King Henry VII of England was crowned on October 30, 1485.
Sir Walter Raleigh, founder of the first permanent English settlement in America, was beheaded on October 29, 1618 for conspiring against King James I.
King Charles I of England granted a charter for a new colony called Carolana that included much of present-day Georgia, along with the current states of North and South Carolina, on October 30, 1629.
Georgia’s first Royal Governor, John Reynolds, arrived at Savannah on October 29, 1754.
John Hancock resigned as President of the Continental Congress on October 29, 1777.
Stephen Douglas of Illinois campaigned in Atlanta for President of the United States on October 30, 1860. Douglas had defeated Abraham Lincoln for United States Senate in 1858, giving rise to the Lincoln-Douglas style of debate.
On October 30, 1871, Republican Benjamin Conley became acting Governor of Georgia after Republican Governor Rufus Bullock resigned; Conley served as President of the state Senate before taking office as Governor.
Conley took the oath of office on Oct. 30, 1871. Two days later, the new General Assembly convened and elected a new Democratic president of the Senate, but Conley refused to give up the office. The General Assembly then passed a law over Conley’s veto to hold a special election for governor on the third Tuesday in December. In that election, Democratic House speaker James M. Smith defeated Conley and assumed office Jan. 12, 1872.
The New York Stock Exchange crashed on October 29, 1929, beginning the spiral to the Great Depression.
On October 30, 1938, a science fiction drama called War of the Worlds was broadcast nationwide in the form of a series of simulated radio broadcasts.
The first ballpoint pen went on sale at Gimbel’s Department Store on October 29, 1945.
Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 30, 1945, becoming the first African-American professional baseball player in the major leagues.
On October 30, 1970, a fastball from Nolan Ryan was timed at 100.9 miles per hour, putting him in the record books.
On the same day, Jim Morrison of the Doors was sentenced to six months in prison and a $500 fine for allegedly exposing himself during a Miami concert. Morrision died before the case was heard on appeal.
Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia on October 29, 1971.
The Augusta Chronicle writes about the October 28, 1981 election of the city’s first Black mayor.
Edward M. McIntyre, who had been Richmond County’s first Black commissioner, was elected Augusta’s first Black mayor by more than a 1,000-vote margin in a runoff election.
“I’m just eager to go to work,” he said the day after his victory. “I’m delighted the people saw fit to give us a majority vote, and I look forward to working with city councilmen because they’re people with a tremendous amount of talent that we need.”
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
State Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-Watkinsville) announced he is giving up his house seat, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
Rep. Marcus Wiedower, R-Watkinsville, announced Tuesday that he is resigning after six years in the House because the company he works for is growing rapidly. The expansion will require more travel and would take him away from the Capitol during the legislative session, he said in a statement.
“While I’m stepping away from elected office, I look forward to remaining actively involved in our community and continuing to help tackle Georgia’s most pressing challenges, especially attainable housing through my work at Hillpointe,” he said.
Wiedower served as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, among other assignments.
House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said a special election will be called to elect a successor for House District 121 in Clarke and Oconee counties. Voters must also appoint a successor for Shelly Hutchinson, a Democrat from Snellville, who resigned from the House District 106 in September, and for Mandi Ballinger, a Canton Republican who died earlier this month, leaving House District 23 unrepresented.
The Senate also has a vacancy after Atlanta Democrat Jason Esteves resigned from Senate District 35 last month to focus on his campaign for governor.
Convincing the Georgia Legislature to legalize sports gambling was always going to be a tough sell. It got even harder on Tuesday with the resignation of state Rep. Marcus Wiedower.
The Watkinsville Republican had taken up the mantle of sports betting in recent years, including carrying this year’s doomed effort. Wiedower resigned to spend more time on his real estate business.
It’s not clear who will replace him as the House’s chief betting proponent.
One candidate is Republican state Rep. Ron Stephens of Savannah, who carried previous bills before Wiedower and once floated the idea of a riverside casino.
