Georgia Today: Civil trial for Athens DA; New anti-gun violence program; Kemp guarantees fishing

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, May 8. I'm Orlando Montoya. On today's episode, a civil trial gets underway against the district attorney in Athens. Law enforcement officials are working to reduce gun violence among young people this summer, and Gov. Brian Kemp uses his veto pen. But conservation groups are applauding a new law he did sign. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: Courtroom proceedings began today in a civil lawsuit brought against Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez that will argue. WUGA's Martin Metheny has more.

Martin Metheny: Gonzalez is district attorney for Georgia's Western Judicial Circuit, which covers Clark and Oconee counties. Among the allegations in the suit brought by Athens bar owner Gerard Miller, is that Gonzalez violated her oath of office by declining to prosecute some crimes. Bill Overend is a former assistant district attorney currently in private practice. He says it's unclear what effect the suit may have on how Gonzalez runs her office.

Bill Overend: But again, it still comes back to asking a judge to order her to do her job better.

Martin Metheny: A bill just signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, which will allow state takeover of district attorney's offices deemed underperforming, was inspired in part by the suit against DA Gonzalez. For GPB News, I'm Martin Matheny in Athens.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: Gov. Brian Kemp has been busy with his veto pen ahead of next week's deadline to either sign proposals into law or veto them. The governor has vetoed 14 bills the General Assembly passed during this year's legislative session, not including nine vetoes of line items in the $32.4 billion fiscal 2024 state budget he signed late last week. Among the vetoes was bipartisan legislation to expand a needs-based program of tuition grants for Georgia college students. The governor said he rejected the measure because the expansion is, quote, "subject to appropriations, and the General Assembly failed to fully fund these educational initiatives," unquote. The nine budget line item vetoes include several projects on Georgia's public university and technical college campuses to be financed through bonds. In each case, Kemp wrote the projects had not been requested by the University System of Georgia or the technical college system of Georgia. Kemp also vetoed $4 million in bond funding to expand the medical examiner's office in Bibb County, arguing the project already has received funding.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: Conservation groups are applauding a new law signed by Gov. Brian Kemp last week to guarantee fishing rights in Georgia. The law applies to, quote, "navigable waters," but doesn't define what those are. Flint River keeper Gordon Rogers says he hopes a study committee tasked with diving into the issue this summer will tackle that question head on.

Gordon Rogers: The Chestatee has issues. The Upper Chattahoochee has issues. Several of the major peak  areas of Flint have question marks. And we need our government to sort this out.

Orlando Montoya: The law came after state officials conceded that a private landowner could claim exclusive fishing rights on a stretch of the Flint River popular with anglers.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: Law enforcement officials in Atlanta are collaborating on a program aimed at stemming gun violence among young people during the summer months. GPB's Donna Lowry reports.

Donna Lowry: So far this year, the independent group Gun Violence Archive has counted nearly 580 children and teens killed by gun violence nationwide. Fulton County Chief Probate Judge Kenya Johnson fears when schools end for summer break, things will get worse.

Kenya Johnson: Not only are our young people afraid in society, but they also have reason to be afraid of each other because young youth gun violence is prevalent.

Donna Lowry: Johnson partnered with Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat and Solicitor General Keith Gammage to create "Summer of Peace" rallies in Atlanta and Fulton County schools. Keith Gammage.

Keith Gammage: What we find is that when their time is free and idle, they'll listen to those voices that will cause them to lean toward gang activity.

Donna Lowry: Summer of Peace rallies include job fairs and conflict resolution training. For GPB News, I'm Donna Lowry in Atlanta.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: The city of Atlanta has agreed to pay $105,000 to a photojournalist arrested during the city's Black Lives Matter protests three years ago. The photojournalist, Sharif Hassan, was arrested shortly after a curfew that former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued in response to violent protests in May 2020. Hassan accused the city of, quote, "hastily creating a police state." A statement today from his lawyers and the University of Georgia School of Law's First Amendment Clinic says press freedoms apply even in times of unrest, and journalists and everyday citizens have a right to film police activities.

Credit: Courtesy of Run With Maud

Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: Today marks the birthday of the late Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was the 25-year-old Black man who was murdered by three white men in February 2020 while he was out for a jog in Satilla Shores. Thousands of runners gathered in Atlanta over the weekend for a 5K race to celebrate Arbery's life by doing something that made him feel free: running. Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, co-founded the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation. She says the goal of the foundation is for all people to enjoy running for their mental and physical health and to raise funding to provide mental health services for Black boys.

Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spent Friday and Saturday in Atlanta to meet with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mayor Andre Dickens and HBCU leaders. He also met staff from the Atlanta Passport Agency and Diplomatic Security's resident office and gave the undergraduate commencement address at Georgia Tech.

Anthony Blinken: As America's chief diplomat, a key part of my job is trying to resolve the world's most intractable conflicts. In places like Georgia: Yellow Jackets or Bulldogs? Atlanta or Athens? And look, to be a trusted go-between in conflicts like these, you can't pick a side — even when, deep down, you know that one is right. But experienced diplomats like me know how to send the subtle signals that let people know where they stand. And so, esteemed graduates, I ask you: what's the good word?

(Audience shouts)

Orlando Montoya: The theme of his visit centered around Atlanta's status as an international hub for global health, commerce and diversity.

Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: In Georgia sports, the Atlanta Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles 3 to 2 last night, and Atlanta United lost 2 to 1 to Inter Miami on Saturday. New Georgia Tech men's basketball coach Damon Stoudamire announced his staff on Friday. It includes former George Washington coach Karl Hobbs as his top assistant and Terry Parker Jr. and Persian Williams as assistant coaches.

Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: It appears the Hollywood writers' strike has even reached The Upside Down. The creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers, said on Twitter Friday, quote. "Writing does not stop when filming begins and that production is not possible during this strike." The popular Netflix series is filmed in the metro Atlanta area. Writers of films and TV shows began picketing last week after the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and streaming services, failed to reach a deal.

That's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit GPB.org/news. If you haven't yet hit subscribe on the podcast, take a moment right now and keep us current in your podcast feed. If you have feedback, we'd like to hear that. Email us at GeorgiaToday@gpb.org. I'm Orlando Montoya. Peter Biello will be back tomorrow. Until I talk to you again, thanks for listening.

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