Georgia Today: Sanders visits Morehouse; Biden on Blue Bird union; New standards for teachers

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, May 15. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, Bernie Sanders visited Morehouse College recently to highlight the need for more black medical professionals. President Biden congratulates workers at Blue Bird Corporation on their vote to unionize, and state education leaders set new reading and education standards for public schools. We'll explain what's different. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: The leaders of four historically Black medical schools are urging more federal spending catered towards black medical professionals. And joining them in their push last week was Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders met with the leaders at Morehouse College on Friday. They highlighted the need for more federal funding and residency training slots to bolster opportunities for black medical students.

Bernie Sanders: We're going to do our best to grow the health care workforce and put a special focus on the need more Black doctors, nurses, psychologists, dentists, et cetera.

Peter Biello: Jeannette E. South-Paul, the provost of Meharry Medical College said the federal government should also boost summer study mentorship and scholarship programs that encourage nonwhite students to apply to medical schools. She said such "pipeline" programs are crucial in recruiting minority physicians.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: President Joe Biden has congratulated workers at Blue Bird Corporation on their vote to unionize. GPB's Devon Zwald has more.

Devon Zwald: Last week, workers at the school bus manufacturer in Fort Valley voted to join the United Steelworkers Union. In a statement yesterday, Biden said workers at Blue Nird and others like it, quote, "are proving the future can and will be built in America and union workers will be a big part of that future." End quote. The vote took place over two days last Thursday and Friday. A spokesperson for the United Steelworkers Union says 697 workers voted in favor of unionizing and 435 voted against. Blue Bird Corporation has seven days after the vote to contest it. From the GPB newsroom, I'm Devon Zwald.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: The State Board of Education adopted a new set of standards last week for English and reading instruction in public schools. It's the last step in Georgia abandoning the federal teaching models known as Common Core. Among other changes, the new standards rely more on teaching phonics and other methods described as, quote," the science of reading." Teachers will receive training on the new English language standards over the next two school years.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Today is the deadline for applications to rename a historic town square in downtown Savannah, formerly known as Calhoun Square. The 1-acre park has been without an official name since last November. That's when the city Council voted to remove its association with former Vice President John C Calhoun, a staunch defender of slavery. The city then put out a call for residents to pitch their own ideas through the city's website. The council plans to decide on a new name later this year.

Credit: Capitol Beat

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A major textile mill in Northwest Georgia plans to stop using a group of chemicals that provide protective coatings for its products. Mount Vernon Mills last week agreed to stop using the toxic PFAS chemicals that were flowing into the Chattooga River. If approved by a federal court, the agreement would settle a Clean Water Act lawsuit filed by the conservation group Coosa River Basin Initiative.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Georgia State University graduated earlier this month its first class of students who earned their associates degrees while incarcerated. Nine graduates from Walker State Prison in Northwest Georgia earned their degrees in general studies as part of Georgia State's prison education project. According to the college, all nine graduated with GPAs above 3.7 — three of those above 3.9.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The convicted former sheriff of metro Atlanta's Clayton County was scheduled to turn himself into a federal prison in Arkansas today. Former Sheriff Victor Hill was removed from office after federal jurors convicted him of violating the civil rights of people in his custody by strapping them into restraint chairs for no reason. Hill was sentenced in March to serve a year and a half in prison.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: State utility regulators are poised to approve a steep increase in rates for Georgia Power customers. The elected five-member Public Service Commission is expected to vote tomorrow on a plan that would hike average household monthly bills by $16 over three years to cover the company's higher costs for fuel. Cory Norred of the public advocacy group Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, says rate increases are coming too quickly for many customers.

Cory Norred: We're coming out of the rate case from last year in which rates were increased. We've got this huge fuel cost rate proceeding that's happening right now. And then looking down the line, we have several other rate increase from the Vogtle unit.

Peter Biello: A commission attorney says regulators have to balance both customer and utility interests, not just provide the lowest possible rates.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: In sports: In baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Atlanta Braves 6 to 5 yesterday to complete a three-game sweep. Braves manager Brian Snitker said, quote, "It's frustrating, but this game is frustrating." The Braves face the Rangers in Texas tonight for the first of a three-game series. Pitcher Charlie Morton is scheduled to start for the Braves. The Braves today claimed right handed pitcher Derek Rodriguez off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and optioned him to triple-A Gwinnett and, to make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta transferred right-handed pitcher Kyle Wright to the 60-day injured list. Wright had been on the 15-day injured list since May 4 with right shoulder inflammation. And in soccer, Atlanta United lost to Charlotte 3 to 1 on Saturday. Atlanta United will host the Colorado Rapids Wednesday before traveling to face Chicago Fire on Saturday.

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. Do appreciate you tuning in. And remember, if you want to learn more about these stories, you can find more at our website GPB.org/news. And by the way, don't sleep on the Peach Jam podcast, which is another stellar GPB production. We recently dropped an episode featuring the Georgia Thunderbolts. The Georgia Thunderbolts are a group from Northwest Georgia being praised by rock and roll legends. They are on the cutting edge of the Southern rock revival. And in this episode of the Peach Jam podcast, they are sharing stories of playing for pennies on Broad Street in Rome, Ga. Peach Jam podcast features stories and songs recorded live in our GPB studios. Do not miss it. You can find it at GPB.org/podcasts. If you haven't yet, hit subscribe on this podcast. Take a moment. Do it now. That way we'll pop up with all the latest news in your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon. And if you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Send us story ideas, feedback, whatever you'd like. By email, The address is Georgiatoday@gpb.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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