The Current GA

09/25/2025

At Tuesday’s joint meeting of two local water planning councils, International Paper was the thirsty elephant no longer in the room.

International Paper's closure of its Riceboro and Savannah paper mills will free up 22 million gallons of Floridan aquifer water a day, and local water councils discussed what that means at a recent meeting.

09/25/2025

Glynn County has not turned off controversial lighting at the I-95 exit for Buc-ee’s convenience store despite getting written permission to do so earlier this month from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Glynn County in Georgia has not yet turned off high-mast lighting at the I-95 exit for Buc-ee's convenience store, despite receiving permission to do so from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

09/24/2025

WALTHOURVILLE — A federal judge in Augusta has set a Sept. 23 arraignment for six of eight House of Prayer Christian Church leaders accused of fleecing their flock. Attorneys for all eight defendants have until Sept. 24 to respond to the government’s request to waive a speedy trial based on the volume of evidence in the case.

The government alleges HOPCC ran fraudulent real estate and education schemes that siphoned over $23 million in veterans’ benefits into leaders’ pockets. The court had ordered attorneys for both sides “not file their exhibit list and/or witness list on the record.”

09/24/2025

Georgia’s new program to subsidize private education has helped more than 8,000 children move from public schools with low test score averages to educational organizations predominantly affiliated with Christian churches, data from the Georgia Education Savings Authority shows.

Georgia's new program to subsidize private education has helped over 8,000 children move from public schools to private schools, with $5.4 million of the $7.1 million distributed going to 286 private schools and $1.7 million going to 153 companies, including Amazon.

09/23/2025

An immigration judge ordered Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara to be deported on Friday despite a pending First Amendment case in federal court, setting off a frenzied attempt by his attorneys to stop the deportation from happening.

This story also appeared in Georgia Recorder.

Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara was ordered to be deported by an immigration judge on Friday, despite a pending First Amendment case in federal court, prompting a frenzied effort by his attorneys to stop the deportation.

09/23/2025

In this week’s Coastal Navigator, here’s a list of public meetings and agendas to help you follow the work of officials you’ve elected.

The financial pressures in a small Coastal Georgia city mirror what’s going on in every city: aging infrastructure and the rising costs of employees versus a complex patchwork of grants, loans, taxes, bonds and fees.

09/20/2025

We’re set up today at the Discover Norwich Multicultural Festival in Brunswick! 🎉

Stop by The Current GA table to learn more about how nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism is serving Coastal Georgia and how you can be part of it. We’ve got merch, great conversation, and a chance to meet the team behind the stories that matter most in our communities.

We’ll be here until 5 p.m. Come say hello, Golden Isles friends!

09/19/2025

As Walthourville’s elected officials work out the city’s 2026 proposed budget, some citizens say they are frustrated by what they feel is a lack of transparency about the city’s finances.

Walthourville is struggling to balance its budget due to rising costs, debt, and lack of revenue, leading to frustration among citizens and a petition for an investigation into the city's finances, while the city is also trying to catch up on its audits and explore new revenue streams.

09/18/2025

On the roof of Asbury Memorial Church’s education building in Savannah, 122 solar panels will soon be facing south to capture the sun’s energy, lower the church’s electric bill and decrease its contribution to global warming.

Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah is installing a solar array to reduce its electric bill and carbon footprint, thanks to a successful statewide pilot program that was set to ramp up but had to close due to the Trump Administration's defunding of the Solar for All program.

09/18/2025

What an evening! Our Constitution Day Town Hall brought the community together for thoughtful conversation, powerful insights, and an unforgettable night with Keep Our Republic.

We’re grateful to everyone who attended and supported civic engagement, and especially to our community partners for making it possible. Your partnership helps ensure events like these remain accessible.

These conversations don’t end here. It’s just the beginning of more dialogue and connection in Coastal Georgia. League of Women Voters of Coastal Georgia WSAV News 3 On Your Side

📸 Photo credit: Bunny Ware

Check out the pictures here!

09/17/2025

We would like to invite you to join The Current GA virtually for our Constitution Day town hall via livestream in partnership with WSAV on September 17 at 6:30 p.m. View the event live at the link below. 📜💻🎙️

WSAV will livestream the town hall Wednesday, Sept. 17, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

09/17/2025

The Chatham County Commission has suffered another legal setback in its attempts to reinstate the disbanded board of directors of the region’s transit authority.

Judge Timothy R. Walmsley has ordered the Chatham County Commission to refrain from creating a parallel board of directors for the region's transit authority, granting a victory to the reconfigured board and halting the commission's attempts to restore the disbanded board.