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  • Chatham County nonprofits receive nearly $1M for preventive healthcare

    Chatham County nonprofits receive nearly $1M for preventive healthcare

    Chatham County nonprofits receive nearly $1M for preventive healthcare

    Four nonprofit organizations in Chatham County will receive nearly $1 million in grants to provide preventative healthcare in the area.

    The Chatham County Hospital Authority Trust announced Wednesday that it will grant $964,000 to four organizations.

    The money for the trust came from the 2017 sale of Savannah’s nonprofit Memorial Health University Medical Center. It was sold to the largest for-profit healthcare system, HCA, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.

    The trust partnered with United Way of the Coastal Empire to administer and facilitate the grant process, according to the announcement.

    Joyce Roche, chair of the trust, told GPB that this is only the second time the trust has given funds.

    “It is for the most vulnerable of our citizen population here in Chatham County,” she said.

    Roche said the trust will make more awards when it has the earnings, which rely on a $25 million initial investment.

    Here are the recipients:

    • Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care, Inc. – $250,000
    • Hospice Savannah, Inc. – $214,000
    • J.C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center, Inc. – $250,000
    • MedBank Foundation, Inc. – $250,000

  • Fulton commissioner Dana Barrett enters crowded race for Georgia secretary of state

    Fulton commissioner Dana Barrett enters crowded race for Georgia secretary of state

    Fulton commissioner Dana Barrett enters crowded race for Georgia secretary of state

    A Fulton County elected official announced her candidacy for Georgia Secretary of State.

    Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett planned a news conference Thursday morning to launch her campaign. She joins a crowded Democratic primary that includes former Fulton County State Court Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, Adrian Consonery Jr. and Cam T. Ashling.

    Fulton County drew national attention after the 2020 election with claims from President Donald Trump that voter fraud in the county cost him the election.

    Barrett was part of the Democratic majority that refused to approve two Republican nominees to the county election board. The decision resulted in a judge finding the Board of Commissioners in civil contempt, but the ruling is currently on hold pending appeal.

    At a Board of Commissioners meeting in August, Barrett claimed that elections were under attack.

    “I ran for this seat, in a large part, because I wanted to be in a spot to defend the integrity of our elections, and I stand by that commitment today,” she said.

    The seat is currently held by Republican Brad Raffensperger, who announced in September 2025 his bid for governor. Raffensperger defended Georgia’s election results in 2020 despite intense pressure from the Trump administration and the infamous call from Trump asking Raffensperger to “find” more votes.

    Republican primary candidates include Gabriel Sterling, state Rep. Tim Fleming, Vernon Jones and Kelvin King.

  • South Georgia town bucks national trends with falling unemployment in 2025

    South Georgia town bucks national trends with falling unemployment in 2025

    South Georgia town bucks national trends with falling unemployment in 2025

    Although inflation and unemployment rose across the United States in 2025, a small town in south Georgia saw significant economic growth.

    WALB 10 reports that Moultrie and Colquitt County saw its unemployment rate drop from 3.9% to 3.4%. Nationally, unemployment rose from 4.1% to 4.4% in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Moultrie City Manager Peter Dillard told WALB that the growth is due to multiple new investments and collaborative efforts between local organizations.

    “Our city-county organizations have done well. Our school system, our hospitals. I think we’re really seeing the fruits of our new hybrid Downtown Development Authority and Economic Development Authority,” he said.

    Dillard said new industries and companies moved into the town, including EnergyTek, Hobby Lobby and Marshalls. Efforts to revitalize the downtown area have paid off, he said.

    “I remember twenty years ago, you could ride through town on Saturday, and it was empty. It was like a ghost town. Today, you can barely find a parking place,” Dillard said.

    Georgia’s overall unemployment rate also decreased in 2025 from 3.6% in January to 3.4% in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Fulton County reparations report estimates billions in harm to Black residents

    Fulton County reparations report estimates billions in harm to Black residents

    Fulton County reparations report estimates billions in harm to Black residents

    A report from a volunteer group estimates that restitution for Black residents in Fulton County could be in the billions.

    The Fulton County Reparations Task Force submitted a 636-page report to commissioners outlining the harms to Black residents perpetrated through slavery and discrimination in Georgia’s most populous county, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

    The report did not record one comprehensive amount for the damage and did not give recommendations for reparations, which is the next stage of the task force’s project.

    “People like to talk about how these harms were done in the past and they’re no longer our responsibility, and we fundamentally disagree with that,” Amanda Meng, a task force member, told county commissioners last month. “A lot of our data in the study show that these inequities are still visible today, and we’re still responsible for them.”

    Here are some key numbers from the report.

