Georgia Today: Warming centers for extreme cold, South GA's new ER, midterm election data is in

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A group of people warm up around a fire at a Gainesville encampment during winter months in 2015. A Georgia Senate study committee heard from nonprofit and state agency leaders about ways to help Georgians experiencing homelessness — and potentially criminalize them.

Credit: Contributed by Joshua Silavent

Peter Biello: Welcome to the new Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, Dec. 22nd. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode: Warming centers are opening across the state in anticipation of severe cold weather. But there may not be enough beds. South Georgia is getting a new emergency room. And the numbers are in: We'll take a look at the data behind the Georgia midterm election turnout. These stories and more are coming up on Georgia Today.

Story 1

Peter Biello: Temperatures will drop into the mid-teens tonight and stay there through the weekend. In order to help those without adequate housing, state and local officials are opening warming centers. But as GPB's Amanda Andrews reports, there may not be enough beds for everyone.

Amanda Andrews: A survey of homelessness in Atlanta this year reported about 2,017 people without housing. When temperatures fall under 35 degrees, the city automatically partners with organizations to open warming shelters for youth and adults facing homelessness. Covenant House is one of those partners. Chief programs officer Alfred Garner says they try to be encouraging in their outreach so people feel comfortable sleeping in their facilities.

Alfred Garner: A lot of young people may not be ready, right? They may not trust the systems and people to be able to assist them because they've been failed before.

Amanda Andrews: Covenant House's warming shelter is open to young adults aged 18 to 24. In total, Atlanta has 458 beds available, enough for only a quarter of the city's homeless population. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 2

Peter Biello: The Macon Bibb County Transit Authority is offering free bus fare until Saturday at 4 p.m. and Zoo Atlanta will be closed Friday and Saturday. The moves are in response to the frigid temperatures expected to roll in overnight. In a release yesterday, Zoo Atlanta officials said efforts have been made throughout the week to ensure the safety of all animals housed there.

Story 3

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Overall, opioid overdose deaths rose by 36 percent in 2020.

Credit: Georgia Health News

Peter Biello: South Georgia is getting a new emergency room. GPB's Orlando Montoya reports on the coming reopening of emergency services at Valdosta's Smith Northview Hospital.

Orlando Montoya: South Georgia Medical Center converted Smith Northview into a walk-in urgent care center in 2015. But during the height of the pandemic, their main Valdosta campus was swamped with COVID cases. So the state gave the nonprofit health system emergency permission to see inpatient non-COVID cases at Smith Northview. medical director Bryan Dawson says they've been ramping up services there ever since.

Bryan Dawson: During the time that we had the COVID crisis, that was what really prompted us to begin using that facility to more of its full efficacy over there as far as for inpatient beds for spillover.

Orlando Montoya: State officials already have given the green light for a new emergency room, Valdosta Second, but it's not open just yet. Hospital officials expect it to open in early January. For GPB News, I'm Orlando Montoya.

Story 4

Peter Biello: A record number of Georgians voted in this year's midterm runoff for U.S. Senate, but the majority of registered voters still stayed home. GPB's Stephen Fowler takes a look at the data behind this year's elections.

Stephen Fowler: Even though Georgia shattered turnout records in November's midterm and December's runoff, one of the biggest group of voters by far in Georgia are the millions that don't vote at all. That said, three and a half million people cast a ballot in the runoff election, including nearly a quarter million that didn't vote in the general election. Overall, 54% of Georgia's 7.9 million registered voters participated in at least one election between the primary general and runoffs this year. For GPB News, I'm Stephen Fowler.

Story 5

Peter Biello: Many residents of Middle Georgia had hoped for one big gift by the end of this holiday season: a new national park. But as GPB's Grant Blankenship reports, fighting in Congress means more waiting for the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve.

Grant Blankenship: Many hope the proposed expansion of what is now the Ocmulgee National Historic Park will be wrapped up in the government spending bill Congress is trying to pass before Christmas. Seth Clark says that's a positive vision of the budget process, like a Christmas tree full of beautiful ornaments. But this process is super partisan and down to the wire.

Seth Clark: Now we're just down to really the tree and the lights, and I think that's really what they'll pass.

Grant Blankenship: Clark is the director of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative. He says even with that basic tree, he's optimistic about the next Congress.

Seth Clark: I have faith in the two senators and the two congressmen that represent this area. They have a track record of getting stuff done when they want it done.

Grant Blankenship: If park expansion happens in 2023, it would end a process that began when two Georgia Republicans supported an Ocmulgee National Park in the U.S. Senate. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

Story 6

Peter Biello: An audit of Georgia's tax credit for video game developers shows the incentive is paying off for the state's economy. Georgia Southern University prepared the report for the State Department of Audits and Accounts. It shows game developers used $26 million in tax credits during the four-year period ending 2021. But their projects generated nearly $400 million in economic output.

And that is it for today's edition of Georgia Today. For more news from GPB, check out our Georgia Today newsletter at GPB.org/Newsletters and visit our website GPB.org/News. Your feedback is appreciated. You can send it to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org.

I'm Peter Biello. Thanks so much for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.