AGP Executive Report

Braves Playoff Push: Atlanta beat Philadelphia 6-2 in the NL Wild Card deciding Game 3, powered by Michael Harris II’s first-inning homer and Chris Sale’s scoreless relief stint; the Braves now set sights on the Dodgers in the division series. UGA Community Fundraising: A UGA facilities worker, Charles Turner, inspired a TikTok-driven fundraiser that raised about $3,500 for him after a student credited his encouragement for studying through the night. Foodservice Merger Fight: U.S. lawmakers and independent restaurants urged the FTC to scrutinize Sysco’s proposed $29.1B acquisition of Restaurant Depot, arguing it could shrink key wholesale options for small operators. Election Tech Overhaul: Georgia lawmakers reviewed alternative voting systems as vendors pitched solutions, while a federal judge dismissed a bid for unredacted voter files tied to privacy concerns. Agriculture & Biosecurity: Georgia agriculture crews reported tracking and eradication progress against invasive yellow-legged hornets, citing risks to pollinators and crop production. Data Center Watch: Statesboro officials are weighing a proposed Burkhalter Road data center plan that grew out of developers’ shift away from a housing project. Consumer Safety: Kobayashi Consumer Products recalled about 77,000 HotHands rechargeable hand warmers sold through major retailers due to overheating and fire/burn hazards.

Public Safety: A joint Walton County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia Bureau of Investigation raid in Monroe seized trafficking quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, 13 firearms, and more than 100,000 counterfeit pressed pills. Workplace & Crime: Atlanta police are investigating a fatal shooting at a southeast Atlanta food services warehouse on Zip Industrial Boulevard after an argument between employees. Health & Food Safety: FDA says Sierra Nevada Cheese Company is recalling raw milk cheese products tied to a suspected multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to 13 illnesses. Healthcare Coverage: Georgia Marketplace open enrollment for 2027 starts Nov. 1, with plan selections taking effect Jan. 1, 2027. Tech & Semiconductors: Lawrenceville-based Silicon Creations earned its 10th straight TSMC Open Innovation Platform Partner of the Year award in Mixed Signal IP. State Data & Planning: Georgia unveiled a new spatial data strategy and action plan through the national spatial data infrastructure coordination effort. Energy & Infrastructure: Georgia’s 2027 consolidated budget draft projects GEL 37.531B, with higher healthcare and social spending. Local Development: Bartow County planning commissioners advanced a Kroger rezoning for a new store at Fire Tower Road and Joe Frank Harris Parkway.

Data Centers & Power Costs: The U.S. Senate blocked the Ratepayer Protection Act in a 57-43 vote, leaving open the fight over whether data centers should pay for grid upgrades and higher electricity costs—Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock backed the measure. AI Investment in Georgia’s Orbit: Bain Capital agreed to buy a $250 million minority stake in Kahua, an AI platform used for large capital projects, valuing the company at over $1 billion. Georgia Tourism Boom: Gov. Kemp says Georgia set tourism records for the fourth straight year—175.6 million visitors in 2025 spending $46.2 billion, supporting 473,837 jobs. Workplace Safety Tech: Bentonville-based Kwema won a security product award in Atlanta for a retractable ID badge with a silent duress alert. Consumer Prices: Inflation stayed elevated in August as the PCE index rose 0.3%, with energy prices a key driver. Home Equity Finance Expansion: Hometap expanded its home equity investment product into six new states, now available in 27.

Pipeline & Power-Plant Ties: A $3.5B Southern Natural Gas pipeline rerouted in western Georgia, now running mainly through one Fortson property and avoiding a neighbor tied to a Southern Co. power plant manager; the landowner is asking FERC to restore the original route. Fuel Relief: Gov. Brian Kemp suspended Georgia’s motor fuel tax for 30 days (gas 33.3¢/gal, diesel 37.3¢/gal) as prices stay high. Data Center Backlash: A county near Social Circle is moving toward a one-year data center moratorium to update zoning rules, reflecting growing community pushback over growth in computing infrastructure. Economy Watch: Georgia’s GDP rose 6.3% in August 2026 (7.6% average for Jan–Aug), with manufacturing and tech among key contributors while construction cooled. Public Health: A nationwide recall of Graziers raw milk cheeses follows an E. coli outbreak that sickened 13 people, including in Georgia. Workforce/Tech: Georgia Tech Research Corporation received a $3.23M NIST award to help smaller manufacturers adopt AI, robotics and automation, with local educator-industry programs aimed at practical human judgment.

