Georgia Today: Rosalynn Carter health update; Mental health treatment for Vets; Savannah hotel tax

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, May 30. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, the Carter Center releases an update on the health of former first lady Rosalynn Carter. A new treatment is helping military veterans with their mental health. And starting in September, it'll be more expensive to stay in Savannah. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia. The Carter Center disclosed her health condition in a statement this afternoon. The statement says Rosalynn continues to live happily at home in Plains with her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, and enjoys visits with loved ones. Rosalynn has been a champion for mental health for decades, and the statement says her family hopes the disclosure will prompt conversations around dementia. The news comes months after the family announced that Jimmy Carter was entering hospice care at home.

Caption

This photo was taken on July 7, 1946, when Rosalynn Smith and Jimmy Carter were married in Plains, Ga.

Credit: Jimmy Carter Library

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Georgia congressman Andrew Clyde is among Republican hardliners expected to vote against the deal on raising the nation's debt ceiling. The U.S. House is expected to take up the measure tomorrow. It aims to limit federal budget growth to 1% for the next six years. The deal would suspend the debt limit until 2025. At a news conference, Clyde described that as a blank check.

Andrew Clyde: So the federal government can spend unlimited amounts of money, your hard-earned tax dollars, until that date. Then they can plus up their cash on hand to normal operating levels at the end of it by at least $4 trillion, maybe $4.5 trillion. We don't know yet because there is no top number.

Peter Biello: Other Georgia U.S. representatives, including Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Buddy Carter, have said they will support the deal.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Updated national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates overall decreases in new HIV infections from 2017 to 2021, especially among young people. But Georgia metrics show room for Improvement. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.

Sofi Gratas: The CDC data focuses on estimates of HIV incidence, or new infections and prevalence, or how many people are living with HIV. In 2021, that added up to 70,000 people in Georgia. Atlanta-based physician Melanie Thompson says to measure how well we're doing in the state, she also looks at new diagnoses.

Melanie Thompson: Georgia is by far first among states in our rate of new HIV diagnoses.

Sofi Gratas: That's according to 2020 numbers. But Thompson says:

Melanie Thompson: This has been the case with Georgia for a while, and we're really not making a lot of progress.

Sofi Gratas: According to the CDC report, Georgia also ranks low for how many people diagnosed with HIV get linked to care. That can lead to worse or widespread infections. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Yesterday was Memorial Day, the day we honor those who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military. Meanwhile, many military members who've returned from war continue to struggle with their mental health. But a new treatment can help heal the invisible wounds of war. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports.

Ellen Eldridge: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR therapy, focuses on the connection between eye movement and bad memories. The treatment involves asking the patient to hold the image of the trauma in their mind, while the therapist guides the patient's eye movement using a light or a finger. Marlo Taylor is with Canton Counseling. She says veterans make some of the best patients because their emotions are tied to specific traumas.

Jess Geyerman: The client holds that image in mind along with the negative cognition that's associated with it. So something like, I'm not good enough. I'm helpless. I'm stuck.

Ellen Eldridge: Taylor says the therapy works by changing patterns in the brain without having the patient talk about traumatic experiences. Jess Geyerman is one of Taylor's patients. He's a retired Marine who lives with treatment-resistant depression and is excited to try something new.

Jess Geyerman: I'm really interested in this EMDR. If it's helpful in any way, shape or form, that would be awesome because I react badly to drugs.

Ellen Eldridge: He says other therapies that he's tried like ketamine, failed to make a difference. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A Georgia soldier killed during the Korean War was laid to rest at Andersonville National Cemetery yesterday. GPB's Orlando Montoya reports the Memorial Day service came after his remains were identified last year.

Orlando Montoya: Army Cpl. Luther Story of Americus in South Georgia died near Pusan, Korea, in 1950. But at the time, his remains couldn't be identified. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat. Andersonville Superintendent Jill Wagner says Story is now one of only two so honored and buried at the National Cemetery near Americus.

Jill Wagner: Out of 40 million enlisted, 3,500, roughly, have received a Medal of Honor. It's the highest award for military valor. These are people who risked their lives. They went above and beyond the call of duty.

Orlando Montoya: Before DNA helped identify his remains, Story was buried as an unknown in Hawaii. For GPB News, I'm Orlando Montoya.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: A new reactor at a nuclear power plant southeast of Augusta has reached its full power output for the first time. Georgia Power said yesterday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle has reached its full output of 1,100 megawatts of electricity. The company says that's enough to power an estimated half million homes and businesses. The reactor is scheduled to enter commercial operation next month. Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle are the first new reactors built from scratch in the U.S. in decades. Unit 4 has finished a key testing phase, and operators expect to start loading radioactive fuel between July and October.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The Georgia Department of Driver Services is reminding customers to continue to always carry a physical driver's license. The agency recently launched the Georgia Digital Driver's License and ID. The agency says it's only accepted at select Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints and law enforcement officials do not accept digital driver's licenses at this time.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The Savannah City Council voted last week to raise the city's hotel/motel tax from its current 6% to 8% starting in September. That's the first increase in nearly three decades. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: 1995 was the last time Savannah raised its hotel motel tax. Since then, tourism has skyrocketed in the Hostess City. But years of disagreements between local leaders and state lawmakers kept the tax at 6%. That was until Thursday night, when Savannah City Council put the final stamp of approval on a breakthrough agreement. Alderman Nick Palumbo:

Nick Palumbo: 90% of the cities in Georgia pay a higher hotel motel tax than we do. Right now, we have the ability to fix an ailing and decaying River Street that up until this moment, the people of this city have had to pay for it. And now the visitors of this city will have to pay for it.

Benjamin Payne: Three of the nine council members voted against the increase, saying more of the revenue should go to help hospitality workers. For GPB News. I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: The Tybee Island Sea Turtle project has changed the way it marks sea turtle nests. In a social media post, the group said they are only using a screen and one wooden stake to mark the nests on the beach instead of multiple stakes and caution tape, they say the change is to make the nests less noticeable to predators. The group said Tybee is up to eight sea turtle nests this year.

Caption

Two adult female loggerhead turtles were released into the surf Friday on the beach at Jekyll Island after spending nearly a year recovering at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

Credit: Georgia Sea Turtle Center Facebook page

Story 10:

Peter Biello: In sports. In baseball, the Atlanta Braves accomplished something that few teams have done this season: They have lost to the Oakland Athletics. Oakland is losing with historic frequency this season, 45 out of its first 55 games, which is more than any other major league team since 1900. Braves pitcher Michael Soroka was called up from triple-A Gwinnett to start the series opener, his first Braves start in more than a thousand days. He allowed four runs on five hits, struck out three and walked two, but left trailing 4 to 1. Final score was 7 to 2. The two teams face off again tonight with Bryce Elder on the mound for the Braves.

Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. Hope you had a great long weekend. If you want to get more news, make sure you subscribe to this podcast. That way we will be there in your podcast feed waiting for you tomorrow afternoon. If you get some feedback or a story idea, if you want to tell us what you did over the long weekend, we'd love to hear from you. The email address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. And if you like this podcast, leave a review because that'll help other folks find it. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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