Cuban trade, healthcare, government transparency, and Fannin Focus.

First, President Trump recently unveiled new trade restrictions with Cuba. We look at how this will impact Georgia’s poultry industry. Joining us is James Sumner, President of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council and Marisa Anne Pagnattaro, Associate Dean for UGA’s Terry College of Business.

Then, the U.S. Senate’s proposed healthcare overhaul is likely to cut health coverage for poor folks and children. We talk about what’s in the bill and the potential consequences with Georgia Health News Editor Andy Miller, Georgia Budget & Policy Institute Health Policy Analyst Laura Harker, and Karoline Mortensen, Professor of Health Sector Management and Policy at the University of Miami.

Next, government transparency helps make a Democracy function, but many communities have a long way to go. One journalism organization is singling out the most secretive government agencies and officials with the Golden Padlock Award. The award is not much of an honor. This year’s finalists included Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Appalachian Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Brenda Weaver. We talk with award committee chair Robert Cribb. We also hear from Savannah State University professor Robert Smith.

Finally, Judge Weaver was nominated for the Padlock Award after jailing a newspaper publisher in Blue Ridge, Georgia because of a public records request. That publisher oversaw the tiny paper the Fannin Focus, which came to an end in December. Publisher Mark Thomason tells us about the paper’s demise, and his hopes for small-town investigative journalism.

Tags: Government transparency  Medicaid  Cuba  OST Full Show  healthcare  Athens  Atlanta  Georgia