From Campus to Classroom: Stories That Shape Education
- Regulators approve Cox-Charter merger, creating the nation’s largest cable and broadband provider with low-cost options and five years free broadband to 50 community sites.
- QCells plant in Cartersville expands beyond panel assembly to produce solar cells, blending automated robotics and workforce in advanced manufacturing.
- Atlanta City Council refines a data center task force amid opposition to a proposed southwest Atlanta facility; Mayor Andre Dickens is forming a strategy group.
- Senator Jon Ossoff rallies supporters for reelection, addressing prices and healthcare; he leads major polls and holds a sizable fundraising advantage.
Aug. 18, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Erica Van Buren reports, as hotter summers in Georgia become more frequent and intense due to climate change, academics say farmers are adjusting in an effort to maintain crops and livestock. Adapting to a changing climate is necessary because higher temperatures increase drought stress and heat stress on livestock, according to experts at the University of Georgia.
Aug. 18, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Brian Robinson writes, the day over the summer, the Rome Y feeds more than 600 children. More than 100 children attend sessions daily at two sites where they enjoy nutritious meals and enriching activities – like the garden club attended by the 7-year-old boy.
Aug. 18, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Savanna Sicurella reports that the landmark merger between metro Atlanta-based Cox Communications and Charter Communications has cleared its final regulatory hurdle, paving the way for a deal that will create the largest cable TV and broadband provider in the U.S. California regulators approved the deal valued at $34.5 billion after Charter made concessions, including offering low-cost service for low-income households and providing five years of free broadband and Wi-Fi service for 50 schools, libraries and other community centers.
Aug. 18, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Erica Van Buren reports that climate change is reshaping how, and whether, peaches can be grown reliably in Georgia and South Carolina. Warmer winters, earlier blooms, and volatile cold snaps are creating a difficult new reality for growers.
Aug. 18, 2026 Gainesville Times
Jeff Gill reports that a new food packaging manufacturer in Gainesville is expected to create about 140 jobs over the next three years, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday, Aug. 17. Cirkla‘s $5 million plant will be in the Gainesville 85 Business Center at 1950 Fulenwider Road.
Aug. 18, 2026 WABE
Emily Jones reports, inside the vast QCells factory in Cartersville, Georgia, workers — and a bevy of robots — move ultra-thin slices of polysilicon through a lengthy series of machines and chemical baths to transform them into what are known as cells. In June, the plant, about an hour northwest of Atlanta, expanded beyond assembling the major components of solar panels.
Aug. 18, 2026 Saporta Report
Gabi Hart reports, weeks after the 2026 FIFA World Cup wrapped up, Atlanta’s downtown leaders gathered across the street from the stadium that hosted the tournament, close enough to look out the window and see the venue where eight matches, including a semifinal, had just been played. The setting was fitting.
Aug. 18, 2026 Rough Draft
Logan C. Ritchie reports, the Atlanta City Council is refining a task force on the impact of data centers, following widespread opposition to a proposed facility in southwest Atlanta. A data center task force resolution by Council member Kelsea Bond was working its way through the City of Atlanta approval process when city staff announced Mayor Andre Dickens’ effort to create a data center strategy group just before the Aug. 17 meeting.
Aug. 18, 2026 WTVY News 4
Katie Ring reports, city and county leaders in Blakely made a multi-million dollar economic development deal official Thursday, signing an agreement with QTS, one of the nation’s leading data center companies. The agreement includes a betterment fund totaling at least $28.75 million. QTS Co-CEO Greason said the company will begin payments before construction starts.
Aug. 18, 2026 GPB
Sarah Kallis reports that U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff rallied supporters for his reelection bid in Atlanta on Sunday. Ossoff spoke about high grocery and gas prices, healthcare and his opposition to the war in Iran during his speech to more than 1,000 supporters at Center Stage Theater.
Aug. 18, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greg Bluestein reports that U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is showing no mercy. The Democrat leads Republican challenger Mike Collins in every major public poll, holds a massive fundraising advantage and is now trying to peel away GOP voters.
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