Sunday Solutions — Feb. 15, 2026
Good morning! We know you’re ready to settle in and read a bit today. After all, it’s a day after Valentine’s and we just might have some rain to break the drought. We’ve got a range of work: a mayor working to save her town, volunteers working to help others, a plan for Cumberland Island and research that gives us a very good reason for bedtime stories. Let’s dig in.
PROFILE: GOVERNING
A small town’s fight to stay independent
Over the past 2 years, the Liberty County town of Walthourville has been fighting a challenge familiar to small towns across the country: How to provide needed services like garbage, public safety and maintenance without levying taxes to a point that harms the very fabric of the town.
The city’s incorporation in 1974 was propelled by a group of women who were a force for change and independence. Fast-forward 4 decades and the city of around 4,000 is facing down threats to its very existence as services required to keep the town’s charter have become too expensive. Liberty County reporter Robin Kemp has followed the town’s efforts to involve and educate its citizens, levy its first property taxes, and work toward tough solutions to allow the town to maintain its identity. Kemp’s story, produced over time through budget documents, meetings and interviews, follows Mayor Sarah Hayes, who’s had to learn the job, build consensus and pave a way forward for her town.
Endangered species list
Wood storks’ rebound in habitats like protected Georgia wetlands have led to their removal from the federal endangered species list. Environmentalists say it may be too early to declare the bird safe. Read coverage from our partners at WABE and Grist or check out the state-by-state endangered species list.
NEWS: COMMUNITY
Counting to understand
On a cold night in late January, volunteers took streets, parking lots, and wooded areas where people live unseen. They were armed with headlamps, reflective vests and a survey app to take a one-night, point-in-time census of homeless people in Chatham County. The annual effort is designed to find out who’s among the unhoused, where they sleep and if they are experiencing health issues. All the data will help shape services and care across the helping community. The Current‘s visual journalist Justin Taylor spent the evening with the volunteers. His photo essay and story from the night are here.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
More visitors for Cumberland Island?
The National Park Service’s new management plan for Cumberland Island would allow more daily visitors, add pavilions, a store, kayak and canoe rentals, plus allow bikes and e-bikes on the wilderness island. Advocates for the island say the ecology and native species of the pristine maritime forest could be irrevocably damaged by the new traffic and question whether the park service could staff the island properly. The Current’s Mary Landers has heard the pitches and read the plan. Here’s her report.
Take the quiz
Test your news knowledge with a few short questions related to stories we published recently. We’ll track winners and leaders over time, so be sure to fill out the form completely to get the credit you earn.
Make sure you compete every week and leave your name for a chance to win an exclusive prize from The Current GA!
NEWS: LEGISLATURE
Tax battles, power fight, a place for ICE
It’s been a busy week in the Georgia General Assembly as bills work their way out of the piles toward Crossover Day, March 6. And that day is also the last one to qualify to run for state office for the May primary, so you can expect a lot of action/drama/speeches before then. Here are notes from the week from across the state:
- Georgia lawmakers consider first steps to streamline public health system: It’ll take a while, but lawmakers say they have to reorganize the state’s approach to health care access to improve things. From Healthbeat.
- Environmentalists challenge Georgia Power’s expansion over capacity concerns: With two new members, the Public Service Commission will consider a request to take a new look at Georgia Power’s expansion plan. From Grist/WABE.
- Can small Georgia city handle housing for 10,000 ICE detainees? Expert talks logistics: A plan for a warehouse-turned-detention center will triple a town’s population and threaten its infrastructure. From GPB News.
- Georgia Senate GOP backs income tax cuts, trims corporate tax credits: New plans take on competing ideas for cuts in the House. From Georgia Recorder.
- Pressure mounts on McIntosh County to resolve Hogg Hummock zoning: A new proposal rises, a lawsuit continues as eyes turn toward a special called meeting to extend a moratorium on permitting for Sapelo community. From The Current‘s Mary Landers
- Georgia House approves bill to let pharmacists prescribe HIV prevention drugs: The state’s HIV diagnosis rate is twice the national average. From Georgia Recorder.
