Georgia

Georgia leads push to ban datatcenters used to power America’s AI boom

Published

5 months ago

January 26, 2026

Georgia leads push to ban datatcenters used to power America’s AI boom

Lawmakers in several states are exploring passing laws that would put statewide bans in place on building new datacenters as the issue of the power-hungry facilities has moved to the center of economic and environmental concerns in the US.

In Georgia a state lawmaker has introduced a bill proposing what could become the first statewide moratorium on new datacenters in America. The bill is one of at least three statewide moratoriums on datacenters introduced in state legislatures in the last week as Maryland and Oklahoma lawmakers are also considering similar measures.

But it is Georgia that is quickly becoming ground zero in the fight against untrammelled growth of datacenters – which are notorious for using huge amounts of energy and water – as they power the emerging industry of artificial intelligence.

The Georgia bill seeks to halt all such projects until March of next year “to allow state, county and municipal-level officials time to set necessary policies for regulating datacenters … which permanently alter the landscape of our state”, said bill sponsor state Democratic legislator Ruwa Romman.

It comes at a time when Georgia’s public service commission – the agency that oversees utility company Georgia Power – just last month approved a plan to provide 10 additional gigawatts of energy in the coming years. It was the largest amount of electricity sought for a multi-year plan in the commission’s history, was driven by datacenters and will mostly be supplied by fossil fuels.

The 10-gigawatt plan – enough to power about 8.3m homes – in turn comes as the Atlanta metro area led the nation in datacenter construction in 2024.

This accelerated growth has already led at least 10 Georgia municipalities to pass their own moratoriums on datacenter construction, with Atlanta suburb Roswell becoming the most recent earlier this month. Municipalities in at least 14 states have done the same, according to Tech Policy Press.

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent democratic socialist senator, proposed a national moratorium last month.

“What we’re seeing is, as communities are learning more about this aggressive industry’s presence … [they] want to have time to thoroughly investigate all potential harms,” said Seth Gladstone, spokesperson for Food and Water Watch.

The rampant development of datacenters to power AI raises several concerns for residents and activists alike. One is their impact on the cost of electricity. “In the public’s mind, datacenters and utility bills are inextricably linked,” said Charles Hua, founder and executive director of PowerLines, an organization that works on lowering utility bills and involving communities in decisions about energy.

Hua noted that the relationship between the two varies, depending on each state’s market and regulatory system. In Georgia, he said, the Georgia Power utility company makes profit off new capital investments – so it has incentive to keep building new power plants. This approach has led Georgia’s rates to go up by a third in the last several years alone. Meanwhile, he said, the power company doesn’t have incentive to make the electrical grid more efficient – which “could actually lower prices”, Hua said.

But datacenter concerns in Georgia also include water use and lost tax revenue. Republicans in the state legislature have introduced bills this year to protect consumers from increases in their utility bills and to end tax breaks for the centers. A Democrat has proposed that datacenters make public how much energy and water they use each year.

Romman, the first Palestinian American elected to statewide office in Georgia, is also running for governor, hoping to break the near quarter-century hold Republicans have on the office.

Her bill, HB 1012, has a Republican co-sponsor in state congressman Jordan Ridley, who said he signed o nto the measure because he wanted to give local governments time to develop zoning regulations on datacenters, since “it seems like they’re being built across the state”.

“Every local government has zoning codes and … they need public input. That takes time,” Ridley said. At the same time, Ridley added, “datacenters … provide tax revenue and high-paying jobs. I’m not against datacenters.”

Romman’s bill is not just a policy proposal; it’s also a political one. In a statement, she wrote that the moratorium “would provide time for Georgians to vote on the majority of the Public Service Commission seats who make final decisions on energy-related projects”.

Georgia is one of 10 states that elect their utility regulators. Voters in the state elected progressive Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard to the five-member commission in November, leading the agency to lose its all-Republican makeup for the first time in nearly two decades. Another seat is up for a vote this November.

The calculus: if the commission becomes majority-Democratic, it will no longer give a rubber stamp to electricity demands from Georgia Power driven by tech companies seeking to build datacenters.

Hubbard, now in his new position, recently wrote an editorial asserting that Georgia voters “see data centers receiving tax breaks as their power bills go up. They see local communities struggle with competition for water supplies and high voltage transmission lines that reduce property values. And they see how the PSC approved every request placed before it by the monopoly electric utility.

“This is why opposition to data centers is growing in Georgia; because Georgians oppose being treated as collateral damage by the unregulated growth of data centers that will push their power bills even higher.”

