State Senate passes farmland preservation constitutional change
ATLANTA - Legislation doubling the acreage Georgia farmers can set aside for conservation in exchange for a property tax break easily cleared the state Senate Wednesday. Senators voted 51-1 in favor of a constitutional amendment that would let Georgia voters decide in...
Duracell R&D headquarters coming to Atlanta
ATLANTA - One of the world’s leading battery manufacturers will establish its new Global Headquarters for Research and Development in Atlanta, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday. Duracell will invest $56 million in the project, which will create 110 jobs. The company...
Man gets decade in prison for firing modified machine gun at trooper
ATLANTA - A man who shot at a Georgia trooper with a Glock handgun modified for automatic fire will spend a decade in prison, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. Montrez Ballard received the sentence after he was convicted of shooting multiple times at a Georgia...
Educators and groups want to address teacher shortage
ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Education kicked off a new teacher recruitment campaign Tuesday to address a teacher shortage. The move is necessary as a generation of teachers nears retirement after two decades and more in the classroom, State School...
Georgia lawmakers step up for Hurricane Helene victims
ATLANTA - Tax relief bills targeting victims of Hurricane Helene cleared both chambers of the General Assembly Tuesday. The Georgia House unanimously passed legislation exempting from taxation disaster relief payments, grant funds, or crop insurance proceeds provided...
Georgia Supreme Court raises concerns about 2019 child custody law
ATLANTA - The Georgia Supreme Court is raising "serious questions" about a 2019 state law that allows a judge to give someone joint custody over a former lover's child, but the law remains intact. The Equitable Caregiver law that went into effect in July 2019 allows...
State House panel OKs bid to promote Georgia music industry
ATLANTA - Legislation that would create a statewide music office to promote the industry in Georgia cleared a state House committee Tuesday. The House Creative Arts & Entertainment Committee approved House Bill 353, which would establish the Georgia Music Office...
Phoebe Putney, Morehouse School of Medicine form partnership
ATLANTA - Albany-based Phoebe Putney Health System and Atlanta's Morehouse School of Medicine agreed Monday to enter a partnership aimed at improving health-care access in an area suffering from a shortage of medical providers. Southwest Georgia's largest and most...