Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 2005, actor, writer, and director Ossie Davis, born in Cogdell and married to actress Ruby Dee, died at 87. In 1995, he received the U.S. National Medal for the Arts.

What would you put on a vanity license plate? In today's Et Cetera section, check out some of the ideas that Georgia rejected last year. Learn more about vanity plates here.

Do you love Georgia? So do our 100,000 readers. Advertise in The Georgia Flyover and connect your business with passionate locals. Learn more.

Today's sponsor is Energous, offering an investment opportunity in the energy sector.

Public Safety Cameras See Mixed Results

In Savannah, a ShotSpotter gunfire detector alerted police to a location where shots were fired overnight Saturday. A Flock street camera captured the suspect's vehicle license plate, leading to an arrest. No injuries were reported.

Conversely, many of the state's 3,700 live-stream highway cameras went offline in recent days due to a technical glitch, leaving motorists and weather watchers blind to current conditions. State highway officials have said a fix is in progress.

A highway department spokesperson stated that, in the long term, the state plans to install more than 1,400 miles of broadband cable along interstate right-of-ways to improve the quality and reliability of the camera system.

State's Public Golf Courses Ranked

Right on cue, as spring-like weather arrives across the state, GolfPass has released its annual rankings of Georgia's top public golf courses based on reviews by everyday golfers.

Currahee Golf Club in Toccoa topped the list, with green fees running $125 to $145, offering dramatic elevation changes and "amazing mountain views from holes 1, 10, and 17, to name a few."

The rest of the top five are Arrowhead Pointe at Lake Richard B. Russell in Elberton, Lanier Islands Legacy in Buford, Bartram Trail in Evans, and Meadow Links in Fort Gaines. See the full list here.

Georgia Tech Tops 'Best Colleges' List

Georgia Tech topped Niche's 2025 list of Georgia's best colleges, receiving high marks for academics, professors, and value, despite lower scores for dorms and campus food.

Emory University in Atlanta, the University of Georgia in Athens, Mercer University in Macon, and Augusta University in Augusta complete the top five. See the full list here.

Georgia Tech also scored high in Niche's national rankings: No. 4 among public universities, No. 6 among best big colleges, and No. 7 among best colleges for engineering.

The rankings come as colleges across the state see enrollment gains, led by the University of West Georgia in Carrollton and Georgia Tech.

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Time's Running Out to Be Early on this Tech Investment

With such a tech-friendly new administration, 2025 is shaping up to be a year of innovations. One of those could be wireless power—power that acts like a Wi-Fi signal—from Energous.

It has the potential to save billions of dollars in inventory losses for retailers and manufacturers. That's why Energous is already working with a Fortune 10 multinational retailer and part of the AWS Partner Network. Their patented solution provides 2X the power and better visibility than the competition.

Though Energous is public, they're giving investors something you won't find on the Nasdaq:

1 unregistered convertible preferred share (convertible into 2 Nasdaq: WATT common shares)
3 warrants to purchase additional shares at a fixed price

Their patented technology literally transmits power to devices through the air, eliminating the need for cables and batteries and providing a constant, reliable energy source for IoT devices that track and deliver data in real-time.

It's such a powerful innovation that it earned "IoT Innovation of the Year" honors. And they have a $650 market opportunity ahead.

Don't wait—be early to this Energous opportunity while you can.

➤ Forsyth County: A fire destroyed local favorite BB's Bagels on Sunday night. The restaurant was closed, and no injuries were reported. (See Images)

➤ Morrow: A former local prep football star and Naval Academy graduate, Brian Ellis, 53, of Virginia, was among the passengers killed in last week's midair crash near Washington, D.C. (More)

➤ Jesup: Authorities reported that a body was discovered in a local home 17 days after the residence was damaged by fire. (More)

➤ Columbus: A video shows four Osprey aircraft refueling at the local airport en route from North Carolina to New Orleans for a training mission. (Watch)

➤ Statewide: Homeschooled students would be guaranteed access to college admission testing at their local public schools under a bill introduced by a group of state senators. (More)

➤ Valdosta: Shoppers fled Valdosta Mall on Sunday after hearing a gunshot, later determined to be an accidental firing by a teenager. An off-duty officer at the mall responded immediately. (More)

➤ The Atlanta Hawks' losing streak reached eight games with a 132-127 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. (More)

➤ Georgia Bulldogs stars Trevor Etienne and Dan Jackson received "Practice Player of the Week" awards for their outstanding performances at the Senior Bowl. (More)

➤ Young starting pitcher Ian Anderson will likely make his return to the Atlanta Braves rotation after the team's top remaining free agent target, Jack Flaherty, signed elsewhere. (More)

➤ Yesterday's results: NBA |NHL |NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer

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➤ United Parcel Service and several other publicly traded companies based in Georgia didn't escape Monday morning's stock selloff, with UPS shares down 2.6%. (More)

➤ Shoppers and special event promoters are optimistic that the financially struggling Town Center Mall in Kennesaw can rebound. (More)

➤ A small kitchen fire caused the evacuation and temporary closure of the Statesboro Mall on Sunday afternoon. (More)

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Charge Up Your Portfolio with this Tech Investment

What if a technology could charge IoT devices wirelessly, just like we connect devices to Wi-Fi? One company is helping make this a reality for enterprises as we speak. Their patented wireless power network technology eliminates cables and battery replacements by sending energy through the air.

Between retail, manufacturing, and logistics industries, this company is looking at $650 billion in market potential. But what they've created could also revolutionize fields like health care, transportation, and the food industry—any company using trackers or sensors to collect data to gain real-time visibility into the movement of its assets.

They've already been recognized as the "IoT Innovation of the Year" and landed a contract with a Fortune 10 multinational retailer, opening them up to 4,700 U.S. retail locations. Learn how to become an Energous shareholder today.

This is a paid advertisement for Energous' Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.energous.com for additional information on the company and the risk factors of the offering.

➤ Former President Jimmy Carter received a posthumous Grammy award for his audiobook, Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration, featuring recordings of his final Sunday School lessons. (More)

Conyers native Teddy Swims said he included a "pearl look" in his wardrobe for the Grammy Awards because a pearl is one of the birthstones for June, the month his child is due. (More)

Check out these vanity license plates Georgia rejected last year. (Watch)

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