    • In 1853, Fulton County received $75,000 from taxes based on the assessed value of enslaved people. That could equal between $2.4 million to $674 million today depending on the compound interest rate.
    • After slavery was abolished, convict labor began in 1876 with Georgia’s first county chain gang in Fulton. The report calculated the total loss for Black convict laborers in Fulton County to be between $4.6 billion and $13.6 billion depending on if their wages were invested over time.
    • Unequal access to the public library system during segregation resulted in the loss of $81 million to $1.7 billion in resources and services.

    The commissioners approved extending the task force another 12-24 months to prepare a Repair Report.

    Other places in Georgia are also looking to conduct research regarding the harm done to Black residents of the state. The Decatur Reparations Task Force plans to prepare a Harm Report as well as Atlanta’s Reparations Study Commission.

  • Georgia teachers group sues DeKalb schools over alleged contract violations

    Georgia teachers group sues DeKalb schools over alleged contract violations

    Georgia teachers group sues DeKalb schools over alleged contract violations

    A professional association for teachers in Georgia filed a lawsuit in December against DeKalb County Schools over, what they say, is a breach of contract. 

    The Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) filed a lawsuit in DeKalb County Superior Court on behalf of three members, according to a news release. 

    The lawsuit claims that an email was sent to nearly 700 employees on May 2, 2025, informing them that they were no longer eligible for employment contracts. Georgia’s Quality Basic Education Act requires all certified professional personnel to receive annual written employment contracts.

    “This is unprecedented and frightening,” said Mike McGonigle, GAE General Counsel and Legal Services Director, in the news release. “DeKalb has undermined the very purpose of the law, which is to avoid, in part, the ambiguity of ‘at-will’ employment.”

    When asking for clarification on the change, the lawsuit claims the school district sent a “nonsensical Frequently Asked Questions” list and a YouTube video. The district also claimed that the jobs of the employees remained secure, according to the news release.

    “Certified educators across the state have relied upon the consistency and certainty of this basic right for decades,” McGonigle said. “We are asking the court to treat GAE members with the respect and dignity they deserve by requiring DeKalb to issue written employment agreements.”

    The lawsuit requests the district issue written employment agreements and pay reasonable attorney fees.

  • Historic swearing-in marks Alicia Johnson’s election to Georgia PSC

    Historic swearing-in marks Alicia Johnson’s election to Georgia PSC

    Historic swearing-in marks Alicia Johnson’s election to Georgia PSC

    At a ceremonial swearing-in Monday, Alicia Johnson called her election a “historic milestone.”

    Johnson, a Chatham County resident, will become the first Black woman elected to a statewide partisan office in Georgia as she takes her place at the Public Service Commission.

    “I think that anybody who does something for the first time has a — you know it could be an overwhelming sense of responsibility,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s a shame that a commission that has over a 100-year history, that I’m the first anything on it. But the reality is, that’s who we are.”

    Johnson, along with newly elected Commissioner Peter Hubbard, will take her seat Jan. 1, shortly after a monumental decision made by the commission to expand Georgia Power’s capacity.

    “I accept this responsibility fully aware that the decisions made in this room and in this role affects families’ monthly bills, their community health, their economic opportunity, and our shared future,” Johnson told reporters at the event.

    Johnson will also be the first Democratic woman ever elected to the Georgia Public Service Commission. The commission has been made up of five Republicans for roughly 25 years, and the Republicans will still have the majority after Johnson and Hubbard take their seats at midnight.

    “You stand with me at the intersection of history and responsibility,” Johnson said at the event. “This oath connects me to a long arc of progress in Georgia — one shaped by citizens who dared and expanded the promise of democracy through courage, sacrifice, and persistence.”

  • Buddhist monks, rescue dog draw crowds in Metro Atlanta Walk for Peace

    Buddhist monks, rescue dog draw crowds in Metro Atlanta Walk for Peace

    Buddhist monks, rescue dog draw crowds in Metro Atlanta Walk for Peace

    People from all over the Metro Atlanta area are gathering to support, watch and cheer on 19 Buddhist monks and a rescue dog as they make a 2,300-mile Walk for Peace.

    Atlanta News First reports the group stopped in Fayetteville and Morrow on Monday and will be in Decatur Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.

    “It’s an amazing experience just walking for peace and joy,” Diana Jackson told Atlanta News First. “It just shows that there can be peace and there’s people willing to go out there and fight for it.”

    Jackson said she brought her daughter to see the group at Trillith in Fayetteville.

    The monks started their walk Oct. 26 in Fort Worth, Texas, and plan to end the walk in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 16.

    The goal of the walk is to promote peace and unity, Bhikkhu Pannakara told Atlanta News First.

    “We have different backgrounds, different skin colors, different languages, that we speak and different faiths but everybody coming together because of peace and this is love,” said Pannakara.