Energy & Transportation Relief: Gov. Brian Kemp temporarily suspended Georgia’s motor fuel tax through Oct. 29, aiming to ease pain from volatile fuel markets as diesel and regular prices stay high. Public Utilities & Data Centers: Three candidates for the Georgia Public Service Commission debated how to manage rising utility costs and oversee Georgia Power as data centers drive demand growth. Legal/Consumer Protection: Georgia AG Chris Carr filed a Fulton County complaint against the SDG Impact Fund, alleging improper use of charitable assets and donor deception tied to claims of billions raised. Industry & Investment: Alpharetta construction software Kahua surged past $1B valuation after Bain Capital’s growth investment, underscoring Georgia’s pull for tech-enabled construction. Infrastructure & Telecom: A TechExpo panel in Atlanta focused on building “AI-ready” fiber networks, tackling deployment speed, fiber density, testing, and long-term scalability. Local Governance & Transit: GDOT outlined plans for I-285 express toll lanes through Tucker, including timelines, sound barriers, and how buses/vanpools would access lanes. Business & Community: Atlanta’s new NWSL club, Atlanta City FC, unveiled its name, crest, and colors ahead of its 2028 debut. Public Health: A multistate E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk cheese includes Georgia cases, prompting renewed FDA/CDC warnings.

Consumer Protection: Georgia Attorney General warns scams are evolving faster than policy, urging a new consumer protection strategy as FTC reports show $16B lost to fraud and scams in 2025. Agriculture & Safety: A massive poultry house fire in Ellijay triggered a large emergency response, with crews protecting nearby chicken houses and propane tanks. Healthcare & Workforce: Piedmont Newnan ER is pairing substance-use patients with bedside peer recovery coaches through Coweta FORCE, citing hundreds of referrals and hundreds of follow-up appointments since 2023. Housing & Development: DeKalb County approved a $53.3M adaptive reuse plan to convert the vacant Presidential Hotel near Spaghetti Junction into 282 market-rate apartments. Energy Policy: Gov. Kemp suspended Georgia’s gas tax amid high fuel prices, while Talbot County begins zoning rules for private battery storage facilities. Legal/Insurance: Georgia Supreme Court guidance may expand subrogation claims against law enforcement for property damage during non-emergency procedures. Tech & Industry: Robotics startup Microagi hires a Georgia Tech professor as chief research officer, signaling continued university-to-industry momentum in physical AI.

Fuel Relief for Georgia Drivers: Gov. Brian Kemp suspended Georgia’s motor fuel excise tax for 30 days starting Sept. 29, cutting 33.3 cents/gal on gasoline and 37.3 cents/gal on diesel, and temporarily easing commercial vehicle weight limits to lower delivery costs. Energy Workforce: GEFA awarded $944,765 in training grants to the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Labor to build pipelines for emerging energy jobs. Data Center Push Meets Scrutiny: A new op-ed argues hyper-scale data centers can be economic assets, while other coverage highlights growing community backlash elsewhere over power, water, and quality-of-life impacts. Consumer Tech Watch: Georgia consumer advocates raised concerns about “personalized pricing” after new Walmart patent filings suggested AI could vary prices for the same items. Food Safety: USDA FSIS recalled 4,596 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken stew distributed in eight states, including Georgia, due to lack of required inspection. Workplace Compliance: The EEOC sued Hyundai over alleged refusal to hire non-Koreans at its Alabama and Georgia operations, seeking more information from the company. Local Governance: Atlanta’s city council agenda includes a push to close and repurpose the Atlanta City Detention Center, plus Roswell’s proposed property tax hike and a Georgia PSC candidate forum on data centers and utility bills.

Workforce & Engineering: Georgia Tech’s Marilyn Smith, the school’s first female aerospace faculty member, is highlighted for leading vertical lift research and breaking barriers in a field long short on women. Professional Services: Hussey Gay Bell says civil engineer Mary Glenn Dillard has earned Georgia’s Professional Engineer license, expanding her role across water, roadway, and public facilities work in Southeast Georgia. Data Centers & Utilities: Jasper County Council is moving toward a one-year moratorium on new data centers in unincorporated areas, citing water and electricity demands while drafting tighter rules. Logistics & Trade: Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye wrapped their 5th customs trilateral meeting in Goygol, focusing on simplifying border procedures and boosting Middle Corridor transit. Manufacturing & Robotics: Boston Dynamics opened a robotics testing center at Hyundai’s Metaplant near Savannah to train its Atlas humanoid for automotive logistics and sequencing. Energy & Industry: C&K Plastics expands solar across four plants via East Point-based Hannah Solar, aiming to match system size to roof space and energy use. Real Estate: Crescent Real Estate completed the sale of The Hotel at Avalon, a 330-room Alpharetta property. Local Business: Atlanta Sod Farms in Bishop was named 2026 Landscaper of the Year by the Consumer Ratings Institute.

