Sunday Solutions — Aug. 10, 2025
Good morning! We’ve got news and updates on airport plans in Bryan County, the Weeping Time land, and state and national stories with local implications. And, we’ve found new research on why dogs really may be our best friends. Go. Fetch.
NEWS: GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Richmond Hill looks to fly
It was a quiet start, but the idea of a general aviation airport in Richmond Hill is getting some lift. On Aug. 18, the members of a new Richmond Hill-Bryan County Airport Authority will be sworn in and they’ll pick up where the Richmond Hill City Council left off with a feasibility study charting the course for the airport project. Now, as The Current‘s Lily Belle Poling reports, the panel will have to work through a hefty price tag of $128 million and a lack of transparency for the process so far. Officials say the airport won’t cost local taxpayers a dime, and Poling reports that the new authority will have to issue bonds and get private investment to make that happen. Citizens weighing in say they’ll want to see those receipts.
NEWS: LIBERTY COUNTY
4 days: County impact fees, a mass shooting
Liberty County’s week started calmly enough with a public discussion Tuesday of how to pay for infrastructure that’s sorely needed as the county copes with sprawling growth. Then on Wednesday, schools went on lockdown and the county was jarred by a shooting on post at Fort Stewart where 5 soldiers were injured. Thursday brought a visit from the Secretary of the Army to commend 6 soldiers whose efforts saved lives as they worked to save those shot and subdued the sergeant who used his own gun to shoot them.
- Read Liberty County reporter Robin Kemp’s detailed explanation of how an impact fee ordinance could affect homebuyers and large and small construction projects.
- Read Kemp’s report from the commendation ceremony and the questions of safety on post that the shooting raises.
🎉 Congratulations to Phil for knowing that last week’s Spyglass was the burial spots for soldiers from the fort and British soldiers. at Fort King George in Darien. We had 6 correct answers last week — let’s see how you do this week.
Test how well you spy details in Coastal Georgia. Give us the location of the item in the photo above. Some spots may be easier to identify than others; some will be tougher but all are accessible to the public. We’ll collect correct answers each week and draw for a weekly winner.
CLICK HERE TO GIVE YOUR ANSWER
NEWS: HISTORY
‘Weeping Time’ location for sale
The location of one of the nation’s largest sales of enslaved people is now for sale. The overgrown 35 acres holding derelict structures was once the home of the Ten Broeck Race Course and, more recently, Dixie Plywood. Sales collateral touts it as prime industrial land, reports Eric Curl at Savannah Agenda. Many may remember the lawsuits around the sale of land adjacent to the site in recent years. An archaeological survey in 2021 found that the race course, site of the 1859 auction of more than 400 human beings, was located on the land currently for sale. All of this begs the question of what’s next for the Weeping Time Cultural Heritage Corridor Authority, chartered under a bill passed in the 2024 legislature and sponsored by Rep. Carl Gilliard, and for the city of Savannah whose mayor has pledged to see the location’s story preserved.
NEWS: UPDATES & MORE
Health cuts, smashed windows and a prison lawsuit
- Trans people in Georgia prisons are being forced to detransition. Now they’re suing: A new state law results in denied health care to state transgender prisoners. From The 19th*
- Staff cuts at a little-known federal agency means trouble for local health programs: Grants supported Healthy Start programs for rural Georgia, a state already facing serious maternal health crises. From KFF Health News.
- Smashing windows: ICE raises questions of reasonable force: ProPublica reports on immigration officers’ using early force to pull drivers from vehicles on basic traffic stops. They check the data and the policies on use of force.
Find more updates today on state officials, candidates and work on absenteeism, student math scores, campaign funding, and the falling vaccination rates for kindergartners at TheCurrentGA.org.
FROM THE CURRENT
Saying farewell
One day in late May, you might’ve thought you heard thunder but, in truth, it was the sound of our amazing summer fellows hitting the ground running. And they tackled their reporting with a storm’s fury. We’ve been so happy to have them with us through actual summer squalls. Tyler Davis, from Jacksonville, heads back to her last semester at American University via a semester in Copenhagen; Domonique King, from Hinesville, returns to Mercer University for her final year; and Lily Belle Poling will hit the road to Yale with a detour to her home in Montgomery. Ellen Hunter won’t be far away — she’ll be at Savannah State for a final semester, and we’re very glad she’ll be close by. We thank them for their hard work this summer, and we thank you, our loyal readers for your support for this fellowship program that plays such a integral role in supporting the next generation of journalists.
EDITORS CHOICE: HEALTH
☕☕ Your second cup: Dog days & stress
Here’s a reason for us to take our dog’s advice to wag more and bark less. New research suggests that dogs might have a deeper and more biologically complex effect on humans than scientists previously believed. A research team at the University of Denver has found that dog owners have been shown to have a 24% lower risk of death and a four times greater chance of surviving for at least a year after a heart attack. Read why man’s best friend may also be the best preventive medicine.
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Richmond Hill airport plans cruise ahead despite questions about cost, transparency
By Lily Belle Poling
The Richmond Hill City Council is considering building a new airport estimated to cost $128 million with the goal of increasing tax revenue and providing much-needed hangar space for local aviators. Residents have expressed concerns about the increased traffic, noise, and lack of transparency surrounding the project.
Georgia’s kindergarten vaccination rates decline as more parents claim exemptions
By Rebecca Grapevine/Healthbeat
Georgia’s childhood vaccination rates are decreasing, with 86.8% of the state’s children fully up-to-date on their required vaccines and an exemption rate of 4.8%, raising concerns as the US sees the highest number of measles cases since the early 1990s.
Fort Stewart soldiers honored for bravery in subduing shooter
By Robin Kemp
Six Fort Stewart soldiers were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for their quick actions to subdue a soldier who shot 5 troops and to provide lifesaving aid to the wounded.
Georgia attorney general sues GOP primary opponent over campaign fundraising
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
Chris Carr, Georgia’s attorney general and a candidate for governor, has filed a lawsuit against his Republican primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, over a campaign finance issue involving Jones’ use of a “leadership committee” to lend his campaign $10 million.
Georgia Milestones test: Students improve in math but struggle in English
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia students posted modest academic gains in most tested grades and subjects last school year, except in English Language Arts, where fifth and eighth graders posted the biggest drops in proficiency rates, and math, where eighth grade saw the biggest gain.
Trans people in Georgia prisons are being forced to detransition. Now they’re suing.
By Candice Norwood/The 19th
A group of incarcerated transgender women and men have sued Georgia corrections officials, challenging a new law that prevents them from receiving gender-affirming medical care, arguing that it violates the Eighth Amendment and will have “catastrophic consequences” for the nearly 300 other people in Georgia state prisons.
Liberty County commission to hold impact fee hearings
By Robin Kemp
Liberty County is proposing a plan to charge developers impact fees for increased pressure on basic services, with some exemptions allowed under state law, and citizens can comment on the plan at two public hearings.
Georgia AG supports lawsuit challenging Savannah gun storage ordinance
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has supported a lawsuit challenging a Savannah ordinance restricting the storage of firearms, arguing that it is superseded by state law and infringes on Second Amendment rights.
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