Georgia
Squatters take over Georgia man’s home while he was caring for sick wife — and now he can’t evict them: report
A Georgia man claims he returned home from caring for his sick wife to find that squatters had changed the locks on his home and moved in — and now local laws are blocking him from evicting the alleged freeloaders.
âBasically, these people came in Friday, broke into my house and had a U-Haul move all their stuff in. Itâs frustrating. Itâs very frustrating. I canât even sleep,â DeKalb man Paul Callins told WSB-TV.
Callins had sunk thousands of dollars into the home and renovated with his own hands after he inherited it from his late father, but since squatters moved in he’s found himself facing nothing but obstacles to evict the alleged intruders.
âI guess they have done this before, because when I called the police, they said since they have a fake lease, that they canât do anything. That itâs a civil matter,â Callins said.
Callins believes the squatters targeted him after posting a rental advertisement online. He’d been planning to rent to a government-subsidized tenant when he lost the house, WSB-TV reported.
Rather than forcibly evicting the squatters, Georgia law requires homeowners file an âAffidavit of Intruderâ which then needs to work its way through the court system before police can act, Callins explained.
âI have to go through the court system, and I understand it could take 60 to 90 days,â the homeowner said.
Situations like Callins’ have become all too common in Georgia.
About 1,200 homes across DeKalb County are currently occupied by squatters, according to the National Rental Home Council trade group. The problem is exacerbated by its status as a civil matter, which prevents homeowners from easily evicting intruders, according to critics.
Lawmakers in Georgia are nearing the passage of a bill which would make squatting a criminal offense and using a fake lease a felony, which would allow police officers to arrest offenders.
“These are people that know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re stealing other people’s most valuable capital, which is their home,” Rep. Devan Seabaugh, a Republican co-sponsoring the bill, told Fox News.
“I don’t know how it took us this long to get here⦠but no more free rides.”
The Georgia Public Service Commission this week approved a plan expected to reduce utility bills for Georgia Power customers by a few dollars a month.
The commission said the change will generate about $285 million in total annual savings for Georgia Power customers, or roughly $50 per year — about $4.04 per month — for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month.
The Georgia PSC voted Thursday to lower overall rates as part of the approved plan.
Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Tyler Cook said the decision will provide “real savings for Georgia families and businesses as the heat of summer begins and energy use increases.”
“At Georgia Power, our teams work every day to run our business efficiently and keep reliable and affordable energy flowing to our customers,” Cook said.
Cook said the outcome followed months of work between Georgia Power and PSC staff, including reviews, public hearings and input from residents and intervenors.
The approved plan is tied to a stipulated agreement reached earlier this month involving two cases filed with the PSC in February, the Fuel Cost Recovery case and the Storm Cost Recovery case. Those cases addressed recovering fuel costs used to generate electricity and expenses tied to restoring power after storms.
Georgia Power said its rates remain, on average, about 15% below the national average and that it is still on track to provide additional annual savings of about $102 per year for typical residential customers beginning in 2029.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a stipulated agreement on Thursday to lower utility rates for Georgia Power customers starting June 1.
The regulatory body voted to pass the deal without changes, establishing how the utility can bill for fuel costs and storm damage restoration expenses.
State regulators approve rate cuts
What we know:
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 3-2 to reject several utility cost amendments before ultimately passing the overall deal. Under the approved agreement, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will see monthly bills decrease by roughly $4.03 to $4.04. Total annual savings across all 2.8 million Georgia Power customers are projected to reach approximately $285 million.
The deal reduces how much money the utility can recover from its customer base for storm expenses by nearly 60%, dropping the revenue requirement from $270 million down to $109 million. The agreement also extends the amortization of storm recovery costs, largely tied to Hurricane Helene in 2024, to 67 months, caps natural gas advance purchases at 20% over a 36-month window, and cuts $13 million from the company’s original fuel recovery estimates.
Accountability questions remain unresolved
What we don’t know:
While the PSC agreed to launch a separate investigation into how fuel costs are allocated, officials have not yet confirmed how much large industrial operations will be forced to pay in future rate cases. Consumer advocacy groups argue that massive data center companies are driving up fuel costs for everyday ratepayers without paying for the infrastructure upgrades they require. Critics note that it remains unclear if a future utility asset structure will successfully shift financial burdens away from residential homes.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official press releases issued by the Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power, as well as previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting.
Georgia
St Louis CITY2 Goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin Called Up to U.S. U-19 MNT Domestic Training Camp in Fayetteville, Georgia | St. Louis SC
St Louis CITY2 goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin has been called up to the U.S. U-19 Men’s National Team for their upcoming domestic training camp in Fayetteville, Georgia from June 1-10, led by head coach Gonzalo Segares. McPartlin will be representing the U.S. for the first time in his youth national team career. McPartlin is the first CITY SC goalkeeper in club’s history to get a national team call up.
The U.S. U-19’s will face Argentina in back-to-back matches on June 5 and 7, then close out their final match against Japan on June 9.
McPartlin has been a member of St Louis CITY2 since 2025 and made his professional debut against Sporting KC II in August 2025, earning his first professional clean sheet in a 3-0 win. The Missouri Native has made seven starts and appearances for CITY2 this season, earning three clean sheets and making 24 total saves, with a 3-1-3 record. McPartlin spent time with CITY SC in both preseason camps this year and has been a regular in first team training this year.
-
-U43648517271Shc-1440x752@IlSole24Ore-Web.jpg?r=1170x507&w=400&resize=400,240&ssl=1 "War breaking news. Trump postpones decision: nothing after two hours in Situation Room")
-U43648517271Shc-1440x752@IlSole24Ore-Web.jpg?r=1170x507&w=80&resize=80,80&ssl=1 "War breaking news. Trump postpones decision: nothing after two hours in Situation Room")
World4 minutes agoWar breaking news. Trump postpones decision: nothing after two hours in Situation Room
-
News10 minutes agoJudge Tosses Citizenship Law Aimed at New Voters in New Hampshire
-
Politics16 minutes agoVideo: Trump’s Counterterror Strategy Focuses on the Left
-
Science28 minutes agoVideo: Crowds Flood New York City Streets for First Day of Manhattanhenge
-
Lifestyle52 minutes agoTrump’s name must come off of the Kennedy Center, judge rules
-
Technology1 hour agoAcer’s launching a Linux handheld for streaming your PC games
-
World1 hour agoPentagon hosts first-ever Israeli–Lebanese military talks aimed at curbing Hezbollah
-
Politics1 hour agoFederal judge orders Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center, says only Congress can rename it
