Author

Before joining the Georgia Recorder, Ross Williams covered local and state government for the Marietta Daily Journal. His work earned recognition from the Georgia Associated Press Media Editors and the Georgia Press Association, including beat reporting, business writing and non-deadline reporting.
First defendant in Fulton County election interference case accepts plea agreement
By: Ross Williams - September 29, 2023
Scott Hall, one of 19 defendants in the Fulton County election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his allies, pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to five misdemeanor charges. Hall, a bail bondsman accused of entering the Coffee County elections office and illegally accessing voting equipment, is the first of the defendants to forge an […]
With shutdown looming, celebration for Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday starts early
By: Ross Williams - September 29, 2023
President Jimmy Carter will celebrate his 99th birthday Sunday, and the Carter Center in Atlanta has kicked off the party early. The main event will be held Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., with a birthday cake, food trucks, family-friendly games and activities, and stories from Dot Padgett, one of the original members of Carter’s […]
Georgia officials, honeybee experts working to take sting out of hornet invasion
By: Ross Williams - September 28, 2023
A tiny menace has been buzzing around Georgia’s coastal region and is trying to snatch up the state’s honeybees, but a team of scientists and state and federal employees are working to prevent the dangerous and disrespectful yellow-legged hornet from gaining a foothold in the Peach state. The hornet, which can grow to about an […]
Harris visits Morehouse as part of national HBCU swing to rally young voters
By: Ross Williams - September 26, 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris received a friendly welcome Tuesday afternoon when she stopped by Morehouse College in Atlanta as part of a national college tour. The crowd, which consisted of students from Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities, roared with applause as the VP took the stage for a moderated conversation which lasted about 45 […]
Cobb protesters complain superintendent sidestepped formal process to allow a TikTok book challenge
By: Ross Williams - September 14, 2023
The blowback over Georgia’s 2022 education policy overhaul continued in Cobb County Thursday as groups of protesters gathered to demand Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s job. Ragsdale struck a defiant tone at the evening meeting. “This situation is not over,” he said. “This situation is not about politics. This situation is not about faith-based or religious beliefs. […]
Georgia governor suspends gas tax, declares state of emergency over inflation
By: Ross Williams - September 12, 2023
Georgia motorists could soon be paying less at the pump thanks to a healthy state budget surplus, and analysts say they may get another surprise assist from the earth’s axial tilt. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday he plans to suspend the state’s fuel tax, declaring a state of emergency due to high levels of […]
Georgia lawmakers consider shrinking state’s dual enrollment options for high school students
By: Ross Williams - September 10, 2023
About 45,000 Georgia students participated in dual enrollment last year, taking college-level classes for both college and high school credit. If those students were all packed into one district, they would be the eighth-largest district in the state, said Jennifer Phinney, dual enrollment program specialist at the Georgia Department of Education. “It’s a significant population […]
Georgia GOP state senator rallies allies in call to punish Fulton DA over 2020 election indictments
By: Ross Williams - September 7, 2023
One group of Georgia state lawmakers is calling for a special legislative session to defund, investigate, impeach or otherwise punish Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after she charged former president Donald Trump and 18 others with trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. That group includes Republican Sens. Colton Moore of Trenton and […]
Federal judge rules Georgia can resume enforcing ban on hormone treatment for transgender minors
By: Ross Williams - September 5, 2023
Georgia can resume enforcing its new law banning hormone treatments for transgender children, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Republican lawmakers passed the controversial law this year, preventing transgender children from receiving estrogen or testosterone treatments. LGBTQ advocates said that amounted to medical discrimination against transgender people, as doctors could still prescribe those hormones for other […]
Georgia jobs plentiful, but working in so-called No. 1 place to do business reported to be pitiful
By: Ross Williams - September 4, 2023
Peach State politicos on both sides of the aisle like to tout Georgia as the best state in the nation to do business. But a new report from Oxfam America says Georgia may be one of the worst states to be a worker. “If you want to come in here and run a big business, […]
Kemp spurns calls for special session to discipline Fulton DA over election 2020 indictments
By: Stanley Dunlap and Ross Williams - August 31, 2023
Gov. Brian Kemp chastised a lawmaker on Thursday for demanding a special state legislative session in order to impeach the Fulton County prosecutor leading a sweeping election collusion case against Donald Trump and his inner circle. Kemp on Thursday joined state House Speaker Jon Burns on the list of Georgia GOP elected officials who have […]
One for the books as Trump and rest of Fulton 19 enter Georgia justice system over 2020 election
By: Ross Williams, Stanley Dunlap and Jill Nolin - August 25, 2023
This post was updated at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 25, 2023. At the end of a historic week at the Fulton County jailhouse, the criminal case against former President Donald Trump and his 18 allies also accused of subverting Georgia’s 2020 presidential election is just beginning. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump and the […]