Georgia
Georgia high school softball Player of the Week (8/20/2024)
The Georgia high school softball season is underway and so is the voting for the first SBLive Georgia High School Softball Player of the Week winner of the 2024 season.
Please review our list of nominees and then cast your vote for the athlete you find most deserving.
SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. – SBLive Sports
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25th. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Here are this week’s nominations.
In five games played last week, Broome helped her team go 5-0. She went 8-for-13 with a double, triple, home run and six RBIs.
Hernandez did it all last week helping her team to a 5-0 record. At the plate she went 12-for-15 with six RBIs and in the circle, she had two six inning shutouts. In those two outings she left with a 2-0 record, 18 strikeouts, only four hits allowed and only two walks.
In two games last week, Mill Creek went 2-0 thanks in part to Brookshire’s hot hand at the plate. Against West Forsyth she went 2-for-3 with a double, home run and three RBIs, then the next game went 3-for-4 with a triple, home run and four RBIs.
Hill picked up where she left off last season, in three games last week she went 3-0. Versus Collins Hill she completed a seven-inning shutout with 11 strikeouts. Show allowed a total of three runs in the other two contest with 20 strikeouts.
Abernathy showed off her power at the plate in a two-game sweep over Adairsville. In the series she picked up three hits, two being homers, and had six RBIs.
Rackley earned the win in the circle versus Walnut Grove, and she finished with a career-high 13 strikeouts.
Buford scored 14 runs in the seventh inning versus Walnut Grove and that was spearheaded by Stanton, as she finished with two homers and seven RBIs in that game alone.
Byrd was a big part of North Cobb’s 15-0 and 23-0 wins over Marietta. She really made her impact with a grand slam in game two.
The sophomore has started off her season hot. In her first three games she is 5-for-10, with seven RBIs, a double, triple, and a homer.
Paley had a seven-inning complete game shutout versus Sequoyah and only allowed four hits.
Whitt went 3-for-4 with a triple, home run, and four RBIs in a win over Walnut Grove.
Huckaby went 2-0 last week with two amazing performances. She pitched a seven-inning complete game shutout versus Union County and struck out 18 batters while only allowing one hit. In her other outing she again went seven innings with 11 strikeouts and only allowed two hits.
Thompson got the win in the circle versus Sandy Creek. She pitched a seven-inning complete game and struck out 14 batters as she helped LaGrange maintain its perfect record.
Jade was lights out versus Duluth as she went seven shutout innings and struck out nine.
In two games last week, Young went 6-for-8 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs.
Georgia
Why Southern Living is spotlighting serene coastal escape in Georgia
22 sea turtles released into the ocean at Jekyll Island
Mystic Aquarium, a Connecticut-based aquarium and animal rescue organization, released 22 sea turtles into the Ocean at Jekyll Island.
A quiet stretch of the Georgia coast is back in the national spotlight.
In a recent feature, Southern Living highlighted the Golden Isles as one of the South’s most serene escapes, praising the region’s undeveloped marshes, barrier islands and slower pace compared to other East Coast beach destinations.
Located roughly halfway between Savannah and Jacksonville, the Golden Isles include Brunswick, Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island and Little St. Simons Island.
Here’s what to know.
What makes Georgia’s Golden Isles different?
Unlike more densely developed beach towns in neighboring states, Georgia’s coastline is defined by tidal creeks, salt marshes and wide stretches of protected land.
“The coast of Georgia is quite different than the shores of North Carolina or South Carolina,” Southern Living wrote. “It’s wilder and quieter, and it’s much less populated with beach towns.”
While the islands offer modern resorts and vacation homes, much of the natural character remains intact.
One of the most photographed spots is Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, known for its haunting remains of a maritime forest scattered along the shoreline.
Where are visitors staying?
The publication pointed to several well-known properties across the islands:
- The Cloister at Sea Island
- Jekyll Island Club Resort
- St. Simons Island: The Grey Owl Inn and the St. Simons Lighthouse.
Little St. Simons Island, accessible only by boat, was highlighted for its all-inclusive lodge and thousands of acres of protected marshland and upland habitat.