In the state Senate, Sens. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, and Carden Summers, R-Cordele, have also advocated for sports betting.
Two candidates are running for Mayor of Richmond Hill, according to the Savannah Morning News.
City Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Kristi Cox
“I know the homeless by name,” said Cox. “I can be a voice on council in just a little slightly different way than I was the voice at United Way because I had my thumb on the pulse of this community and I knew what was going on. I’m only in this position because this is where the Lord planted me. I have a task to do and I’ll be here until he moves me.”
“I love this city and the way it just feels like home,” she said on her Facebook page. “I believe Richmond Hill can thrive when we combine vision with values—honoring our small-town roots while preparing for a strong, sustainable future.”
Bulloch County voters are deciding whether to pass their Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education (E-SPLOST), according to the Statesboro Herald.
If Bulloch County voters in the current election rejected the proposed sixth five-year installment of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, the resulting uncertainty would halt plans for construction of a new 2,000-student Southeast Bulloch High School to begin in July 2026.
The need for certainty in financing the added new school is the main reason the “E-SPLOST 6” referendum is on the ballot now, almost three years before the current fifth E-SPLOST is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2028, Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson said in an interview Monday.
If voters approve, this will be a continuation of that same 1% tax from Oct. 1, 2028 until Sept. 30, 2033. The new SEB High School, which isn’t simply a replacement but an added school — with the current high school to become Southeast Bulloch Middle School and the current middle school an “upper elementary” for fourth and fifth grades — is the Bulloch County Board of Education’s top priority for the tax, Wilson affirmed.
If the tax were rejected in the referendum concluding next Tuesday, Nov. 4, the board could still bring another referendum before the current tax expired. But according to Wilson, allowing for that possibility has never been a reason for the early ask.
“Our reason for coming out early on this has been to be able to know whether we can move forward,” Wilson said. “We have been in the design phase of Southeast Bulloch High School. We are finalizing that. Our plans have been to try to start construction in July of 2026. Now, if we don’t know that we have the revenue source to tag onto E-SPLOST 5, we can’t start.”
But, turnout is low in Bulloch County, according to WTOC.
In the last week of early voting, very few people are taking advantage.
Turnout is low statewide ahead of the November election.
The numbers are down at the polls across the state for early voters. That includes counties across our region including Bulloch County where only about 5% of registered voters have come out to cast a vote.
Poll workers across the state say the voter lines are short, if there is one at all.
According to the Georgia Secretary of State website, only 4.5% of registered voters in Georgia have gone to the polls so far for the November election.
That is around 320 thousand people out of over 7 million.
“It’s always disappointing when you know that you have so many people,” said Shontay Jones, Bulloch Board of Elections.
Bulloch County Board of Elections Supervisor, Shontay Jones, says it all starts locally.
Key issues are on the ballot that will impact people for the next several years.
This includes the ESPLOST, FLOST, and the Statesboro Mayor race.
“When people complain about tax dollars and stuff like that but you know not coming out to voice your opinion or cast your ballot on things that will directly affect you,” said Jones.
So far, she says they have had 21 hundred Bulloch residents come through the door.
Around 5% of the registered voter population here.
“They could be unconcerned, uninformed, just over elections, you never know,” said Jones.
Jones says compared to the 20,000 who voted in the 2024 presidential election the possibility for what she calls “election burnout” is very real.
For Bulloch residents who do not vote in the early period, all 16 precincts will be open on November 4th.
While positions on Omega’s City Council will be the only local races with more than one candidate campaigning, the upcoming election on Nov. 4 will have some important seats to cast your ballot for at the state level.
The candidates for the Tifton and Ty Ty city council positions, as well as that of Ty Ty mayor, that are up for election this year have all run unopposed, many of them incumbents.
In Omega, though, Posts 2, 3, and 4 each have two candidates vying for election, with incumbent Cecile Gilliard and Rene Martinez campaigning for Post 2, Rodney Glaze and Ryan Voris for Post 3, and incumbent Chuck White and Gwen Robinson for Post 4.
