March 21, 2025 Georgia Ports Authority
Staff reports that port activity in Georgia now supports more than 600,000 full- and part-time jobs across the Peach State, according to an economic impact study by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. The statewide number is up 48,000 jobs or 8.6 percent compared to Fiscal Year 2021; the period covered by the previous study.
March 21, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Patty Rasmussen reports that Georgia offers exceptional post-secondary education opportunities, encompassing highly sought-after public and private four-year colleges and universities and a well-respected career and technical college system with primary and satellite campuses across the state.
March 21, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Zachary Hansen reports that a private equity firm decided to hand back the keys of a downtown Atlanta office tower to avoid losing the building in foreclosure, giving the building’s value a haircut in the process. Texas-based Lone Star Funds initiated a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure transaction March 12 to surrender 55 Allen Plaza to its lender, which is a subsidiary of Fortune 500 insurance giant Aflac Inc.
March 21, 2025 WABE
Kendall Murry reports that the National Center for Civil and Human Rights has announced a new partnership and substantial pledge amount from a prominent railroad company in Atlanta. Earlier this month, the center announced that it is the recipient of a $500,000 pledge from Norfolk Southern in support of the center’s 24,000-square-foot expansion, which began in March 2024.
March 21, 2025 WSB Radio
Austin Eller reports that GDOT is asking the public for feedback on a proposal to build a passenger rail line between Atlanta and Savannah. Phillip Peevy with GDOT says their study evaluates the feasibility of the project.
March 21, 2025 GPB
Amanda Andrews reports that Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens joined leaders from Department of Watershed Management at the Shirley Clarke Franklin Pumping Station and Reservoir Tuesday to announce a plan to upgrade the city’s entire drinking water system. Addressing the century-old pipes became a priority for city leaders after several water main breaks last summer.
March 21, 2025 Marietta Daily Journal
Isabelle Manders reports that on Thursday, Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and several Cobb school board members questioned the accuracy of a list of “failing schools” recently released by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. That list named seven Cobb elementary schools and one high school in the bottom 25% of performing public schools as part of Senate Bill 233, also known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act.
March 21, 2025 The Brunswick News
Hank Rowland reports that U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter is taking a stand against a rule change NOAA is proposing for South Atlantic waters and he’s asking the new head of the U.S. Interior Department for his intervention. The St. Simons Island Republican says Secretarial Amendment No. 59 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seeking for recreational snapper-grouper fishing is unnecessary and would have a negative impact on fishing in Coastal Georgia, his district.
March 21, 2025 Valdosta Daily Times, Moultrie Observer
Adelia Ladson reports that a bill that allows certain school systems to “give money back to the taxpayers,” according to state Sen. Sam Watson, is on its way to the Georgia House of Representatives after passing the Georgia Senate. Senate Bill 44, sponsored by Watson, if passed, lowers the required millage rate for boards of education to qualify for state equalization grants, from 14 mills to 10 mills.
March 21, 2025 State Affairs
Beau Evans reports that tax cuts passed Thursday in the General Assembly are set to hand roughly $2 billion back to Georgians through rebates and a lower income tax rate. Two measures, which cleared the Senate and now head to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk, would lower the state income rate by about 4% and distribute $250 rebates to each taxpayer.
March 21, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Maya Homan reports, after weeks of debate, the Kemp-backed overhaul passed the House in a razor-thin 91-82 vote Thursday, clearing one of the final legislative hurdles before it reaches the governor’s desk. The heavily contested bill is one of the few votes in the 2025 legislative session that did not fall cleanly along party lines, with eight House Republicans breaking ranks to vote against the legislation and three House Democrats joining the majority to secure the bill’s passage.
March 21, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Ty Tagami reports that a marathon hearing about legislation to enshrine religious freedom in Georgia law produced no outcome but clarified the fears of those on both sides of the issue. The Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed the state Senate along party lines earlier this month.
March 21, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cassidy Alexander reports that State lawmakers approved a bill last week that would make it easier to hire school psychologists, and they are considering a new grant for schools to spend on mental health supports for students. The interest from lawmakers is born, in part, from a renewed focus on school safety.
