Georgia Today: MLK's last living sibling dies; Low EV marks for Georgia; Fourth of July travelers

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, June 29. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode: [the] Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s last surviving sibling has passed away. A new study finds Georgia gets low marks for its electric vehicle policies. And a record number of travelers are expected this Fourth of July holiday weekend. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Christine King Farris, the sister of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died. Her statement from the King Center called Farris a beloved servant leader, founding board member, activist and educator. She taught for five decades at Atlanta's Spelman College, and was King's last surviving sibling. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens issued a statement calling Mrs. Farris a force in her own right and a champion of literacy in education. Christine King Farris was 95 years old.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Neo-Nazi rallies in Marietta and Macon last weekend are renewing a push for an antisemitism bill that stalled in the Georgia legislature this year. But as GPB's Donna Lowry reports, opponents continue to argue the bill would infringe on First Amendment rights to free speech.

Donna Lowry: Antisemitism legislation passed out of the Georgia House but never made it to the Senate floor. At issue is the inclusion of the antisemitism definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Rep. Ruwa Romman, the only Palestinian member of the General Assembly, says for some groups, the wording has led to...

Ruwa Romman: Canceling events by Palestinian poets, by Palestinian historians that talk extensively about human rights abuses in Israel.

Donna Lowry: Bill sponsor Rep. John Carson of Marietta says that's false.

John Carson: It's right there in the legislation that someone can exercise their First Amendment rights.

Donna Lowry: Carson and Romman are asking constituents to contact their lawmakers to discuss the bill before the General Assembly resumes in January. Donna Lowry for GPB News.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Northeast Georgia's Gainesville could become the next Georgia city to move its Confederate monument. City officials confirm they're talking with Hall County and the United Daughters of the Confederacy about moving the statue known as Old Joe. The monument was erected on the town square in 1903. But Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon says it's now standing in the way of downtown revitalization.

Sam Couvillon: It's not a position where I'm wanting to get rid of a statue for the sake of getting rid of a statue. We have had over $300 million of private development in our downtown, and the next thing is to redevelop the square.

Peter Biello: Couvillon says he wants the square to welcome everyone and feels a council majority would support moving it elsewhere in the city. A 2019 state law prevents statue removals, but the Georgia Supreme Court has dismissed several cases for lack of standing. The city of Brunswick removed its Confederate monument last year.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: High temperatures are settling into Georgia for the weekend as forecasters expect the hottest days of the summer so far. Heat index values are expected to top 100 degrees across the state except in the Northeast Georgia mountains. Georgia Power spokesperson Amanda Arnold says those temperatures will put air conditioners on overtime.

Amanda Arnold: You want to make sure that your air conditioner is not going all the time. And you know, for example, when you leave the house, maybe you set the temperature a little bit higher and when you come home, maybe you can set it a little bit lower at something that can really help with that is programable thermostat.

Peter Biello: The hottest temperatures are expected in Middle and South Georgia, where heat index values could exceed 110 degrees.

Caption

An SUV fell into a large sinkhole on Ponce de Leon on June 27, 2023.

Credit: Fox 5

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A large sinkhole opened on a busy Midtown Atlanta road yesterday afternoon, swallowing most of an SUV. The white SUV fell into an approximately 5-foot-deep sinkhole, nose first on Ponce de Leon Avenue in front of Torched Hop Brewery and across the street from Mary Mac's Tea Room. The back end of the vehicle could be seen sticking out of the hole. The couple from Cartersville in the SUV were able to escape without injury, but the SUV sustained significant front end damage. Atlanta DOT is encouraging motorists to use other routes and avoid the area as crews work to fix the sinkhole.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Georgia has fallen in the national ranking of state electric vehicle policies. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports on the annual list from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

Amanda Andrews: Last year, Georgia ranked No. 27 and fell to 32 of the 33 states included in the report. Issues impacting the state's ranking include high registration fees for electric vehicle owners, high emission levels statewide, and the lack of a comprehensive EV plan with adaptation benchmarks and targets. Senior researcher Peter Huether says Georgia can also better support the local EV industry by requiring school districts to purchase electric buses and using state funds to aid in the transition. But the news isn't all bad. Georgia did rank higher than the national average on the number of electric cars on the road and fast chargers per capita. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews in Atlanta.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Georgia's poet laureate Chelsea Rathburn announced the winner of the 10th Annual Poet Laureates' Prize this week in collaboration with Georgia Council for the Arts. The prize is awarded for an original poem written by a Georgia high school student. This year's winner is "Right Here" by Eniola Bedejo, a senior from Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs. This annual program is designed to encourage students in grades nine through 12 to write original poetry. More than 200 students submitted poems this year.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: And this final story: If you are planning to travel this Fourth of July weekend, whether by car or plane, you're going to want to give yourself plenty of extra time to get to your destination. GPB's Devon Zwald has more.

Devon Zwald: AAA is predicting a record number of travelers this Fourth of July holiday. The auto club forecasts more than 1.6 million Georgians will take at least one trip of 50 miles or more starting tomorrow, going through July Fourth. That's 68,000 more holiday travelers than the previous record high set last year. The Transportation Security Administration says it is preparing for record passenger volume starting today through July 5, with tomorrow being the busiest travel day. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport expects 2.6 million passengers to travel through ATL over the eight-day holiday period. For GPB News, I'm Devon Zwald.

Peter Biello: All right. That's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. But if you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit our website, GPB.org/news. That's also where we're posting stories on a rolling basis. News as it happens. You can find it all there: GPB.org/news. And we're going to be back here in your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon; we'll pop up automatically if you subscribe. So we hope you take a moment and subscribe to Georgia Today, right now. If you have feedback for us or perhaps a story idea, we would love to hear from you. Email us. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. Also soliciting your ideas on what to do for this 4th of July holiday. If you've got a special spot in Georgia you like to go to, let us know about it. Share it with your fellow Georgia Today listeners. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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For more on these stories and more go to GPB.org/news. 

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