DA Accusations & Ethics

Sunday Solutions — Sept. 8, 2024

Good morning! Is fall on the way? Is this false fall? All we really know is that football season is here for real. Before you make your snack-food run to the store, here are few things to consider for half-time discussions.

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NEWS: HOUSING

A family’s search for safe space

Melissa Bullard lives in Glynn County, and last week she had a choice: Leave her daughter with strangers or stay together outside. While short-term help has delayed the tough decision, the sad fact is that they still have no long-term certainties. Glynn County reporter Jabari Gibbs spent time with Bullard and her daughter to understand the spiral of events that pulled her into a world with fewer and fewer safe options. In the meantime, county officials stall movement on the offers of community help for hundreds of homeless constituents, many caught in a web like Bullard.

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Read and win

The quiz is ready to see how closely you’ve been following the news. Here’s a few short questions related to stories we published in recent weeks. Below you’ll find our leaderboard with the top scores from the previous week, and the overall leaderboard, which tracks scores over time.

Make sure you compete every week and leave your nickname for a chance to win an exclusive prize from The Current!

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NEWS: POLITICS

Politics, ethics or both?

Last week, Chatham District Attorney Shelena Cook Jones wrote a letter of complaint accusing her challenger, Andre Pretorius, of improper dealings in a Chatham-Savannah Narcotics Team case. Cook Jones, Democratic nominee for the office, said his work forced her office to give up $100,000 in seized funds from a money-laundering case. Pretorius, the Republican nominee, said he made no deal but worked with CNT commander Michael Sarhartt who asked for advice. Cook Jones, who’s faced ethical questions of her own, says she plans to report the behavior to the state bar. Pretorius says he did nothing unethical because the person suspected of a crime was dead. Public safety reporter Jake Shore has spent time gathering context for the tangle of accusations wrapped in politics.

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NEWS: JOBS

Safety reports fall short

Last week, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration acknowledged that not all traumatic injuries occurring on the Hyundai Metaplant site have been reported — and not all have to be, despite some serious outcomes for the employees who were injured. OSHA has no record of receiving reports for at least four of 20 injuries, according to the Department of Labor, including incidents in which an employee’s leg was run over by a forklift and another in which a worker was struck between the eyes with a metal pipe. It is possible these incidents may not have met federal reporting requirements, they say. The Current’s Amira McKee talked to OSHA about the reports and fines, inspections and processes used to track injuries at the sprawling site.

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Updates

• Carr: Kemp can’t be forced to hold hearing on State Election Board: Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says an informed citizen’s action isn’t enough to spark action by governor. Critics say law’s wording is ambiguous. From Capitol Beat.
• Georgia House Democrats call for legislative special session, but governor unlikely to oblige: Following the Barrow County school shooting, legislators ask for hearings on firearms storage and safety bills that were ignored last session. From Georgia Recorder.
• Georgia lawmakers reconsider bills to hold adults accountable for firearm safety: Already scheduled, a state senate committee convenes a timely meeting to discuss bills on tax credits for safe firearms storage. From Georgia Recorder.

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INVESTIGATIVE: EDITORS CHOICE

☕ Your second cup: Pay for performance

Here’s something you won’t hear much from your Sunday editor: If you are planning to watch NFL football today, be sure to watch the cheerleaders. But do it only after you read today’s Second Cup story. Then, decide if they had to prep and practice as long and are working as hard as a kicker or the mascot or the hot dog vendor.

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