Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025
Good Morning! In the news today: Perils ahead as federal government shutdown grinds on; limiting expansion of tourism-related accommodations in Savannah; and a candidate forum in Liberty County. Finally, we note some things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: GOVERNING
Shutdown perils
As the federal government shutdown grinds on, some perils loom ever closer: as of Oct. 15, active-duty military will stop receiving their paychecks; a further dismantling of federal environmental science, enforcement and conservation agencies; and millions of mothers, infants and low-income families who rely on WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) and the SNAP (Supplemental Assistance Program) could lose that support in a long-term shutdown.
And then there’s the possibility permanent cuts to what President Trump called “Democrat Agencies, most of which are political SCAM.” Georgia has about 81,000 federal employees, and they make up about 5% of the 1st Congressional District’s workforce.
Coastal Georgia Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter suggested last week that any laid-off federal workers will quickly land on their feet: “We need workers, and I don’t think they’ll have any trouble whatsoever finding jobs in the 1st District.”
Carter, a multimillionaire, announced last week that, just as he did in a shutdown in 2019, he was voluntarily giving up his paycheck on his $174,000 annual congressional salary until the budget impasse ends. U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff reportedly did the same. No immediate word on whether his colleague, Raphael Warnock, has followed suit.
NEWS: COMMUNITY
Tourism creep
For years Savannah residents in districts south of Forsyth Park have worried whether the city’s expanding tourism industry would creep into their communities and undermine their standard of living, repeating what they believe has occurred downtown due to the increase in hotels and traffic and the decrease of fulltime residents.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission is set to ease many of those concerns today as they take up a proposal to expand the city’s ban on large hotels in the Victorian, Streetcar and Carver Village neighborhoods, from the north end of Forsyth to Victory Street, and west from Ogeechee Road to East Broad Street. The Current’s Margaret Coker reports.
NEWS: POLITICS
Candidates talk transparency
A rundown Butler Avenue where cellular phone service is meager to non-existent. The lack of new businesses. Tardy posting of city council minutes.
Those were some of the complaints aired last week at a candidate forum in Midway sponsored by the Liberty County branch of the NAACP. But all of those grievances paled in comparison to one: the lack of transparency from City Hall, both from the mayor’s office and the city council chambers, The Current’s Robin Kemp reports.
NEWS: POLITICS
11 things for your radar
- Jackson honored: State Rep. Edna Jackson (District 165), the first Black woman to serve as mayor of Savannah, was honored with the Chairman’s Award at the Georgia Democratic Party’s Carter-Lewis Dinner in Atlanta on Friday. “Her leadership, wisdom, and commitment to progress make her a true role model,” said party chairman Charlie Bailey, while Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a featured speaker at the dinner, lauded her for her “dedication and lifetime advocacy for human rights and a better future for all of Georgia.”
- Voter registration: Yesterday was the last day to register to vote in this fall’s elections — early in-person voting begins Oct. 14. But with next year’s midterm elections looming, it’s crucial to register if you haven’t done so or to determine if you’re still registered following the cancellation of some 471,000 voter registrations by the secretary of state’s office. To check your registration online, click here.
- PSC Debates: Debates sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club between District 2 candidates for the Public Service Commission (Tim Echols and Alicia Johnson) and District 3 candidates (Peter Hubbard and Fitz Johnson) will be available to watch on demand after Oct. 10 on WABE and the club’s website and YouTube channel.
- Lost momentum: The Savannah area metro economy “lost its forward progress” in the second quarter of 2025, Georgia Southern’s Coastal Empire Economic Monitor reports. “Elevated uncertainty in the U.S. economy and slowly emerging tariff-related price increases will be headwinds for national and regional economic growth through the remainder of the year.”
- Inaugural Address: Dr. Jermaine Whirl, Savannah State University’s new president, delivers his inaugural State of the University address this morning at 11 a.m. in what is being billed as a “pivotal” speech that “will set the tone for SSU’s trajectory moving forward.” To attend, register here.
- CAT fight: Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley is scheduled to hold a hearing today on a preliminary injunction blocking the Chatham County Commission’s effort to reinstate the former board of directors of Chatham Area Transit (CAT).
- No rogues so far: Georgia’s new Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission has received more than 120 complaints since launching about a year and a half ago. None have advanced to a hearing before the commission’s investigative panel, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
- GOP fundraising: The National Republican Senatorial Committee hosted a fundraising retreat at Sea Island in Glynn County over the weekend. Some GOP leaders were concerned about the optics of holding a fundraiser at the ritzy resort during the federal government shutdown.
- Gang crackdown: Chris Carr, Georgia’s attorney general and a GOP candidate for governor, announces the hiring of a prosecutor and investigator to the Savannah office of his Gang Prosecution Unit.
- Gambling: Debate over liberalizing gambling laws in Georgia fell along familiar lines at a public hearing in Savannah of a House study committee. It pitted longtime champions of the industry such as Savannah-area state Rep. Ron Stephens (“We’ve been talking about this issue since my hair was black”) against Jeanne Seaver, founder and president of Mom’s Against Gambling. “It’s not ‘gaming,” it’s ‘gambling,’” Seaver testified.
- Banned words: The U.S. Department of Energy has added “climate change,” “green” and “decarbonization” to its growing “list of words to avoid” at its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, thus adding to an already lengthy list of words banned in the federal government and compiled by PEN America.
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Savannah commission debates broader hotel ban in historic areas
The Municipal Planning Commission is considering a proposal to expand the city’s ban on large hotels in the Victorian, Streetcar and Carver Village neighborhoods, supported by neighborhood associations and residents, to protect housing supply and prevent an influx of tourists.
Georgia journalist Mario Guevara deported to El Salvador
Mario Guevara, an Atlanta-based Spanish-language journalist, was deported to El Salvador after the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected his request to remain in the U.S., despite his fears of retribution for his media coverage.
State investing more in Georgia ports as shipments increase
New impact report: Ports of Savannah and Brunswick support 650,000 jobs and generate $43 billion in personal income, with the Georgia Ports Authority investing $4.5 billion over the next decade to further grow the ports.
Georgia lawmakers hear more from both sides on election security
Georgia lawmakers held a marathon hearing to discuss election security, with Republicans questioning the credibility of witnesses and Democrats questioning the motives of the GOP-led committee.
Survey indicates strong bipartisan backing for ACA tax credit renewal
According to a KFF poll, a majority of Americans, including Republicans and Trump supporters, want Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits for people who buy their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
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