Georgia Today: Inmate dies in bedbug-infested cell; Tornado alley; Okefenokee tops endangered list

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, April 18. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, top staff at the Fulton County Jail have resigned after an incarcerated man died in a bedbug-infested cell. Tornado Alley may be shifting east and some Georgia counties are in the crosshairs. And the Okefenokee Swamp is named one of the country's most endangered waterways. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1

Peter Biello: Fulton County Sheriff Pat Lambert announced yesterday the resignations of top jail staff amid an investigation into the death of a man in a bedbug-infested cell in the jail's psychiatric wing. The three members of the executive team had more than 65 years of collective experience in law enforcement and running a jail. Lambert said it was time to, quote, "clean house" after the investigation into the death of 35-year-old Lashawn Thompson. Photos from Thompson's filthy cell spread across social media last week and prompted widespread outrage, including from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. A lawyer for Thompson's family said last week that the jail staff did nothing to address Thompson's deteriorating health in the weeks before his death, and he called for a criminal investigation. Thompson was arrested June 12 on a misdemeanor battery charge and was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he died three months later. In addition to staffing changes, the sheriff's office said it is reviewing legal options to change medical vendors looking to contract with a provider that can, quote, "effectively, consistently and compassionately deliver the best standard of care."

Caption

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches proceedings during a hearing to decide if the final report by a special grand jury looking into possible interference in the 2020 presidential election can be released Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Atlanta.

Credit: AP Photo/John Bazemore

Story 2

Peter Biello: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants a judge to disqualify a lawyer representing 10 of the Republicans who falsely claimed to be presidential electors in 2020. In today's filing, Willis said some of the fake electors told her office last week that one of the other electors with the same lawyer did things that violated Georgia law. The filing also says that some of the electors were not made aware of potential immunity deals offered by prosecutors to cooperate. That lawyer does not represent Georgia GOP Chairman David Shafer, who is one of many people that could face charges in the ongoing probe. A regular grand jury must issue any indictments that stemmed from the monthslong special grand jury investigation of efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Story 3

Peter Biello: Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff says a private military housing provider is making progress on improving housing at Augusta's Fort Gordon, but he's still concerned about unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Ossoff spoke today after visiting the post last week and hearing from current and former residents at a Senate hearing. Military spouse Joy Viera says she and her family endured sewage backup, mold, and other issues.

Joy Viera: This is not an isolated event. It is a systemic issue that is affecting many and undoubtedly affecting soldier morale. How can they focus on the mission when they are unsure if their families have a safe living environment?

Peter Biello: Ossoff says private military housing provider Balfour Beatty has hired more maintenance staff but is still struggling with work quality. The visit and hearing come a year after the Senate's Military Housing Oversight Committee published a report detailing problems with military housing nationwide.

Story 4

Peter Biello: New data from Climate Central indicates that Tornado Alley may be shifting east, impacting many counties in Georgia. GPB Sarah Kallis has more on how one county manages severe weather.

Sarah Kallis: Dade County in Northwest Georgia is no stranger to severe weather, but could see more as the track of Tornado Alley changes. County Emergency Management Director Alex Case said they learned about prioritizing resources during a tornado outbreak in 2011 when two people died and 50 were injured.

Alex Case: Protecting life is the No. 1 thing that we all do in all emergency services, the little things we do. And if it protects one life, it's worth the cost of everything.

Sarah Kallis: Dade County relies on nearby National Weather Service bureaus for storm warnings. It's largely volunteer first responders that then send out phone alerts to residents and sound storm sirens. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Story 5

Peter Biello: Postpartum mental health issues are extremely common among new moms. Experts say diagnosis and treatment aren't always provided to those that need it and that can have fatal consequences. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more from a maternal mental health training session hosted at Mercer University in partnership with GPB.

Sofi Gratas: Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, or PMADs, include depression, anxiety, OCD, and sometimes psychosis. Close to 700 people in Georgia reported postpartum depressive symptoms in 2020. Overall, Georgia also has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality. Dagmar Carroll, a public health nurse from Camden County, says she dealt with depression during and after her own high-risk pregnancy.

Dagmar Carroll: It's so easy to say, are you depressed today? No. But really, you're not realizing that the symptoms that you're having are depression or anxiety or the OCD.

Sofi Gratas: But education on diagnosis and treatment of periods isn't often included in medical school curricula. Plus, almost every county in Georgia has a mental health provider shortage. So perinatal mental health counselor Melissa Keane says screening for PMADs needs to happen earlier in pregnancy.

Melissa Keane: Anyone that's on the ground talking to either a pregnant or postpartum mom or a family member of theirs, they're the ones that are going to have the opportunity to open up the door to tell them about resources and refer them to treatment.

Sofi Gratas: Because ultimately, once new mothers find it, treatment is effective. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Story 6

Peter Biello: Structural engineers are still trying to determine what caused the partial collapse of Savannah's federal courthouse last week. The building is currently undergoing renovation and no one was critically injured. But its condition is cause for concern owing to its architectural significance. GPB's Benjamin Payne has more.

Benjamin Payne: Occupying an entire block in downtown Savannah, the federal courthouse was designed in a renaissance revival style with white marble and elaborate ornamentation. Robin B. Williams is chair of architectural history at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He says the courthouse is very much a product of its time, built in the 1890s.

Robin B. Williams: A moment in American architectural history when great American self-confidence is right on the heels of the World's Fair in Chicago, where America declared itself on the world map. The white marble is actually related to what came out of that World's Fair in 1893, what was sometimes referred to as the white city. And so white marble buildings become synonymous with the modern city.

Benjamin Payne: The partial collapse on the third floor came as a surprise to Williams. As he says, the courthouse was built with high-quality materials. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.

Story 7

Peter Biello: A national conservation group has named Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp among the country's 10 most endangered waterways. American Rivers says a proposed titanium mine would irreparably harm the way water flows in and out of the swamp. The group's Ben Emanuel says the mine would make the swamp drier, more prone to wildfires and less able to store carbon.

Ben Emanuel: It's unlike anywhere else because you're in a forest and yet there's water all around. So everything a person gets out of being in the woods, everything a person gets out of being on the water, everything a person gets out of being truly surrounded by a wildlife — it's all there in one place. And it's a huge intact wetland system, which is very rare on the planet.

Peter Biello: The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is currently reviewing a permit application for the mine. Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals says they can operate the mine in a, quote, "safe and environmentally responsible manner."

Caption

In this Nov. 3, 2019, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga.

Credit: AP Photo/John Amis, File

Story 8

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Film Festival will honor former President Jimmy Carter at its 2023 Image Film Awards gala. The Image Film Awards gala, which is returning for the first time in three years, honors individuals who have made, quote, outstanding contributions to building the state's film industry and community. Previous award winners include Spike Lee, Will Packer, Burt Reynolds and Cicely Tyson. The award for Carter, who entered into hospice back in February, will be accepted at the Fox Theatre on April 23 by a special guest who has not yet been announced.

And that is it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And if you have not subscribed to this podcast yet, we certainly hope you will. Take a moment now; that way we will be there waiting for you tomorrow afternoon in your podcast feed. If you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org.I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

___

GPB's Georgia Today newsletter hits your inbox on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with top stories from around the state featuring news, politics and more. Subscribe here.