From Campus to Classroom: Stories That Shape Education
- Google will be sole end-user and operator of the Columbia County Data Center at White Oak Technology Park, boosting local tech investment.
- OpenAI's proposed $20 billion data center in Effingham County prompted nearly 1,000 angry residents at a lengthy community meeting.
- Anubis claimed a ransomware attack that halted U.S. production of Fairlife, the Coca-Cola dairy brand.
- President Donald Trump added governors, utilities, and tech firms to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, shifting data center infrastructure costs away from consumers.
July 24, 2026 The Brunswick News
Gordon Jackson reports that unemployment rates across the state increased in June, even as the labor force grew in half the regional commission districts in Georgia. The increase in unemployment was not unexpected, said Georgia Labor Commissioner Barbara Rivera Holmes.
July 24, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Jeffrey Humphreys reports, despite a backdrop of spiking oil prices and the recent retreat from the globalization of markets, Savannah’s prospects for economic growth are very good for many reasons. Significant economic development project announcements will provide a solid foundation for growth.
July 24, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amy Wenk and Mirtha Donastorg report, a known hacker group is claiming responsibility for a ransomware attack that shut down the U.S. production of Coca-Cola’s dairy brand Fairlife last week. On a dark-web site not accessible through a standard web browser, a group calling itself Anubis took credit for the attack.
July 24, 2026 Augusta Chronicle
Joe Hotchkiss reports that Google is coming to Columbia County. The mammoth multinational company that has helped shape how people use computer technology “will be the sole end-user and operator of the Columbia County Data Center” at White Oak Technology Park between Appling and Harlem, the county’s Board of Commissioners and Economic Development Authority jointly announced Thursday afternoon.
July 24, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Jordyn Paul-Slater reports, Startup Columbus is turning its annual pitch competition into an economic development tool. For the first time, the LaunchCon pitch competition will offer a relocation incentive for entrepreneurs outside the Columbus area, pairing cash with mentorship, investor connections and local business resources in hopes of convincing founders to build their companies and create jobs in Columbus.
July 24, 2026 Savannah Morning News
Evan Lasseter reports that thousands of homes are sprouting in Savannah’s New Hampstead and hundreds of acres of cleared land, paired with intermittent “for sale” or “leasing soon” signs, tell the tale of more to come. But this year it hasn’t been just planned developments making their way towards completion there but also five miles of high-voltage transmission lines.
July 24, 2026 Macon Telegraph
Myracle Lewis reports that despite facing ongoing financial constraints, the Bibb County Board of Education voted to reinstate salary step increases for all staff and approved plans to borrow up to $35 million to cover cash-flow shortfalls. On July 16, the board voted 7-1 to restore experience-based salary increases for certified and classified employees, reversing a cost-saving measure adopted in June that was projected to save $1.7 million in the 2026-27 school year.
July 24, 2026 The Current
Margaret Coker and Daneen Khan report, nearly 1,000 people — most of whom were angry and annoyed — confronted OpenAI and Effingham County officials Thursday about the $20 billion data center project that had been negotiated for months but announced, without any public comment or vote, earlier this week. While the tech company known best for developing ChatGPT planned a community listening session to educate residents about benefits of the planned development, the more than three-hour event at Effingham College and Career Academy featured more shouting than listening.
July 24, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Amelia Twyman reports that President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the addition of Republican governors, legislators, utility services and tech companies into his voluntary pledge aimed at keeping data center construction and operation costs off the shoulders of American consumers. The Ratepayer Protection Pledge, first signed by the president in March, requires companies that build and use data centers to pay for any new infrastructure upgrades and generation resources that serve them.
July 24, 2026 State Affairs
Jack Rutherford reports that House lawmakers are setting their sights on a controversial part of the prescription drug supply chain for the next legislative session. Pharmacy benefit managers act as prescription-drug price negotiators for insurers, controlling which drugs are covered and how much pharmacies will be reimbursed for dispensing them.
July 24, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Maya Homan reports that Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is calling on his rival in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Congressman Mike Collins, to be more transparent about the role a white nationalist and social media influencer allegedly had in his trucking business. In a press briefing Thursday, Ossoff argued that Collins’ silence on the issue is “disqualifying” for a candidate seeking higher office.
July 24, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, President Donald Trump swept into deep-blue Cobb County on Wednesday for a visit that was billed as a policy rollout but unfolded as a full-blown campaign rally. He spent only a sliver of his roughly 75 minute speech discussing the official purpose of the stop, the Trump Account saving vehicles for children.
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