Athens native uncovers story behind Georgia’s founding father
Nearly every Georgian knows about James Oglethorpe, who founded the Georgia colony in 1733. Middle school students learn to this day that chattel slavery was prohibited in the colony because of him. But a new book argues that a little known history informed Oglethorpe’s abolitionist stance: his friendships with two formerly enslaved Black men.
Michael L. Thurmond is an Athens, Georgia native and the CEO of Dekalb County. His book, James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia, was a finalist this year for a Georgia Author of the Year Award.
Thurmond sat down with WUGA’s Emma Auer to discuss his book, and why he believes Georgia’s founding father should be a model for Georgia leaders today.
“The first battle:” land conservationist on Jackson County Rock Quarry victory
In the latest turn in a years-long attempt to open a rock quarry in Jackson County, a judge ruled this spring that the mining company Vulcan Materials could not go ahead with its project.
The Oconee River Land Trust is one organization that spoke out against the quarry’s potential environmental impacts during meetings last year.
WUGA’s Emma Auer sat down with Dan Crescenzo, the executive director of the Oconee River Land Trust, to discuss his nonprofit’s reaction to the judge’s ruling.
Vulcan Materials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Georgia Health Report for July 11, 2025
President Donald Trump signed his trademark spending bill last Friday, which is expected to change Medicaid eligibility requirements across the nation.
On this week’s Georgia Health Report, hosts Mary Ryan Howarth and KFF Atlanta's Renuka Rayasam discuss what Georgia's Pathways Program suggests about these changes.
