AGP Executive Report

Solo dining boom: Single-diner reservations are rising fast, with industry data pointing to a stigma shift as more people book “table for one” and spend about $94 per meal. EV momentum vs. jobs: A new Southeast electrification report says the region hit 1.14M cumulative EV sales through June 30, but EV manufacturing investment and hiring dipped for the first time in seven years—Georgia leads in EV jobs. Data center debate in coastal Georgia: Effingham County residents are set for a nonpartisan town hall on OpenAI’s proposed Project Camellia, focusing on power demand, water use, and Georgia Power contract review. Local governance & surveillance: A Georgia town ended its Flock Safety license-plate camera contract over privacy and misuse concerns, adding to the growing retailer and public backlash. State legal ruling: Georgia’s Supreme Court says the state may owe compensation when law enforcement activity damages private crops, overturning lower-court rulings. Atlanta business pulse: The Atlanta BeltLine expands a small-business incubator with 13 new companies. Sports business angle: The Atlanta Hawks waived Devin Carter as they trim a roster after offseason moves.

Milton housing shakeup: Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann’s former “The Manor” in Milton sold for $3.67 million on June 30, 2026, closing another chapter after defaults, foreclosure trouble and years of legal drama. Georgia data-center push: Columbia County says talks with Google are moving toward a “strategic economic development partnership” for an 8-million-square-foot facility at White Oak Technology Park—promising jobs and possible property-tax relief, while residents worry about water and power strain and neighborhood change. Insurance market snapshot: New figures show liability insurance premiums attracted in Georgia rose 5% year-over-year in January-June, and land-transport vehicle insurance is concentrated among a few top companies. Pension fund update: Georgia’s pension fund assets topped $10 billion lari in September, with contributions and investment profit both cited. Energy policy angle: Georgia’s broader power-and-infrastructure debate continues as states weigh major generation projects and grid impacts.

Cyber & Cloud Governance: Georgia adopted GovRAMP as its main framework for authorizing and monitoring third-party cloud services, requiring GovRAMP validation and GTA approval for new enterprise cloud procurements starting Oct. 1. Public Health: Georgia DPH says a metro Atlanta daycare measles outbreak has grown to 10 cases, with 16 confirmed measles cases statewide so far in 2026; officials are tracking potential exposures and urging MMR vaccination. Water Infrastructure Funding: After Hurricane Helene, Georgia will start awarding EPA-funded water resilience grants in November—nearly $500M total, including about $360M for drinking water and $125M for wastewater—to harden systems against flood damage. Local Business Boost: Augusta tourism leaders launched a Downtown Augusta staycation contest (Sept–Dec) to drive foot traffic during ongoing road work, with additional downtown initiatives planned. Real Estate & Risk: A Bartow County foreclosure notice was filed for a property tied to a $291,129 note, with a sale scheduled for Oct. 6, 2026. Community & Workforce: Effingham County commissioners advanced “Project Zero,” a plan tied to a major data center project that would cut residential property taxes for qualified homesteads.

Data Centers & Construction: A new survey finds Georgia’s construction firms are feeling the squeeze as data center build-outs intensify competition for skilled labor and push wages higher. Energy Storage Deal: NeoVolta secured a $20 million senior credit facility (expandable to $30 million) to scale U.S. battery energy storage manufacturing in Pendergrass, Georgia. EV Charging Push: Greenville City Council is exploring a partnership for EV charging stations plus education and sustainability programming, with potential state and federal grant support. Public Finance: Gov. Kemp says August net tax revenues rose 3.5%, and Georgia also received major water infrastructure grant funding tied to Hurricane Helene recovery. Cyber & Utilities: An AT&T outage in Texas drew claims from an Iranian-linked hacking group, while AT&T disputed the allegation. Consumer Safety: Ricky Joy recalled about 2.3 million bottles of Sour Crush Rolling Liquid Candy after the rollerball applicator can detach and create a choking hazard. Local Business & Retail: Walmart expands restaurant delivery to include Papa John’s, and Atlanta’s Beltline breaks ground on a Northwest Trail segment.

