Sunday Solutions — Dec. 8, 2024
Good morning! So we’ve had a touch of winter and it’s time to get back on track. Uncover your plants and let them enjoy the sun while you get caught up on news of the week and a potential solution for the housing shortage.
NEWS: HEALTH
Truth in advertising…for clinics
Crisis pregnancy clinics across Georgia aim to help women navigate a difficult time. In a state where more women — especially Black women — are dying from pregnancy-related health problems, a clinic’s message needs to be crystal-clear about what it can and cannot provide. And, that’s not always the case, even though many crisis pregnancy centers receive state funding, say women’s healthcare advocates.
To address the issue, State Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook (D-163) says she will introduce a bill in January’s General Assembly to limit state grants — which can run into the millions of taxpayer dollars — for unregulated crisis pregnancy centers and define terms like “advertising,” “emergency contraception,” and “pregnancy services center.”
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Okefenokee mine plan lives
While the public comment period on a proposed expansion of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge winds down, the company that’s requesting to mine near the fragile swamp says it’s ready to start work when permission is granted. Twin Pines Minerals president Steve Ingle told Georgia Recorder’s Jill Nolin that the company is ready to dig when the state Department of Natural Resources issues the permits. However, DNR says it’s still wading through the 70,000+ comments about those requests. In the meantime, there’s an online public hearing Monday just before public comment ends Dec. 13 on a plan to add 22,000 more acres to the refuge’s perimeter if the land owners will sell.
…And we’re back
The quiz is back from its Thanksgiving nap and ready to see how well you’ve been keeping up. Test your news knowledge with a few short questions related to stories we published. The leaderboard’s a scramble as we careen toward the end of the year and the finals.
Leaderboard Nov. 10, 2024
First Place (10/10): Laurie, Shots, Kaspar, BBC
Second Place (8/10): SG Mark, Paul, Sadie T, BS
Third Place (6/10): EMF 33, VBRELLC, BC
Overall Leaderboard:
First Place: Shots
Second Place: SGMark
Third Place: EMF33
Make sure you compete every week and leave your nickname below for a chance to win an exclusive prize from The Current!
NEWS
Updates: Fishing rights & more
- Georgia lawmakers recommend status quo for fishing rights: After months of meeting, a committee recommends no changes in law that says people can fish legally in state’s navigable streams. From Capitol Beat.
- Chatham County shelves anti-homeless ‘urban camping’ law, for now: And agenda item to regulate urban camping was pulled at the last minute, but will likely return. The county law would’ve targeted homeless citizens. From GPB News.
- In rare occurrence, family of Savannah Police shooting victim releases footage: Attorneys say releasing the video will benefit both sides by adding transparency to the court case. From The Current’s Jake Shore.
- Georgia students show across-the-board improvements in CCRPI scores: Elementary school students showed the most progress in a good report for the state’s public schools on its baseline standardized tests. See how your school fared. From Capitol Beat.
- Georgia economy to grow in 2025 but more slowly: A lag is predicted, but economists expect the state to stay ahead of national averages next year. From Capitol Beat.
- Trump taps David Perdue as ambassador to China: Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue joins former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (Small Business Administration) and Rep. Mike Collins (Veterans Affairs) with an appointment the incoming administration. From Capitol Beat.
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EXPLAINER: HOUSING
☕ Your second cup: Offices to workforce housing
The words affordable housing mean different things to people with differing perspectives. If you have steady work at a low-wage job it could mean you can’t live anywhere near your work. Research already shows that rising housing costs are a key driver of homelessness. Newer research now shows that as office buildings sit nearly empty in urban settings, converting the space to co-living spaces might be a win-win situation for workers and building owners. Additional units mean slightly more total revenue than with typical apartments or older office buildings. And rents would be lower than studio apartments making them affordable for people earning less than half the area median income. Read the data that drives the idea and how experts visualize the conversions.
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Mining company vows to forge ahead when permitted despite feds’ Okefenokee Refuge expansion plan
By Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
Proposal is for a “minor expansion” of the refuge’s existing boundaries to bolster protections of the unspoiled freshwater wetland system and wildlife habitats found in the largest blackwater swamp in North America.
Maternal deaths, women’s health prompt legislation
By Robin Kemp
By 2021, Georgia CPCs had raked in $10,314,706 in tax dollars, according to SPARK, an Atlanta-based reproductive justice organization. In fiscal year 2024 alone, DPH disbursed $2,033,112.06 to “direct client service providers” through the Positive Alternatives for Pregnancy and Parenting Grant Program.
Georgia students show across-the-board improvements in CCRPI scores
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Elementary-school students posted the highest score in closing gaps, which measures how well schools meet annual improvement targets for student subgroups.
Georgia lawmakers recommend status quo for fishing rights
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
A debate over a long-assumed right of passage along Georgia waterways – including the right to fish and hunt – began early last year when a property owner banned fishing there and sued the state to enforce it.
In rare occurrence, family of Savannah Police shooting victim releases footage
By Jake Shore
Decision by family of Saudi Lee, killed by a Savannah Police Department officer Ernest Ferguson in 2022, to release body camera footage marks latest unusual turn in cases examining the fatal shooting.
Chatham County shelves anti-homeless ‘urban camping’ law, for now
By Benjamin Payne/GPB News
The Chatham County Commission’s withdrawal of the homeless camping code came after fierce public opposition, but the measure may return at a future meeting.
Georgia economy to grow in 2025 but more slowly
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Georgia will continue to outperform the nation, which economic forecasters project to grow by 1.6% in 2025.
Trump taps David Perdue as ambassador to China
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Perdue had significant business experience in the Far East, including China, in his roles as CEO of Dollar General and as a top executive at Reebok and Sara Lee.
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