By Ross Williams | Deputy Editor
Are data centers getting a bum rap? That’s the message the new Georgia branch of an industry group wants to promote. This week, we had the latest on the tech industry’s response to widespread outcry against the server warehouses that power the modern internet but guzzle massive amounts of energy and water.
And state officials are working to update the list of medical conditions that would exempt Georgians from Medicaid work requirements to bring state policy in line with new federal changes. You might be surprised at who is not currently set to qualify.
All that plus Gov. Brian Kemp weighs in on his successor’s budget, potential fallout from changes to the Endangered Species Act and more.
The QTS data center complex under development in Fayetteville, Georgia, US, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. A new data center industry group is embarking on a Georgia-focused publicity campaign to improve public opinion of data centers in the state. Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images
ENVIRONMENT
By Alander Rocha
An organization that represents the data center industry is trying to get Georgians to think of the electricity-hungry facilities more favorably.
Connected Georgia and its parent organization America Connects recently established a state presence when they created a website on June 15 and a YouTube channel the next week, where the organization published a 30-second ad that has garnered over 2 million views in about four weeks.
State officials did not include HIV to a list of conditions that exempts low-income Georgians from work requirements for Medicaid coverage. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
HEALTH
By Alander Rocha
Low-income Georgians living with HIV would not be counted as “medically frail” under a state proposal still under consideration and would therefore have to satisfy work requirements to qualify for Medicaid coverage.
As of now, state officials plan to exclude HIV from a list of medical conditions that would exempt Georgians from Medicaid work requirements, and that omission has been met with concerns from Georgia health advocates.
Gov. Brian Kemp announces $300 million in budget cuts on May 12, 2026. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
BUDGET
By Alander Rocha
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office has instructed Georgia state agencies to keep spending level as they prepare budget proposals ahead of next year’s legislative session.
Kemp is term-limited and signed his final budget earlier this year, cutting more than $300 million in new spending at the time to help pay for an income tax cut package that lawmakers passed earlier this year.
Female red-cockaded woodpecker at a nest cavity at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Saturday, June 1, 2024. Experts worry a new rule change could put species like the red-cockaded woodpecker at risk of habitat loss. Larry Woodward/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
CONSERVATION
By Ross Williams
A federal rule change set to go into effect this fall could cause big changes to Georgia’s landscape, and environmental groups are sounding the alarm.
“It’s probably the worst action that’s ever been taken in the history of the Endangered Species Act,” said Will Harlan, southeast director of the Center for Biological Diversity in Asheville, North Carolina. “It is absolutely devastating for not just listed species, but all wildlife. It will wreak havoc upon the ecosystems that both wildlife and humans depend upon.”
News tips, feedback, question? Email us: [email protected]
ICYMI FROM THE RECORDER
OTHER GEORGIA NEWS
Georgia Senate: The Peach State Ripens for Democrats | Center for Politics
Colin Gray, father of Apalachee school shooter, sentenced to 15 years in landmark Georgia case | Georgia Public Broadcasting
Thanks for reading The Weekly Remix. Did you know our daily digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.