Sunday Solutions — March 3, 2024
Good morning! Crossover Day 2024 at the Georgia General Assembly has come and gone. We’ve got a look at where your elected reps are on your priorities and what’s left on the table. In the meantime, there’s this public safety question: If you need an ambulance, will the driver be able to find your house? Will your elected officials let you know if there’s a problem? Does a case of Covid drop your IQ? Research seems to say so. Those things to ponder and more…
Ambulances: Can’t get there from here
Early last week The Current reported that Chatham County’s relatively new $6 million computer-assisted dispatch system for emergency vehicles couldn’t access usable addresses for 2,200 households. The accurate navigational data wasn’t available to ambulance operators and hadn’t been for a bit; instead, they had to use Google Maps to find you. Officials said the info was in the mapping system but it needed to be “manually” connected. Commissioners and the general public hadn’t been notified of the shortcoming, and it wasn’t discussed openly at Friday’s commission meeting. Public safety reporter Jake Shore got an update from officials after the open county commission meeting: It wasn’t 2,200 addresses, it was close to 3,000. And still, no map or hint of where the gaps are was available. We’re still waiting on the results of a Georgia Open Records request for the affected addresses. However, county commission Chairman Chester Ellis asked for patience, and the communications staff issued a statement later Friday to say the missing addresses would be linked by early this week. We’ll update as we know more.
Crossover leads to final sprint
Thursday, Day 28, was a marathon for the Georgia General Assembly as both the House of Representatives and Senate worked to pare tasks for the final days of this year’s 40-day session. Surviving bills get to stay on the table for consideration and, like in a scary movie, some of those left for dead could morph into new skins and show up again. Only time will tell. Before the session started, The Current asked readers for their priorities for this year’s assembly. Craig Nelson looks at the results and compares them to the actions so far as we head into the last days of the session. Spoiler alert: You may, or may not, be surprised.
Another legislative note: A new compromise bill to set a three-year moratorium on mining near the Okefenokee Swamp didn’t make it to a vote. The Current’s Mary Landers took a look the two bills left on the table and the campaign finances behind the Twin Pines Minerals effort to stop them.
How did you fare?
Last week’s news quiz brought new and familiar names to the leaderboard.
Leaderboard 2/25/24:
First Place (10/10): Peaches
Second Place (9/10): Maryanna
Third Place (7/10): Mikey, Chris
Overall Leaderboard:
First Place – Peaches
Second Place – SG Mark
Third Place – Sandy B
Want your chance to be featured in next week’s leaderboard? Just take the weekly quiz with a few questions based on last week’s news. Leave a first name or nickname so we can keep track of your score and track your average scores over time. Will there be a prize in your future? Here’s the link to this week’s quiz.
Power generation for the future
While the legislature was whizzing through Crossover Day, the Public Service Commission — the group we all elect to monitor and set utility rates — was hearing from the public about Georgia Power’s latest request to add capacity for next few years. The utility says it will need more capacity to deal with growth and wants to implement a strategy that includes more fossil fuels along with renewables. The PSC heard from a variety of speakers who encouraged them to look at other and newer options to grow. Grist/WABE’s Emily Jones covered the hearings and reports on the reasons for the request and the options suggested. It’s all important because, eventually, these discussions will affect how much we all pay for power and will give insight into the candidates for PSC as we head into an election year.
Get out: Morning walks
If you’re looking to explore a bit and get your steps in, this note is for a healthier you. Healthy Savannah sponsors a free community walk every Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. in various places around Chatham County. Coming up, you can explore Bonaventure Cemetery (Tuesday), Police Memorial Park Trail (March 12) and L. Scott Stell Park (March 19). They’ve been doing this for 4 years; you can celebrate that anniversary March 26 with a walk on the Truman Linear Trail. For details and weekly starting points, click here.
Your second cup: The long (Covid) view
If you say you’re sick of reading about Covid, there are two stories out this week that might reel you back in even as Covid levels remain very high in Georgia. Covid is not like any other “bug” we’ve ever seen, and we can’t just swat it away. Whether you’ve experienced the after effects of the virus or know someone who has, you know it’s a strange beast. Researchers only now have enough longer term research to start putting pieces together to help.
First, a story about new research that the commonly cited “brain fog” from Covid has a longer tail and can permanently drop our IQs. The Conversation has a fairly thorough explainer about the effects and work to see what’s happening in our brains following a bout with Covid.
Second, we link to a Q&A with Dr. Ian Simon, director of the U.S. Office of Long Covid Research and Practice. The interview is done by data journalist Betsy Ladyzhets, the premier reporter on Covid and Long Covid since the virus hit our radar in late 2019. These two are worth your time if you’ve had Covid or know someone who has.
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Chatham officials: Ambulance mapping software should be updated soon
Approximately 3,000 addresses were not properly linked to the mapping software provided by CentralSquare Technologies, according to a county spokesperson.
Crossover Day wrap-up: new immigration laws, power company rules and state white shrimp homage
Lawmakers raced to get their bills out of at least one chamber by the close of Crossover Day, when a bill must pass out of at least one chamber for a smooth path to the governor’s desk.
As state house sprints toward session’s end, it’s hit and miss for Coastal Georgia priorities
Early this year, readers gave us a look at priorities for the statehouse this year. At Crossover, we look at how those match up with the work.
As compromise mining bill advances, a look at Twin Pines’ contributions
Despite having enough co-sponsors to ensure the bill’s passage on the floor of the Georgia House of Representatives, the Okefenokee Protection Act languishes in committee. Contrast that to the speedy progress of HB 1338 that’s been touted as a compromise.
PSC hears calls for newer sources of energy as Georgia Power needs expand
Regulators consider utility’s request for more capacity while lawmakers look at high-energy data centers.
Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark, including with significant drops in IQ scores
In addition to brain fog, COVID-19 can lead to an array of problems, including headaches, seizure disorders, strokes, sleep problems, and tingling and paralysis of the nerves, as well as several mental health disorders.
EPD offers plan to aid private wells impacted by Hyundai’s water use
Georgia regulators offer a plan to help well owners impacted by Hyundai’s water use, but Bulloch residents remain frustrated.
Prosecutors file new, tougher charges against Savannah Jan. 6 defendant who turned down plea deal
Box, 34, had agreed last year to a deal offered by prosecutors — which would have seen him plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress — before he withdrew from the agreement.
Georgia House OKs bill to provide gun-safety tax credits, prevent tracking of firearm purchases
The Georgia House passed two pieces of gun legislation Tuesday, teeing them up for a potential vote in the Senate, one with bipartisan agreement and one with partisan rancor.
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