Sunday Solutions — July 13, 2025
Good morning! Welcome back to Sunday Solutions! Today, summer fellows Tyler Davis, Domonique King, Ellen Hunter and Lily Belle Poling are taking over! First up, we have a profile of a former IRS worker personally feeling the effects of DOGE cuts in Glynn County. We follow that with news ranging from a Sen. Jon Ossoff campaign rally to a look at Savannah teens training for disaster response.
FEATURE: COMMUNITY
DOGE cuts hit close to home
Ryan Amick, who trained IRS workers to ferret out fraud and abuse at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynn County, was one of the 77 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump in November 2024. Then he lost his job. The Air Force veteran now feels betrayed by Trump and the so-called efficiency experts looking to decrease government spending.
“We’re going to go after the guys that are doing millions of dollars of money laundering and tax evasion, like moving your money from crypto to different accounts or people scamming the elderly,” said Amick about his now former colleagues. Glynn County Reporter Jabari Gibbs reports on the DOGE cuts chaos.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Ossoff rallies in Savannah
On Saturday afternoon, Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff rallied in Savannah with at least 1,000 supporters at Trustees’ Garden as his race for reelection begins to take shape.
Ossoff decried Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law on Independence Day, criticizing its cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
For Democrats looking to take control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, the Georgia incumbent’s race could be one of the most crucial — and expensive — elections in the country. For now, the election is widely regarded as a toss-up, and Georgia Republicans, including 1st District U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, are lining up to challenge him, claiming the state is too Republican to have two Democratic senators in Washington.
FEATURE: COMMUNITY
Mother of 12 never stopped caring for kids
Annie Bell Graham, a woman known as the “Mother of Tremont Park,” was commemorated posthumously with an honorary street dedication in Savannah. About 130 people turned out for the ceremony Friday, including five generations of Graham’s family, as The Current’s Justin Taylor reports.
🎉 Congratulations to Danny, for knowing that last week’s Spyglass was the Reynolds Mansion on Sapelo Island in McIntosh County. We had 51 correct answers last week — let’s see how you do this week.
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FEATURE: COMMUNITY
Teens prepare for disaster
Savannah Youth City has launched a month-long Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program to equip local teenagers with first aid and disaster response skills. The program empowers young people to become community helpers and teaches them how to prepare for natural disasters and emergencies like shootings, The Current’s Domonique King report. The training is part of the city’s efforts to address the lack of emergency response skills in underserved neighborhoods and to prepare for the above-normal hurricane season forecasted for this year.
FEATURE: ENVIRONMENT
☕ Your second cup:
You can help with weather tracking
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRahs) is a nationwide volunteer program in which backyard weather observers use rain gauges to measure and map precipitation, filling in the gaps of automated sensors and providing key data to meteorologists, The Current’s Mary Landers reports. While a recent map showed reports from all Coastal Georgia counties, more volunteers are sought to improve the data collection.
NEWS:GOVERNING
CAT case goes to Supreme Court
Chatham County is taking its opposition to the overhaul of the local transit authority’s board of directors to the state Supreme Court, a signal that it intends to prolong its fight to maintain its sway over the board and the authority’s operations, The Current’s Craig Nelson reports.
Just days after a Superior Court Judge threw out a county lawsuit that sought to stop the state-mandated reorganization of Chatham Area Transit’s board of directors — and after the new board was already formed, — the county filed a notice of appeal.
NEWS: BUSINESS
McIntosh project to create 50 new jobs
Two cold storage companies have broken ground on a $60 million cold storage facility being built in Darien, Capitol Beat’s Dave Williams reports. The first phase of the project is expected to create 50 jobs upon completion. Gov. Brian Kemp calls the project the “largest known economic development win for McIntosh County.”
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Coastal Georgia IRS worker voted for Trump. Then he lost his job.
By Jabari Gibbs
Back in March, Glynn County resident Ryan Amick found himself at a fork in the road. He had received an email from the Department of the Treasury offering deferred resignation from his job at the Internal Revenue Service. He could get paid through Oct. 1 if he agreed to step down immediately from a job […]
Street dedicated to ‘Mother of Tremont Park’
By Justin Taylor
Annie Bell Graham, known as the “Mother of Tremont Park”, was honored with an honorary street sign at the corner of Essex and Second avenues in Savannah, Georgia, in recognition of her 60 years of service to the community.
Savannah teens complete emergency response simulation
By Domonique King
Savannah Youth City, a nonprofit, help Savannah teens prepare themselves and their communities for potential disasters
Nationwide volunteer program recruits backyard weather observers
By Mary Landers
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRahs) is a nationwide volunteer program that uses backyard weather observers to measure and map precipitation, filling in the gaps of automated sensors and providing valuable data for meteorologists.
Chatham County takes CAT overhaul case to state Supreme Court
By Craig Nelson
Chatham County has appealed a court ruling that rejected their lawsuit seeking to stop the restructuring of the Chatham Area Transit’s board of directors, and will now wait for the Georgia Supreme Court to decide whether to hear the case.
Cold storage project coming to McIntosh County
By Dave Williams
PermaCold Logistics, a cold storage facility being built by Ti Cold and Karis Cold, is expected to create 50 jobs and be completed in McIntosh County.
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