Real Home Economics, New Orders

Sunday Solutions — Jan. 26, 2025

Good morning! Are you getting warm yet? It might take a few days yet, but there’s progress in the melt. We’ve got news from the week, a new game and several pieces to ponder as you thaw out.

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NEWS: TAXES, HOUSING

Who can afford a house?

Two stories this week from The Current’s Liberty County reporter Robin Kemp brought home national headlines detailing the challenges for those who want to buy a house and for owners who want to keep their houses. Early last week, a national study showed record-high house prices drove the median price last year to $407,500, and Zillow reports single family home rents averaged $2,174 in December. That puts a home further out of reach for young families, as the real costs are much more than the structure itself. While Kemp’s stories look at the challenges in Liberty County, the calculations affect us all.

• What does it really cost to live in Liberty County?: Officials recently got a new, realistic view of what it costs to live there, counting taxes, childcare, utilities and more basic needs. Using those guidelines, a four-person Liberty County family requires $121,032 to get by. Read about the formula and how that information will be used to look for new employers for the county that can help raise income for all.

• Liberty County property values drive bigger tax bills: As home values grow, so do property taxes. Here’s Kemp’s explainer on how the taxes are set and ways to look for relief.

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NEWS: GOVERNING

Daycare death sparks new legislation

Sixteen-months-old Jamal Bryant, Jr., died after he choked on a piece of fruit at a Brunswick daycare last year. A bill in the General Assembly from Rep. Rick Townsend will amend state daycare rules to require at least one portable airway-clearance device on site as well as staff certifications to use it and train in CPR. The Current’s Jabari Gibbs details the bill and how it aims to stop another death like Jamal’s.

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Tell us where

Today we bring you a new way to test how well you spy details in Coastal Georgia. Give us the location of the spot in the photo below. Some may be easier than others; some will be tough. We’ll collect correct answers each week and draw for a weekly winner.

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NEWS: GOVERNING

New orders: What do they mean?

We’ll work to update with explainers on changes in policy amid the avalanche of presidential orders. Here are some stories that add context to several high-profile changes.

• Explainer: Birthright citizenship and Trump’s order to end it: From The 19th*
• What a US exit from the World Health Organization means for global health: From KFFHealth News
• Immigration arrests at schools loom after Trump changes longstanding policy: From Chalkbeat
• What a new immigration directive could mean for domestic violence victims: From The 19th*
• Many remote workers say they’d be likely to leave their job if they could no longer work from home: From Pew Research Center
• Can Trump just order new names for Denali and the Gulf of Mexico? A geographer explains who decides what goes on the map: From The Conversation

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NEWS: COURTS

Glynn: Prosecution & funds to do it

Two stories out of Glynn County this week centered on the courts.

• Higgins presents plan for district attorney department budget shortfall: Brunswick Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins met the county commission to present a plan to staff his office with existing funds and work down the debt the office accrued last year. It was contentious, at best, as commissioners were skeptical as Higgins tried to explain it, reports Jabari Gibbs.
• ‘Good ol’ boy system,’ ‘Witch hunt’: What potential jurors had to say at start of Jackie Johnson trial: Before snowfall closed the courts, reporter Jake Shore’s reporting gave some insight on how hard it may be to find jurors without an opinion for the long-awaited trial for former Glynn prosecutor, Jackie Johnson. They’ll start again on Monday.

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NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY

☕ Your second cup: School safety

Legislators say one of the top goals for the Georgia General Assembly is more action to keep students safe at school. School shootings happen regularly now – 330 last year and 12 already this year, according to a national K-12 School Shooting Database kept by David Riedman, a researcher and former emergency manager who hopes more data will inform effective moves to keep students safer. Wisconsin Watch/ProPublica reports this week that two young people who committed separate fatal school shootings in Madison, Wis., and Nashville were active in an internet subculture that glorifies mass shooters and encourages young people to commit attacks. In fact, one followed the other on X and cheered her on. This important story discusses what researchers are learning about the killers and the culture that encourages their actions.

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