This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WABE and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

Georgia’s first sea turtle nests of 2024 were found this weekend, with two on Blackbeard Island and one each on the Jekyll and Wassaw Islands.

The threatened and endangered turtles will continue to crawl up onto Georgia beaches and lay their eggs for the next few months. 

This season marks 60 years of sea turtle conservation in the state. In 1964, Georgia’s sea turtle conservation efforts started with one scientist on one island, according to Mark Dodd, the wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources who coordinates the state sea turtle program.

The effort gradually expanded into the network still used today, tracking nests on all of Georgia’s barrier islands.

Back then, it was still legal and common to harvest and eat turtle eggs. At the time, turtles were washing up dead in large numbers and their populations were in decline.

Now, sea turtles are protected under state and federal law. They nest by the thousands on Georgia beaches each year, including a record of more than 4,000 nests two years ago.

Dodd said the turtles’ recovery is thanks to those decades of conservation work.

“Those folks were wise and they worked really hard and they collected a lot of data, and it led to a change,” he said. “They were able to turn it around.”

Those scientists’ data and advocacy helped drive a host of changes that have allowed more turtles to survive long enough to return to Georgia beaches to lay the next generation of eggs. These changes include legal protections for the turtles and their nests, special devices that save turtles from dying in shrimp nets and special streetlights that keep artificial light off the beach. 

To keep nesting sea turtles safe, Dodd said Georgia beachgoers should avoid using artificial lights at night and stay far back from turtles crawling up the beach. It’s also illegal to disturb turtle nests or to interfere with the baby turtles that emerge once the nests start to hatch later in the summer.

Georgia summers are notably hot and this summer will be no exception.

According to forecast data provided by the Weather Channel, the heat index is already expected to reach between 100-104 degrees and it’s only the early part of May. AccuWeather recently released its annual 2024 U.S. summer forecast giving a look at the summer weather expectations across the nation.

Here’s what the forecast is calling for and a look at what Georgians may want to prepare for:

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What is this summer’s national weather forecast?

The AccuWeather summer forecast is predicting temperatures to jump 2 to 4 degrees above the historical average across the nation. Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• More 90-degree days are expected in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Chicago this summer compared to 2023, driving up energy demands.  
• Drought conditions are forecast to expand in the Northern Rockies, interior Northeast, and Interior Southwest.
• Forecast for “explosive” hurricane season could lead to increased flooding threats along the Gulf Coast.
• California is expected to remain free of widespread drought this summer. 

What is the summer 2024 forecast for Georgia?

Statewide, AccuWeather is predicting Georgians will see temperatures one to two degrees higher than the historic averages. This is the same for Alabama, Mississippi, and the Carolinas. The anticipated heat is also likely to contribute to uptick of severe weather. For the entire southeast, including Georgia, June through August is predicted to be the peak time for storms and similar severe conditions.

Looking ahead, July is likely to be the hottest summer month. On average, temperatures will likely be up to 90 and 95 degrees, depending on where in Georgia you live.

However, what it feels like outside is determined by the Heat Index, which is calculated with the air temperature and humidity. A heat index calculator is available at noaa.gov.

What to do when the heat gets extreme?

When it gets too hot, it can become medically unsafe as the chances of heat exhaustion or even heat stroke rise. According to a study conducted by the CDC’s GRASP program, just between 2002 and 2008, there were more than 14,000 heat-related hospitalizations.

Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency explained that heavy sweating, weakness, cold, pale and clammy skin, a thready pulse, and possible fainting/vomiting are all indicative of heat exhaustion. Meanwhile, heat stroke is a severe medical emergency that happens when the body temperature reaches 106 degrees or higher. Symptoms include hot dry skin, rapid and strong pulse, and possible unconsciousness. Summon immediate emergency medical assistance.

Here are some tips to prepare for severe heat:

• Check and ensure your home’s cooling system is working properly.
• Research your local cooling shelter options.
• Keep windows covered with shades, drapes, or temporary reflectors.

Here are some tips for when the heat gets dangerous:

• Stay indoors as much as possible.
• Drink plenty of fluids and replace salts and minerals in your body. 
• Limit your consumption of alcoholic drinks.
• Never leave children or pets alone in closed vehicles.
• Dress in loose-fitting, lightweight, and light-colored clothes that cover as much skin as possible. Protect your face and head by wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

The chairman of a Georgia Senate committee says he will subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis if she refuses to appear before the panel that is investigating accusations of misconduct  against the prosecutor pursuing felony charges against former President Donald Trump and his allies.

On Friday, Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts, Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whitmore, and County Attorney Soo Jo testified at a four-hour committee hearing at the Georgia State Capitol about the degree of autonomy constitutional officers like district attorneys have, as well as recent changes county officials have made to close ethical and financial reporting loopholes for those elected officials.

The county officials said on Friday that they updated a county code in April to close loopholes that allowed Willis to avoid getting county approval before hiring Nathan Wade in November 2021 as special prosecutor in the 2020 presidential election interference case.

Willis has dealt with a hit to her public image since January after it was revealed that she had a romantic relationship with Wade while he led a case that in August resulted in felony racketeering charges against Trump and 18 co-defendants, who are accused of trying to illegally  overturn the 2020 election.

Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert, chairman of the special investigation panel, said on Friday he hopes Willis will appear voluntarily before a state Senate panel that is investigating allegations that Willis committed prosecutorial and financial misconduct.

Willis cannot be sanctioned by the Senate committee, but it can subpoena her to turn over evidence and to testify under oath. Former Gov. Roy Barnes, who declined Willis’ offer to serve as special prosecutor in 2021 in the case against Trump,, attended Friday’s hearing with plans to serve as legal counsel for Willis if she is subpoenaed.

