Sunday Solutions — April 13, 2025
Good morning! It’s a beautiful spring day. Get outside and enjoy, then be sure to come back and catch up with us — there’s so much new to know about local water sharing power, what’s coming up to watch and new cuts that may mean changes for you or someone you love. It’s all part of our mission to fuel your dinnertime conversations for the next few days.
EXPLAINER: GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Water power for the future
Over the years, Savannah has had a confirmed seat at the bargaining table for any growth or development project in the surrounding counties. Its ace card? Water. The city could supply industries and homes in adjacent areas because of its massive Savannah River surface water treatment plant, the only one on the coast. That powerful card will soon be a little less valuable as a new agreement facilitated by the state will trim Savannah’s influence as a water supplier and hand Effingham County its own ace to play in the future. The Current’s Mary Landers takes a look at the history and the role water plays in the explosive growth for area counties, and how the agreement may help facilitate more development in the future.
NEWS: GOVERNING
Catching up
We’ve heard a lot about tariffs this week, but there are other changes coming from the overhaul of federal departments and services. Here are a few stories that you may have missed while checking your 401K:
- Beyond Showerheads: Trump’s Attempts to Kill Appliance Regulations Cause Chaos: From ProPublica. The appliance industry faces trouble as water- and energy-saving standards for basics like toilets get pummeled. While a presidential order won’t end the standards, killing the process that evaluates and enforces the rules might. Makers fear it could unleash less safe and reliable market competitors.
- Layoffs at HHS planning office jeopardize healthcare assistance programs: From KKF Health News. We learn that the only data keepers for planning assistance coverage of services and benefits including Medicaid, SNAP benefits and Affordable Care Act clients have been fired, affecting help for 80 million citizens.
- Immigrants without legal status must now register and carry documents, after court order: From Georgia Recorder. A judge ruled that plaintiffs in a case lacked standing and couldn’t prove harm, leaving a rule requiring documentation at all times for migrants.
🎉 Congratulations to Mandy Harvey for knowing that last week’s Spyglass was the official Brunswick Stew pot at the visitor center in Brunswick in Glynn County. We had 3 correct answers last week (c’mon y’all) — 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: COMMUNITY
Libraries take the point
Few places represent the breadth of American culture, arts and academia in the way that library collections do. This begs several notes this week:
- Libraries remain a door to adventure, a refuge, and a necessary free fountain of information for many. Last week, Google Trends showed “Library card” and “how to get library card” were searched more than ever in 2025.
- A Georgia Senate bill to hold librarians criminally liable for recommending books deemed “harmful” to minors slumbers in the House when the Georgia General Assembly adjourned last week. It wasn’t the first time that came up, and the bill needs only a successful House vote next session to go to the governor’s desk.
- Federal cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services are landing hard on popular library systems, including the PINES system that allowed users access to other parts of the state systems and the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. A story from WABE last week summarizes the challenges to your neighborhood library now that grants are evaporating.
And on that note, Live Oak Public Libraries, with branches in Chatham, Effingham and Liberty counties, announced that it is a Book Sanctuary Library — the first system in Georgia to earn the designation. That means the board has underscored its mission to be a space for endangered stories.
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 16, Fine Arts Auditorium, Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University. Click here for info. The Current GA is a Bronze sponsor.
Notes
Today: During the annual Darien Blessing of the Fleet Festival, there’s a dedication of a new historical marker at Waterfront Park at 11 a.m. to commemorate the first landing of enslaved Africans by the Spanish to North America in 1526. At 1 p.m., clergy will greet shrimpers aboard their boats, as they look for protection from foreign imports and a good harvest year for wild-caught shrimp.
This week: The clock is ticking toward the demolition of Yamacraw Village, in downtown Savannah. The goal will be to build newer accessible housing. The Housing Authority of Savannah on Thursday approved a resolution for demolition of the housing area, starting the clock for required reviews and comments.
Coming soon: The City of Savannah is evaluating questions and feedback now on a plan for the future of Forsyth Park. City Council is expected to vote on the memorandum of understanding with the nonprofit Friends of Forsyth on April 24. The plan has undergone changes since it was last headed for council. You can read it here.
INVESTIGATIVE: PUBLIC SAFETY
☕ Your second cup: Reality shows, or not.
In the world of oxymorons, we find “reality TV.” If you are a follower of true crime podcasts and “reality tv” like “Survivor” or “Top Chef,” you likely have an idea that the presence of cameras and microphones can change people’s behaviors. The type of series — in any form — that aims to “show you truth” can also warp your sense of how things actually work. Here’s a story and video from ProPublica that points out that a true crime show’s staged scenes may have shaped the case that evenutally led to the arrest and conviction of the wrong man in Minnesota: What Reality TV Gets Wrong About Criminal Investigations. (Spoiler: So Much.). Enjoy.
We want to meet your friends! If you like this newsletter be sure to share it. And, if someone shared this with you, click here to sign up for regular delivery!
State funding reshapes Savannah-area water market
By Mary Landers
Effingham County is set to become a bigger player in supplying the area’s water, with a $501 million water infrastructure package approved by the state legislature that includes a new surface water treatment plant, only the second in Coastal Georgia.
FAQ: How much do you know about your water?
By Mary Landers
As Hyundai increases demands on water supplies, learn about where the Savannah area gets its water and how the supply is regulated and protected.
Public libraries in Georgia brace for federal cuts
By Molly Samuel/WABE
Loss of federal funding would affect programs that serve local public libraries, including the statewide summer reading program; online access to journals, books and other publications; access to material at other Georgia library systems; and the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
Regents to vote on consolidating Georgia Southern, East Georgia State College
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia Board of Regents will vote next week on a proposal to consolidate Georgia Southern University and East Georgia State College. This story also appeared in Capitol Beat News Service The university system launched a wave of consolidations back in 2011 under the late Chancellor Hank Huckaby that initially […]
Layoffs at HHS planning office jeopardize healthcare assistance programs
By Arthur Allen/KFF Health News
Under a 1981 appropriations bill, HHS is required annually to take Census Bureau poverty-line figures, adjust them for inflation, and create guidelines that agencies and states use to determine who is eligible for various types of help.
Immigrants without legal status must now register and carry documents, after court order
By Ariana Figueroa/Georgia Recorder
Millions of immigrants in the US are required to register with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as of Friday, and failure to comply could result in fines and potential prison sentences.
Nonprofit forms to keep eye on Georgia utilities
By Mary Landers
Consumer energy expert Patty Durand has formed a nonprofit to address utility costs and regulation in Georgia. The nonprofit aims to protect Georgia consumers through “utility oversight, reform advocacy, and public education.”
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.