Leah Cheshier Mustachino graduated from Young Harris College ten years ago

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)– While we here in Augusta like to the the eyes of the world are on us during the first week in April… lots of eyes were also looking UP that same week. It was the historic Atremis II Mission, sending humans further into space than ever before with that amazing lunar flyby.

I had the opportunity to talk with a young woman who’s at the top of her game– let’s just say, on top of the world! She was part of the Artemis team, providing live commentary and interviews on NASA-TV during the 10-day mission.

Leah Cheshier Mustachio does live commentary for launches, spacewalks, and more– and many of you watched her recently during the exciting coverage of the Artemis ll mission and lunar flyby!

“I was 20 years old, I went to Wallops Island, Virginia. I saw a cargo launch, and I saw one of my now colleagues moderating a press conference, and that’s when I realized, I have a place here. NASA needs communications professionals. From that point on, I had blinders on to any other opportunity. I wanted to work at NASA so bad.”

A communications degree from a Georgia college led the way to the Mission Control Console at NASA, giving Leah a front row seat to history.

“Yeah, I think that I’m still living in this bubble of having worked so closely on it that it’s now it’s starting to hit me how global it was. It was incredible. It’s still incredible. I’m working with the crew tomorrow and I can’t wait to see them. I saw them on Saturday and I’m excited to see just how their perspectives have, like, shifted since then.”

Leah says a big goal in covering an event as significant as the lunar flyby is ensuring that people stop and remember where they were, pass that story down to their grandkids, and inspire the next generation.

“I feel like we live in a world that it’s so easy to swipe up on your phone to the next story. We’re used to getting views of everything in the world– now. But getting to see something like this is a generational moment, and I think it’s inspirational and really uplifting. It’s something that we should all be really proud of, um, for our nation’s space program, for these astronauts that have joined and really done this huge mission.”

She’s inspiring herself, getting praise from viewers around the world, who see Leah as the face of a group of women, who played a big role in making the Artemis mission a success.

“A lot of people loved that! All the women involved.”

“Yeah, I, that really was serendipitous, too. We didn’t just think, let’s put all these women’s voices on camera, you know, it’s, these are the roles that we’ve been working in and training for, and that’s just how it happened. It’s very, very sweet, though, to hear that it’s inspiring. This feels like our generation’s Apollo 8 in a way. You know, looking back on Earth and everything that we think is so important and that we think matters so much, and then you see how far away and how small it really is. It definitely makes you think twice about what really matters, you know, how can we be a better neighbor? And how can I just cherish everything that I have even more?”

Leah is from Georgia. She graduated 10 years ago from Young Harris College in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains.

Fun fact: in 2018, she was doing a story about interns at NASA who went on to work there… one of them was the Chief Engineer of the Aviation Safety Office. She and Nick Mustachio were married 4 years later, and now have a precious little boy… who may well wind up exploring the moon one day!!

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Augusta Mayor’s right-hand has stepped down.

Chief of Staff, Jasmine Sims, submitted a resignation letter to Mayor Garnett Johnson Tuesday.

It’s dated April 2nd, 2026 and states:

Dear Mayor Johnson,
Please accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from my position as Chief of Staff,
effective April 14, 2026. After thoughtful consideration, I have decided to move forward to pursue other professional opportunities. Serving this administration and the City of Augusta over the past three years has been both a privilege and an honor, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished together. I am committed to ensuring a smooth and orderly transition and will assist in any way possible prior to my departure. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Jasmine Chavous Sims

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Last June, Mrs. Sims filed a grievance against Mayor Johnson in a letter to the City of Augusta Human Resources Department Office of Employee Relations.

The letter stated that Mrs. Sims was denied access to work after she allegedly did not share a personal appointment in the work group chat. She said she did inform other member’s of the staff in addition to adding it to the office calendar. At the time of the filing, Sims says nothing had been communicated to her.

No word yet on who will replace Mrs. Sims as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff.

Mrs. Sims said her good-bye’s during the Commission meeting Tuesday. In part, she states,
“It’s been an honor to be with you, ‘Mister G.’ We’re like sister and brother, and we fight and we argue, but we found common ground where it mattered. And I couldn’t be more proud of the things that we’ve accomplished – and am praying that everything that happens from this point will be ordained in your favor.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Augusta is still preparing a plan on how to part ways with nine parks a local engineering firm scored as the most underused.

“Moving forward what we need to do with these parks. We’ve got people in this city that have mentioned and want to invest in purchasing these parks,” says Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice.  

Big Oak Park is not one of the nine being recommended for disposal, even though it scored lower than some on the list. However, Big Oak is getting a facelift.

“Adding pickleball courts, which everybody wants, and a new basketball area. I think it will be used a lot more,” said Commissioner Tina Slendak.

A commission committee voted to recommend nearly $1.7 million on the Big Oak renovations, despite the low attendance score and that’s concerning some commissioners.

“You have to consider the lipstick on the pig scenario. If you put money into that and you have no indication that it will draw, and that is exactly what you’ll be doing,” said Commissioner Lonnie Wimberly.

Supporters say voters approved the funding for Big Oak improvements in SPLOST 8  that passed back in 2021, and even with the renovations coming in well over budget, they want to see it go forward.

“When this park is re-done, it will be used more and it already was, before this survey was done this was already in the SPLOST package,” said Commissioner Rice.

“When this was developed, they weren’t talking about closing underused parks,” said Commissioner Slendak.

But the conversation around closing underused parks continues, even as some underused parks prepare for a major makeover.