Georgia Trend Daily – July 27, 2026
July 27, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Okefenokee earns World Heritage site status, but mining concerns persist
Ty Tagami reports, fresh off the world stage with the departure of FIFA World Cup fans, Georgia is back in the limelight with the listing of the Okefenokee Swamp as an international treasure. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced Saturday that it had decided to add the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to its World Heritage Site List.
July 27, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Georgia’s Growing Energy Needs Require a Strong Grid
Julia Roberts reports, Georgia communities expect safe, reliable and cost-effective power at home, at work and everywhere in between. As the state grows and technology changes how people use energy, the electric grid must be ready to meet rising demand.
July 27, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coca-Cola closes $31M deal for Georgia Tech to expand
Amy Wenk reports that beverage giant Coca-Cola has sold a piece of its Atlanta corporate campus, allowing its longtime neighbor Georgia Tech to expand. The Midtown property spans about 5 acres along North Avenue, north of Coca-Cola’s main headquarters and within walking distance of Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.
July 27, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Honda parts supplier Asama closes plant, eliminates 107 jobs
Joe Hotchkiss reports, more than 100 people will lose their jobs when an auto-parts manufacturer closes in Warren County. Asama Coldwater Manufacturing Georgia LLC will eliminate 107 jobs at its foundry at 975 Thomson Hwy., less than a mile east of Warrenton, according to a recent filing under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
July 27, 2026 Marietta Daily Journal
Merchants Walk shopping center purchased by private equity firm
Lucinda Warnke reports that the Merchants Walk shopping center, located near the intersection of Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads, has been purchased by a private equity firm, according to a news release from the buyer. Florida-based Sterling Organization announced Tuesday it had purchased the shopping center for $93.2 million from former owner EDENS, a South Carolina-based real estate developer.
July 27, 2026 WSB TV
The $1.5 million federal grant to help train young workers
Sabrina Castro reports that CobbWorks will receive a $1.5 million federal grant to expand job training and education opportunities for young people in Cobb County, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath announced. The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Labor’s YouthBuild program, which helps young adults gain workforce skills, earn their GEDs and prepare for careers in high-demand fields.
July 27, 2026 GlobalAtlanta.com
Israel Business Delegations Continue, Showing Georgia’s Solidarity Amid Prolonged Conflict
Trevor Williams reports, even as the joint U.S.-Israeli war with Iran simmers, delegations continue to flow back and forth from Israel to Georgia, showing solidarity between the economies amid a prolonged period of uncertainty. An Israel cybersecurity delegation is set to land in Atlanta for a summit July 29, the latest group the latest group to seek out business ties even the conflict has flared up again after a nearly two-month of reprieve.
July 27, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Pro-data center group launches in Georgia to try to win over critics
Alander Rocha reports, an organization that represents the data center industry is trying to get Georgians to think of the electricity-hungry facilities more favorably. Connected Georgia and its parent organization America Connects recently established a state presence when they created a website on June 15 and a YouTube channel the next week, where the organization published a 30-second ad that has garnered over 2 million views in about four weeks.
Jul6y 27, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Georgia Power, White House make energy pledges as a data center alliance forms in GA
Kala Hunter reports that Georgia Power is taking steps to improve its public image around data center infrastructure and rising utility bills in a new, six point pledge to customers. In the pledge, announced last week, Georgia Power said it’s committed to keeping rates protected and energy affordable, ensuring large energy users like data centers pay their way, investing in a stronger grid, negotiating fairly and transparently for property, and balancing power in a reliable way.
July 27, 2026 WABE
Clayton officials engaging in more data center talks with residents as 400-acre campus proposal looms in Lovejoy
Dormiya Vance reports that Clayton County officials are having more conversations with residents about data centers. This comes amid a proposal for a multi-building facility in Lovejoy that remains up in the air. Commissioner DeMont Davis held his monthly town hall meeting to inform constituents and take their questions on the matter, bringing in experts for further insight.
July 27, 2026 The Current
As Effingham County data center plan advances, next step is state evaluation process
Daneen Khan and Kelly Lu report, OpenAI offered an official agreement to build a massive $20 billion data center in Effingham County approximately one month ago, according to the county manager. But despite months of earlier planning and project leaders describing the data center as a done deal, fundamental details about the facility remain opaque.
July 27, 2026 Athens Banner-Herald
This Georgia district has a special election Tuesday. See who is running
Miguel Legoas reports that the candidates for governor, senator, and other major Georgia races still have a few months before it’s time to hit the polls. But there’s once race that has just left days left: The special election to pick a new representative in the U.S. House for District 13 following David Scott’s death.
July 27, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New Georgia poll shows Ossoff leading, governor’s race deadlocked
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, the latest poll of Georgia voters offers one of the clearest snapshots yet of a political landscape pulling in two directions. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff leads Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins 52% to 43%. But the race for governor is effectively deadlocked, with Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
