Ups, Downs and In-betweens
Local News: Two of the state’s oldest and largest newspapers have new leases on life. The nonprofit Georgia Trust for Local News purchased the Macon Telegraph, founded in 1826, and the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, founded in 1828. The Georgia Trust is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Local News, whose mission is to “acquire, stabilize and revitalize” news organizations across the country. Both papers were previously owned by media giant McClatchy.
Local foundations in each city provided funds to support the purchases. In Macon, the Georgia Trust had launched the community newsroom The Macon Melody in 2024, and the Melody now will merge with the Telegraph. The combined newsroom will operate out of Mercer University’s Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism. In Columbus, the Ledger-Enquirer will make its home in the city’s central business district. In announcing the acquisition, the Georgia Trust said that it is discussing a collaboration with Columbus State University for students to gain hands-on experience at the publication.
According to the 2025 Medill State of Local News report, the number of local newspapers in Georgia has declined by 28% since 2005.
Money Talks: According to Money’s annual Best Colleges in America, the University of Georgia is right up there, with 4.5 out of 5 stars. The school was recognized for affordability, academic quality and student outcomes, with editors also noting small class sizes and access to financial aid. Other outlets have taken note, as well: UGA was among the top 20 best public universities in the nation in the coveted U.S. News & World Report’s rankings, making it the 10th consecutive year the school ranked among the top 20. (Georgia Tech was also in the top 20.) And Princeton Review ranked UGA 12th among the top 50 best value public universities in 2025.
Don’t Ask for More: Following years of hefty growth in state revenue and reserves – and cuts to income tax rates – Georgia’s future financial picture may not look so rosy. In a memo, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office has told state agencies to keep their funding requests at current Fiscal Year 2027 levels for both the amended FY 2027 and FY 2028 budgets.
After the legislature passed a law in March reducing the income tax rate from 5.19% to 4.99% in FY2027 with continued decreases planned over eight years, Kemp used his line-item veto to reduce the resulting hole in the budget, cutting $300 million in approved spending. Are more cuts on the way? Although the memo said, “current revenue projections are expected to be sufficient to meet the state’s mandatory growth obligations,” it instructed agencies to prepare contingency plans for possible reductions.
One Last Time: If Georgia’s election season has already seemed endless, with 11 special elections (so far) in various districts plus the general primary and primary runoff elections, the end may be coming into sight – at least for special elections.
In the July vote to fill the Congressional District 13 seat (vacant following the death of Rep. David Scott), no candidate crossed the 50% mark. Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Rep. Scott, will face former Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair in a runoff Aug. 25. The winner will serve the remainder of the term. Democratic state Rep. Jasmine Clark, who won the May primary, is expected to win the safe Democratic seat in November.
Bench Swap: After a busy July making more judicial appointments than any other month this year, in August Kemp appointed Brian Epps to the state Court of Appeals. Epps, 53, is trading one bench for another: He’s been a federal magistrate judge in Augusta since June 2013. 
Pragmatic Politics: Ruby-red South Georgia is not typically where a Democratic senator running for re-election would look for endorsements. But there’s not much typical about this election season – although the news that the mayors of Valdosta and Tifton were announcing their support for Sen. Jon Ossoff still made headlines.
Sen. Jon Osoff
Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Tifton Mayor Julie Smith both noted in interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Ossoff has brought federal dollars and resources to the area and that he is responsive to their needs. AJC chief political reporter Greg Bluestein quoted Smith as saying, “I don’t have to track him down. He tracks me down.” The article also notes that Smith and Matheson support Republican nominee Rick Jackson for governor.
Earlier in July, Ossoff received another Republican endorsement, this time from former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Mike Collins, the Republican challenger for Ossoff’s seat, was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
