By Jill Nolin | Editor
We have a bonus column today from opinion writer Jay Bookman, who weighs in on the post-election turmoil brewing among Republicans as Lt. Gov. Burt Jones withholds his support of Rick Jackson in the race for governor. Let’s get right to it.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones gives a speech to supporters at an election watch party in Butts County on June 16, 2026, after the race was called. Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
COMMENTARY
By Jay Bookman
In much of “The Iliad” – the ancient Greek “prequel” to “The Odyssey” now dominating the summer movie box office – the hero Achilles can be found sulking in his tent outside the walls of Troy. He is bitterly angry at his fellow Greeks, feeling that he has been cheated and disrespected, and thus refuses to fight any longer on their behalf.
“You don’t need me? Fine.”
Even when the great King Agamemnon begs him to rejoin the battle, telling him that the Greeks are likely to lose without his help, the sulking, prideful Achilles refuses.
Achilles, in other words, is exactly like Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, or would be if Jones were the son of a sea nymph and not the heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, and if Jones were the greatest warrior in the ancient world instead of a former walk-on football player at the University of Georgia.
Otherwise, though, pretty much the same.
A healthcare worker places a bandage on a child after giving a vaccination shot. (Scott Housley/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
PUBLIC HEALTH
By Maya Homan
Kindergarten immunization rates are falling and vaccine exemptions are on the rise, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week.
In a press release, the CDC said the data shows vaccine rates remain high and encourages parents to talk to their doctors about vaccine options.
Nationally, vaccine rates for diseases like diphtheria, measles and polio hover around 92% for kindergarteners entering the 2025-2026 school year. In Georgia, that number sits around 89%, slightly up from last year’s 87% vaccination rate.
Workers at the QCells factory in Cartersville, Ga. conduct a final quality inspection on finished solar panels. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
ENERGY
By Emily Jones, WABE News/Grist
Inside the vast QCells factory in Cartersville, Georgia, workers — and a bevy of robots — move ultra-thin slices of polysilicon through a lengthy series of machines and chemical baths to transform them into what are known as wafers.
In June, the plant, about an hour northwest of Atlanta, expanded beyond assembling the major components of solar panels. Now the whole production process is here under one roof.
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