Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Good morning! On this day in 1936, actor Burt Reynolds was born. For decades, Reynolds claimed Waycross as his birthplace, though he was born in Lansing, Mich. Many of his top films, including Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, and The Longest Yard, were filmed in Georgia. Reynolds died in 2018.

Did you know that the team that makes The Georgia Flyover also produces a national publication called The Flyover? Click here to subscribe and stay up to date with the latest national headlines—without the bias of legacy media outlets.

Today, we’ll be sending you an offer to invest with our partner Boxabl. Boxabl is at the forefront of patented technology that will enable it to mass-produce housing at an unprecedented scale and cost.

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School Voucher Signup Nears

Families of qualifying K-12 students can soon apply for the state’s new $6,500 scholarships to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses.

The application period for the Georgia Promise Scholarship program opens on March 1. See the schedule of application and enrollment periods.

The start date remains unchanged even though the state has yet to finalize an updated list of “eligible attendance zones.” A message on the program’s website says the list is “coming soon.”

The initial list—released last year and including hundreds of low-performing schools—raised questions after qualifying up to 400,000 students to compete for the anticipated 22,000 available slots.

Funeral Services for Slain Officer This Week

Funeral services for slain Roswell police officer Jeremy Labonte will take place this week, with a public viewing on Tuesday and a funeral at 3 p.m. Wednesday, both at Roswell United Methodist Church.

The 24-year-old was “universally beloved by all who were blessed to know him as a friend, a husband, a son, and a public servant,” the Roswell police department said in a statement.

Over the weekend, the department parked an unoccupied police SUV outside of its headquarters as a public memorial, and the site quickly filled with flowers and other remembrances for the fallen officer.

More information was released about the suspect arrested in the officer’s shooting death. Edward Espinoza, 23, has past arrests for reckless conduct and public drunkenness.

Eagles Give Georgians Reason to Cheer

With the Atlanta Falcons’ season long over, many Georgia football fans rooted for the next best thing in Sunday’s Super Bowl: the state’s former college players in the game.

Savannah native Nolan Smith Jr. and five other University of Georgia alumni on Philadelphia’s defense helped shut down Kansas City’s offense, leading Philadelphia’s owner to give a post-game shoutout to the “Dawgs.”

Ahead of the game, Eagles quarterback and eventual Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts spoke of the former Bulldogs’ importance and “how they play together, who they are, and then I think it kind of seeps through the team in many ways.”

Former Georgia Tech wide receiver E.J. Jenkins also earned a Super Bowl ring on Sunday. The 2023 undrafted free agent played a backup role after getting promoted to the team’s active roster in December.

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➤ North Georgia: Residents braced for storms that could drench parts of the region, with 4 to 7 inches of rain forecast, prompting a flood watch for some areas. (More)

➤ Statewide: Many Georgians bypassed the state’s online gaming ban by traveling to Tennessee to place Super Bowl bets, a cybersecurity company said. (More)

➤ Atlanta: The city’s low-security federal prison is one of six federal lockups across the country housing suspected illegal immigrants arrested in recent weeks. (More)

➤ Rome: A Republican state senator introduced a bill that would protect average ratepayers from absorbing the costs of commercial data centers. (More)

➤ Douglas County: The county’s data centers ranked No. 4 in the nation for water consumption, a study found. (See Map)

➤ Statewide: Gov. Brian Kemp’s net approval rating ranks among the highest of any governor in the country, a poll found. (See Map)

➤ Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young was chosen as an injury replacement for the 2025 All-Star Game, marking the fourth appearance of his career. (More)

➤ The Atlanta Braves donated $100,000 to build batting cages for a high school baseball team. (More)

➤ Georgia football five-star recruit Keisean Henderson reaffirmed his intention to attend the University of Houston, putting a damper on the Bulldogs’ hopes of flipping him. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s results: NBA | NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer

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➤ Atlanta-based Georgia Pacific took a unique approach with its Angel Soft ad during the Super Bowl, encouraging viewers to take a bathroom break. (More)

➤ A research group forecast that Georgia will rank No. 1 in the country for franchise business growth this year, projected to add 34,000 franchise businesses. (More)

➤ Kinder Morgan has proposed a $3 billion natural gas pipeline expansion project in Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. (Details)

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➤ A study released just in time for Valentine’s Day found Atlanta ranks as the fourth-best U.S. city for a wedding after Orlando, Las Vegas, and Miami. (See Rankings)

➤ The Georgia Wine Highway promotion returns this spring, with dozens of North Georgia’s wineries offering free and discounted tastings from March 1 through May 31. (Details)

➤ The state wildlife division selected Grovetown fisherman Michael Mooney as the grand prize winner of the 2024 Georgia Bass Slam contest. (See Photo)

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