Pearson
The city of Pearson has their mayoral race and two city council posts on the ballot this year.
The mayoral candidates are Jason Joyner and Jose Carlos Mejia. The previous mayor of Pearson, Robert “Buster” Johnson, resigned in September following his arrest by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) in February 2025.
In addition to the mayoral race, Pearson City Council Posts 4 and 5 will be voted on.
There is only one candidate listed on the ballot for Post 4 – Michael “Coolie” Joyner. For Post 5, the candidates are Richard Wade Carver and Shonna Elaine Mitchem.
Enigma
In Enigma, three city council posts, a referendum and the mayor’s seat are on the ballot.
City Council Posts 1, 3 and 4 are being voted on this year. There are three candidates for Post 1: Keith Barfield, James “Jim” Butler and Dennis Pitts. For Post 3, incumbent candidate Ronald Harbin is up against Sandra Buchanan. In Post 4, the only candidate listed on the ballot is incumbent Rick Maluda.
The Enigma mayoral race has two candidates: Jimmy Bennet and Wayne Chin.
Enigma voters will also have a referendum on their ballots. The city is asking voters whether or not liquor should be allowed to be sold in the city limits of Enigma. Specifically, “Shall the issuance of licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits or liquor within the city limits of Enigma, Georgia be approved?”
Edison
Edison voters will see three local races on their ballots. The races are for City Council Post 1, City Council Post 2 and Mayor.
Only one candidate is listed under each city council post. Incumbent Rena Timpson is on the ballot for Post 1, and incumbent Curtis Adams is on the ballot for Post 2.
For the mayoral race in Edison, incumbent Shirley Worthy faces Sheryl Rowe.
Cordele
The city of Cordele has three city commission races on the ballot, each with several candidates.
Four candidates are up for the Ward 2 seat on the commission. They are Bernard Fenn, Brenda Jones, Ulysses Morgan, Jr. and incumbent Royce Reeves, Sr.
Reeves was suspended from his commission seat in February via an executive order issued by Governor Brian Kemp.
In Ward 3, another three candidates are on the ballot. They are incumbent Isaac Owens, George Singletary and Jack Wood.
Cordele’s City Commissioner At Large is also on the ballot with seven candidates. The candidates are Carl Brown, Sr.; incumbent Joshua Antwan Deriso; Nikitoe Lester; Dravian Mcgill, Sr.; Ronald Michael, Sr.; J. Michelle Murray, and Joe Wright.
Blakely
There are two city council races on the ballot in Blakely.
For District 1, Post 1 Councilmember, the candidates are Torre Mills and D’Andrea O’Mar Williams. For District 2, Post 1 Councilmember, incumbent Brad Clenney and Darrell “Doc” Ceasar are the candidates.
Camilla
In Camilla, four city council races are on the ballot: District 1, Post 2; District 1, Post 3; District 2, Post 2, and District 2, Post 3.
Incumbent Raimond “Dewayne” Burley is the only candidate listed on the ballot for District 1, Post 2. For District 1’s Post 3, incumbent Oscar Maples, Jr. faces Venterra Marshay Pollard.
In the District 2, Post 2 race, Jeremiah Florence is up against incumbent W.D. “Danny” Palmer III. For District 2’s Post 3, Torry Jackson is facing incumbent Azalee Vereen.
Voters in Thomson will select a new mayor in the upcoming election as current Mayor Benji Cranford is not running for reelection.
Two candidates are running for the mayoral position: Keryl Corley and Ed Darby.
Whitfield County voters will decide a number of elections of November 4, 2025, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.
• Town of Cohutta General Election, to elect Mayor and 2 Town Council Seats. Town of Cohutta Special Election, to present a question regarding a Homestead
• Exemption from Ad Valorem Taxes for municipal purposes.
