Section Branding
Header Content
Georgia Today: Legal challenges for Mableton; GA Power rate increase; Mayor fundraises for cancer
Primary Content
On the Wednesday, May 17 edition of Georgia Today: A new lawsuit calls the creation of the city of Mableton unconstitutional; Georgia Power to increase rates for customers; And a former Augusta mayor is campaigning to raise money for a cancer cure.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, May 17. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode- is the creation of the City of Mableton unconstitutional? A new lawsuit says so. Georgia Power customers can expect an increase in their electric bills. And a former Augusta mayor is campaigning to raise money for a cancer cure. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: Georgia Power customers' electricity bills will be going up 12% in June. GPB's Devon Zwald has more.
Devon Zwald: Georgia's elected public service commissioners yesterday unanimously approved the company's plan to make up for the higher cost of fuel. The typical residential bill will increase nearly $16 a month. It's one of at least three increases Georgia Power customers are likely to see this year. A rate increase took place in January and rates are expected to go up again later this year when Georgia Power brings online the first of two new nuclear reactors. From the GPB newsroom, I'm Devon Zwald.
Peter Biello: Some residents of Mableton are suing over the creation of their city, saying the referendum to create the city was unconstitutional and fatally defective. Mableton's ballot question and city charter created both the city and its community improvement district. State law considers these separate governmental bodies, and the lawsuit alleges creating both in one bill violated the state constitution. The plaintiffs also say ballot questions must address only one issue to give voters a clear choice. Lawmakers failed to bring de-annexation legislation in time for it to pass this session. Councilwomen Deborah Herndon and Patricia Auch, who supported de-annexation, won seats on the city council last year.
Peter Biello: A state judge has cleared the way for nearly 200 United Methodist churches in North Georgia to vote on whether or not to leave the denomination. The decision yesterday came in a Cobb County Superior Court case over the legality of a pause that the denomination's regional conference put on church defections. Jeff Jernigan of Cobb County's McEachern United Methodist Church says the denomination remains divided over many issues, but trust is now gone.
Jeff Jernigan: It's basically like a divorce, and — and you're severing, you know, decades bonds relationship with people and with ministries. And it is brutal.
Peter Biello: It's the second time this month that a Georgia court has ruled in favor of United Methodists seeking to disaffiliate. An earlier ruling sided with a church in Augusta.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: Former Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver is turning his fight against cancer into a campaign to raise money for a cure. Copenhaver says he was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer last month. He and his team raised $50,000 this weekend for the Georgia Cancer Center's Unite in the Fight Walk.
Deke Copenhaver: Your first question is, am I going to die? But then when my prognosis was good, I thought, "you know, I'm in a position where I can really do some good with this."
Peter Biello: Copenhaver says he draws strength from being part of a larger cause. He served nearly 10 years as mayor, ending in 2014.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: The election to fill a Georgia House of Representatives seat left vacant in March after the death of a lawmaker will go to a runoff. None of the five candidates running to fill the seat surpassed 50% of the vote, which is required to fill the seat that opened when Democrat Tish Naghise died. Democrats Mark Baker and Derrick Jackson each got about 33% of the vote, with Baker holding a small lead. The district southwest of Atlanta encompasses parts of Fulton and Fayette counties. The runoff election will take place June 13.
Peter Biello: A new poll says Donald Trump is the frontrunner for president among Georgia conservative voters. Landmark Communications released the poll today showing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp trailing the former president. Neither DeSantis nor Kemp has announced a presidential bid, but Kemp senior adviser Cody Hall told GPB's Political Rewind that things can change quickly.
Cody Hall: I think where the governor is most comfortable and where he will have the most influence is, is making sure that our nominee wins Georgia, whoever they may be, but then also being a voice of commonsense conservatism across the country to kind of try to shape where the party's going.
Peter Biello: The poll surveyed 800 likely Republican voters in Georgia this week.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: Fulton County leadership has backed down from a controversial move to nominate a Republican to replace a Democrat to lead the county's election board. GPB's Donna Lowry reports.