- Georgia bill may let breweries sell directly to retailers, raise purchase limits: A contentious topic for years, the move would let breweries sell what they make without a large distributor required by law. From Capitol Beat.
- Bill to release Georgia student athletes from perpetual sponsorships advances: Paid endorsements and contracts would end at high school graduation or when a player leaves school. From Capitol Beat.
FEATURE: FAMILY
☕ Your second cup: Bedtime stories & more
In this polarized time, it’s a fair bet that we’re all stopping often to wonder what we could do to help our kids navigate the world a little more peacefully. A University of Virginia neuroscientist may have found a simple way: Read to children and ask questions along the way. Based on her own family experiences, she set up research to see if small blocks of reading time might help children develop empathy for others and creativity. Read the findings here, then head for your local library tomorrow.
Cumberland Island could see 700 visitors a day under proposed plan
By Mary Landers
The National Park Service has released a Visitor Use Management Plan for Cumberland Island National Seashore, which suggests more than doubling the number of daily visitors allowed on the island and providing more amenities, but environmental groups are raising concerns about the potential impact on the island’s wilderness and wildlife.
Georgia lawmakers consider first steps to streamline public health system
By Rebecca Grapevine/Healthbeat
A legislative committee in Georgia has issued five recommendations to streamline the state’s public health system, including updating county funding formulas, creating a career ladder for public health workers, and allowing the state to reconfigure health districts without local consent.
Can small Georgia city handle housing for 10,000 ICE detainees? Expert talks logistics
By Peter Biello/GPB News
The federal government is purchasing a warehouse in Social Circle to be used as an ICE detention facility, and while the transformation of the warehouse to house humans is logistically possible, it could put a strain on the city’s water and wastewater management infrastructure.
Environmentalists challenge Georgia Power’s expansion over capacity concerns
By Emily Jones/WABE, Grist
Environmental groups are asking the Georgia Public Service Commission to reconsider its approval of a 10 gigawatt natural gas turbine expansion, arguing that it is too large and will result in ordinary customers paying for the infrastructure despite data centers being responsible for the costs.
Georgia Senate GOP backs income tax cuts, trims corporate tax credits
By Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
Senate Republicans passed a proposal to reduce Georgia’s income tax while cutting some corporate tax credits, despite Democratic pushback, in an effort to address the affordability crisis for the middle class.
Georgia House approves bill to let pharmacists prescribe HIV prevention drugs
By Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder
The Georgia House has passed a bill that would allow pharmacists to prescribe and administer HIV prevention drugs, making it easier for residents to access the medication and potentially reducing the state’s high rate of HIV diagnoses.
Georgia bill may let breweries sell directly to retailers, raise purchase limits
By Mark Niesse/Capitol Beat
Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow breweries to sell beer to retailers and individuals to purchase any amount for consumption outside the brewery, while large alcohol companies and distributors are opposing the measure.
Bill to release Georgia student athletes from perpetual sponsorships advances
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
The Georgia House of Representatives has passed House Bill 383, which would allow student athletes to terminate sponsorship contracts upon graduation or leaving high school, and would impose restrictions on contract terms, such as prohibiting endorsements of weapons and vice products.
Finding financial footing for Walthourville: One mayor’s journey
By Robin Kemp
By the end of 2025, Hayes, a retired Army drill sergeant, had put her town on the path to financial solvency.
Volunteers fan out across Savannah for annual homelessness count
By Justin Taylor
Nearly 90 volunteers braved the cold to conduct the annual Point-in-Time count of Savannah’s unhoused citizens, collecting data to inform federal, state, and local organizations on how to allocate resources.
Photo essay: Reenactors gather to mark 161 years since Fort McAllister’s fall
By Justin Taylor
On the 161st anniversary of the fall of Fort McAllister, reenactors gathered to reenact the battle in which 250 Confederate troops defended the Fort against 4,000 Union soldiers, resulting in the capture of the fort and opening the Ogeechee River to reconnect Sherman’s army with the Union fleet.
The Current GA is part of The Trust Project.
Read our policies.
Support independent, solutions-based investigative journalism without bias, fear or favor on issues affecting Savannah and Coastal Georgia.
You must be logged in to post a comment.