Georgia Today: UPS averts strike; Gwinnett County gets federal boost; Marietta native signs with NBA

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, July 25. I'm Orlando Montoya. In today's episode: UPS will not be going on strike. Public transportation in Gwinnett County will be getting a boost in federal funds. And a Marietta native has just signed the most expensive contract in NBA history. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: Georgia businesses are breathing a sigh of relief as shipping giant UPS and the Teamsters union reached a tentative deal today to avert a strike. Georgia Tech economics professor Tibor Besedes says a strike would have hit small businesses the hardest. He says the prolonged uncertainty of the past few weeks might prompt many of them to become more cautious about their shipping options.

Tibor Besedes: I do think that firms will start to diversify how they ship to consumers just because relying on a single shipper, clearly there's some risk associated with that.

Orlando Montoya: Headquartered in Sandy Springs, north of Atlanta, UPS is one of the state's largest companies with more than 300,000 union workers nationwide.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: The Biden administration has set a new rule to clarify and enforce a 2008 mental health parity law. GPB Ellen Eldridge reports the federal standards closely mirror those set by Georgia lawmakers in 2020.

Ellen Eldridge: The new rule requires health plans to evaluate their coverage for compliance, set out-of-network payments, and it closes a coverage loophole in the original act for state and local governments. Christen Linke Young is the special assistant to the President for Health and Veteran Affairs.

Christen Linke Young: Today's rule codifies changes to that law and makes it clear that state and local government health plans, just like all other employer health plans, have to be in compliance and they have to provide adequate mental health benefits that are really at parity with the physical health benefits they provide.

Ellen Eldridge: Young says preventing a mental health crisis with good care ultimately saves lives and money. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: Public transportation in metro Atlanta's Gwinnett County will see some major changes after a $20 million boost in federal funding. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports.

Amanda Andrews: Sen. Jon Ossoff and Rep. Lucy McBath joined officials from Gwinnett County and the U.S. Department of Transit to announce the new project. The funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law will be used to replace the Gwinnett Place Transit Center with an improved facility. Gwinnett District 2 Commissioner Ben Ku says the updated center will have new services for riders and bus operators.

Ben Ku: That will offer travel training and help riders with disabilities seek mobility assistance and qualify for paratransit service, 12 bus bays with amenities, including overhead canopies, real-time displays and seating and designated bays that will accommodate electric vehicle charging.

Amanda Andrews: County officials will finalize the design over the next two years and then begin construction. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: The Georgia Ports Authority is reporting its second-busiest year ever despite a decline in the volume of retail goods moving through their seaports. The agency said today that the Port of Savannah handled about five and a half million container units in the fiscal year that ended in June. That's about 7% down from the previous year, a dip attributed to excess inventories following the post-pandemic spending boom. Ports Authority executive director Griff Lynch says that last year's container volumes are still up 20% over fiscal year 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Griff Lynch: When you think about why that's happening, we've talked about this in the past. The population growth we see in the Southeast, the demographics, the manufacturing that's happening here. Hyundai is a great example.

Orlando Montoya: Hyundai is building a $5 billion electric vehicle plant west of Savannah. And although it's unknown if the automaker will export any Georgia-made vehicles, Lynch expects an influx of parts and supplies.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: Helping young Georgians after they age out of foster care can benefit some Georgia taxpayers. GPB's Devon Zwald has that story.

Devon Zwald: A new nonprofit has launched to help Georgians contribute to a state tax credit program that's aimed at helping the roughly 700 young Georgians who age out of the foster care system each year. Fostering Success Act Inc will help taxpayers submit applications to the Georgia Department of Revenue to qualify for the program. Contributions to the program go toward services like housing, food and transportation to help support these young people while they attend college or technical school. For GPB News, I'm Devon Zwald.

Credit: Legacy

Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: Former President Jimmy Carter's cousin Hugh Carter Jr. has died. The former president's grandson, Jason Carter, said today that the family is deeply saddened by the death of Hugh. Also known as Sonny Carter, who owned an Atlanta publishing company for nearly three decades. He was part of the famous Peanut Brigade that helped propel Jimmy Carter to the presidency and later served as a high-level assistant in the Carter administration. Hugh "Sonny" Carter was 80 years old.

Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: A California-based kitchen products design and marketing company plans to build a distribution center in Southeast Georgia's Effingham County. Bradshaw Homes says the 1-million-square-foot facility near Meldrum will create at least 230 new jobs and open in November.

Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: A $25 million federal grant to fund a portion of the Atlanta BeltLine's Northeast Trail could be a significant step in helping complete the massive urban revitalization project ahead of its 2030 deadline. That's the news Atlanta BeltLine Inc. president and CEO Clyde Higgs delivered during a press conference yesterday. Higgs said 80% of the Atlanta Beltline will be completed within the next two years or under construction. The $25 million grant will go toward construction of more than 2 miles of the Northeast Trail and connector trails, including Peachtree Creek and Path for trails in the Armor Drive business district and residential areas between Midtown and Buckhead. The funding will also go toward the BeltLine's first connection to MARTA at Lindbergh Center Station, south of Buckhead. The BeltLine's $25 million grant is due to President Biden's $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill to invest in rebuilding America's roads, bridges and rails. The bill also focuses on equity by funding projects that work to reconnect communities that were divided years ago by rail lines and highways.

Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: Former University of Georgia football player Adam Anderson still hopes to play in the NFL after he was sentenced to a year in jail for sexually assaulting two women. A state judge in Athens-Clarke County yesterday sentenced Anderson for the 2020 and 2021 assaults. The 23-year-old originally faced felony charges, but they were reduced to misdemeanors in a plea deal. He'll serve the sentence at the county jail. His attorney says Anderson plans to pursue a professional football career after serving the sentence.

Story 10:

Orlando Montoya: A 1903 Greek revival-style mansion in Savannah's historic district has sold for $6.1 million, making it the district's most expensive home ever. Real estate news outlet Mansion Global reported the sale in a story shared on social media by real estate agent Austin Hill, whose company listed the home. The home overlooks Savannah's famous Forsyth Park and its iconic fountain. Mansion Global did not report the buyers' names outside of the historic district. The only larger residential real estate deal in the Savannah area was the $6.8 million sale of the former residence on Wilmington Island of celebrity chef Paula Deen in 2020.

Story 11:

Orlando Montoya: And Jaylen Brown, a Marietta native and Wheeler High School graduate, has just signed a five year, $304 million contract extension with the Boston Celtics. The deal, at this moment, is the most expensive contract in NBA history. It will pay Brown an average of just under $61 million per year.

And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit GPB.org/news and subscribe on this podcast. Take a moment. Do it now to keep us current in your podcast feed. And if you have feedback, we'd love to hear it. Email us at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org . I'm Orlando Montoya and I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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