Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025
Good Morning! In the news today: It’s the first day of early, in-person voting for the Nov. 4 election (Hint). Also, another MAGA warrior comes to St. Simons pitching for support; Savannah State University’s new president sets the bar high; and the balance sheet for Bryan County’s proposed airport comes into focus. Finally, we note some things you may have missed. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: POLITICS
‘MAGA warrior’ Collins makes appeal
Venturing into the backyard of one of his Republican rivals, Mike Collins showed Monday why he is a serious threat to win the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in next year’s marquee election race in Georgia.
Speaking at a luncheon at a St. Simons restaurant sponsored by the Golden Isles Republican Women, the one-term congressman from Jackson in rural Butts County panned Ossoff as a “trust fund kid” who “never had a real job in his life.”
“This guy is bought and paid for by the California crazies and these New York nut jobs,” he added for good measure.
Collins’ knack for the caustic putdown delighted many in his audience of 90 people, who see him as a more charismatic alternative to 1st District U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter of St. Simons — another self-described “MAGA warrior” — and Gov. Brian Kemp’s handpicked, more middle-of-the-road candidate, Derek Dooley, The Current’s Jabari Gibbs writes.
NEWS: EDUCATION
Setting a high bar
Jermaine Whirl, Savannah State University’s new president, is nothing if not ambitious.
In his inaugural “state of the university” address last week, Whirl set the bar high for the 134-year-old institution, the oldest historically Black public university in Georgia, The Current’s Ellen Hunter reports.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to ensure that the orange and blue is well represented throughout the region and beyond,” Whirl told an audience of more than a hundred people gathered at the ballroom of the university’s student union. “This is the strategic plan for Savannah State.”
NEWS: GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Airport costs, benefits
Bryan County can expect $35 million in projected tax revenues over a 20-year period for a proposed new airport that needs at least $66 million in federal and state funds to build, according to an economic study paid for by airport supporters.
An airport housing 180 planes could result in annual taxes of approximately $1.2 million to Bryan County schools, $490,000 to the county and $340,000 to Richmond Hill, if the airport is built as envisioned, according to the study conducted by the Economic Impact Group, a Hall County-based consulting firm.
The five-page report does not describe the financing or costs of construction which an earlier consulting report said would total $183 million, The Current’s Maggie Lee writes.
The authority lobbying for the new airport said it would be a windfall for the county, but elected officials have not yet voted on the plan. The latest study is aimed at bolstering the supporters’ case.
NEWS: POLITICS
ICYMI
- Getting out to vote: Today is the first day of early, in-person voting for the November election. Check the website of your county election board for times and locations for casting ballots.
- Speaking of candidates (1): Peter Hubbard, District 3 candidate for the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) and a Democrat, faced off against an empty chair in last Thursday’s televised debate presented by the Atlanta Press Club in partnership with WABE. His opponent, Fitz Johnson, the Republican incumbent, declined the invitation to participate. The debate between District 2 candidates — the Republican incumbent Tim Echols and Democratic challenger Alicia Johnson of Savannah — was cancelled after both declined to participate.
- Speaking of candidates (2): Republicans said to be worried about “Democratic mobilization” in the PSC races.
- Speaking of voting: Skidaway Island’s Beth Majeroni, president of Ladies on the Right, hails the sale of Dominion Voting Systems to a “conservative firm” a victory for election integrity. “The tide is turning . . . . Ding, dong, Dominion is dead!” Majeroni writes on Facebook. Georgia uses Dominion voting machines.
- “No Kings Day”: Coastal Georgia for Democracy and the ACLU of Georgia host Savannah’s “No Kings Day” on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Emmett Park on E. Bay Street, starting at 1 p.m.
- Sheffield Island development: Real-estate developers promoting a housing project on Camden County’s Sheffield Island are hosting a public meeting from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Camden Community Recreation Center on 1050 Wildcat Drive in Kingsland. “Project representatives will provide an update on the project, listen to community concerns, and answer project-related questions,” the project’s website says.
- Drawing a line: Savannah’s planning commission votes to prohibit new hotels in the city’s Victorian, Streetcar and Carver Village neighborhoods.
- Not trickling down: Gov. Brian Kemp announced last month that for the 12th straight year, Georgia has been ranked the number one state to do business. An analysis of economic data by The Daily Yonder’s Charles Hayslett shows, however, that Georgia ranks 41st in the U.S. for per capita income, its lowest ranking in 40 years, as the state’s rural demographic implosion continues.
- Off-piste: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Rome) sounds the alarm over expiring health-care subsidies. “I’m carving my own lane,” she writes on X.
- Detainment continues: Immigration authorities have begun holding detained immigrants again at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla in Irwin County. Detentions at the center had stopped following whistleblower reports of abuse against women there.
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Mike Collins appeals to Golden Isles for US Senate seat
Mike Collins, a one-term congressman from Jackson, Georgia, is running for the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in next year’s election, and is presenting himself as a hard-working Georgian with a track record of passing bipartisan legislation.
Savannah State president shares ambitions for institution at university address
Savannah State University’s new president, Jermaine Whirl, has set an ambitious goal to upgrade the school’s infrastructure, enhance student success, and increase regional impact through industry partnerships.
Bryan County airport boosters tout airplane taxes as community benefit
If Bryan can attract 180 planes to an airport, it would be worth $2 million in local taxes, according to a new study for a plan that would cost about $66 million in federal and state money.
Analysis: How Georgia’s drop in per capita income presaged its rural demographic collapse – Part 2
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
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.
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