Georgia on WACN 21 News

Georgia's film industry rebounds, but Atlanta's grip is slipping

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:00:00 -0400

Georgia’s film and TV production industry is in the middle of a strong rebound — but the growth is happening outside Atlanta for the first time in a generation.

The state booked $4.4 billion in film production spending in the first half of 2026, up 22 percent from the same period last year, according to numbers released by the Georgia Department of Economic Development on Tuesday. The full-year 2026 number is on track to exceed the all-time high set in 2022.

Brian Kemp endorses Burt Jones for governor. The primary is suddenly up for grabs.

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:00:00 -0400

Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for governor Tuesday afternoon, ending weeks of speculation and reshuffling a Republican primary that had been widely expected to be a smooth ride for the incumbent.

The endorsement came after a roughly 30-minute phone call between the two men, according to a Kemp senior adviser who confirmed the conversation to WACN 21.

What changed

Until last week, Jones’ path to the nomination looked nearly impossible. State Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming had been consolidating support from Kemp’s inner circle, and Attorney General Chris Carr had been quietly prepping for his own entry.

Three-year bachelor's degrees are coming to Georgia. The numbers actually work.

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:00:00 -0400

The University System of Georgia last week approved a pilot program that will let participating students finish a bachelor’s degree in three years instead of four — at roughly 75 percent of the total cost.

The reaction has split predictably. Higher-ed traditionalists think it’s a terrible idea. Reformers think it’s long overdue. Both are partly right.

Here’s my read.

What the pilot actually is

Twenty-six of the system’s 26 public universities are eligible to participate. Each will design three-year pathways in selected majors — initially mostly in business, computer science, and engineering. The first students will enroll fall 2027.

Georgia Supreme Court rules in favor of Atlanta in long-running water rights case

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 17:00:00 -0400

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled 6-1 Monday that Atlanta’s current water-withdrawal permits from Lake Lanier are valid, ending — for now — a 14-year legal fight over the metro area’s most important water source.

But the court’s reasoning was narrower than Atlanta had hoped, leaving the door open for future challenges as the region grows and as upstream states press for stricter limits.

The case

The suit was brought in 2012 by Alabama and Florida, both of which sit downstream on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basin and have argued for decades that Atlanta’s withdrawals from Lake Lanier — built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s — leave too little water flowing south.

Georgia Power asks regulators for 12% rate hike. Here's what's actually in the filing.

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0400

Georgia Power filed a 178-page rate case with the Georgia Public Service Commission on Monday asking for a roughly 12 percent average increase in residential base rates, effective January 1, 2027.

If approved in full, the increase would push the typical residential bill — already among the highest in the Southeast — by about $18 per month for a household using 1,000 kWh.

But the more revealing thing about the filing isn’t the headline number. It’s the breakdown of what’s actually driving it.