• City of Dalton General Election, to elect Alderman Ward 2, Alderman Ward 4, and 2 Municipal Board of Education seats.
• City of Dalton Special Election, to present a question regarding Homestead Exemption from Ad Valorem Taxes for municipal purposes.
• City of Dalton Independent School District Special Election, to present questions regarding Homestead Exemptions from Ad Valorem Taxes for educational purposes.
• City of Tunnel Hill General Election, to elect Councilman Post 3, Post 4 and Post 5.
• City of Tunnel Hill Special Election, to present a question regarding Homestead Exemption from Ad Valorem Taxes for municipal purposes.
• Whitfield County Special Election, to present a question regarding Homestead Exemptions from Ad Valorem Taxes for county purposes.
• Whitfield County School District Special Election, to present questions regarding Homestead Exemptions from Ad Valorem Taxes for educational purposes.
• A Statewide General Election to elect Public Service Commissioners District 2 and District 3
Annalinda Martinez of Kennesaw filed a lawsuit against the State of Georgia claiming the Georgia Department of Human Services billed her $500 per month for the cost of keeping her children in foster homes, according to The Imprint via the Savannah Morning News.
Georgia officials have responded to a federal lawsuit claiming the state is unfairly charging impoverished parents for their children’s time in foster care.
The case involves Kennesaw mother Annalinda Martinez, who filed the suit on Aug. 19 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia. Martinez lost custody of her six daughters in early 2018, after she became homeless and sought help from Georgia’s child welfare agency. Since 2019, she has been billed nearly $500 a month to cover the costs of their care in foster homes, she alleges.
The potential class-action suit alleges that the state “operates an unconstitutional child support program, in which the biological parents of children in foster care are charged exorbitant amounts of money with no regard for the parents’ inability to pay.”
According to the complaint, Martinez’s bills became crushing debt — at one point amounting to $13,000 — and made it more difficult to regain custody of her eldest daughters. Her monthly bills have not been lowered even though only one of those children remains in foster care, she alleges. Her other daughters have been adopted or aged out of the system.
The state explains that the children were taken from Martinez due to her “acknowledged inability” to provide proper care for them. She was homeless at the time.
Martinez was initially charged $100 a month and, within a year and half, fell $500 into debt. Because she failed to appear at the hearing to plead her case, it left the court with “no choice” but to order child support based upon her ability to earn minimum wage, the state lawyers argue. The amount due each month increased to $472 for the six kids.
United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) published an Op-Ed on SNAP benefits in The New York Times.
The federal government has been shut down for 28 days and counting. That’s 28 days too long and already the second-longest federal shutdown ever. Saturday will be another grim milestone. That is the day about 42 million Americans will lose federal food assistance.
Congress must not let that happen. America is a great and wealthy nation, and our most important wealth is our generosity of spirit. We help those in need. We provide for the widow and the orphan. Love of neighbor is part of who we are. The Scripture’s injunction to “remember the poor” is a principle Americans have lived by. It’s time Congress does the same.
The government shutdown has already touched countless lives, and not for the better. Key services have been curtailed and hundreds of thousands of federal employees — from air traffic controllers to Capitol Police officers — are working without pay. But letting federal food assistance lapse would introduce an entirely new stage of suffering. The best solution would be to pass a clean funding bill to reopen the government in its entirety, but if that can’t be done, Congress at the very least needs to pass my bill to ensure food assistance continues uninterrupted.
Millions of Americans rely on food assistance just to get by. The program often known as food stamps — officially it’s now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — is a lifeline that permits the needy to purchase basic food items at the grocery store. Last year, SNAP enrollees hit about 42 million. That’s over 12 percent of the American population.
We’re not talking about high earners who don’t really need the assistance. SNAP broadly limits assistance to those who make 130 percent of the poverty line and below. These days, that’s folks who earn about $42,000 or less for a family of four. For these good people, food assistance is not an optional extra. They need it to feed their children.
