Sunday Solutions — Oct. 12, 2025
Good morning! If this cooler weather is inspiring you to get some long-dormant chores done, take a break with us today. We’ve got a beautiful photo story on area oyster farming, a primer on health care subsidies and costs, a look at how Georgia stacks up in per capita income rankings and tips to help you figure out what’s what online. Next advice? Enjoy your day.
EXPLAINER: PHOTO ESSAY
Where do baby oysters come from?
From Coastal Georgia, of course. Georgia-grown food means shellfish farms, too, as the UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Shellfish Research Lab provides the seeds for the oyster farms in Coastal Georgia. With a change in state law, local oyster farmers can provide the salty delicacies in months that don’t end in R. The Current GA‘s visual journalist Justin Taylor has followed the farming process through its first summer season. If you want a clear view of how it all works, check out his photo essay from Tybee Oyster Company.
READ THE REPORT
See Georgia how stacks up in CO2
Georgia has cut its carbon dioxide emissions per capita in half over about 20 years, as Georgia Power has shifted away from coal toward natural gas, The Current GA’s partner newsroom WABE reports.
That’s a key takeaway from a national report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which puts Maryland just above Georgia for reducing carbon dioxide.
NEWS: HEALTH CARE ACCESS
The affordable care, er, budget fight
The federal shutdown continues and Congress remains deadlocked on measures to continue the subsized rates for the Affordable Care Act. Estimates say the higher rates set for January could leave 40% of Georgians underinsured. So, since that’s what our elected officials are haggling over, it’s a good time to get up to speed on the issue and try to stay ahead of the swirling dis- and misinformation out there on it.
- Health insurance subsidy standoff pits affordable care for millions against federal budget constraints: This thorough explainer pulls in experts on health care access and health law to breakdown the subsidies in question and how they work. From The Conversation.
- Georgians start reviewing health insurance plans ahead of open enrollment: This look at the ACA marketplace in Georgia explains how it works, what you’ll see and what state residents can expect.
- How much and why ACA Marketplace premiums are going up in 2026: The health system tracker from Peterson-KFF is a primer on economic factors to push costs higher — labor, inflation, tariffs, policy and provider consolidation.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene sounds alarm over expiring health care subsidies as shutdown continues: Why some GOP faithful are holding out, too. From Georgia Recorder.
- Report: Ending Affordable Care Act subsidies could raise Georgia health costs by $2 billion: From The Current‘s Margaret Coker about the threat to rural health care.
- Fact Focus: Democrats did not shut down the government to give health care to ‘illegal immigrants’: From The Associated Press, a look at the rumors about who qualifies for government health benefits. Hint: It’s not undocumented residents.
🎉 Congratulations to Sue for knowing that last week’s Spyglass was Midway Congregational Church in Midway. We had 4 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. We’ll collect correct answers each week and draw for a weekly winner.
CLICK HERE TO GIVE YOUR ANSWER
NEWS: UPDATES
Letting data lead
A couple weeks ago, we featured the first part of a series by demographer Charles Hayslett about the declining population of rural Georgia. This week, we bring the second installment and a discussion of the state of the state’s per capital income or PCI. While the state may consistently be a top state for doing business, it’s dropped to 41st for per capita income, and that’s the worst ranking in 40 years. Hayslett breaks down what that means. Click here to read the explanation of how those mismatched rankings affect the area we affectionately call “NotLanta.”
EXPLAINER: MEDIA
☕ Your second cup: What you see
People say, “Believe half of what you see
Son, and none of what you hear”
The lyrics from “Heard it Through the Grapevine” nails it. If social media is the grapevine, we can’t believe what we see there either. The images that are a cross between photographs and computer-generated graphics are called “AI Slop” and they are permeating your social media feeds. Some images may lead you to laughter while others may be leaving you to make decisions using fake impressions on serious topics. While the technology is quite scary, some of us have been reveling in the dog and cat podcaster videos. Here’s an explainer about it all from The Conversation to help us all be more vigilant about what we see.
FROM THE CURRENT
Please welcome…
Katie Nussbaum joins The Current in a part-time role as a development consultant. She’ll be working with the team to help ensure The Current‘s sustainability. Most recently, she worked at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, where she helped lead media relations. From 2012 to 2022, she worked as a reporter for the Savannah Morning News covering local government, business and community issues. Contact her at katie.thecurrentga@gmail.com.
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Analysis: How Georgia’s drop in per capita income presaged its rural demographic collapse – Part 2
By Charles Hayslett/The Daily Yonder
Before a collapse in Georgia’s rural counties population, a decade of drops in per capita income lay the foundation for future trouble.
Georgians start reviewing health insurance plans ahead of open enrollment
By Sofi Gratas/GPB News
Georgians can start comparing health insurance plans now before open enrollment starts on Nov. 1, but premiums are expected to increase in January due to proposed rate hikes from insurers and the potential expiration of federal tax credits.
Georgians can now get updated Covid shots at pharmacies without a prescription
By Rebecca Grapevine/Healthbeat
Georgians should now be able to get the updated Covid vaccines at pharmacies without a prescription after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the latest federal guidelines. This story also appeared in Healthbeat The same goes for access at county health departments, the state Department of Public Health said in a Tuesday press […]
Marjorie Taylor Greene sounds alarm over expiring health care subsidies as shutdown continues
By Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has broken with her party’s leadership to challenge both parties on the issue of rising health care costs, which would significantly increase health insurance premiums for Georgians if enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits were allowed to expire at the end of the year.
Judge’s ruling pauses construction of massive poultry project near Satilla River
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
A proposed south Georgia chicken plant has been put on hold after a Coffee County judge found it would likely harm locals’ health and property values, as well as damage the nearby Satilla River.
GA halves per capita greenhouse gas emissions
By Emily Jones/WABE, Grist
Georgia has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions per person by nearly half in the last 20 years, but still has a long way to go to further cut emissions and fight climate change.
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