Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 8, 2026
July 8, 2026 Macon Telegraph
Childcare in GA is among the lowest in cost, but not in accessibility. Here’s how it stacks up
Sundi Rose reports, the National Bipartisan Policy Center reports nearly 65% of Georgia children have two working parents, while nationally 1 in 3 children receive out-of-the home childcare, revealing an extremely high demand for reliable childcare. According to a new WalletHub study, Georgia ranked 48th cheapest states for childcare costs, but even with a lower-cost ranking, this expense takes a heavy toll on families, especially those with infants and single parents.
Serengeti of the South: Georgia Safari Conservation Park encompasses 500 acres and includes animals like the Southern white rhinoceros. Photo credit: Georgia Safari Conservation Park
July 8, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
2026 TravelBlazers
Gary Daughters reports, it’s easy to overlook that Georgia’s tourism industry is the state’s second-largest economic engine, behind only agriculture. Tourism generates some $82 billion in annual economic impact and $5.1 billion in state and local taxes. Every year, it seems, Georgia tourism breaks its own records.
July 8, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CEO of Gwinnett life sciences park to join nonprofit buyer of Northlake Mall
Zachary Hansen reports, the top executive of a multibillion-dollar life sciences campus in Gwinnett County is switching jobs to a different nonprofit that recently undertook its own ambitious project at Northlake Mall. Mason Ailstock on Tuesday stepped down as president and CEO of the Rowen Foundation to become president of Atlanta-based nonprofit Centurion Foundation, according to a news release.
July 8, 2026 Saporta Report
Bezos Earth Fund gives $9.4 million to Park Pride for Four Corners Park redesign in Peoplestown
Delaney Tarr reports, Peoplestown resident and unofficial mayor Columbus Ward remembers playing softball in a vacant lot as a kid. He also remembers when it became an official park, and the effort he joined in to keep the park from being demolished.
July 8, 2026 Rome News-Tribune
Local advocate: Safe at Home program means less danger for survivors
Baylen Parker reports that a newly launched Georgia program aimed at protecting survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and human trafficking is being welcomed by local advocates in Rome as a long-overdue tool to improve safety and privacy. The Safe at Home program, which went live July 1 through the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, allows eligible participants to use a substitute mailing address in place of their home address on public records.
July 8, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
‘Housing is dignity.’ Warnock tours example of what $4.3 million will help Columbus build
Jordyn Paul-Slater and Brittany McGee report that Columbus resident Vera Adams and her husband, Kenneth, are raising three of their grandchildren. Kenneth worked as a contractor, helping to build NeighborWorks Columbus’ affordable housing project Elliott’s Walk.
July 8, 2026 The Current
Sapelo zoning effort stalls
Mary Landers reports, at a packed meeting in Darien on Tuesday, the McIntosh County Planning and Zoning Commission tabled consideration of new zoning for the Hogg Hummock neighborhood of Sapelo Island that would have capped house size at 1,800 square feet and 35 feet tall. The unanimous vote to set aside the controversial zoning came after almost a dozen residents spoke against it, and the county attorney urged the board and the county commission to “go back to the drawing board.”
July 8, 2026 GPB
Data center power plant company from Texas gets warned it may be violating Georgia law
Grant Blankenship reports, Georgia environmental regulators said a company installing natural gas-based electrical generation for a Newton County data center has likely violated state air quality rules. Texas-based VoltaGrid says it offers electricity solutions for data centers so they don’t have to wait on slow-moving utility companies.
July 8, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Georgia utility regulators greenlight probe into data center costs
Alander Rocha reports that the Georgia Public Service Commission approved an investigation into whether Georgia Power’s industrial customers who are heavy energy consumers, like data centers, are shifting some costs to residential customers. The investigation was part of an agreement the utility company and PSC staff reached in May that slightly lowered the amount of the utility’s fuel and Hurricane Helene cleanup costs could be passed on to residential customers.
July 8, 2026 The Current
Kemp holds meeting with OpenAI and Georgia Power in Atlanta
Maggie Lee reports, in May, as Georgians rallied at the polls and community meetings against power- and water-guzzling data centers, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp met with representatives of OpenAI about the AI industry-leading company’s business plans for the state. While the meeting became public as part of Kemp’s schedule, neither the governor’s office, nor OpenAI or Georgia Power, whose representatives were also present, would elaborate on the topics discussed.
July 8, 2026 State Affairs
On the docket: 6 Georgia Supreme Court cases to watch
Jack Rutherford reports, the Georgia Supreme Court is deciding key questions about how much power state and local governments have, including whether police can damage land and if cities are legally responsible for road maintenance. There’s even a case in which a lawyer described in the lawsuit as an “ambulance chaser” is accused of Mafia-style tactics, setting up a decision from the High Court on what personal injury attorneys who often appear on billboards can and can’t do.
July 8, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Georgia Supreme Court rebukes appellate decision, confirms RICO Act applies in family lawsuits
Ty Tagami reports, a 1980s law originally aimed mainly at organized crime can be used in domestic disputes, the Georgia Supreme Court clarified in a ruling involving a legal clash between former spouses. The decision last week reversed the state Court of Appeals, which had ruled that the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, did not apply to domestic disputes.
July 8, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trump-nominated judge halts DOJ demand for identities of 2020 election workers
Caleb Groves reports, a federal judge on Tuesday quashed a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking the identities and personal information of thousands of 2020 Fulton County election workers. U.S. District Court Judge Billy Ray, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, called the breadth of the demand “staggering,” adding that the records “would not lead to information that could be used to charge anyone with anything, at least not any viable charge.”