“She’s a key part of the investigation that her viewpoints are valued by us,” Cowsert said. “We need to hear what she has to say and her explanation of what she thinks are the appropriate rules ought to be going forward so we don’t have this kind of scandal give Georgia a black eye.”

The first public accusations that Willis and Wade were romantically linked became public in January in a motion filed by an attorney for Trump co-defendant, Michael Roman, who argued that Wade and Willis’s undisclosed relationship was used to improperly financially benefit by prosecuting the sweeping election interference case.

In April, the Fulton County Commission updated its ethics and anti-nepotism policies to cover elected officials like the district attorney. Under the new rules, all constitutional officers must report any gifts valued at $100 on their financial disclosures. Willis would have been prohibited from having a personal relationship with someone she supervises under the expanded anti-nepotism policy.

Cowsert asked Fulton County Attorney Soo Jo if she agreed with his interpretation of the state law, which would seem to imply that Willis would need permission from the County Commission in order to hire an independent contractor such as Wade.

According to Jo, previous court rulings have interpreted the law as allowing district attorneys to appoint and determine compensation for special assistant district attorneys without the county board’s consent.

According to Jo, disputes over finances and control usually turn into a tug-of-war between constitutional offices and local elected officials, who set the budget but must also cover shortfalls and legal ramifications.

“I do believe there are some practical and legal challenges for all counties and elected officials who are in and in between state where you have independence, but you depend on the county for finances,”  Jo said.

Cowsert on Friday recommended state legislators consider implementing a statewide policy that addresses tensions between county commissioners and constitutional officers over how much discretion and autonomy they should have.

“We need to have a state law that provides ethical guidelines for prosecutors, for sheriff’s, for clerks of court, for tax commissioners,” Cowsert said. “They are not county officers, but they need to have accepted norms of conduct and ethical guidelines. It’s our job in the state government to come up with that from the state level.”

Pitts said that the Fulton commission should be able to have more control since the board sets the multimillion dollar budgets.

Pitts said that he agrees with prosecutors having the right to determine which cases their office will prosecute, including sweeping racketeering cases like the one Willis is pressing against Trump and his co-defendants. However, he said, he believes that the county officials who  set the  budget should have similar financial control over elected officials like  the sheriff, district attorney. tax commissioner, probate court judge and superior court clerks as they have with other local departments.

Pitts said that he and other county commissioners were unaware of Willis hiring Wade until it was reported by local media.

“We give millions of dollars and I think as an elected official  with a fiduciary responsibility that I should have the right to know how the money is being spent,” Pitts said following Friday’s committee  hearing.

Willis told a crowd at a community outreach event in Atlanta on Friday that she finds it interesting that the Republican majority Senate is attacking her credibility at a time when more Black people like herself are being elected as district attorneys in Georgia.

This year, Willis is seeking a second term as district attorney. Her biggest challenge will be in the May 21 Democratic Party primary when she faces Christian Wise Smith, a Democrat who’s served as Atlanta city solicitor and as a Fulton County prosecutor. The winner of the Democratic primary will have a significant advantage in the November 5 general election in a match up against Courtney Kramer, a self-described MAGA attorney who has worked in the Trump White House. Kramer faces an uphill battle in heavily Democratic Fulton.

Willis said prosecutors and law enforcement have  been working closely as part of an  increased emphasis on locking up violent criminals and outreach programs that led to a significant drop in Atlanta’s crime rate this year.

“They can look all they want,” Willis said in a video footage taken by several Atlanta news outlets on Friday. “The DA’s office has done everything according to the books. We are following the law.”

“I can prosecute high profile cases and I can prosecute every day cases when they need to be prosecuted,” Willis later said.

The scandal surrounding Wade and Willis relationship garnered national headlines as hundreds of thousands of people watched live streams of Wade and Willis testifying at a  February hearing on motions from Trump and co-defendants seeking to disqualify Willis from the  election interference case on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.

Willis has denied any allegations of professional misconduct and misappropriation of government money. Both Wade and Willis testified during a February Superior Court hearing that they did not become romantically involved until several months after Wade was hired as a special prosecutor in November 2022 and that they stopped dating in the following summer.

But critics of Willis not disclosing having a personal relationship have accused the two of taking advantage of Wade being paid about $750,000 by Fulton by splurging on vacations that included a Caribbean cruise and touring wineries in California. To cover her share of vacation expenses, Willis testified that she paid Wade several thousand dollars in cash in order to cover her share of vacation expenses.

Four of the co-defendants pleaded guilty to various charges in the case, while  Trump and the remaining 14 defendants have pleaded not guilty.

A Georgia Court of Appeals is expected to render a ruling by May 13 whether to grant a motion byTrump and several of his co-defendants asking the court to review Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s decision to allow Willis to remain on the case following Wade’s resignation. In the March 3 ruling,  McAfee wrote that Willis actions showed a tremendous lapse in judgment, however the defense was unable to prove there was conflict of interest that warranted dismissing the case.

Sen. Harold Jones, an Augusta Democrat, said that Friday’s lengthy committee meeting was a waste of time, arguing Fulton’s government website and a few follow up questions could have answered a most of the senator’s questions.

“There’s nothing that you learned as far as the state senate committee is concerned except maybe now we’re about to start having constitutional officers just change the way they do their budget, a process that has been in effect for over 30 years,” Jones said. “I want all constitutional officers to realize that apparently the Georgia State Senate is about to change the law because of one event to happen in Fulton County,” Jones said.