The millions of Americans who receive food assistance include young parents raising children, men and women with disabilities, families suffering from temporary job loss and workers who have fallen on hard times. Among SNAP’s many beneficiaries are veterans. Approximately 1.2 million of our warriors receive food assistance.
Surely it is not hard to understand why SNAP is so essential to so many. The American economy has not been kind to working people in recent years. What cost $100 five years ago costs $125 today. So if you’re not earning 25 percent more than you were five years ago, you’re getting poorer. That’s most families in America. And nowhere do they feel it more than at the grocery store.
But nobody in America, this richest of nations, should go to bed hungry, and certainly no child. We have a proud tradition of helping those in need. The federal government stood up the first food stamp program in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. In 1960, while touring impoverished West Virginia, then-Senator John F. Kennedy promised, “We will see to it that every American is fed and fed right.” A year after his assassination, Congress wrote the Food Stamp Act into law.
Federal food benefits, distributed in partnership with the states, have grown to be one of our most vital forms of aid. My constituents in Missouri will tell you. A few days ago, a retired teacher from southwest Missouri wrote me about her four grandchildren. They rely on SNAP to buy groceries. Upon hearing that assistance may soon be unavailable, one of the children asked her: “Grandma, what will we do? How will we eat?”
Another Missourian relayed a similar story. She had to take time off from work for medical reasons, and now she and her husband, who is disabled, rely on SNAP for groceries. She wrote me: “I understand getting rid of the SNAP program for those who are doing fraud or giving it to illegal aliens. But what about those who need it? Why is the government hurting the honest SNAP people?” A third letter, from a wife in mid-Missouri whose husband has suffered brain damage, said simply of food stamps, “We would not eat without them.”
There is no reason any of these residents of my state — or any other American who qualifies for food assistance — should go hungry. We can afford to provide the help. Preventing debilitating poverty through the food program costs only about a tenth of our annual defense budget. Of course, aid should be limited to those who truly need it. But there is no cause, and no excuse, to deny aid to the poor entirely.
Congress can still pass legislation during a shutdown, and it should pass my bill to keep SNAP benefits going. Last I checked, members of Congress are still getting paid. Republicans blame Democrats, and Democrats blame Republicans, but all these people have food to spare. One suspects that if senators couldn’t buy groceries, the government would never close down again.
But this isn’t about politics at all in the end. It’s about who we are. The character of a nation is revealed not in quarterly profits or C.E.O. pay, but in how it treats the small and forgotten — the last, the least, the lost. America is a great nation precisely because we have loved our neighbors as ourselves. Congress should live up to that legacy now.
Democrats from 22 states and the District of Columbia asked a judge on Tuesday to force the Trump administration to keep paying food assistance benefits during the government shutdown.
The lawsuit says the White House is legally required to pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program while money is available. It argues the government has billions of dollars in contingency funds that could cover SNAP benefits for more than 40 million Americans, including roughly 1.3 million Georgians.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a candidate for governor next year, did not join the lawsuit. Instead he and 18 other Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer telling him the best way to keep SNAP benefits funded is for Democrats to support the House-passed funding bill that would reopen the government.
“Congress can stop the threat right now by passing a clean continuing resolution that keeps essential services funded and protects those who rely on them,” the GOP letter said. “You have the power to prevent a crisis that is entirely avoidable.”
The Georgia Department of Public Health announced their WIC (Women, Infants and Children) nutrition program is funded for about half of November, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.
“At this time, DPH is projecting that Georgia WIC will have sufficient funding to continue program operations through approximately mid-November,” said Nancy Nydam, director of communications for DPH. “However, a break in WIC benefits could occur due to an extended federal government shutdown. DPH continues to evaluate options to extend WIC benefits as long as possible. WIC participants should continue to attend appointments and use the eWIC card at authorized Georgia WIC vendors.”
WIC is a federally funded program that provides nutrition and counseling to mothers and expectant mothers.
Last week, the Georgia Department of Human Services said November’s SNAP food benefits would be delayed until the shutdown ends because of a lack of funds due to the shutdown of the federal government.
