Your Officials at Work, Your Power

Sunday Solutions — Sept. 15, 2024

Good morning! It’s Democracy Day — a day of collaboration by news organizations across the United States to report information about the challenges our democracy faces. Here, at The Current, it’s our goal every day: We believe credible, in-depth journalism helps give citizens the power and facts they need to participate and strengthen government, while holding elected and appointed officials accountable for representing all their constituents. As it happens, there’s a lot of opportunity for citizen input in this week’s news.

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NEWS: GOVERNING

Your elected officials at work

We take a moment today to look at some statewide news — after all, the General Assembly committees are working on all sorts of things that affect us all. For many issues, it’s easier and more effective for citizens to weigh in now than in the heat of the legislative session, and meetings occur all over the state instead of the Capitol. Keep up with committee gatherings now at this link.

• Georgia lawmakers about to focus on private water systems: With the rush to get water to the Hyundai project and the need to feed other development across the state, one group is looking at whether private water systems follow the same rules as public ones. From Capitol Beat.
• Georgia state senators assert power to subpoena after Fulton DA skips investigative hearing: Can the legislature compel a county elected official to appear and testify? From Georgia Recorder
• Georgia regulators consider pricey power plant to bolster forestry jobs: Although it’s not legislative, the Public Service Commission is made up of members all Georgians can vote for and the group’s work directly impacts your household expenses. In this case, their considerations collide with the state’s powerful timber industry, climate change, and your power bill. From WABE/Grist
• Georgia lawmakers reconsider bills to hold adults accountable for firearm safety: After the deadly school shooting last week in Barrow County, legislators in the Georgia House and Senate are revisiting the various bills they ignored last session. From Georgia Recorder

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NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY

Driver training gets rough review

A new audit of Georgia’s driver education requirements shows an outdated curriculum that’s as old as you have to be to get your learner’s permit. There’s also no training on new technology for parking and safety systems, or how to handle a traffic stop or crash site responsibilities. Most of the state’s requirements are based on letting parents guide young drivers-to-be through a workbook and there’s no real proof the at-home training occurred. All of that assumes parents learned proper wheel skills to pass along. A story from Georgia Recorder looks at what research says will help make our roads and future drivers safer.

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It’s a tight race

We’ve got a close match for the leaderboard this week with 3 winners and a tie overall. Shots, SG Mark and Kaspar: Way to go! Want to catch up with them, here’s your chance to test your news knowledge with a few short questions related to stories we published in recent weeks.

Make sure you compete every week and leave your nickname for a chance to win an exclusive prize from The Current.

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TYPE OF WORK: REMINDERS

Make a plan

• DISTRICT ATTORNEY CANDIDATES FORUM: Chatham County District Attorney challenger Andre Pretorius and incumbent Shalena Cook Jones will answer questions in a public forum at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St., in Savannah. It’s sponsored by the League of Women Voters for Coastal Georgia and WJCL. You can view it live on WJCL.com. Doors open at 6 for the live event.
• GLYNN ZONING DRAFT, OPEN HOUSES: Glynn County staff will hold a citizens open house meetings at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 on St. Simons and Sept. 26 in Brunswick to answer any questions citizens may have and to discuss ongoing SPLOST projects and the Strategic Plan. There’s information on that at this link. The final draft Zoning Ordinance Update was posted last week on the county site, as well. You can view it and get more information on how to submit your comments (due Sept. 18) before the next planning meeting at this link.

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Your homework: Secure your voice

On Tuesday, you have an assignment. You can choose one of 3 things, or a combination, for National Voter Registration Day: 1) Check your own voter registration at this link. Make sure it’s active. 2) If you aren’t registered, go to this link and do it. 3) Grab a friend and help them with their homework on assignments 1 or 2. And if you know someone who doesn’t have a drivers license and needs an official state ID, earn extra credit and help them out with instructions at this link. You’ll have a final exam when early voting opens.

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FEATURE: EDUCATION

☕ Your second cup: It’s not the phone, it’s the fun

In times where stories leave you feeling a bit helpless, we have this story to give some insight on what teachers are learning from phone-free classes. New research says students thrive if they have better options than what the phone provides. So that’s the real challenge: Find more attractive activities that rival screen time. Here’s a story from Reasons to be Cheerful about how that idea is working in classrooms from France to Florida.

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