Energy & Utilities: Georgia Power won PSC approval for 1,137 MW of new solar power purchase agreements under the CARES programs, adding more than 1,100 MW of renewable resources statewide. Infrastructure & Federal Funding: Georgia lawmakers announced nearly $500 million in water infrastructure grants for Hurricane Helene damage, routed through GEFA for drinking water and wastewater upgrades. Local Development: The Atlanta Beltline broke ground on the Northwest Trail segment 3B, including a new pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive, aimed at connecting nearby neighborhoods and boosting access to jobs and daily destinations. Business & Jobs: Bay Plastics Machinery expanded its Southeast repair routes, adding a Smyrna-based manager and extending van service support across Georgia and neighboring states. Public Safety & Courts: A Cobb County death row inmate, Stacey Humphreys, is seeking a new sentencing trial tied to the 2003 killings of two women in Powder Springs. Legal/Investigations: A third suspect was arrested in the Peachtree City flight school RICO case, with investigators alleging student money was stolen after the business changed owners. Retail Expansion: Trader Joe’s set an opening date for its Lafayette, Louisiana store—another sign of continued growth for the chain. Sports Tech: SportsBug added Sterling Select as a strategic equity and operating partner to expand real-time play-by-play audio for fans.

NHL Expansion Watch: NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says the league is in talks with a third group for an Atlanta-area expansion, led by former player Anson Carter, who says his team has financing and is eyeing a better north-of-Atlanta location than the Alpharetta and South Forsyth arena bids. Solar Manufacturing: Suniva completed an $835M capital raise to expand U.S. solar cell capacity, including a 4.5 GW facility in Laurens County, South Carolina, while its Norcross plant remains at 1 GW. Property Tax Politics: State Rep. Floyd Griffin Jr. responded to a property-tax ad, defending his “no” vote and arguing Baldwin County’s finances deserve scrutiny before shifting relief via an added local sales tax. Public Safety Tech: Mappedin will debut AI-powered indoor mapping for security and first responders at GSX 2026 in Atlanta. Real Estate Luxury: A Buckhead Tuxedo Park estate sold for $18.6M, setting a metro record pace for high-end home demand. Crypto Regulation: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says U.S. crypto regulatory clarity is likely soon, pointing to the CLARITY Act and an SEC/CFTC rulemaking fallback. Entertainment & Business: Trilith launched “Semester at Trilith,” a 15-week program placing college students on its Fayetteville soundstages to earn credit and build filmmaking skills. Privacy Backlash: Atlanta-based Flock Safety faces renewed criticism over automated license-plate cameras and privacy concerns. Local Legal/Business Spotlight: T-Pain sued Konvict Entertainment in Fulton County Superior Court over alleged unpaid royalties tied to a 2025 settlement.

Local Business Expansion: Maepole, an Athens-borne fast-casual brand backed by Zaxby’s co-founder Tony Townley, is opening its first standalone drive-thru in Cumming in late 2026, adding to locations in Athens and Atlanta’s Summerhill. Retail & Consumer: Anisa Beauty, an Atlanta-based makeup brush brand, is winding down after seven years, shifting its founder’s focus to R&D. Energy & Costs: Diesel prices in Jackson County hit a week low of $5.19 per gallon (Aug. 29 week), while Georgia’s diesel average rose to $5.43. Port & Infrastructure: Georgia DOT will close single lanes on the Talmadge Bridge starting Sept. 10 for cable replacement work aimed at improving ship navigation and future capacity. Trade & Industry: Georgia businesses and farmers are feeling pressure from the U.S.-Canada trade war as retaliatory tariffs expand, with Canada a top export customer. Public Safety/Policy: Georgia AGs are pushing the FCC to strengthen “Know Your Upstream Provider” rules to curb illegal robocalls. Economic Development: Tyson Steel Building Products plans a $15.15M Pickens County, S.C. facility creating about 20 jobs, its first South Carolina plant after operating from Georgia. Community & Culture: Macon-Bibb dedicated Otis Redding Way on what would have been his 85th birthday, reinforcing the city’s arts legacy. Corporate Finance: Plains All American priced $1.5B of junior subordinated notes, signaling continued capital planning.

Airport Centennial: Hartsfield-Jackson marked 100 years of aviation with a time capsule buried on Stogner Hill, packed with items from the airport’s early lease to modern terminal projects and a letter from GM Ricky Smith for the year 2126. Public Safety Tech: A new report on Flock Safety highlights how Atlanta-based surveillance and license plate reader networks can expand far beyond intended uses, raising concerns about who can access large troves of location data. Healthcare Policy: GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson says he’ll pursue “intelligent” Medicaid expansion to close Georgia’s coverage gap, but details on how federal enhanced funding would work remain unclear. Business Expansion: Nichols Cauley, a Georgia accounting and advisory firm, acquired Norcross-based employee benefits broker The LaRocco Companies, expanding its Southeast footprint. Local Economy & Growth: Georgia’s EV manufacturing push is under pressure after federal policy shifts, with clean-energy makers facing uncertainty over incentives and tariffs. Sports & Local Interest: Atlanta Braves fell 7-1 to Tampa Bay as Junior Caminero hit his 39th homer; elsewhere, CleanSpark reported 593 BTC mined in August.