Some local food banks say they plan to step up help for Whitfield County households affected by delays in food assistance caused by the federal shutdown.
“We’ve been preparing by purchasing more food,” said Melissa Blevins, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.
The Chattanooga Area Food Bank partners with some 40 agencies and churches in Whitfield County to serve families struggling with hunger.
“We are adding more staff,” Blevins said. “We are looking at extending our hours and working more in the evenings and on weekends to sort and pack more food. We are also looking for ways to support our community partners.”
SNAP benefits will stop going out Saturday as the government shutdown enters its 28th day, leaving 42 million Americans without food assistance.
The USDA says there isn’t enough funding to cover SNAP benefits if the government shutdown continues. The Senate is expected to vote for the 13th time to advance a funding bill that would reopen the government.
Terry, a SNAP recipient who did not want her last name used, said she’s worried about the timing just a month before Thanksgiving.
“There’s worry that we just won’t have enough to eat for some time,” Terry said.
She said her family may have to rely on their children to provide holiday meals instead of herself as a parent.
“We have a smaller family get-together, it may be that we’ll be relying on my children to provide what normally as parents we provide during the holidays, you know, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, that kind of thing. And that’s upsetting to me as a parent,” Terry said.
Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said he voted 28 days ago to fund the SNAP program and all government programs.
“How our two senators from Georgia do not see and understand the risk, of what they are doing here to support their leader is beyond me,” Allen said.
Bobby Kogan from the Center for American Progress said the White House would be acting illegally if SNAP payments are not made in November.
“If the SNAP payments are in fact not made in the month of November, that is because the White House is illegally not making the payments,” Kogan said.
Terry said there are misconceptions about people who receive SNAP benefits.
“Most people think it’s people below the poverty line, people perhaps who need government assistance in all areas of their life. And it’s not,” Terry said. “It can affect your neighbor next door who may have a fairly nice house and a fairly nice car…there are a lot of reasons your income may not be nearly where it was, you know, several years ago.”
Congress hasn’t made progress on the government shutdown in four weeks, now people like Terry are left worried about putting food on the table.
As the Nov. 1 expiration deadline for the country’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, approaches, Georgia seniors in particular are starting to get a little worried.
The government shutdown will cause the SNAP program to run out of funding on Nov. 1, meaning no new payments will be issued next month to the over 1 million Georgians who utilize the benefits.
Of those, according to data from Georgia’s Department of Human Services, 28% of beneficiaries are seniors or someone living with a disability.
Suzie Moore, a retired nurse in Lawrenceville, is both. She’s on an extremely fixed income and only gets $23 a month through SNAP. That can often times represent her entire grocery budget.
“That’s not much at all,” Moore said. “I have to really plan what I’m going to buy with that money to extend it enough so I’m not dipping into my fixed income that pays the other bills, like the apartment.”
Moore, like many other seniors across the state, is now devising a plan for November. Georgia DHS has clarified that while no new payments will be made to beneficiaries in November, people can still spend and unused dollars they have on their accounts.
So for now, Moore is saving what she can and looking for resources like food giveaways and food shelters in the increasingly likely event that the government is still shuttered next month.
“It’s scary, it really is, for someone my age, and I have disabilities and everything,” said Moore. “I’m scared, you know. I really am, because I don’t know how long this will last.”
Moore had a clear message for lawmakers in D.C. who could end the shutdown and fund SNAP with a simple vote.
“If this was your family, what would you do?” she said. “Think about the people you’re hurting, the people that are out there that are going to suffer.”
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta will loan $8 million dollars to fund Head Start programs, according to the AJC.
Head Start programs in Georgia are scheduled to receive federal funding for the next year on Saturday — but as U.S. lawmakers show few signs of ending the government shutdown, the money most likely isn’t coming.
The shutdown is putting more than 6,500 Georgia students and their families at risk of losing early learning and child care services and more than 800 teachers at risk of being furloughed.
