| |  | | | Georgia falls short in latest retirement rankings; health care is a top concern | | If you plan on spending your golden years in the Peach State, you might want to think twice, according to a new report from WalletHub. Georgia ranks No. 32 among the 50 states — landing it in the bottom half of the list. The finance company’s 2025 “Best and Worst States to Retire” report evaluated states based on affordability, quality of life and health care, using 46 key metrics such as tax rates, food security and life expectancy. Each state received a score on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most retirement-friendly conditions. Georgia’s biggest drawback is its health care system, ranking No. 40 nationwide. A previous WalletHub report also found the state struggling with access to doctors and hospital beds, placing No. 43 and No. 46 in those categories. And if you think it couldn’t get any worse, Georgia has the third-highest rate of uninsured adults in the country — an alarming statistic for retirees who may need frequent medical care. | | |  | | | Jeff Hullinger taps his love of history with new GPB show ‘Georgia Legends’ | | Jeff Hullinger, who has been covering the news in Atlanta for four decades, has had a yen for history going back to his childhood. “I’d drive my parents crazy on road trips because I’d want to stop at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas or the Herbert Hoover library in Iowa,” Hullinger told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Now with Georgia Public Broadcasting, Hullinger is able to scratch his itch for quirky and interesting stories about the state with a new show called “Georgia Legends.” Each of the six episodes feature two stories including interviews with well-known Georgians like civil rights legend Xernona Clayton, Home Depot founder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and former Georgia governor Nathan Deal.
But it’s the offbeat stories that resonate. For instance, Hullinger explores a rivalry between two hot dog franchises, Macon’s Nu-Way Weiners and Atlanta’s Varsity.
READ MORE ABOUT GPB'S 'GEORGIA'S LEGENDS' | | |  | | | Jeff and Heidi McKerley are theater partners who prefer their drama onstage | | | Jeff McKerley and Heidi Cline McKerley are used to spending their personal and professional lives together, but it took a while to get to that point. Both have been theater colleagues and fixtures in the Atlanta area since the late ‘80s — and husband and wife for the last 15 of those years.
be shared with health care providers.
Their current collaboration is the third staging of Horizon Theatre’s popular, Suzi Award-winning “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” running through Feb. 23. Heidi has returned to direct, while Jeff is starring once again as the Prince.
READ MORE ABOUT THESE TWO VETERAN LOCAL ARTISTS | | |  | | | Special sections | | | In 2025, look for Aging in Atlanta special sections in Sunday editions of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in your ePaper and newspaper. Check ajc.com/aging for all the special sections, which will have more information on how you can live your best life. | | | | A message from DAYTONA BEACH AREA CVB | | | Go off the beaten path when you visit Daytona Beach this season | | |  | | | Getting away from the daily grind is easy in Daytona Beach. With 23 miles of sandy beaches and plenty of coastal charm, this is the perfect destination to step away and relax. Whether you’re outdoorsy, into art, a sports fan, ready to check out the nightlife, or up for it all, Daytona Beach has the right activities for you. Step beyond the shores and see what this great city has to offer. Book today. | | | | Here's how we're spending our time in The Big Peach this week | |
| | | |  | | | Immersive flower art installation opens in Woodruff Park in time for Valentine’s Day | | | Eness, an art and technology studio that has installed giant works of color-popping art structures in urban spaces around the world, is behind Atlanta’s latest immersive art exhibition opening in Woodruff Park on Feb. 13, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The opening coincides with love day because the whimsical, inflated creatures featured in Eness’ installation, entitled “Stem by Stem — Alien Boy Gives Me Flowers,” hug gardens of flowers in their curved, multicolored arms. The creatures look vaguely like octopuses with only two arms, have adorable, illuminated bug eyes and skin covered in kimono-inspired patterns. As visitors move through the installation, the artwork reacts, triggering bursts of color, pulsating synth sounds and ambient bird calls. | | | FIND OUT MORE HERE | | | |  | | | | | Make Chicheria Mexican Kitchen’s Pork Carnitas | | | Executive chef Juan Hormiga provided the recipe for these pork carnitas, which are served as fajitas with roasted peppers, charred green onions, guacamole, chipotle crema, rice sofrito, black beans and the restaurant’s foil-wrapped signature blue corn tortillas. The carnitas are also offered as tacos. One ingredient you may not have in your pantry is dried avocado leaf. These are available in stores that stock Mexican groceries. Hormiga suggests it can be omitted, or readers can substitute a few sprigs of thyme and one star anise pod to approximate the flavor added by the avocado leaf. | | | GET the RECIPE HERE | | | | |
