The Macon Newsroom

21/11/2024

BREAKING NEWS: 100 new jobs in $600 million expansion of Irving Tissue in south Macon+Bibb County in the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority Sofkee Industrial Park.

Irving Tissue celebrated its fifth anniversary in Macon by announcing plans to give the community 100 new jobs in a $600 million expansion on Allen Road in south Bibb County. In Tuesday’s announcement, Gov. Brian Kemp noted Irving Tissue has invested about $1.5 billion since 2017 and initially bro...

20/11/2024

2024 will really go out with a bang in Macon+Bibb County. Here's the latest from City Hall.

When the dust settles from the New Year’s Eve implosion of the old Hilton hotel, Macon-Bibb County will have a clean slate for future riverfront development. Tuesday, the County Commission approved $2.475 million to hire Target Contractors to demolish the building at 12:59:59 on Dec. 31. “This h...

15/11/2024

Your Macon Water Authority bill is going up in 2025, but that's not all it will take to maintain and grow Macon+Bibb County's water and sewer system.

The Macon Water Authority’s highest rate increase in recent years takes effect next year, but it still won’t be enough to sustain the system in the future, financial experts say. Over the last five years, incremental 25-cent increases to the rate the authority charges for the amount of water use...

13/11/2024

This month's Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission meeting is a reminder of hurdles Macon+Bibb County historic district homeowners must clear.

Homeowners who failed to get necessary approvals for work in historic districts were the focus of Tuesday’s meeting of the Macon-Bibb County’s Planning & Zoning Commission. At 144 Beverly Place, new homeowner Jordan Graham installed a six-foot privacy fence across the back of her driveway withou...

06/11/2024

The Macon+Bibb County Commission funds sidewalk repairs, Riverside Cemetery and Conservancy maintenance, extra security for the courthouse and accepts playground upgrade at Lynmore Estates, grant for firefighters and a memorial tree for Washington Park.

Macon-Bibb County commissioners spent more time in executive session Tuesday evening than they did approving 13 items on the agenda, including allocating money for sidewalks, cemetery maintenance and other new contracts for services. To protect the Bibb County Courthouse after hours, Macon-Bibb Coun...

04/11/2024

Mental health professionals from River Edge Behavioral Health are partnering with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office to tackle issues affecting about a third of jail inmates. Here's what else is happening to diffuse tense situations in Macon+Bibb County and get folks some help.

Of the 1,045 inmates housed in the Bibb County jail in late October, Sheriff David Davis estimates more than 300 of them likely need mental health services or drug and alcohol recovery assistance. “It’s common knowledge, about 30% of the people who are incarcerated have some type of mental healt...

01/11/2024

Have you seen Macon+Bibb County's new Cliffview Lake Park?

Twenty years after the City of Macon purchased 21 acres around Cliffview Lake, local leaders cut the ribbon on a new park nestled between Houston Avenue and Antioch Road. In 2004, then-mayor C. Jack Ellis secured $52,000 to buy the land through Georgia Governor Roy Barnes’ Greenspace Trust that so...

31/10/2024

Here's look at Macon+Bibb County's new Cliffview Lake Park nestled between Houston Ave. and Antioch Road. Former mayor C. Jack Ellis acquired the land and Mayor Lester Miller and County Commissioners earmarked SPLOST dollars to polish this hidden gem of nature.

29/10/2024

Not everything approved by Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission gets built. Neighbors lost a battle over a truck stop on Sardis Church Road a few years ago, but something new is coming instead to south Macon+Bibb County.

Three years after Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning approved a sprawling new truck stop along Interstate 75, developers were back Monday with a new proposal for 5250 Sardis Church Road in south Bibb County. Foresite Group project manager Micah Hatley said the original deal with Travel Centers of A...

25/10/2024

Would you like a pedestrian bridge across the Ocmulgee, an expanded Cherry Street Plaza and better connectivity from downtown Macon+Bibb County to surrounding neighborhoods? Here's the Macon Action Plan XL that Urban Development Authority, NewTown Macon and local leaders will use to guide progress.

Macon visionaries are optimistic the award-winning success of downtown’s resurgence will spread into surrounding neighborhoods and lure more visitors to the urban core through the Macon Action Plan XL. Next on their horizon are 19 new strategies to capitalize on the likelihood of having Georgia’...

23/10/2024

Have you complained about Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission regulations or historic district guidelines? Now's the time to be heard about pending rule changes in Macon+Bibb County.

Every few months, Jeremy Rosier makes a trek to the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission to seek Design Review Board approval to use synthetic materials in historic renovations. The PVC material he prefers is more durable than today’s lumber, but it is not an acceptable material in the c...

21/10/2024

Have a question for Macon+Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller? Leave it in comments or email [email protected] before 9 a.m. Tuesday and you could be featured on .

17/10/2024

The mayor of Macon+Bibb County wants the United Daughters of the Confederacy to have a conversation with the NAACP about UDC's effort to honor a Black Confederate fifer at Rose Hill Cemetery. What do you think?

The biggest point of contention at Tuesday’s meeting of the Macon-Bibb County Commission was not even on the agenda. The commission suspended its rules Tuesday to allow three county commissioners to reverse prior votes cast in favor of honoring a Black Confederate fifer buried in an unmarked grave...

16/10/2024

South Macon+Bibb County homeowners oppose new church due to flood concerns and Lizella residents come out in force against a new business park. Here's the latest from Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission.

Congregation members of the House of Refuge tried to appease neighborhood opposition for a new church off Houston Road, but could not overcome fears that new construction would exacerbate persistent flooding in south Bibb County. More than two dozen neighbors joined several church members at Monday....

04/10/2024

The Macon Water Authority secures $113 million in bond deal for capital improvements, but needs more for the type of preventative maintenance that curtailed flooding in Macon+Bibb County.

The Macon Water Authority secured a fortuitous $113 million bond deal Thursday to finance nine capital improvement projects, but the money won’t be enough to avert expected rate hikes. Staff also compiled a list of more than $30 million in deferred maintenance projects anticipated in the FY 2025 b...

03/10/2024

Plans to expand Macon+Bibb County's Middle Georgia Regional Airport get a boost from Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority, public service retirees see a raise, NewTown Macon seeks grant to expand trail and commissioners divide over honoring a Black Confederate fifer.

Renovations at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport will get up to a $20 million financial boost from the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority under a bond deal the county authorized Tuesday evening. Macon-Bibb County Commissioners spent about 70 minutes in executive session before agreeing to purs...