Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025
Good morning! In the news today, the prosecution rests its case in the trial of former Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson; Coastal Georgia’s federal workforce of some 16,700 people face a ‘fork in the road; and the tragedy at Reagan National Airport raises questions for lawmakers. Also, we note some things you may have missed. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com
NEWS: COURTS
Johnson acquitted on 1 of 2 charges
A judge has acquitted former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson of obstructing the police investigation into the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, saying prosecutors hadn’t provided “one scintilla of evidence” to back up the charge.
Monday’s ruling by Judge John R. Turner leaves one criminal charge pending against Johnson: violating her oath of office. The acquittal on the charge of obstruction came as no surprise. The prosecution’s case began unraveling shortly after it began, The Current’s Jake Shore reports.
Arbery was jogging through Glynn County’s Satilla Shores neighborhood when he was chased and confronted by three White men, Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan. He was shot dead by the younger McMichael, who along with his father was later convicted of murder and sentenced to live without parole. Bryan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years.
NEWS: GOVERNING
‘Fork in the road’
It’s a nerve-wracking time for Coastal Georgia’s nearly 16,700 federal workers, as the Trump administration’s purge of the federal workforce.
On Jan. 20, his first day in office, Donald Trump ordered a freeze on the hiring of civilian federal government employees and directed the Office of Management and Budget and Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service (USDS), to submit a plan within 90 days to reduce the size of the federal government’s workforce “through efficiency improvements and attrition.”
Eight days later, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memo entitled “Fork in the Road,” offering to pay federal workers who don’t want to return to the office through Sept. 30, as long as they resign by Thursday, Feb. 6.
It isn’t known how many Coastal Georgia workers on the federal payroll have opted for the buyout. And the effects on the region’s economy and the delivery of government services of any workforce reduction also are unclear, The Current’s Craig Nelson reports.
NEWS: POLITICS
Tragedy at ‘Congress’ airport’
A formal report on what exactly caused last week’s deadly collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport won’t be issued for at least another year.
Outdated equipment, a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers, and fatigue are among the factors that may have played a role in the worst U.S. aviation disaster in more than two decades, which left 67 people dead. They included First Officer Sam Lilley, a Savannah native and graduate of Richmond High School, and the Black Hawk’s crew chief, Ryan O’Hara, from Lilburn, whose parents currently reside in Liberty County.
Another possible factor? Congressional convenience and claims and counterclaims about airport congestion that recently had one U.S. senator from Georgia at its center, The Current’s Craig Nelson reports.
The Current GA is a community sponsor of the 2025 Savannah Book Festival, set Feb. 6-9. Click here to see the lineup. And, stop by our table at Telfair Square and say hello!
NEWS: UPDATES
ICYMI
- Whale tale: For The Current’s Justin Taylor and Mary Landers, it was a day on the waters off Coastal Georgia in search of the endangered Right Whale.
- Something to say: Dozens of Coastal Georgians, mainly Latinos, gathered in Brunswick Thursday to protest the Trump administration immigration policy, saying there’s an undercurrent of fear among both legal and illegal members of the Latino community. Glynn County Sheriff Neal Jump said he had “no knowledge” of any local deportation efforts by federal agents.
- Late tours: So much for Savannah’s much heralded compromise between historic district tour operators that make money from late night walking tours and downtown residents whose sleep is disturbed by the crowds. City officials have asked tour operators to respect the 10pm quiet hour already on the books that stops the city’s public and outdoor music events, but over the weekend tour operators continued to violate what the city has dubbed a pilot project. The city wouldn’t say, however, if it issued any citations.
- Repercussions: How the tragic death of Effingham County judge, Stephen Yekel, has raised questions about how Georgia elects its judges.
- Education funds: President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that prioritizes and frees up federal funding for school choice programs, directing the secretaries of Education and Labor to “review their respective discretionary grant programs and each submit a plan” within 90 days on how to expand school choice.
- Aid on the spit: Tech mogul and Trump’s efficiency czar Elon Musk says that it’s time for the U.S. Agency for International Development “to die.” He calls the agency, which oversees U.S. foreign aid programs, “a criminal organization,” though doesn’t say why.
Judge throws out 1 count against ex-DA Jackie Johnson in Arbery case
Judge ruled to dismiss one criminal count against Jackie Johnson, the former Brunswick-circuit district attorney accused of improperly influencing the investigation into Ahmaud Arbery’s death. The judge said prosecutors failed to present evidence Johnson obstructed Glynn County Police officers.
Coastal Georgia federal workers face uncertainty as buyout deadline looms
The Trump administration’s hiring freeze and buyout offer for federal workers in Coastal Georgia have left nearly 16,700 employees uncertain about their future, as they consider whether to resign or risk losing their job.
Latest aviation tragedy that killed 2 Georgians raises questions over congestion
A formal report on the causes of the deadly collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Reagan National Airport may take at least another year to release.
A look at the search for endangered right whales off Coastal Georgia
Journalists accompany researchers to monitor presence of the rare North American right whales off the Georgia coast.
After a judge’s death, renewed scrutiny for a Georgia loophole that can nullify elections
After losing his reelection bid last summer, Georgia State Court Judge Stephen Yekel turned to a loophole in state law that could have erased the result and blocked the winner from taking office. This story also appeared in Institute for Nonprofit News In Georgia, if judges announce they’ll quit at some point before the end […]
Warnock questions RFK Jr.’s commitment to reducing health care costs in Georgia
Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will be voting no on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He says the candidate is manifestly unqualified for the job.
Kemp-backed lawsuit overhaul seeks to limit large verdicts, but without explicit damages caps
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has introduced a nine-pronged plan to overhaul the state’s legal landscape, aimed at reducing insurance prices for businesses and consumers, but critics argue that the proposed changes may not address the root causes of rising premiums.
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