Feb. 27, 2025 The Brunswick News
Michael Hall reports that Georgia’s burgeoning oyster farming industry could get a boost if proposed rule amendments allow oyster farmers to harvest during traditionally closed seasons. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division is seeking public comment on the proposed amendments that would establish requirements for shellfish harvest during closed seasons, enhance tagging and shading regulations and outline procedures for harvest closures in response to public health concerns.
Feb. 27, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Amber Jones Barry reports that Valdosta, which brands itself the capital of South Georgia, has had a hard go of things lately. “[For] 166 years, we never had a hurricane hold together and make it to our doorstep,” says Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson. Yet suddenly, within about a year, it had Idalia, Debby and Helene – and in between, a 75-mile-per-hour straight-line wind that did as much damage as Idalia, according to Matheson.
Feb. 27, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kelly Yamanouchi reports that Home Depot is continuing to expand with sales reaching nearly $160 billion in its 2024 fiscal year, even though uncertain economic conditions and higher interest rates are causing some homeowners to pause on big renovations. Vinings-based Home Depot is a bellwether for the broader economy, and its performance offers clues to how homeowners and contractors are faring.
Feb. 27, 2025 GPB
Orlando Montoya and Jake Cook report, on the Wednesday, Feb. 28 edition of Georgia Today: Georgia cotton growers are projected to grow 21% less cotton this year; Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens delivers his annual State of the City business address; and Georgia lawmakers work to address a statewide teacher shortage.
Feb. 27, 2025 Georgia Ports Authority
Staff reports that the OOCL Iris, the largest capacity vessel to ever call the Port of Savannah, arrived at Garden City Terminal Tuesday, Feb. 25. With a maximum capacity of 16,828 twenty-foot equivalent container units, the OOCL Iris is 1,204 feet long and 167 feet wide.
Feb. 27, 2025 Athens Banner-Herald
Vanessa Countryman reports that a charming town in Georgia has been named a top destination for girls’ trips in 2025 by Country Living magazine. “Madison’s distinctly Southern charm lies in its collective affinity for antiques, old homes, and farm-fresh flavors,” the magazine wrote.
Feb. 27, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Kelby Hutchison reports that Paul Pierce, former director of the Springer Opera House, addressed Columbus Council during Tuesday night’s meeting and asked the councilors to acknowledge the city’s land originally belonged to the Muscogee people, a Native American tribe. Pierce requested the council pass a resolution recognizing the indigenous people who lived on the land.
Feb. 27, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Dave Williams reports that the Georgia Senate overwhelmingly passed a record $40.5 billion mid-year state budget Wednesday that prioritizes disaster relief, infrastructure needs, and prisons. The 190-page document covering state spending through June 30, which cleared the Senate 51-1, includes $750 million to help Georgians recover from what Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery called last year’s “cantankerous” weather.
Feb. 27, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Ross Williams reports that a bill aimed at preparing Georgia for the continuing proliferation of artificial intelligence did not get a committee vote Wednesday after Alpharetta Republican Sen. Brandon Beach, chair of the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee, said a Georgia GOP Congressman put the kibosh on it. “I can tell you that I got a call from Congressman Rich McCormick asking us not to do anything on AI, saying that they were going to do it at the federal level,” Beach said.
Feb. 27, 2025 Macon Telegraph
Margaret Walker reports that Georgia lawmakers have put forward a handful of bills this year seeking to change laws around solar energy in the Peach State. Four bills focused on land use, solar facility closures, recycling and more are snaking through the state’s legislative system, some with better chances to pass than others.
Feb. 27, 2025 WABE
Meimei Xu reports that Georgia state senators unanimously passed a bill Wednesday intended to address chronic absenteeism, which refers to when students miss 10% or more of the school year. According to the Georgia Department of Education, the rate of chronic absenteeism in Georgia was 21.3% in 2024.
Feb. 27, 2025 11 Alive
Doug Richards reports that Republican lawmakers tried to advance a bill Wednesday that would have restricted guns from some public spaces downtown. House Bill 472 would allow private promoters to have gun-free events in Centennial Olympic Park and other outdoor spaces run by the Georgia World Congress Center.
Feb. 27, 2025 State Affairs
Tammy Joyner reports that Georgia has given sole control of Medicaid services for children in the state’s foster care system to an insurer accused of denying claims for mental health care and autism therapy. At stake is access to treatment for thousands of foster children as a multibillion-dollar Medicaid contract is set to change hands.
Feb. 27, 2025 Savannah Morning News
Joseph Schwartzburt reports that Georgia families eligible for the Promise Scholarship program have between March 1 and April 15 to apply, unless Georgia Democrats repeal Senate Bill 233, also known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act. Georgia House Rep. Lisa Campbell (D-District 35) along with the Georgia House Democratic Caucus held a press conference Monday afternoon at the Georgia State Capitol in support of House Bill 436, which calls for the repeal
Feb. 27, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Maya Homan reports, in an unexpected twist, two bills backed by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp that take aim at Georgia’s legal landscape will bypass a typical committee path before coming up for a vote on the House floor. The legislation to limit lawsuit jury awards are Senate Bill 68, which includes provisions that would limit owners’ liability for injuries that occur on their property and restrict damages awarded for medical bills, and Senate Bill 69, which would increase regulations on third-party funding of lawsuits.
Feb. 27, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Ty Tagami reports that Georgia Senate Republicans are trying again to strip librarians of their immunity from a law against distributing pornography to minors. A law dating back to the 1960s makes it illegal to distribute materials to minors deemed to be “harmful” to them. Librarians were exempted from the law during the 1980s.
Feb. 27, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report that Georgia may be on the cusp of joining a growing number of states that restrict courts from ordering controversial “reunification treatments” amid backlash to a spate of new programs and workshops that some family courts use to settle custody fights. The Georgia House on Wednesday unanimously approved House Bill 253, introduced by Republican state Rep. David Clark of Suwanee and Democratic state Rep. Stacey Evans of Atlanta, to curb the intensive use of reunification therapy in Georgia.