Support for curbing corporate-owned housing spans the ballot, mostly

By Jill Nolin | Editor

By Maya Homan

It’s not often these days that candidates from across the political spectrum find common ground. But on the subject of how to create more affordable homes, both Democrats and Republicans running for higher office in Georgia this year can agree on one thing: It’s time to address the rise of corporate-owned housing.

In a year where affordability issues are top of mind for many voters, the cost of everyday necessities like housing, gas and health insurance may be a key factor motivating Georgia residents at the polls this year.

Housing in particular is the largest expense for most Americans, with data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that housing accounts for about 33% of the average consumer’s annual spending.

By Maya Homan

At least three Georgia counties were listed on an internal memo of jurisdictions across the country that offer election materials in languages other than English, according to internal records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb counties were all listed in the report, which was emailed to a number of top officials at the department in December, though the memo noted there could be other jurisdictions in the state that translate election materials. The email said the list was “outlining requirements for prosecution of voter related charges,” and was signed by the department’s acting director of border policy, though the official’s name is redacted.

The documents were first reported Friday by NPR and obtained independently by the Georgia Recorder. 

By Ross Williams

Georgia’s second-largest school district is once again at the center of a political controversy over the appropriateness of school materials.

Cobb County Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced the district is removing copies of Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” from school library shelves.

The novel tells the tragic story of a young Black girl dealing with racism, poverty and abuse.

By David Lightman

The rare 2026 issue that draws huge support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress is the same one that’s mobilized many Americans: restrictions on giant data centers.

The House has overwhelmingly passed legislation forcing state regulators to consider requirements that data centers absorb the cost of the electricity they use. 

But there’s more to be done, say data center critics, and they’re finding there is no easy or even obvious answer about what to do next.

By William J. Ford, Maryland Matters

When Andrew Young rose from his motorized chair and took his seat on stage Friday, he received rousing applause.

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, an Alabama Democrat, recounted Young’s storied journey. Pastor. Mayor of Atlanta. Congressman. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Civil rights icon.

Working alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Young played a key role with other civil rights leaders in securing support for Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights of Act of 1965. Now 94, Young is among the few surviving members of King’s inner circle.

“One thing I really want to make sure that everybody understands. That we are in the presence here of a legend,” said former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the nation’s first Black attorney general.

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