Local Transit: Atlanta City Councilmember Kelsea Bond is pushing a resolution to move Beltline light-rail planning forward, calling for 22 miles of loop-and-connector service tied to MARTA, with an implementation plan due by Jan. 26, 2027 (the vote won’t itself fund or authorize construction). Economic Development: Douglasville approved incentives for DC Blox’s second data-center phase, a $739M investment on a 55-acre campus, with property-tax breaks for the first three years and a projected 2029 completion. Public Safety Tech: Dunwoody police opened its Flock license-plate camera system to reporters, saying alerts trigger only when plates match information already in the system. Healthcare Politics: In the Georgia governor race, Rick Jackson’s campaign touts Medicaid expansion and a health-care overhaul, while Keisha Lance Bottoms argues for full federal expansion. Workforce Impact: Houston County is hosting a private job fair for workers affected by Anchor Glass’s Warner Robins closure, with 168 employees expected to be separated starting Oct. 17. Aviation Milestone: Hartsfield-Jackson marked its 100th year by burying a time capsule with airport memorabilia for the year 2126. Energy Prices: GasBuddy data shows Georgia premium prices easing in the week ending Aug. 29, with one Jenkins County station reporting the state’s lowest premium price.

Data Center Labor Crunch: Construction needs 349,000 new workers in 2026 as data center planning accelerates, but the talent gap is pushing firms toward automation and faster build methods. Banking Oversight Shift: New OCC/FDIC rules would narrow when supervisors can flag “safety and soundness” issues, pushing more risk monitoring responsibility onto banks themselves. Energy Costs & Reliability: A new look at Georgia Power shows high disconnection rates and rising summer hardship as bills climb and data-center demand strains the grid. Foreign Investment Watch: Azerbaijan invested $45.3M in Georgia in H1 2026, while overall FDI fell 23.2% year over year to $468.8M. Local Infrastructure Funding: Griffin won a $1M CDBG grant for water improvements in the Southern Rushton Mill target area. Battery Recycling Restart: R3 Lithium plans to restart lithium carbonate production at a Covington plant after acquiring the shuttered facility from Ascend Elements. Wine Exports: Wine Kakheti’s two qvevri wines won Gold Medals at Germany’s MUNDUS VINI Summer Tasting 2026. Workplace Policy: Uber is ending normal remote work, capping fully remote roles at about 1% and requiring most staff to relocate near offices.

Execution-Press Lawsuit: The ACLU of Georgia is suing the state over restrictions on what media can see, hear, and observe during executions, arguing the limits violate the First Amendment ahead of a Sept. 16 execution. Federal Prosecutors: Three new Assistant U.S. Attorneys join Georgia’s Middle District criminal division, adding trial experience in areas like fraud, public corruption, and gang cases. Utilities & Data Centers: The Georgia Public Service Commission will hold a Sept. 15 Savannah forum as data-center growth heats up along the coast, including OpenAI’s Effingham County project. Energy Costs: Labor Day travel comes with pain at the pump—AAA puts the national average regular price at $4.14 and Georgia at $3.89—while GasBuddy reports show pockets of cheaper midgrade and E15 in multiple counties. Housing/Development: Georgia-Pacific scraps its planned mixed-use redevelopment for its downtown Atlanta tower, citing higher construction costs and weak market conditions. Public Health: Georgia confirms three more measles cases tied to a metro Atlanta daycare outbreak, bringing the cluster to eight. AI Hiring: Cognizant says it will hire 1,500 U.S. college grads this year and estimates $4.5 trillion in U.S. work could be exposed to AI.

Georgia Workforce & Business Growth: Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes argues the state is “connecting job creators with local talent” as annual wage growth reaches up to 4.3% in key sectors and the workforce keeps expanding. AI Skills Access: Georgia public libraries are offering free Google Career Certificates and a Google AI Professional Certificate to help residents build job-ready skills in AI, cybersecurity, data analytics and more. Small Business Spotlight: An AJC Her+Story profile highlights how a Georgia mom turned a side hustle fixing cars into a near-$1 million business, underscoring the state’s skilled-trades and entrepreneurship pipeline. Fashion Commerce in Georgia: Tapstitch, a fashion-on-demand platform, is expanding creator-led apparel production after activations in Atlanta and an upcoming ComplexCon appearance. Crypto & Policy Watch: A Georgia-linked debate continues around the proposed CLARITY Act, which—if advanced—could reshape how traditional banks handle Bitcoin custody and lending. Public Finance Scrutiny (Global): The World Bank is set to review Liberia’s public finances, a reminder that fiscal transparency and efficient spending remain major investment themes.

