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

‘Fish wrapper’: The AJC’s complicated relationship with Georgia’s political class

How generations of Georgia leaders battled, berated and depended on the AJC.

A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP

The man behind the vigilante sting operation that apparently netted a teenage GOP official says he has no regrets.

Groups tied to First Liberty accused of campaign finance violations

Two Republican groups linked to the defunct First Liberty Building & Loan likely sought to illegally influence Georgia elections, the State Ethics Commission charged Thursday.

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Credit: Jenni Girtman

A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP

‘Fish wrapper’: The AJC’s complicated relationship with Georgia’s political class

Groups tied to First Liberty accused of campaign finance violations

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Credit: Jenni Girtman

A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP

The man behind the vigilante sting operation that apparently netted a teenage GOP official says he has no regrets.

Why the Atlanta school board voted to close and repurpose some schools

Sixteen schools will be repurposed under the APS Forward 2040 plan as enrollment falls and the district seeks better resources for students.

Small-town Georgia DA brings almost as many RICO cases as Fulton’s Fani Willis

Griffin Judicial Circuit has brought 13 RICO indictments since June 2020.