Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025
Good morning!
We’re changing up today’s roundup to add some new stories we’ve just posted. The holiday weekend is on top of us, and it would be wrong to send you off without some reading material.
Here are two updates on the International Paper plant closures:
- Negotiations, incentives not enough for International Paper: The lack of warning and the company’s requests for incentives as recently as May from The Current‘s reporter Robin Kemp;
- International Paper’s departure creates water challenges, opportunities: What happens now as one of the area’s largest permitted aquifer water user is shutting down from environment reporter Mary Landers.
And, we’ve got a followup to the St. Simons Marina stories from the last couple of weeks. Public vs. private: Two marinas offer lessons in waterfront management, Glynn reporter Jabari Gibbs writes about how Savannah solved a facilities and access problem for its public marina and how that compares to Glynn County’s moves.
Let us know how we’re doing or send a suggestion to staff@thecurrentga.org,
Have a great Labor Day weekend. We’ll be taking breaks, too, and we’ll see you later next week.
CHATHAM COUNTY
Tybee beach cleanup: Beach lovers can make a difference by picking up post-Labor Day litter from the holiday weekend Meet up at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, 1509 Strand Ave., just north of Tybee Pier. Organizers will provide equipment.
Music at the library: To celebrate National Library Sign-Up Card Month, the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra will play from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, on the historic Bull Street Library steps. Sign up for or renew a library card at the event at 2002 Bull St. Concert is free. More info here.
Garden City track talks: Residents and stakeholders are invited to a discussion of blocked railroad crossings. The discussion with the mayor and city officials will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, at 160 Priscilla D. Thomas Way.
CAMDEN COUNTY
Municipalities to take over parks’ maintenance: Starting Jan. 1, the Public Service Authority will turn over maintenance duties of recreation areas to the cities of St. Marys, Kingsland and Woodbine and unincorporated Camden. The PSA will manage recreation programs and facilities. For more information, click here.
GLYNN COUNTY
Construction set to begin at Coast Guard beach: Glynn County will begin construction on the St. Simons Coast Guard beach. The Current previously reported on environmental concerns related to the improvements, including filling wetlands, removing vegetation and leveling a dune. In anticipation of the Georgia-Florida weekend, the county said that it will make special accommodations for access for attendees.
Neptune Park sod replacement to begin: Glynn County announced it will begin removing and replacing the turf on Neptune Park on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Fencing will go up around the area to limit access. Landscaping tasks, including soil preparation and sod installation, will also be done to support growth. The park is expected to reopen on Nov. 1.
LIBERTY COUNTY
Explore Colonial Sunbury: Fort Morris State Historic Site, 2559 Ft. Morris Road, Midway, hosts a Labor Day celebration 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, Learn about blacksmithing, spinning, woodworking, and historic black powder weapons. Visit the museum, explore the earthworks of the old fort, and hike the nature trail. Standard admission fees apply. For details, call (912) 884-5999.
Ron DeLeon celebration: In honor of Ron DeLeon’s legacy of community giving, the City of Walthourville and the DeLeon/Martinez family hosts a Day of Giving Celebration to mark his birthday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, at the Walthourville Meat Market, 5715 Oglethorpe Hwy. Vendors, food trucks, face painting, and meat package giveaways. DeLeon, who died May 25, was known for helping people down on their luck and ran several local restaurants and markets.
MCINTOSH COUNTY
Entrepreneur Idea Bootcamp: The McIntosh Industrial Development Authority with the Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship will host a workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, Coastal Regional Commission, 1181 Coastal Dr. SW. Workshop is free. For more info, call 912-437-6659 or email colette@mcintosh-ga.com.
LONG COUNTY
Monthly food giveaway: Manna House holds its monthly food giveaway from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, Thursday, Aug. 28, at Ludowici Methodist Church, 328 S. Main St., Ludowici. Call Pastor Lott, (912) 312-0285 or Lisa Ruise, (912) 202-8980 for details.
ALONG THE COAST
Legacies of Enslavement program: The Guardian newspaper held a town hall in Brunswick on Thursday to discuss its Legacies of Enslavement program, launched after the newspaper uncovered connections between its founding investors and transatlantic enslavement. The program seeks to invest $10 million in descendant communities impacted by its early funders in the U.S. Sea Islands and Jamaica. The communities will decide how to allocate these funds, with chosen initiatives positively impacting the broader community. Based on discussions here and upcoming ones in North Carolina and Florida, the first round of funding could come in the first quarter of 2026.
Cast Net features nuggets from Coastal Georgia that we hope you’ll find interesting, fun or useful. All that said, we’ll need to hear from you to make sure we’re on the right track.
We’re always working to make sure our newsletters are as useful as they can be, and we’ll be experimenting over the next few months in this Thursday space.
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Negotiations, incentives not enough for International Paper
By Robin Kemp
Liberty County officials had seen warning signs for months, but Savannah economic development leaders were caught off guard.
Data centers consume massive amounts of water – companies rarely tell the public exactly how much
By Peyton McCauley/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Melissa Scanlan/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Data centers use large amounts of water to cool their servers and routers, and the amount of water used is expected to double or quadruple by 2028, posing a potential threat to local water supplies.
Blue states retain CDC grants after suing Trump; red states face losses
By Henry Larweh and Rachana Pradhan and Rae Ellen Bichell
The Trump administration’s cuts to CDC funding had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, with Democratic-led states and cities fighting back in court and seeing money restored, while GOP-led states sustained big losses.
State troops to assist ICE with immigration enforcement tasks
By Craig Nelson and Margaret Coker
Georgia National Guard troops will provide logistical and administrative support to ICE officers in the state, supplementing the agency’s efforts to find, detain and deport illegal immigrants.
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