Fuel Watch: GasBuddy reports Georgia midgrade and regular prices mostly holding in the low-$4 range for the week ending Sept. 19, with standout lows like $3.79 regular in White County and $3.84 regular in Carroll County, while statewide averages stayed around $4.02 for regular and $4.48 for midgrade. Road Construction: Georgia DOT is set to close I-16 and ramps for the 16@95 Improvement Projects (widening I-16 and bridge work on I-95 and the I-16/I-516 interchange) with daytime closures 8 a.m.-3 p.m. and nighttime closures 7 p.m.-6 a.m. through Oct. 3, weather permitting. Public Safety & Housing: Marietta police say 15 children lived in a two-bedroom apartment with nine beds, no food, and no toilet paper; three adults face child-cruelty and marijuana charges. Agriculture & Industry Policy: Georgia approved a technical regulation on best available techniques for iron and steel production, and reported 2025/2026 hazelnut exports worth $188.5M (18,500 tons). Workforce/Tech: A TechCrunch Mobility piece highlights how autonomous driving is moving from testing to commercial products via partnerships and scaling strategies.

Port Logistics Watch: SC Ports’ container slump is nearing a year, with July-August volume down for the 10th and 11th straight months and operating revenue off nearly 20%, as mixed signals (resilient consumer demand vs. higher gas and trade uncertainty) keep import growth sluggish. Energy & Manufacturing: The U.S. sustainable aviation fuel market faces policy uncertainty as new AtJ and PtL projects ramp up; Georgia’s LanzaJet Freedom Pines plant is already producing up to 10 million gallons annually, but credit changes are clouding long-term economics. Food Safety: FDA/CDC are investigating an E. coli outbreak tied to raw milk cheese, with 13 illnesses and eight hospitalizations reported, prompting recalls and consumer warnings. Georgia Business & Industry: Georgia Southern engineering students earned national recognition in Cast in Steel 2025, showcasing in-house casting and testing skills in a docu-video series. Workforce & Innovation: A metro Atlanta robotics team demonstrated hands-on engineering and coding at Alpharetta City Hall, aiming to represent Georgia in the Governor’s Cup. Agriculture Climate Angle: A Yale-led study says agricultural liming in the Mississippi River Basin can lock away carbon, challenging long-held assumptions about limestone’s net climate impact.

Kratom crackdown and health warnings: Georgia lawmakers and families are pushing for action after kratom surfaced in the investigations of two Ole Miss student deaths; officials say toxicology is pending, but packaged kratom was found at both scenes and Georgia’s agriculture enforcement is also targeting illegal THC sales. Illegal THC enforcement: A joint investigation led to eight search warrants at four smoke shops in Blackshear, Jesup and Ludowici, with arrests and seizures of mislabeled hemp and banned THCA products. Fuel prices at the pump: GasBuddy reports show Georgia regular gas averaging about $4.02 per gallon for the week ending Sept. 19, with notable lows in several counties (including $3.69 in Houston County and $3.79 in Henry County). Energy and climate tech: State officials highlighted “crucial” investments in local climate technology, while other coverage points to Georgia’s growing role in data center power demand. Education and training: Georgia DNR opened applications for its $1,000 Conservation Teacher of the Year grant, and multiple counties reported 2023-24 degree and certificate totals.

Affordable Housing & Preservation: Savannah and Mercy Housing Southeast rededicated Heritage Place Apartments, upgrading two historic buildings in the Cuyler-Brownville neighborhood with $560,000 in city support tied to a 2022 LIHTC application. Food Safety: FDA/CDC are investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to Sierra Nevada Graziers raw milk cheese; 13 sick in nine states, including Georgia, with a recall underway. Meat Recalls: USDA says more than 167,000 pounds of meat with falsified inspection stickers were shipped to a Georgia distributor and should be discarded/returned. Public Health: Emory launched a five-year PFAS “forever chemicals” trial in northwest Georgia (Rome/Calhoun areas) testing a cholesterol drug to lower PFAS levels. Energy & Trade: SOCAR is exploring exporting Uzbek diesel via its Kulevi terminal in Georgia. Business/Finance: Clearwater Paper refinanced debt, extending maturities to 2031 with a new $275M term loan and $200M revolver. Real Estate Incentives: Redfin reports Atlanta-area sellers increasingly offer concessions—often $10,000 to $20,000—as buyer demand softens.