What can you do in the Golden Isles?
Southern Living emphasized simple, immersive experiences:
- Biking under live oaks
- Kayaking through marsh creeks
- Horseback riding along the beach
- Watching sunsets over the water.
Public beaches like East Beach on St. Simons Island remain open to visitors, while golf courses on Jekyll Island and St. Simons offer year-round play.
The region’s history also plays a major role. Visitors can climb the St. Simons Lighthouse, explore historic districts in Brunswick or learn about Gullah Geechee heritage through local organizations.
For more information, visit southernliving.com/georgias-golden-isles-11906085.
Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@gannett.com.
Georgia
Gov. Kemp signs amended FY 2026 budget, delivering $2B in Georgia tax relief
ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp on Tuesday signed HB 973, the amended Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
The amended budget includes $2 billion in income and property tax relief, alongside investments in education, public safety, mental health, transportation and rural development.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones praised Gov. Kemp, saying the budget…
“Makes critical investments in middle-class families, mental health services, healthcare workforce development, transportation and Georgia’s veterans community.”
Key allocations in the amended budget include:
- Education and Workforce Development: $325 million to endow the DREAMS Scholarship, a new needs-based scholarship program; $6 million for a Career Navigator tool; and funding for new and expanded programs at University System of Georgia and Technical College System of Georgia institutions.
- Public Safety: $150 million for Department of Corrections bed space, $9.7 million for additional corrections officers, $15 million for a new K-9 training facility, and $50 million to help communities address homelessness, including among veterans.
- Mental Health: $409 million to design and construct a new Georgia Regional Hospital to expand mental health bed capacity.
- Transportation: More than $1.6 billion to extend and expand I-75 express lanes in Henry County; $185 million for SR 316 interchange conversions; $100 million for rural bridge rehabilitation and replacement; and $250 million for local maintenance and improvement grants.
- Rural Georgia: $15 million for rural site development grants; $35 million for a new natural gas infrastructure program; and $8.9 million for the Georgia Forestry Innovation Initiative.
Governor Kemp says the state’s conservative budgeting approach has allowed Georgia to provide tax relief while making “generational investments.”
Georgia
Middle Georgia DSA condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, calls escalation ‘illegal’
MACON, Ga. (WGXA) — Middle Georgia Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has issued a statement regarding the U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes on Iran over the weekend.
According to other WGXA articles, based on reports as of early March 2026, the United States and Israel have launched major, coordinated military operations against Iran, labeled in reports as “Operation Epic Fury” and “Operation Midnight Hammer”. This follows months of failed nuclear negotiations and escalating regional tensions.
RELATED | Hegseth insists US-Israel strikes on Iran are ‘not Iraq, not endless’
WGXA asked Middle Georgia DSA, the largest activist organization in Middle Georgia, for their opinions on the strikes, and they responded with this:
The strikes on Iran, carried out by the United States and Israel, mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal act of aggression. The Iranian people do not deserve to live in fear of American bombs and of the instability of regime change. Americans do not want our tax dollars and the lives of our people to be wasted on opening up a new war in the Middle East, or on bombing girls’ elementary schools. We want relief from the affordability crisis. We want peace. Middle Georgia DSA unequivocally condemns these attacks and any politicians who cannot do the same. We do not want this, we do not deserve this.
DSA added that they are not currently planning any protests at this time, and that they “remain focused on improving the conditions of people who live within our communities directly, and do not feel a protest is the best strategy to deliver on that.”
Middle Georgia DSA condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, calls escalation ‘illegal’, March 2, 2026 (Image is meant to say 2026 instead of 2025, Courtesy of GCSU Mutual Aid)
However, GCSU Mutual Aid, a grassroots, community-led initiative focused on collective care and resource sharing within the Milledgeville and broader Middle Georgia area. While not an official department of Georgia College & State University (GCSU), it frequently operates in coordination with student-led groups and local residents to address gaps in traditional social safety nets.
RELATED | GCSU encourages peaceful expression ahead of national ICE walkout
GCSU Mutual Aid is planning a protest for Wednesday, where they will be “Marching for Democracy” in retaliation to recent events in the U.S.
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