“It’s a very scary time,” said Lauren Koontz, the president and CEO of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, at a news conference about the issue Tuesday.
That’s why the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is stepping in. The philanthropy will give bridge loans to the state’s three largest Head Start providers, which will let them maintain operations for 45 days. The loans total about $8 million. They’re going to the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, Sheltering Arms and Easterseals, which together serve about 5,500 of the 6,500 at-risk Head Start students.
Statewide, there are more than 22,000 students in Head Start in Georgia, but only 6,500 are in programs that may not receive funding this weekend. More than 100 Head Start programs in 41 states are facing the same dilemma, Education Week reported.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Board voted to approve an increase in the daily and yearly parking pass cost, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Yesterday morning, the Georgia Department Natural Resources (DNR) Board approved an increase in state park vehicle passes beginning in January 2026. Daily parking passes will double from $5 to $10 per day, and annual passes will increase from $50 to $70.
Of the eight responses received during the one-month public comment period that ended Sept. 28, seven were opposed to the price change due to cost concerns and worries that it would reduce park visitations. But according to an audit from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounting released in October, the change was necessary to keep up with inflation. And even more changes may be coming to state parks, as the audit recommended more than 20 other changes with implementation dates through 2027.
About half of the $109 million spent in fiscal year 2025 by the PHSD is funded by visitor spending: park passes, campsite rentals, golf course fees, and gift shop sales, according to the audit. The rest is largely carried by state and bond funds.
So, if visitation remained steady, even with increased fees, that could mean big bucks for the PHSD, which briefed the DNR board of the proposed price change in late August. A $10 daily entry fee would increase revenuefrom $3.7 million to $7.4 million, the audit stated.
“The changes are proposed because the parking pass rate has not increased since 2009,” said PHSD Chief of Administration Jessica James-Weems at the Oct. 28 board meeting. In 2009, the fee was raised from $3 to $5.
Just one member of the public expressed his dissent to the Board.
“I’m here today to express my strong opposition to the proposed amendment… which would raise costs for Georgians enjoying state parks by 100% during the time when the state has a record $14.6 billion surplus,” said Georgian Marine Corps Veteran Sherman Neal II at the meeting. “Families, especially military families, are navigating unprecedented financial hardships at this time.”
“While raising fees is never a comfortable topic, it wasn’t comfortable in 2009,” said Friends of Georgia State Parks President Damon Kirkpatrick. “The park pass remains the only dedicated source of funding for maintenance and repair in our park system, and while new capital projects like the beautiful Visitor Center at Vogel State Park are changing the landscape of our parks, the backlog of maintenance and repair continues to grow.”
While the Board gave its stamp of approval to the changes, it didn’t seem to take it lightly.
“First, I’d like to say I have been here 11 years, and out of those 11 years, I have always fought increases in any fees,” said a DNR Board member. “But I also think about we’ve gone 16 years without any increase… I’m going to propose the motion for this, but I’d also like us to consider going another 16 years after this.”
Albany City Commissioners approved a measure to grant $125 dollar credits for utility bills for some seniors, according to WALB.
Richmond County Commissioners heard a report on SPLOST 9, according to WRDW.
Richmond County commissioners reviewed updates on SPLOST 9, a special 1% sales tax proposal that has grown to over $434 million after adding $14 million for boathouse renovations and $5 million for juvenile court improvements.
Richmond County Sheriff Eugene Brantley requested $70 million for jail expansion, telling commissioners the detention center has reached a breaking point with 1,350 inmates.
Brantley also asked for $18 million for vehicles, emphasizing that the public safety requests are necessities rather than wants.
“I have toured jail on numerous occasions and I agree with him that he needs more adequate space to house those that are at the Webster Detention Center,” said Mayor Garnett Johnson. “That’s no secret that it’s unfortunate that the folks have to be housed there. I always say, if you have to be housed there, you should be done so humanely.”
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