Georgia Today: Brunswick homeless shelter lawsuit; Medicaid expulsions; New name for Tech stadium

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, Aug. 9. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a fight over a Brunswick homeless shelter lands in court. A report finds Georgia's children bear the brunt of Medicaid expulsions. And the home of Georgia Tech football gets a new name. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: An indictment could come as soon as next week. In the Fulton County investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. The county's district attorney hasn't said when she'll present her case to a grand jury, but several signs indicate that next week is a good bet. Those signs include letters the prosecutor has sent to local officials, security measures being taken by the county sheriff and the timing of other grand jury matters. Trump denies any wrongdoing.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: School officials in metro Atlanta's Cobb County are expected to convene a hearing tomorrow to determine if an elementary school teacher should be dismissed under a new state law addressing so-called divisive concepts in the classroom. Fifth grade teacher Katie Rinderle could be the first Georgia educator to lose her job over the law. Jeff Hubbard of the Cobb County Association of Educators says Rinderle's offense was reading a rhyming picture book about a child who challenges gender assumptions.

Jeff Hubbard: Legislation such as this is telling you if you don't teach the way we want, what we want, how we want, you're going to lose your job. We are already facing a severe teaching shortage, and now we're going to get rid of a teacher who had a fine career in Cobb County?

Peter Biello: School officials accuse Rinderle of insubordination and other violations relating to reading the book My Shadow is Purple by Scott Stewart.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: An escalating fight over a homeless shelter in Brunswick has ended up in court. The city of Brunswick has filed a federal lawsuit to shut down a Christian-run homeless day shelter called The Well. It's the only shelter of its kind in the city and isn't violating any zoning or municipal laws. Officials cite misleading crime data and calling it a, quote, "public nuisance." They're seeking a court order to close it permanently. The Well closed for several months, voluntarily under city pressure earlier this year. Since it reopened last month, police have responded to five calls there, including a welfare check, an attempted suicide and an officer-initiated checkup.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: State officials say they're making progress on reducing the number of foster children being housed in state offices and hotels. Georgia Department of Human Services Commissioner Candice Broce told members of a state Senate committee today that as of last night, the agency was hoteling only seven children. The practice came to the attention of state lawmakers during last year's General Assembly when they allocated $10 million to address the problem. The number of affected children has been on a roller coaster ,going from 20 last summer to 95 last month. Broce says while the number is low for now, it could always rise again.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Concerns that Georgia's Medicaid expulsions would most heavily affect children are coming true. The AJC reports the state has confirmed that children and teens made up more than 70% of state residents who lost the insurance coverage in June. Georgia canceled the Medicaid health insurance of more than 67,000 children and teens in June. That's according to state data. It came as part of Medicaid unwinding, the national effort to cull out Medicaid recipients who no longer qualified. 63,000 of those children and teens were dropped simply because the state found their parents or guardians had not filed the necessary application.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The University System of Georgia delivered an economic impact of more than $20 billion in fiscal year 2022. That's up $800 million from the previous year. That economic impact included more than $14 billion in direct spending by students and the system's colleges and universities. The remaining nearly $6 billion is the multiplier effect that direct spending had in local communities. The data also show USG and its institutions create the same employment impact in Georgia as the state's top five employers combined.

Caption

Music superstar Beyoncé

Credit: Carlijn Jacobs / Parkwood Entertainment

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Beyonce's "Renaissance" world tour is coming to Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium this Friday and Saturday and next Monday. MARTA is adding additional rail and bus services on those days to help people get to and from the concert safely. While the shows are officially sold out, ticket reseller prices range from 146 bucks for the upper sections, to $3,500  plus fees for the VIP riser on the floor.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The home of Georgia Tech football has been renamed Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field following a naming rights agreement between the school and the automaker. The Georgia Board of Regents announced a deal yesterday for Hyundai to pay Georgia Tech approximately $55 million over 20 years for naming rights to the field. The stadium, known as Grant Field when it opened in 1913, was renamed Bobby Dodd Stadium in 1988 in honor of the former Georgia Tech coach and athletic director. The school plans to maintain recognition of its history as Grant Field with a display at the stadium.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: In sports. In baseball, Orlando Arcia's two-run double with two outs in the top of the ninth capped a three run inning and lifted the Atlanta Braves to an 8 to 6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates last night. Star right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. Left the game after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow. X-rays were negative and Acuña is considered day-to-day. Acuña has been one of the best players in the majors this season, and he led off the game with his 26th homer and went 1 for 3. The Braves' Matt Olson reached 100 RBIs yesterday, the first major leaguer to reach that mark this year. Olson has driven in a run in 11 straight games. The two teams face off again tonight with Max Fried expected to get the start for the Braves.

And that is a wrap on this edition of Georgia Today. Thanks so much for tuning in. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check out our website, GPB.org/news. Our reporters are always posting new stories there. If you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, do it now. We'll be back in your podcast feed tomorrow with more of the top stories from the Peach State. And if you've got feedback for us, or maybe a story idea, we'd love to hear from you. Let us know what's going on in your community. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. 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