Georgia

Georgia Tech’s Franklin on Outland Trophy Watch List

Published

2 years ago

July 30, 2024

Georgia Tech’s Franklin on Outland Trophy Watch List

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech senior center Weston Franklin (Jesup, Ga./Wayne County H.S.) is one of 75 student-athletes on the official preseason watch list for the 2024 Outland Trophy, the Football Writers Association of America announced on Tuesday. The Outland Trophy honors college football’s top interior lineman.

Franklin has started 25-straight games at center for the Yellow Jackets over the last two seasons and played 884 offensive snaps in 2023. He was the anchor of an offensive front that helped pave the way for Tech to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference and rank among the top 15 teams nationally in both rushing offense (203.8 ypg – 12^th nationally) and fewest sacks allowed (1.15 pg – 15^th) in 2023.

Franklin is one of four starting offensive lineman and eight overall offensive starters that return for Georgia Tech in 2024. Last season, Tech ranked third in the ACC and among the top 35 nationally in total offense (424.6 ypg).

He is one of only 14 centers on the 75-player Outland Trophy watch list.

The winner of the 79^th-annual Outland Trophy will be announced during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which airs live on ESPN on Dec. 12, and the award will officially be presented during the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner in Omaha, Neb. on Jan. 22, 2025.

Franklin is the third Yellow Jacket to be named to one of college football’s official award watch lists so far this preseason, joining QB Haynes King and RB Jamal Haynes, who were named to the Maxwell Award (national player of the year) watch list on Monday.

Georgia Tech opens the 2024 season on August 24 versus Florida State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Kickoff is set for noon ET and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

2024 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS

Season Tickets

2024 Georgia Tech football season tickets are on sale now and include the best seats for the Yellow Jackets’ six-game home slate, which features Atlantic Coast Conference showdowns against Duke, NC State and Miami (Fla.) at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field and Tech’s highly anticipated matchup with Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Season ticket packages begin at just $225. Click HERE to become a season ticket member today.

Three-Game Mini-Plans

Three-game mini-ticket plans to catch the exciting action of Georgia Tech football in 2024 are on sale now. Mini-plans include a ticket to the Yellow Jackets’ highly anticipated showdown versus Notre Dame on Oct. 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Sept. 14 Military Appreciation Day home game versus VMI and the choice of either the Oct. 5 ACC matchup versus Duke or the Nov. 21 primetime ACC battle against NC State. Click HERE to purchase a three-game mini-plan.

Single-Game Tickets

Single-game tickets for Georgia Tech’s five home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2024 – Aug. 31 vs. Georgia State, Sept. 14 vs. VMI, Oct. 5 vs. Duke, Nov. 9 vs. Miami (Fla.) and Nov. 21 vs. NC State – and a limited number of single-game tickets for the Notre Dame game on Oct. 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking HERE.

Georgia Tech finished 7-6 overall and 5-3 in ACC play in 2023 (good for a tie for fourth place in the 14-team ACC), and claimed its first bowl win in seven seasons with a 30-17 victory over UCF in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. The Yellow Jackets return 17 starters, including all-ACC honorees DL Zeek Biggers, OL Joe Fusile, RB Jamal Haynes, QB Haynes King, WR Eric Singleton, Jr. and OL Jordan Williams.

Alexander-Tharpe Fund

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.

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Georgia

Why Southern Living is spotlighting serene coastal escape in Georgia

Published

3 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Why Southern Living is spotlighting serene coastal escape in Georgia

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.

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Georgia

Gov. Kemp signs amended FY 2026 budget, delivering $2B in Georgia tax relief

Published

15 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Gov. Kemp signs amended FY 2026 budget, delivering B 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.”

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Georgia

Middle Georgia DSA condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, calls escalation ‘illegal’

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

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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