Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Good morning! Coast Watch is back to its environmental focus today after a brief hiatus for election results last Wednesday. We do have one lingering overlapping issue: the PSC runoff on June 16. Otherwise, we have news about proposed developments on Jekyll, a countdown to hurricane season, and an update on red snapper season.

Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org

ENVIRONMENT: NEWS
Jekyll Island
The sign leading to Jekyll Island. Credit: Jeffery M. Glover/ The Current

Jekyll developments

The Jekyll Island Authority plans to develop a boutique hotel with up to 125 rooms on its golf course and expand the Beachview Club Hotel with more rooms and a new parking lot. But conservationists are calling for caution on this state-owned island, as The Current GA‘s Mary Landers reports. A petition launched by One Hundred Miles, Coastal Georgia Audubon Society and some Jekyll residents garnered over 2,000 signatures in a week, urging officials to “rein in overdevelopment before Jekyll Island is spoiled for Georgians forever.” Concerns include the impact on a popular birding site — the amphitheater pond — and the lack of public engagement or transparency in the planning process.

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ELECTIONS: NEWS
Josh Tolbert and Bobby Mehan, Republican candidates for Georgia’s District 5 Public Service Commission race, participates in the Loudermilk-Young Debate Series on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
Josh Tolbert and Bobby Mehan, Republican candidates for Georgia’s District 5 Public Service Commission race, participates in the Loudermilk-Young Debate Series on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Credit: Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

One PSC race heads to runoff

The primary elections for the state Public Service Commission narrowed down the field of candidates, with only the District 5 Republican seat heading into a runoff between engineer Josh Tolbert and mediator Bobby Mehan, as Georgia Recorder’s Alander Rocha reports.

Registered voters are eligible to cast a ballot in that June 16 PSC runoff if they voted in the Republican primary or if they did not vote on May 19. Voters who pulled a Democratic ballot last week cannot vote in any Republican runoff.

The other statewide race for a PSC seat in November will be a rematch between current commissioner Peter Hubbard and the former incumbent he defeated in November, Fitz Johnson. Johnson lost his seat after approving Georgia Power rate hikes that resulted in about a $500 increase per year for the average household.

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
NOAA predicts fewer than average Atlantic hurricanes this year.
NOAA predicts fewer than average Atlantic hurricanes this year.

Hurricane season starts June 1

NOAA forecasters predict a milder than average Atlantic hurricane season this year, with 8-14 named storms, including 1-3 major hurricanes. A strong El Nino weather pattern is expected to dampen hurricane activity in the Atlantic by creating strong wind shear that disrupts storm formation, as Seth Borenstein of The Associated Press reports. However, El Nino can increase storm activity in the Pacific, affecting regions like Japan and Korea.

Emergency managers caution that coastal residents should still prepare for hurricane season. “It only takes one storm to make for a very bad season,” said NOAA’s National Weather Service Director Ken Graham.

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Credit: Georgia DNR

Also noted

On Thursday, a federal court judge granted a preliminary injunction that halted plans for recreational fishing for red snapper in the South Atlantic, including in Georgia. NOAA Fisheries may file an appeal. With Georgia’s requested start date of July 1 fast approaching, the Georgia DNR indicated it will work on ensuring the agency is prepared should the injunction be lifted. Updates will be posted here as more information is made available.

At least a dozen manatees were temporarily stranded on Hutchinson Island in Savannah recently, as GPB‘s Jillian Magtoto reports. The animals got stuck on the wrong side of a sea wall for a few hours after the tide went out.

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Mary Landers is a reporter for The Current in Coastal Georgia with more than two decades of experience focusing on the environment. Contact her at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org She covered climate and...