Sunday Solutions — Jan. 5, 2025
Good morning! We’re all back and fueled with coffee for the new year. Candidates are turning into incumbents, incumbents are taking their oaths again, and we’re watching to see how it all shakes out. We enter the year with gratitude toward our readers and supporters. Thanks to you, we exceeded our fundraising goals to end the year. Here’s a heaping helping of news to get us all rolling.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Feds OK Okefenokee expansion effort
As property rights and concern for the ecosystem collide with the efforts to mine land near the Okefenokee, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced late Friday that it has approved an effort to expand the boundaries of the National Wildlife Refuge. While the expansion might not stop mining, it would insulate from some other efforts. And, expansion would require the area property owners to sell, and that’s a different question entirely. Here’s the news story plus a story from The Current’s Mary Landers on the dilemma for area property owners. The largest landowner in the area, Joe Hopkins, points out that none of this is an easy decision for owners who want to grow their communities and get the most out of their land.
- Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge expansion gains final approval: Friday’s news
- Okefenokee mining controversy spotlights property rights: Hopkins and others discuss the conundrum of property rights and the mining effort.
- Mining company vows to forge ahead when permitted despite feds’ Okefenokee Refuge expansion plan: A look at the expansion plan.
SURVEY: GEORGIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Don’t forget: Tell us so we tell them
We’re doing it again — We’re asking you to tell us your priorities for your legislators in the upcoming Georgia General Assembly. Over the past weeks, area communities, school districts and business groups have met with their local legislative delegations to discuss their “wish lists.” This is your chance to tell us and the representatives you’ve hired what you care about. Our survey has a list of priorities mentioned in conjunction with this year’s session. You can also add your own. And, as always, we’ll report back with how your representatives are listening (or not) to you and what’s next.
Winners, winners, winner!
For the second half of the year, we are thrilled to say we have many winners! Congrats to SG Mark and Shots! If you’re a winner, we have prizes for you!
First Place: SG Mark, Shots
Second Place: EMF 33, BBC, Laurie
Third Place: Sadie T.
Thanks for playing – and we’ll have new challenges soon!
NEWS: UPDATES
Honors, migrant pay, doctor shortage & more
- SCAD president receives Presidential Citizens Medal: Paula Wallace received the second highest honor a president can bestow on a citizen on Thursday. From Capitol Beat.
- Trans Georgians, allies brace for another year of culture wars in state legislature: Sides are getting ready to debate if it’s the role of government to say who gets to play sports. From Georgia Recorder.
- Ossoff, Warnock pick up new Senate committee assignments: Seats place Georgia’s senators on key panels for trade, taxes and spending. From Capitol Beat.
- Georgia AG wants Trump administration to restrain rising migrant farm worker pay: Chris Carr, wants to limit how much farmers can pay migrant workers. From Georgia Recorder.
- Georgia has a doctor shortage. Barriers to training keep immigrant physicians from filling gap: This story takes a look at how the state could follow others by enacting training for new physicians. From Healthbeat.
- Georgia leaders fondly recall President Jimmy Carter as humble peanut farmer, great humanitarian: A wrap of Carter’s influence in home-state politics and international service. From Georgia Recorder.
FEATURE: MILITARY
☕ Your second cup: Heroes
This week, we are reminded that heroes are among us and do extraordinary things to help others. Destini Ambus, writing for savannahnow.com, brings a story of a Savannah woman whose mother is one of those heroes. The story of Annie Knight Jones and her World War II unit, the predominately-black 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the Women’s Army Corps is now a movie on Netflix that’s receiving rave reviews. Jones’ daughter is leading an effort to make sure their families play a role making sure the women’s work isn’t forgotten. Here’s a link to that story.
GROW WITH US! We have an opening now for a Development Manager to help with our efforts to grow. Here’s a link to the job description to share.
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Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge expansion gains final approval
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Scientific studies have concluded the proposed mine would significantly damage the largest blackwater swamp in North America by drawing down its water level and increasing the risk of drought and fires.
Ossoff, Warnock pick up new Senate committee assignments
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Ossoff joins Senate Appropriations while Warnock moves to Senate Finance Committee.
SCAD president receives Presidential Citizens Medal
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Paula Wallace was given the Presidential Citizens Medal, awarded to U.S. citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.
Trans Georgians, allies brace for another year of culture wars in state legislature
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
A Georgia Senate committee approved recommendations for legislation that would ban transgender girls from girls’ sports and locker rooms and potentially open up public and private schools to lawsuits or defunding if they do not comply.
Georgia leaders fondly recall President Jimmy Carter as humble peanut farmer, great humanitarian
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Carter’s death sparked a wave of fond remembrances across the nation, but nowhere more intensely than in his own state, where he rose in power from a peanut farmer in rural south Georgia to a state senator to Georgia’s 76th governor and eventually the nation’s 39th president.
Hurricanes Helene, Milton expanded reach of invasive species into Georgia
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
A map from the U.S. Geological Survey finds that there are 222 possible non-native species that had the potential to spread in Georgia and Florida due to storm-related flooding from Hurricane Helene, which devastated southern states including Georgia in September.
Georgia AG wants Trump administration to restrain rising migrant farm worker pay
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
On average, the rate for H-2A workers is set to rise 4.5%, according to the U.S. Farm Bureau, but the actual changes will vary by region. In Georgia, the rate is set to rise from $14.68 to $16.08, or 9.5%.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100
By Bill Barrow/The Associated Press
The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, roughly 22 months after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said.
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