Clear-cutting trees for billboards now law

Outdoor advertisers can start taking chain saws to trees that block their signs under legislation signed into law Thursday by Gov. Nathan Deal

House Bill 179 allows billboard owners to clear-cut trees on the public rights of way in front of their signs. The measure passed the Legislature this year after a decade-long battle between the industry and advocates of beautified highways.

Deal signed 115 other bills into law Thursday. Most were local legislation.

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April Hunt

Georgia judge rejects ‘mysterious’ GOP loyalty tests

Republican activists in rural Catoosa County wanted would-be GOP candidates to pass an ideological test before they could appear on the ballot. A judge said no.

How Georgia’s PSC races are already changing the midterm landscape

Georgia Democrats relied on a message of affordability to win two PSC seats. Could the same strategy work in the midterm elections?

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Ballrooms and Great Gatsby lose to high power bills in Georgia

Republicans in 2025 traded places with the Democrats of 2024, putting social issues and identity politics ahead of voters' top issue: the economy.

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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Georgia judge rejects ‘mysterious’ GOP loyalty tests

OPINION

Ballrooms and Great Gatsby lose to high power bills in Georgia

How Georgia’s PSC races are already changing the midterm landscape

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Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Prolonged shutdown could force 20% flight cuts, U.S. officials warn

The Federal Aviation Administration started reducing flights Friday at 40 major airports, which includes Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

With SNAP benefits in limbo, Atlanta residents step up to help

With SNAP benefits in limbo after a late-Friday Supreme Court decision, many metro Atlanta residents are putting their own money toward supporting those affected.

Study: Rents for low-wage Atlantans rose 9 times faster than for high earners

Rents for suburban workforce housing in the metro Atlanta region increased by almost 20%, while rents for luxury units increased by 2%, a study said.