Severe Weather Disrupts Metro Atlanta: A weekend storm line knocked out power for more than 50,000 customers at the peak, with about 5,000 still without electricity by Sunday afternoon, and crews cleared debris after downed trees blocked roads. Transportation Tech Grant: Chattanooga’s CARTA received a $25 million U.S. DOT grant to expand self-driving bus service, with residents split between safety worries and excitement for “the future” of transit. Fuel Prices Watch: GasBuddy reported the lowest E85 in Chatham County at $2.99/gal for the week ending Aug. 29, while Spalding County’s lowest midgrade hit $4.02/gal and Jones County’s lowest diesel was $5.29/gal. Legal/Health: A Georgia jury awarded $23.6 million to the family of a Fitzgerald nursing home resident, finding PruittHealth liable in a long-term care rights case. AI Policy Moves: OpenAI hired state policy leaders to help shape how U.S. states regulate AI, signaling more state-by-state rulemaking ahead.

Local Business & Real Estate: A former Kohl’s big-box in Roswell is reopening today after a $28 million “from Kohl’s to souls” redevelopment, with Eagles Nest Church turning the 80,000-square-foot space into a faith outreach and event venue. Labor Day Operations: Georgia state offices, the State Capitol, and U.S. Postal Service locations are closed for the Sept. 7 holiday; banks are generally shut (ATMs/online may still work), and UPS/FedEx delivery schedules are affected. Hospitality & Consumer Impact: Dragon Con travelers say they lost Midtown hotel rooms after a surprise closure tied to a property sale and renovation, leaving some with no reservation record at a replacement hotel. Housing Development: A 267-unit rental community called Blitchton Village is proposed for Ellabell, with rezoning sought this fall and construction targeted for December 2027. Food & Agriculture: Georgia pumpkin patch season is underway, with several farms already open and more set to start in September.

Airport Funding: The FAA awarded Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport a $100 million grant for runway, taxiway and terminal reconstruction, with the broader Airport Infrastructure Grants program ending Sept. 30. Economic Development: Gov. Kemp highlighted another record year for Georgia economic development investments, including $35.2 billion in business investments for fiscal year 2026. Public Safety Tech: Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch says an audit found alleged Flock Safety misuse, with 3 employees fired and 4 resignations after 758 searches were reviewed. Community & Workforce: Georgia Southern’s fashion program is seeking fabric and notions donations to help students finish final projects. Local Economy Watch: GasBuddy price reports show diesel and gasoline levels shifting across Georgia counties, with Peach County’s lowest premium diesel at $5.29 and Peach County premium gas at $4.32. Business Climate: Georgia’s grocery-bill pressure is driving political attention, with a push to lower costs for families. Sports & Consumer Spend: Braves-Phillies series coverage and Labor Day weekend travel and retail promos are driving weekend demand in metro Atlanta.

Public Safety & Policing Reform: A new Atlanta PAD-focused argument says the city should expand community responders and keep police for higher-level calls, aiming to improve outcomes and reduce unnecessary enforcement. Public Health: Georgia DPH confirmed three more measles cases tied to a metro Atlanta daycare outbreak, bringing the total to eight in that cluster and 14 statewide for 2026. Local Business & Talent Pipeline: Laurens County is pushing its second year of Georgia FLEX, giving rural high school students workshops and a chance to build entrepreneurial business plans. Economic Development & Infrastructure: Georgia Ports Authority touts fresh findings on the deepwater ports’ economic impact in a new UGA Terry College of Business report. Tech & Automation Labor: Atlanta rideshare drivers’ union blames Waymo robotaxi expansion for lower pay and fewer fares, urging an impact fee and limits around Hartsfield-Jackson. Real Estate & Taxes: Dalton and Dalton Public Schools have proposed property tax rates above rollback levels, setting up public hearings and household cost questions. Industry & Trade: New data points show Georgia’s grain elevator volumes dipped slightly in Q2 while cold storage rose sharply; meat production fell, but cattle and poultry exports increased.