Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026
Good morning! With so many Georgians heading to the polls early, it seemed a good time to help voters brush up on their options in the consequential races for the PSC, as we do below. We then take a look at gatherings last weekend at two places precious to many Coastal Georgians, the Okefenokee and Sapelo Island.
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NEWS: ELECTIONS
PSC choices
While Georgia races for governor and senator are garnering nationwide attention and heaps of campaign dollars, there are critical statewide races further down the ballot, too. All Georgia voters have the opportunity to vote for two Public Service Commissioners this election. Republicans currently hold a 3-2 majority on the commission, but this election provides the Democrats with the chance to flip those numbers and capture the majority for the first time in decades. To inform your vote, Georgia Recorder has profiled each candidate’s stance on crucial issues facing the PSC, including data centers and electricity costs.
Sapelo celebrates
The Sapelo Island Cultural Day Festival returned Saturday, as WTOC reports. The annual event took a hiatus last year after a gangway collapse killed seven festival goers and injured others in 2024.
The first Cultural Day Festival took place on Sapelo Island in 1995, reports the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, which hosts the event. The festival welcomes thousands of visitors to experience the culture, history, and traditions of Georgia’s last intact island-based Geechee Gullah community. Saturday’s event highlighted Gullah-Geechee arts and crafts, foods, and entertainers.
Sabbath at the Swamp
Over 40 people gathered Saturday at the edge of the Okefenokee for “Sabbath at the Swamp,” a multi-faith prayer service co-hosted by Georgians for the Okefenokee, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and Adamah ATL. Faith leaders spoke of the duty to protect nature inherent in their religions, organizer Josh Marks of Georgians for the Okefenokee told The Current GA.
Afterward, attendees learned about efforts to prevent mining near the newly named UNESCO World Heritage Site and wrote letters to: Toledo Manufacturing, urging the Charlton-based timber company to abandon any pursuit of mining and instead conserve its lands; Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, urging him to allow a vote on the Okefenokee Protection Act to prohibit mining on Trail Ridge; and Atlanta-based Home Depot, urging the company to publicly pledge it will never sell paint containing minerals sourced from the Okefenokee.
Also noted
- Trick or Trees: Garden City is hosting a Halloween-themed community event with a free tree giveaway for residents along with car decorations, food, music and costumes. Event begins 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 at the New Rec Center, 200 Eagles Way, Garden City.
- The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Board meets Tuesday in Atlanta. On its agenda is a vote to formalize proposed rules to allow private recreational docks of up to 1,650 feet long and 6 feet wide along the coast. The DNR received hundreds of public comments opposed to the new rules and only a handful in support of the longer docks that a few influential stakeholders championed.
- The University of Georgia has been awarded an $8 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries to lead a three-year regional initiative to restore salt marsh habitat across the South Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida. The project’s approach involves planning, data collection, permitting and community outreach to produce engineering designs for the project sites, including Bird-Long Island in Chatham County.
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