by Dave Williams | Jun 27, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A Waynesboro man has been sentenced to more than 26 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing 10 banks in southeastern Georgia.
Cordell Cobb, 24, was charged in federal court with 10 counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to federal court documents, Cobb robbed banks in Bulloch, Burke, Chatham, Emanuel, Glascock, Jenkins and Ware counties at gunpoint between January and June 2023.
Besides the prison time, he was ordered to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of his sentence and pay $12,081 in restitution to the victimized banks.
“This sentencing reflects the serious consequences of violent crime and the strength of coordinated law enforcement,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Communities across Georgia are safer today because of the tireless work of our local, state, and federal partner agencies in bringing this armed robber to justice.”
The case was investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the GBI; and local police departments from the seven counties where the robberies took place..
by Ty Tagami | Jun 26, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Thursday against enforcement of a 2024 Georgia law that sought to limit social media companies’ access to children.
The Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act sailed through the General Assembly with broad bipartisan support and was a top priority for Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
But Amy Totenberg, a federal judge for the Northern District of Georgia, said the industry-backed plaintiff in the case was likely to prevail on claims that the law violates the First Amendment’s speech protections.
To restrict speech, the government must have a “compelling interest” that is “narrowly tailored,” the judge’s order says. But this law had “flawed tailoring,” she wrote, and it “curbs the speech rights of Georgia’s youth while imposing an immense, potentially intrusive burden on all Georgians who wish to engage in the most central computerized public forum of the twenty-first century.”
The plaintiff, a group called NetChoice, represents a who’s who of social media companies, Including Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, YouTube, Reddit, X and Pinterest.
“Free expression doesn’t end where government anxiety begins,” said Chris Marchese, NetChoice’s litigation director. “Parents — not politicians — should guide their children’s lives online and offline — and no one should have to hand over a government ID to speak in digital spaces.”
NetChoice had urged Gov. Brian Kemp to veto the bill last year, asserting that it was unconstitutional.
But Kemp signed the legislation, which required social media companies to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to verify users’ age and mandated parent consent for those under 16. It also banned advertising to children.
Supporters had cited numerous studies that found social media posed significant danger to young people, particularly girls, increasing their risk of suicide.
Among Judge Totenberg’s criticisms was the age verification provision that she said imposes “severe burdens” on all Georgians.
The judge noted that NetChoice has challenged similar laws in at least eight other states, including Texas, Ohio, Arkansas, California, Utah, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
“Nearly all of those state laws are currently enjoined on a preliminary or permanent basis,” she added.
by Dave Williams | Jun 26, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Executives representing Georgia Power and the state’s energy regulating agency Thursday defended the utility’s plan to freeze rates against accusations that the temporary pause won’t stop customer bills from increasing.
Georgia Power and the state Public Service Commission’s Public Interest Advocacy (PIA) Staff reached agreement last month to freeze the company’s base rates for the next three years. However, the proposal exempts “reasonable and prudent” costs the utility has incurred from storm damage primarily from Hurricane Helene.
The agreement, which the commission is due to vote on next week, would cancel the rate case Georgia Power had been planning to submit by July 1. Had that case gone forward, the company likely would have sought a significant rate hike, Aaron Abramovitz, the utility’s chief financial officer, testified Thursday during a hearing before the commission.
Temporarily pausing rates would help Georgia Power customers recover from the impact of several rate hikes the PSC has granted the company in the past three years, Steven Ruetger, an analyst with the PIA Staff, testified Thursday.
“Staff believes the (agreement) is a reasonable resolution,” he said. “Stabilizing these rates has tremendous value.”
Abramovitz said Georgia’s Power electrical capacity demand projections have risen substantially in recent years, from an expected increase of just 200 to 300 megawatts forecast in 2022 to about 8,000 megawatts covering the next five to 10 years. Some 80% to 90% of that new demand will come from “large load” customers including data centers, he said.
To meet that demand, Georgia Power is planning major investments in a variety of energy-generating sources, Abramovitz said.
“We’re investing in three new [natural gas] combustion turbines, 1,000 megawatts of battery energy storage units and … more investment to come,” he said.
Environmental advocacy and consumer watchdog groups have argued Georgia Power’s energy demand projections are overblown since not all data center operators that have shown interest in setting up in Georgia will actually come here rather than somewhere else.
