plans to manufacture the Kia Sportage Hybrid for the first time in the U.S. at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America. The vehicle is currently produced in South Korea.
June 3, 2026 Georgia Ports Authority
Georgia Ports launches new harbor deepening study
Staff reports that the Georgia Ports Authority has issued a letter of intent to Adam Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, detailing GPA’s plans to start a Savannah Harbor modification study. “The shipping channel needs to be deepened and widened to better accommodate the largest ships currently serving Savannah, and to prepare for even larger, more efficient vessels expected to serve the U.S. East Coast,” said Georgia Ports President and CEO Griff Lynch.
June 3, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Augusta Commission pumps brakes on future data center developments
Joe Hotchkiss reports that the Augusta Commission on Tuesday unanimously agreed to keep new data center projects out of the community until an ordinance is approved to responsibly govern the controversial developments. “This is for the community to ensure that we have the safeguards in place to encompass the growth of this technology throughout our county and throughout this nation,” said District 5 Commissioner Don Clark, who introduced the motion asking for the development moratorium.
June 3, 2026 Newnan Times-Herald
Can voters overturn county decisions? Data center opponents eye Georgia home rule powers
Clay Neely reports, as opponents of data center developments gather signatures across Coweta County, organizers say their goal is to place the issue before voters through a countywide referendum. The effort centers on Georgia’s home rule provisions, a section of state law that allows citizens in certain circumstances to challenge actions taken by local governments.
June 3, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
GA among few states with a datacenter academy for AI job market training. Here’s how to apply
Sundi Rose reports that artificial intelligence is one of the fastest growing tech sectors in the country, and Georgia now has two academies for students to obtain a certificate or a degree. Microsoft has partnered with two colleges to create datacenter academies at Atlanta Technical College and West Georgia Technical College, putting Georgia among a growing group of states with hands-on training programs built specifically for the AI infrastructure workforce.
June 3, 2026 Walton Tribune
Brumby family buys Walton Tribune
Staff reports that Times Journal Media Group announces the purchase of three additional Georgia newspapers: The Walton Tribune in Monroe, The Covington News in Newton County and The Oconee Enterprise in Watkinsville. All three papers print weekly or biweekly and operate corresponding websites.
June 3, 2026 Saporta Report
Atlanta Civic Circle’s newsroom closes its doors
Delaney Tarr reports, after five years in business, the Atlanta Civic Circle is shuttering due to funding challenges. It was one of the city’s few nonprofit civic newsrooms.
June 3, 2026 The Brunswick News
Extended red snapper season on hold after judge’s ruling
Michael Hall reports that the two-month recreational red snapper fishing season that was set to start next month in Georgia is on hold following a federal judge’s ruling that deemed the move unlawful. The district court judge in Washington, D.C., sided with a group representing commercial fishermen, commercial fishing businesses and a few individual anglers and granted a request for a preliminary injunction blocking the exempted fishing permits issued early last month by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
June 3, 2026 The Current, Inside Climate News
A Georgia wildlife haven forged by fire and peat nears UNESCO recognition
Ryan Krugman reports, by July, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge could be internationally recognized as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. The Okefenokee, on the Florida border in southeast Georgia, hosts the largest blackwater swamp in North America, a slow-moving wilderness roughly five times the size of Atlanta.
June 3, 2026 State Affairs
Candidates clash as Georgia runoffs enter final stretch
Jack Rutherford reports, runoffs in Georgia are heating up as election day looms on June 16. Party candidates traded blows at the Atlanta Press Club debates on policy and personality alike as they vie to advance to the general elections in November.
June 3, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Alone on debate stage, Burt Jones backs GOP election changes and slams opponent Rick Jackson for skipping
Ty Tagami reports that final Republican gubernatorial primary debate revealed more about Lt. Gov. Burt Jones than it did about billionaire Rick Jackson, as the latter declined to attend. Or maybe it revealed a lot about Jackson, Jones said, speaking next to an empty lectern in a Georgia Public Broadcasting studio in Atlanta.
June 3, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gas tax debate revives 2022 playbook in Georgia governor’s race
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, Keisha Lance Bottoms is seizing on Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to let Georgia’s gas tax suspension expire Tuesday night, framing the return of the 33-cents-per-gallon levy as an early pocketbook test for her Republican rivals. The Democratic nominee for governor urged GOP runoff candidates Rick Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to join her call to extend the suspension, saying Georgians can’t afford higher fuel costs this summer.
