Sunday Solutions — Nov. 23, 2025
Good morning! Before you head out for Thanksgiving, we’ve got a few reads that may fuel lively dinner conversations: Chatham County Chair Chester Ellis cuts off transit system funds, car buyers pay but don’t get car titles, how to look up a nonprofit’s financials, and a look at the considerations military personnel make to follow orders. Let’s roll!
Note: Sunday Solutions will take a break next week. See you on Dec. 7.
NEWS: GOVERNING
Transit tiff splits commission
Chatham County Commission Chair Chester Ellis’ feud with the state-authorized CAT board escalated last week. The Chatham County Commission either did or did not authorize Ellis to tell the Chatham Area Transit system the county would end support for it in January. Ellis says he had a consensus, commissioners say it was one of many ideas they weighed but that Ellis was not given the authority to send notice and no vote was taken. Ellis says the move didn’t require a vote. Two commissioners stayed after Friday’s regular meeting to set the record straight and said they had no knowledge of the letter. Ellis says he had the votes in a closed session with commissioners — which would be an open meetings violation. Votes stemming from executive session conferences must be taken in public view, according to open meetings law. Either way, riders in the county who depend on the service are left wondering whether the bus will arrive in January. The Current’s Craig Nelson has been following the saga and was at the after-meeting session for the fireworks.
Financials for nonprofits: SCAD
Documents generally tell the story of a nonprofit group. Case in point: SCAD president Paula Wallace made $2,619,101 in base pay in 2024, according to the nonprofit school’s most recent IRS filing. Tuition collections came to about $653 million and revenue from housing and food service totaled $129 million.
The Current GA’s parent, like SCAD and all other nonprofits must also file an annual IRS 990 form, which reveals basic information about revenue and salaries. Read 990 info on the Grey Matters Project and its $830,000 in revenue that powers The Current here or look up any nonprofit’s 990 via ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer database.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
They know where you’ve been
The Glynn County Police Department is adding cameras to its license plate surveillance system for a total of 86. And they aren’t the only Coastal Georgia department using the Flock Safety system to find and track cars — and their drivers. At least 349 entities in Georgia and thousands nationwide use the scanners, and it’s safe to assume your plate is being scanned wherever you drive. The information scanners collect is shareable among most of the agencies under certain conditions. There aren’t set standards in Georgia for law enforcement use of or access to the data, and each department or entity sets its own rules. Recently a Sandy Springs police officer gathered data for another job, and the Braselton police chief was accused of using the surveillance to stalk multiple people. Your assignment: Ask your elected officials how your city or county public safety departments use this type of data. The Current‘s Jabari Gibbs explains how the system works, how Glynn PD uses the info and the rules set there.
🎉 Congratulations to Beth for knowing that last week’s Spyglass was the lotus flower sculpture on the top of the Homewood Suites on Bay Street in Savannah. We had 11 correct answers last week — let’s see how you do this week.
Test how well you spy details in Coastal Georgia. Give us the location of the item in the photo above. Some spots may be easier to identify than others; some will be tougher. We’ll collect correct answers each week and draw for a weekly winner.
CLICK HERE TO GIVE YOUR ANSWER
NEWS: BUSINESS
When you buy a car but it’s not yours
Jonathan Negron bought a car for his daughter, but he still doesn’t own it and no one can’t drive it. The used car ‘s dealer never gave him the title, and Negron’s since learned the Nissan Versa has a title pawn lien on it and he may never actually own his car. He’s caught in a bureaucratic web caused by lax rules on temporary operating permits or temp tags that can be renewed for months at a time without proof of purchase. And he’s not alone; it’s a statewide problem. The Current‘s Jasmine Wright spent time tracking the car-sized loopholes in the state’s legislation for used car sales, tags and taxes. She’s followed Negron’s trek through the state system and the courts to try to own his car or get his money back. Read her story here.
NEWS: UPDATES
In other news…
We’ve had stories from a variety of places on a mix of topics in the past few days. Here are links to some, but keep checking thecurrentga.org for what’s new.
- Georgia board approves new review process for large data centers: The Current‘s Mary Landers describes what builders must do as they plan construction.
- Report: 1 in 8 babies in Georgia are born early: State continues to show high rates of premature births and geographic disparities in care for women, children. From GPBNews.
- Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will resign in January: The message to her district, what may be next. From Georgia Recorder.
- U.S. House committee opens probe of Senate candidate Mike Collins: Candidate for U.S. Senate faces scrutiny, but reasons weren’t made public. From Georgia Recorder.
- Georgia lawmaker Buddy Carter urges higher ICE presence in Atlanta: Coastal Georgia Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate sends a letter to Homeland Security. From Fox5Atlanta.
- Georgia Water Coalition honors McIntosh County group as ‘water hero’: The Current‘s Jasmine Wright looks at the local effort drawing praise.
SPONSORED
NEWS: MILITARY
☕ Your second cup: Orders and laws
In recent days, members of Congress who served in the military and a presidential social media post shine a spotlight on what it means to take orders for soldiers. Researchers talked to soldiers about what choices they make when following orders and how they view their roles in a time when some orders draw legal questions. You can read what they learned here.
Chatham chair’s move to leave county transit system baffles area officials
By Craig Nelson
Chairman of the Chatham County Commission has proposed withdrawing from the Chatham Area Transit system by 2026, citing the board as “unconstitutional,” while commissioners say they were surprised by the move and worry about the impact on the community.
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will resign in January
By Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder and Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Rome Republican, announced her resignation from Congress in a video message, citing disillusionment with the political system and Trump, and predicting that if she were to stay in office, she would face and defeat a Trump-funded opponent while Republicans lose the midterms nationwide.
U.S. House committee opens probe of Senate candidate Mike Collins
By Jennifer Shutt/Georgia Recorder
The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and his chief of staff, though the panel has not yet detailed the reasons for the probe.
Georgia board approves new review process for large data centers
By Mary Landers
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has adopted new rules that will subject data centers to state review, and developers will be required to estimate how much water and electricity they’ll need for a new facility.
Georgia’s used-car industry leaves buyers facing consequences
By Jasmine Wright
A Long County man bought a used car in Savannah. A year later he has no title and no one to help him battle Georgia’s broken system where shady sales go unpunished.
Report: 1 in 8 babies in Georgia are born early
By Sofi Gratas/GPB News
The March of Dimes report shows minor improvements in infant and maternal health outcomes, but Georgia receives a failing grade for its pre-term birth rate due to a lack of access to healthcare, and disparities in infant health outcomes persist across the state.
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.