Sunday Solutions — July 21, 2024
Good morning! It’s been a busy week and we’ve got fresh reads today and a new service for you to try. It’s a full moon, so anything can happen.
EXPLAINER: JOBS
Hyundai: Higher pay range comes slowly
Workers are gathering for training throughout the Metro Savannah area for the new jobs opening daily at the Hyundai Metaplant and adjacent, supporting companies. The new employees are there and building skills, but they are finding the trumpeted pay-range goals haven’t arrived yet and that not all jobs are created equal. The promised pay rates of $58,105 a year cited in the development agreements don’t have to be met until 2031, so starting pay is much less. Summer reporting fellow Amira McKee talked to workers about the disconnect and read the agreements for an investigative explainer on how the salary picture comes together.
EXPLAINER: COMMUNITY
Yamacraw community wonders what’s next
In a second piece about the future and present of Savannah’s Yamacraw Village, summer reporting fellow Julia Gentin talks to residents about the stress of uncertainty for the families who still live there. Bureaucratic limbo leaves them living in deteriorating conditions while affordable housing options are few and far between. Follow one woman’s story about her choices to stay or go and why it’s a very tough decision for her family.
Catching up
So much from the week, so here’s a roundup to get you started.
- Midway’s assistant fire chief: ‘Someone could die’: Zip-tied ceiling tiles at the fire house, ancient protective gear and fire equipment that doesn’t work. It’s all in Midway as the council tries to hire more firefighters without accepting bids to fix the department infrastructure. From The Current’s Robin Kemp.
- Federal lawsuit challenges constitutionality of blank check ‘leadership committees’: Georgia Democrats say law sets up skewed campaign finance field favoring only incumbents. From Jill Nolin, Georgia Recorder.
- Environmentalists press EPA to force Georgia Power to follow federal rules for coal ash disposal Request says state EPD program should be replaced by U.S. cleanup guide. From Stanley Dunlap at Georgia Recorder.
- Federal judge rejects Georgia’s request to extend length of time for state’s limited Medicaid plan: The same judge that allowed Gov. Brian Kemp’s work-based exception says the state must make a formal request to extend it. From Jill Nolin, Georgia Recorder.
- Lawsuit calls for PSC elections as soon as possible: As two commissioners continue serving past their term limits, the battle continues over when people will be able to choose their representatives on the board that sets utility rates. From Emily Jones at WABE/Grist.
Join our quiz team
Welcome to The Current’s weekly News Quiz! Every Sunday, you have the opportunity to test your news knowledge with a few short questions related to stories we published in recent weeks.
We reset the scores on the overall leaderboard last week, so it’s a good time to make your mark. Congratulations to Peaches, our leaderboard winner for the first half of the year! We will continue to track scores and update the leaderboard each week.
Leaderboard July 14, 2024
First Place (10/10): EMF33, Savannah Agenda
Second Place (7/10): SG Mark
Third Place (6/10): BBC, SandyB
A quick shoutout to SG Mark and EMF33 who’ve made a quick start — they’ll also be receiving prizes for their very consistent entries in the January through June round — showing up does matter! Make sure you compete every week and leave your nickname for a chance to win an exclusive prize from The Current!
NEWS: HISTORY
Get out! Meet some people.
We know it’s hot, but you need to get out a bit. Over the next weeks, summer reporting fellow Catherine Goodman has a few excursion ideas for you. She’s assembling driving tours of Coastal Georgia’s hidden history as presented by Georgia Historical Society roadside markers you may have missed. The first one: meet seven Savannah women who made a difference. Take the tour, and get out of the cool car for a few minutes to learn about Jane Cuyler, Juliette Gordon Low, Flannery O’Connor, Nina Anderson Pape, Mamie George Williams and Mother Mathilda Beasley. Coming soon: Set aside an afternoon for stops in Liberty, Glynn and McIntosh counties.
FROM THE CURRENT
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Independent news has its advantages, and one is being able to work with terrific journalists from all over the country to find stories relevant or instructive for Coastal Georgia. We’re launching a new Friday text update with reports from The Current as well as stories from our partners at Rural News Network and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
To get the weekly updates, text CURRENT to 1-877-980-4440 to receive text news and updates. Or, go to this link and type in your phone number. You can reach us via text any time — we’re good about answering that mail, too!
EXPLAINER: ELECTIONS
☕ Your second cup: Elections and security
Georgia allows open-carry and concealed weapons without a permit, but expressly forbids firearms near a voting booth. That’s just one of the challenges officers protecting election and voting locations face. If you’re a law enforcement officer, how do you know the laws and prep to handle a situation that might occur there? Georgia officers must now take mandatory courses to help them make quick decisions in this important space. It’s the first state to require public safety training for elections. This story from Governing.com looks at the law enforcement work to keep us all confident in the sacred process of voting.
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As workers train, Hyundai Metaplant salary picture takes shape
By Amira McKee
Price tags on the first electric vehicles off the assembly line will exceed a year’s salary for most of the Georgia workers who made it.
Diminished Yamacraw community subject to rampant neglect, widening disparities
By Julia Gentin
Yamacraw Village’s declining occupancy and rampant neglect set it apart from neighboring downtown areas. Demolition plans have been in the works for years, with little progress. Some residents attempt to maintain a semblance of community, while others who are forced to leave are not so lucky.
Federal lawsuit challenges constitutionality of blank check ‘leadership committees’
By Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
Leadership committees are available to just a few politicians, whose special committees can accept contributions during legislative sessions when others are barred from fundraising while voting on legislation and allocating state funds.
Midway’s assistant fire chief: ‘Someone could die’
By Robin Kemp
Midway’s fire insurance rating has dropped to the lowest possible rating, meaning that residents will face their own insurance increases.
Federal judge rejects Georgia’s request to extend length of time for state’s limited Medicaid plan
By Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
Pathways is allowed under what is called an 1115 demonstration waiver, which gives states flexibility to experiment within the joint federal-state insurance program for the poor and disabled.
Coastal Georgia hidden history: Savannah’s trailblazing women
By Catherine Goodman
Savannah loves history. But how much do you know about seven women trailblazers who helped fashion Georgia’s and its first city?
Red-state cities, suburbs become more diverse
By Tim Henderson/Stateline
Growth in the number of Black residents propelled Georgia to a near non-white majority, up about 1 point to 49.9% of state population, amid continuing Black migration that helped turn the state’s 2020 vote Democratic for president and U.S. Senate.
Lawsuit calls for PSC elections as soon as possible
By Emily Jones/WABE, Grist
Under the new law, most of the current commissioners would end up serving at least two years beyond their regular six-year terms.
Update: Petitioners respond to county’s effort to invalidate Sapelo referendum
By Mary Landers
McIntosh County is pushing back against its citizens’ efforts to force a county-wide vote about zoning on Sapelo Island.
In the South, sea level rise accelerates at some of the most extreme rates on Earth
By Amy Green/Inside Climate News
In the South sea level rise is outpacing the global average, jumping from about 1.7 millimeters a year at the turn of the 20th century to at least 8.4 millimeters by 2021, according to a 2023 study based on tidal gauge records from throughout the region.
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