On Thursday, critics of the proposed rate freeze also focused on the exemption that would allow the company to recoup its storm recovery costs, estimated at $860 million.
“The rate freeze isn’t a rate freeze,” Patty Durand, founder of the nonprofit Georgians for Affordable Energy, told commissioners. “It freezes rates but does not freeze spending.”
But Ruetger said it’s important that Georgia Power be allowed to recover its storm damage costs sooner rather than later.
“The under-recovery of storm damage costs must be dealt with because Helene was so tremendously damaging,” he said. “Otherwise, the company’s balance sheet is simply going to grow.”
Some of the agreement’s opponents have called upon three members of the PSC – commission Chairman Jason Shaw and commissioners Tim Echols and Lauren “Bubba” McDonald – to recuse themselves from voting on the plan because they had publicly endorsed the proposed freeze prior to Thursday’s hearing. All three declined to do so Thursday after a member of the PSC’s Public Interest Advisory Staff said there were no grounds for such a recusal.
by Ty Tagami | Jun 26, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The University System of Georgia has joined five other public systems in the South to establish a new accreditation model for their institutions and for higher education broadly.
The multi-state consortium announced Thursday that its new accreditation organization will prioritize academics, student outcomes and achievement.
“Our work with the Commission for Public Higher Education aims to keep Georgia’s universities among the best in the nation by focusing on high standards and real value for students and families,” University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. “Collaborating with neighboring states lets us put resources where they make the biggest difference, and I look forward to the success of an effort that increases accountability and drives meaningful innovation.”
Institutions such as the University of Georgia are accredited by an independent organization called the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and its Commission on Colleges.
But that organization has increasingly come under scrutiny from conservatives, fending off allegations of a liberal bias as critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion policies became a target for Republicans, including Georgia lawmakers.
The multi-state consortium’s announcement provided few details about its new accreditation model, instead offering general statements about what the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE) will achieve.
“By establishing rigorous, transparent, and adaptable outcomes-based accreditation standards and practices, CPHE will ensure that colleges and universities meet and maintain academic quality and operational excellence on behalf of their students,” a statement from the Board of Regents said.
The consortium comprises the state university systems for Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Texas A&M University System is also a member. The incoming chancellor there, Glenn Hegar, promised a “less cumbersome” and “more objective” accreditation process.
“In recent legislative sessions, our top state officials have sought a more reasonable and transparent pathway toward accreditation,” he said.
University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans said CPHE will lower costs and “build confidence” in public higher education.
Chancellor Ray Rodrigues of the State University System of Florida said the new operation will ensure the use of student data for decision-making while improving efficiency and effectiveness.
by Dave Williams | Jun 26, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Transportation’s Highway Emergency Response Operators (HERO) program will resume patrolling interstate highways across metro Atlanta during the overnight hours seven days a week effective July 1, the state agency announced Thursday.
HERO vehicles also will resume full coverage of the region’s nearly 400 miles of interstates.
The program cut back on its operating hours in 2023 due to a staffing shortage, patrolling only between 5 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. each day to ensure adequate coverage during peak traffic.
“HEROs are our first and best resource to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently in metro Atlanta,” Georgia Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry said. “The reinstatement of full service of HERO’s coverage area with 24/7 patrols is reflective of the department’s commitment to providing consistent and immediate assistance to everyone who uses our roadways.”
“Traffic incidents do not operate on a schedule,” added Tyrone McCord III, the DOT’s HERO unit manager. “Now that we are back to a full staff, thanks to effective recruitment strategies and intensive training, we are committed to patrolling the nearly 400 miles of metro Atlanta roads at all hours to improve public safety, reduce traffic delays, and be better prepared for emergencies.”
While HERO units are primarily responsible for roadway clearance after traffic incidents, the program also offers free roadside assistance, helping stranded motorists with flat tires or dead batteries, and providing fuel and coolant.
The HERO program was launched back in 1994. The DOT followed up in 2017 by creating the Coordinated Highway Assistance & Maintenance Program (CHAMP) to patrol Georgia’s interstate highways outside of metro Atlanta, except for interstates 59 and 24 in the northwestern corner of the state.
To request assistance from HERO or CHAMP, contact 511GA by dialing 511 hands-free on your mobile phone, downloading the 511GA app to your Apple or Google mobile device, or by visiting 511GA.org.