    Pannakara said they are also promoting mindfulness and asking everyone to slow down.

    “Not multitask anymore and just be mindful with it…if we can live that way with mindfulness every single day then we will have a peaceful day in our family then peace will spread,” said Pannakara.

  • Georgia awarded $218.8M to launch major rural health care transformation

    Georgia awarded $218.8M to launch major rural health care transformation

    Georgia awarded $218.8M to launch major rural health care transformation

    Georgia has been awarded $218.8 million for the first annual installment of a five year program that aims to improve health care in rural areas.

    Gov. Brian Kemp announced the award with the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH). DCH applied for the grant through the federal government’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), an effort to mitigate some of the health cuts from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

    “This funding will help move us forward in strengthening our rural providers while bringing cost-saving innovations to the state’s health system,” Kemp said in a news release.

    Kemp’s administration requested $1.4 billion over the course of five years in their application to the program. The $218.8 million is the first allotment.

    The money will fund Georgia’s Rural Enhancement And Transformation of Health, or GREAT Health program.

    “When Georgia was presented with this funding opportunity, we sought public input to shape the grant process – because different rural communities have different needs,” said Dr. Dean Burke, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health, in the news release. “Through the GREAT Health program, we remain committed to driving true transformation of healthcare in rural Georgia.”

    The GREAT Health program implements 29 strategies across five initiatives, according to the application. The first initiative is largely a planning and assessing stage of the program, according to the application.

    • Transforming for a Sustainable Health System in Rural Georgia: $428,350,000
    • Strengthening the Continuum of Care in Rural Georgia: $234,904,250
    • Connecting to Care to Improve Healthcare Access in Rural Georgia: $217,036,750
    • Growing a Highly Skilled Healthcare Workforce in Rural Georgia: $220,519,001
    • Leveraging Technology for Healthcare Innovations in Rural Georgia: $233,349,384

    The application suggested funding each initiative each year of the five year program. However, because the first allotment is more than $200 million less than the cost of the first initiative, it is unclear from the news release which parts of the GREAT Health program will be funded.

  • More ACA plans qualify for HSAs, expanding tax-free health savings

    More ACA plans qualify for HSAs, expanding tax-free health savings

    More ACA plans qualify for HSAs, expanding tax-free health savings

    Millions of Americans will have access to health savings accounts (HSAs) at the start of the new year.

    People who purchase a “bronze” or “catastrophic coverage” policy through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange or equivalent will be qualified to have an HSA, a benefit that was previously only available to high deductible health plans.

    Kevin Robertson, the chief growth officer at HSA Bank, told Georgia Public Broadcasting that HSAs provide a way to save and pay for health care expenditures without having to pay taxes on the savings.

    “HSAs are designed to pay for the health care expenditures that health insurance does not,” he said. “So for example, that could include deductibles, co-pays, out-of-pocket expenditures such as over-the-counter meds, dental, vision.”

    HSA funds can be used for any member of a person’s immediate family, so spouses or children. Robertson said the average person spends about $3,000 a year to cover healthcare expenses.

    “You can also invest those dollars,” he said. “That way you’re not solely getting a bank account interest rate.”

    Of the 1.5 million Georgians enrolled in ACA plans through Georgia Access in 2025, 368,000 had “bronze” plans, according to GPB.

  • Kemp seeks $1.4B federal grant to overhaul rural health care in Georgia

    Kemp seeks $1.4B federal grant to overhaul rural health care in Georgia

    Kemp seeks $1.4B federal grant to overhaul rural health care in Georgia

    Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration requested $1.4 billion from the Trump administration to “transform” rural health care in Georgia.

    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Trump administration will award one-time grants by the end of 2025 for the purpose of improving rural health care.

    Kemp’s administration submitted a nearly 100 page request including projects such as drop-in telehealth “pods,” funds for recruiting nurses and health transportation networks, according to the AJC.

    The project is called Georgia’s Rural Enhancement And Transformation of Health, or GREAT Health program. 

    The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act created the $50 billion program, from which half of the funds will be evenly distributed among the states. The Trump administration will decide who receives the other funds.

    The program is a one-time, five-year expenditure, so it will not replace the $1 trillion that the act cut from health care expenditures, which are ongoing.

    The GREAT Health program implements 29 strategies across five initiatives, according to Georgia Department of Community Health frequently asked questions sheet.

    • Transforming for a Sustainable Health System in Rural Georgia
    • Strengthening the Continuum of Care in Rural Georgia
    • Connecting to Care to Improve Healthcare Access in Rural Georgia
    • Growing a Highly Skilled Healthcare Workforce in Rural Georgia
    • Leveraging Technology for Healthcare Innovations in Rural Georgia

    States are supposed to be notified about their award by Dec. 31.