Donna Lowry: In a surprise move, Fulton County Commission chair and Democrat Rob Pitts rescinded his contentious decision to nominate former Republican commissioner Lee Moores to chair the county's Board of Registration and Elections. Dozens of voting rights activists packed the commission meeting as Pitts nominated Democrat Patrise Perkins-Hooker instead. Mina Tarabi of Young Democrats of Georgia:
Mina Tarabi: We have to make sure that the person who is sitting over our board and who is sitting there over our elections will make sure that they uphold the integrity of not just Democratic voters, not just Republican voters, but all voters in this county.
Donna Lowry: Perkins-Hooker is the election board's attorney and will step down from that position. The commission voted 4-0 to appoint her. For GPB News, I'm Donna Lowry in Atlanta.
Peter Biello: It’s been a tough couple of decades for North American bats. Where they live in caves a fungus has been laying waste to their colonies by the millions. Meanwhile, bats living outside caves are doing better, but there’s still a lot to learn. That’s why every summer the Georgia Department of Natural Resources asks everyday people to help by counting bats on summer evenings. GPB’s Grant Blankenship has more.
Grant Blankenship: Trina Morris says an overcast night is perfect for counting bats.
Trina Morris: So we can watch them when they drop out.
Grant Blankenship: Drop out of their roost. In this case a bat box in the native plant garden behind Macon’s Museum of Arts and Sciences. Morris is a biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. About a half-dozen people are with her waiting on Mexican free tailed bats.
Trina Morris: These are the bats that are under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin.
Grant Blankenship: There are one and a half million of those bats under that one bridge.
Trina Morris: They're tough and they're tiny.
Grant Blankenship: How many here? Well, fewer. But who knows? That's why we're counting. Ethan Hatchet is the bat monitor trainee. This will be his bat roost.
Ethan Hatchet: I'll be a good landlord.
Grant Blankenship: So, what's he got to do?
Trina Morris: Have your smartphone?
Grant Blankenship: Georgia DNR has an online form where volunteer bat counters can record what they see at their roost.
Ethan Hatchet: Like how windy it is. Temperature.
Grant Blankenship: Once the form's filled out, Trina Morris says you wait until the bats take to the air.
Counter: Five, six, seven.
Trina Morris: They start pouring out. You kind of try to count them in like five or 10.
Counter: 40!
Trina Morris: You just, like, have to stare, which makes your neighbors think you're crazy.
Trina Morris: Oh 80-85.
Grant Blankenship: The final count.
Ethan Hatchet: 152.
Grant Blankenship: 152 Mexican free tailed bats.
Trina Morris: What more do you want out of a Friday night?
Grant Blankenship: Trina Morris hopes others agree and will help her keep tabs on Georgia's bats wherever they are. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.
Peter Biello: Two big building projects have been approved for the University of Georgia. The Georgia Board of Regents authorized construction yesterday of a 565-bed dorm for first-year students. The goal is to add space for UGA's growing freshman classes. The board also approved a three-story building for a dining hall, classrooms and clinics. The total cost of the two projects: nearly $135 million. Both are expected to be finished by the fall of 2026.
Story 10:
Peter Biello: Chick-fil-A is closing its first-ever location at Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall. A sign at the store says its last day of operation will be Saturday. Chick-Fil-A got its start in Hapeville, south of Atlanta, but its first mall location in 1967 kicked off its growth. The company now has more than 3,000 locations. A Chick-Fil-A spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Peter Biello: And that is it for today's edition of Georgia Today. Hope you are doing well and staying dry in all this rainy weather. Going to get some sunshine next week — at least, I think we are. I hope we are. If you want to learn more about any of the stories in this podcast today, visit GPB.org/news. And if you want to stay up on the news that we're reporting on Georgia today, simply subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe and we will pop up in your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon. If you've got feedback or a story idea, we would love to hear it. Email us. The address is 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.
Secondary Content
Author