Charity Fraud Lawsuit: Georgia AG Chris Carr sued SDG Impact Fund, alleging donor money was diverted to luxury spending and personal expenses instead of charitable work, with claims the group controlled up to $10B but paid out just 0.185% to charities. Data Privacy Enforcement: A multistate coalition secured a $2.3M settlement with Labcorp tied to a 2019 data breach affecting millions of people through its debt-collector unit, with stronger vendor safeguards required. Energy & AI Tensions: Effingham County residents near the planned OpenAI data center (Project Camellia) are pushing back over noise, light, construction traffic, and major power demand concerns. Georgia Construction/Logistics: Jackson County began work on a new I-10 Welcome Center with expanded truck parking and accessibility upgrades. Consumer/Finance: Nevada AG Aaron Ford announced a multistate settlement with Credit Acceptance to add protections and disclosures for auto-loan consumers. Local Business Growth: Guaranteed Roof, a Georgia roofing firm, joined EM Exteriors backed by LB Capital to scale residential and commercial services.

Agriculture & Labor: North Dakota farmers are increasingly leaning on the H-2A visa program as domestic labor shortages persist, with requests rising from 2,444 workers in FY2021 to 4,966 in FY2025. Construction & Safety: Fire destroyed two townhomes under construction in southwest Atlanta; investigators are still working to determine the cause. Energy & Jobs: A new analysis says the U.S. clean energy sector shed 36,949 jobs in 2025, reversing years of growth, while storage and grid modernization were the bright spot. Food Supply Chain: USDA recalled more than 167,000 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat products shipped nationwide after false USDA inspection labels were found; Georgia distributor A&D Foods was involved. Georgia Politics & Farming Costs: Gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson pitched a “Georgia Grown” plan to blunt diesel and tariff pressure on growers, including automatic fuel tax cuts during price spikes and protections for ag tax exemptions. Power & Permitting: Dalton Utilities’ proposed 56.8-megawatt natural gas plant is up for public comment on an air-quality permit through Oct. 16. Tech & Education: Morehouse College opened a Michael Jordan-funded multimedia studio to expand student training in sports broadcasting, podcasting and filmmaking. Fintech Talent Pipeline: Tether, Pave Bank and GFTN signed an MoU to launch a Georgia-Singapore Fintech Scholars Program starting in 2027. Manufacturing/Media Ops: Kean Production Services used AJA ColorBox units to standardize color across LED and projection for a major Atlanta conference stage.

Food Safety: USDA says Star Meat Delivery recalled about 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat shipped in bulk to Georgia after fake USDA inspection labels were found, with no illnesses reported. Workforce & Education: Six Georgia school districts will receive $2M+ in career, technical and agricultural education grants to buy industry-standard equipment and align classrooms with local employers. Small Business Policy: The SBA extended its comment period on a proposed change to redefine “small business,” with trade groups weighing in as the agency says it has received 3,000+ submissions. Energy Prices: GasBuddy reports diesel at $5.19 in Chatham County (week ending Sept. 19) and regular gas as low as $3.62 in Gwinnett County, reflecting continued regional fuel price swings. Tech & Manufacturing: At IWF 2026 in Atlanta, INNERGY highlighted cloud ERP and CAD/CAM tools aimed at improving millwork and cabinetry project flow from estimating to production. Housing Affordability: A Fed official warned the U.S. housing shortage is pushing shelter costs higher, with an Atlanta Fed affordability index hitting a 21-year low.

Food Safety: USDA issued a Class I recall for 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat products shipped to Georgia after being produced without federal inspection and bearing a false USDA mark (EST. 1363); no illnesses reported so far. Public Health & Cost of Living: A new Georgetown index finds about 7 in 10 Georgians face a burden covering basics like housing, food, health care and child care, with health care the biggest pressure point (48% of residents). Education & Leadership: University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents named former Southern Company CEO Thomas A. Fanning as sole finalist for chancellor, with a final vote set for Oct. 1. Infrastructure: GDOT pushed back the replacement of the 13th Street bridge between Augusta and North Augusta to 2030, with the estimate now about $71.2 million. Manufacturing & Jobs: Pirelli is moving ahead with a $1.2B Georgia expansion tied to adding 1,000 jobs, including plans for autonomous modular robotics. Regional Trade: Azerbaijan’s FM highlighted TRIPP’s potential to boost trans-Caspian connectivity, energy cooperation and investment ties, including coordination with Georgia.