Sunday Solutions — June 29, 2025
Good morning! Today we’ve got a look at the latest salvo in the battle over funding between the Brunswick district attorney and the counties he represents, a new strategic plan for Savannah, memories of a happy place and some news from the state.
Solutions will take a break next Sunday, but we’ve got great stories lined up for the holiday week, so be sure to bookmark thecurrentga.org for updates and good reads.
Enjoy your holiday! — Susan
NEWS: GOVERNING
Brunswick DA vs. counties: War heats up
Brunswick prosecutor Keith Higgins serves 5 counties, has a backlog of 2,400 felony cases to handle with 6 prosecutors. He’s been sparring with the commissions of the counties over his nearly $ 1 million in budget overruns and he’s sued them for the funding he needs to run the office. Now the counties have dropped the next weapon: a formal complaint to the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council that seeks to have Higgins removed from his job for “willful misconduct in office, persistent failure to perform duties.” Glynn County reporter Jabari Gibbs reports on the move. Read the complaint, Higgins’ response and the context for it all.
EXPLAINER: HEALTH CARE ACCESS
When Georgia sets example
Margaret Coker, for The Current and ProPublica, has been following the status of the state’s Medicaid experiment, Georgia Pathways to Coverage. Over the past few months, her series of articles have broken down how your state tax money is spent, how red tape constricts coverage, and how many people have been able to get better health insurance under the plan. Georgia Pathways is now the example the U.S. Congress is following as it writes a similar bill with work requirements for the entire country. Coker’s latest explainer on how the national plan would look — based on Georgia’s plan — talks to health care analysts and former state Medicaid officials about the measure. The experts conclude the congressional bill, if it becomes law, would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in administrative costs as it is implemented while threatening health care for nearly 16 million people. Get the full Q&A breakdown here.
NEWS
Writing, power bills and more
- Georgia schools mandate cursive writing in new curriculum standards: Students will have to learn to read and write in cursive once again, starting this year.
- Georgia Power rate freeze plan faces scrutiny over storm cost exemptions: Critics tell PSC panel that the power-bill rate freeze really isn’t one.
- Federal judge halts Georgia law restricting youth access to social media: Court says the block for younger users is a free speech issue.
- Georgia public universities back new multi-state accreditation model: Southern states want to set their own rules instead of using national standards.
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FEATURE: COMMUNITY
Places in the heart: Jim Collins’ bar
Sometimes there’s something off the news that’s just worth sharing. Today we bring you a piece written by retired journalist Herbert Buchbaum and posted in The Savannahian. It’s a look at the community of a small bar with a great jukebox and lively conversations. Read it here.
EXPLAINER: GOVERNING
Savannah sets direction
Sometimes when you see a reference to a strategic plan for representatives you elect, you probably don’t know what’s in it or how it came to be. The new Savannah GPS strategic plan may be a bit different. Council approved it unanimously last week but only after a few more tweaks from a year of public suggestions and conversations. The plan aims to address concerns such as affordable housing, homelessness, crime, and public safety, while promoting fair access to economic opportunities, investing in workforce development programs, and increasing investment in underinvested areas.
The Current’s Tyler Davis explains the process and the points in the plan.
NEWS: TECHNOLOGY
☕ Your second cup: Are machines blind?
In the past few years, studies have shown people often trust machines to make fairer choices than humans. However, the computer screenings are only as good as the programming that goes in. One example from this week comes in a story from the Wall Street Journal: Derek Mobley was looking for a job, so he went online and loaded his resume to a top-ranked online job-matching service where the experienced IT professional met only rejection in 100 tries. Mobley, who later found a job through a human interview, is now suing because he believes the algorithm screened him out of contention based on age, race and disabilities. Read how this case opens more questions about the less-human side of hiring and the very real effects.
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Counties file complaint before the state seeking to remove Brunswick DA
By Jabari Gibbs
Commissioners of the five counties served by the Brunswick Judicial Circuit have filed a joint complaint seeking to remove District Attorney Keith Higgins from his position due to financial mismanagement and conduct, citing a lack of cooperation in a forensic audit and a grand jury empaneled by Higgins.
What Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement tells us about costs of ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
By Margaret Coker
Georgia spent $55M to build the verification system for its Medicaid work requirement policy, currently the only one in the nation. But in their draft bill, GOP leaders have allocated just $100M to help all 50 states stand up similar systems.
Savannah council approves new GPS strategic plan
By Tyler Davis
Savannah’s new strategic plan, approved by City Council, aims to increase public safety, invest in equitable community development, expand economic access, develop world-class environment and infrastructure, improve quality of life, and always be a high-performing government.
Georgia schools mandate cursive writing in new curriculum standards
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia has reinstated the teaching of cursive writing in its schools, with students now required to learn how to read and write in cursive by the fifth grade, in order to strengthen fine motor development, improve literacy, and connect students to historical documents.
Georgia Power rate freeze plan faces scrutiny over storm cost exemptions
By Dave Williams
Georgia Power and the state Public Service Commission’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff have proposed a rate freeze for three years, but it does not include storm damage recovery costs, with the company expected to seek recoupment of the estimated $860 million sooner rather than later.
Federal judge halts Georgia law restricting youth access to social media
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Thursday against enforcement of a 2024 Georgia law that sought to limit social media companies’ access to children. This story also appeared in Capitol Beat News Service The Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act sailed through the General Assembly with broad bipartisan support and was […]
Georgia public universities back new multi-state accreditation model
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
The University System of Georgia has joined with five other public systems in the South to establish a new accreditation model, prioritizing academics and student outcomes, and aims to increase accountability and drive meaningful innovation.
Buddy Carter nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
By Craig Nelson
U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter has nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “extraordinary and historic role” in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in an effort to gain the president’s favor in his bid to take on U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff in next year’s marquee election race.
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