There’s another political implication to Romman’s bill. Paul Glaze, spokesperson for Georgia Conservation Voters, said if the bill crosses from the House to the Senate, “it may be a preview of the potential general election” later this year.

“The question is, in communities where datacenters are coming, who are voters going to trust to have their back?” Glaze said. “Anyone serious about statewide office should have a clear position on this.”

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Georgia

Three Reasons Why Georgia Tech Can Beat The ACC Best Teams

Published

1 hour ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

Three Reasons Why Georgia Tech Can Beat The ACC Best Teams

Don’t sleep on the Yellow Jackets heading into the 2026 season.

They have several big games in conference play against some of the conference’s elite. As they have shown us before, they are no stranger to pulling off big-time victories and shocking the college football world, especially as an underdog. Let’s talk about three reasons why the Yellow Jackets can beat the ACC elite this upcoming season.

1. They’ve Done It Before

Georgia Tech is no stranger to beating top ACC teams in the Brent Key era. They have done it consistently, multiple times. There are a myriad of examples to point to. You can go to the North Carolina game back in 2023, played in primetime on the Flats.

The Yellow Jackets defeated top pick and now New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in a 46-42 victory. You can go back to the 2024 season in Ireland when the Yellow Jackets upset then No.10 Florida State 24-21. In that same year, Georgia Tech knocked off future No.1 overall pick Cam Ward and the No.4 Miami Hurricanes, handing them their first loss of the season in a 28-23.

There are many other examples I can point to illustrate this point, but you can see the Yellow Jackets never back down and come to play when it matters most against the elite teams in the conference. They have done it with a good offense and an opportunistic defense. With Louisville, Clemson, and Virginia Tech on the schedule, they should be primed to do it again in 2026.

2. Georgia Tech Has An Identity

It is pretty simple: under head coach Brent Key, this Yellow Jackets team has an identity and a culture that sets it apart. They want to play physical, smash-mouth football and dominate you in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Coach Key has meant what he said this offseason about getting more size and girth, but also having offensive linemen who can move. It was one of the reasons why they were aggressive in the portal and one of the reasons why they are having success with the 2027 cycle.

When you look at Georgia Tech, they are going to run the football and play good defense. That makes the job easier for a first-time starter in Alberto Mendoza, who has a lighter load with the moves made this offseason. When you play in those major matchups, you have to lean on something to come out on top, and what better way than the true identity of your team?

3. The Defense Will Be Much Better

From top to bottom, the Yellow Jackets are poised to be much better defensively. When you look at the depth of the roster, the new defensive scheme, the talent level, and the hunger, you have a team that should be one of the better units in the conference. In order to beat the conference elite, you have to have a good defense that can travel and make plays late in games to seal it for you.

While Georgia Tech showed glimpses of that a season ago, the consistency in November just wasn’t there. With Jason Semore becoming the new defensive coordinator and a more attack-style, aggressive man-to-man defense, Georgia Tech should be equipped to force more turnovers and make a difference by getting the ball back to the offense.

The spring gave us a good glimpse of what the defense could look like despite so many injuries and players out. The defense flat-out shut down the Yellow Jackets, creating constant pressure and causing havoc for an offense trying to find its footing in the spring game. While some will say to take it with a grain of salt, it is clear that the Yellow Jackets will be a much better unit in 2026.

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Georgia

Zuckerman eyes MLB Draft after superb baseball season at Georgia Tech

Published

11 hours ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

Zuckerman eyes MLB Draft after superb baseball season at Georgia Tech

Ryan Zuckerman is last on the alphabetical list of the 335 college and high school baseball players attending the June 22-27 MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix.

What the 2023 Pennsbury graduate did in his lone season at Georgia Tech has garnered him plenty of attention from MLB scouts regardless of where his name is on a list that includes Holy Ghost Prep grad Aiden Robbins, a Texas outfield standout who is expected to go as early as late in the first round, fellow Pennsbury graduate Joe Tiroly, an infielder from Virginia, and Pennsbury senior right-handed pitcher Keller Bradley.

MVP of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament for the conference champion Yellow Jackets, second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and leader in home runs (23) and RBIs (79, tied for eighth in the country) for the high-powered Georgia Tech offense are just a few of Zuckerman’s notable accomplishments heading into the July 11-13 draft. He is projected to go toward the middle of the 20 rounds.

“It’s pretty surreal for sure,” said Zuckerman, 21. “It’s something I dreamed of my whole life.”

In a season filled with memorable moments, perhaps most impressive was Zuckerman being named ACC Tournament MVP after hitting three home runs with six RBIs and batting .571 (8 for 14), culminating in a 13-6 championship game win over North Carolina in Charlotte. He also was a first-team All-ACC selection at third base.

Zuckerman and Georgia Tech went into the NCAA Atlanta regional as the nation’s No. 2 seed. Though the 50-11 Yellow Jackets ended up being eliminated by losing twice to Oklahoma, including 8-7 in 10 innings for the regional title, Zuckerman can only rave about his experience at Georgia Tech.

“If you would have told me that’s how the season for me and each of us on the team would’ve gone, I would’ve been extremely happy,” Zuckerman said. “It was probably the best decision I ever made in my life.”

After a solid sophomore season at Pitt in which he hit .295 with 16 doubles, 13 home runs, 48 RBIs and 48 runs scored, Zuckerman believed transferring would help him develop into a more pro-ready player and allow him to win more games. And Georgia Tech checked all the boxes

In addition to his career-best home run and RBI numbers, Zuckerman led Georgia Tech in 2026 with 24 multi-RBI games while establishing career-highs in batting average (.345), runs (71), hits (80), walks (37), slugging percentage (.720) and on-base percentage (.438). He batted fifth in the order.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Zuckerman, who always had a strong arm, also worked hard to improve his defense at third base, resulting in 15.99 defensive runs saved for the season, which was the 13th-highest total in college baseball.

“I like to say I’m arguably the best third baseman in the country,” he said.

As a senior playing third at Pennsbury, Zuckerman hit .465 with an on-base percentage of .563, plus six doubles, six home runs, 23 RBIs and scored 26 runs.

“In high school, he was incredible for us,” said Pennsbury head coach Joe Pesci. “(A year ago), he decided to go from a mid- to low ACC team to the best team in the ACC. Surrounding himself with amazing players at Georgia Tech, he’s kind of elevated his game.”

Since the conclusion of the collegiate season, Zuckerman has been working out in preparation for the MLB Draft Combine and, ultimately, the draft. He’s been splitting his time between Yardley and Atlanta.

MLB teams have indicated Zuckerman’s power bat and defense are two of his strengths, while he’s focusing on improving his swing selection and making more contact at the plate.

Zuckerman is looking forward to hearing his name called by one of the 30 major league clubs. Whether a team views him as a third baseman, first baseman, corner outfielder or even second baseman doesn’t really matter to him.

“I think right now I’m in a great position to go and play professional baseball and start my journey up to the big leagues,” Zuckerman said. “The goal is not to get drafted – it’s to play MLB.”

Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly is a sports columnist for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.

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Georgia

Georgia pair charged with murder after bartender’s dismembered remains found in lake outside Atlanta

Published

21 hours ago

June 21, 2026

Press Room

Georgia pair charged with murder after bartender’s dismembered remains found in lake outside Atlanta

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A Georgia pair have been charged with murder after allegedly slaughtering a bartender and dumping his dismembered remains in a lake, according to authorities.

Mario Andre Barber, 46, and Brittany Amber Baker, 42, were arrested on Monday for allegedly murdering Jamal Rashad Parker, 37, in a home outside of Atlanta, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

Investigators discovered Parker’s remains in May in the Dog River Reservoir, located about 30 miles outside Atlanta.

Parker’s identity was confirmed using DNA comparison technology after his father contacted authorities to report that the victim’s tattoos matched his son’s ink, local station WSB-TV reported.

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Mario Andre Barber, 46, and Brittany Amber Baker, 42, are charged with murder. (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators believe the two suspects killed Parker inside a home in Douglasville where Baker lived.

Late last month, investigators were observed leaving the home with a reciprocating saw and cleaning supplies, according to WSB-TV.

Police have not disclosed if Parker knew his alleged killers. However, a GoFundMe created by a family member described the pair as “people he knew and trusted.”

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A family member described Jamal Rashad Parker as a bartender, musician and artist with “a beautiful soul and spirit.” (GoFundMe)

The suspects pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday and are being held without bond. Both have lengthy criminal records, according to reports.

“I want them to be punished. And I don’t even think a life sentence is good enough,” Parker’s dad, Charles Parker, told WSB-TV outside the courthouse.

“It’s the kind of stuff you see on TV, but I mean … they had no remorse,” he added.

In addition to bartending at Ms. Icey’s Kitchen & Bar in Atlanta, the victim was a musician and artist with “a beautiful soul and spirit,” according to the GoFundMe page created to cover burial costs.

Investigators believe the two suspects killed the victim inside a home in Douglasville. (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

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“He loved life and the people he met along his journey in life. He was a musical artist, visual artist, and a professional bartender who enjoyed creating new drinks. This has totally devastated our family and friends and has left us heartbroken,” the fundraiser reads.

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