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Welcome to Weekends, an exciting update from GPB News
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Welcome to Weekends!
Weekends is a weekly dispatch packed with top stories from around the state, including politics, health, economy, sports, arts, events and more.
Sign up for our Weekends newsletter and receive the best of GPB in your inbox every week.
Best of GPB News
Our GPB News reporters and partners are working in communities across the state and capturing stories important to you. That means going beyond the headlines to find out what's affecting the daily lives of Georgians.
GPB News partners with TIME on a multimedia project to report about the effects of heat on workers in Georgia.
This summer has been shockingly hot. What does that mean for the people who take out our trash, clean our yard, deliver our mail or pick the food we eat?
"Too hot to work: How climate change is driving calls for worker safety" tells the story of Georgia farmers, delivery drivers, roofers and other workers who are at risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke — and what can be done to keep them safe.
This story was co-reported with TIME's Aryn Baker, Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Sofi Gratas and Grant Blankenship/Rochelle, Ga., Rome, Ga., and Macon, Ga.; with additional reporting from Moises Velez/Macon, Ga.; Diane Tsai/Salt Lake City; and Leslie Dickstein and Julia Zorthian/New York. This project was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
Featured stories
New COVID cases in Georgia likely driven by summer travel, back to school:
- Between June and July, the number of Georgians hospitalized with COVID-19 rose more than 30%. That is higher than the national average, but the current wave is not yet cause for alarm. (Reported by Ellen Eldridge)
New tech tools developed by Kennesaw State University will aid Cobb County with mental health calls:
- A research team at Kennesaw State University, one of Georgia's largest universities, is developing new systems and software to help Cobb County first responders appropriately manage mental health 911 calls. (Reported by Ambria Burton)
Georgia's week in review
Donald Trump arrested, booked, bonded and released from Fulton County Jail
Former President Donald Trump was booked in Fulton County Jail on charges for attempting to interfere with the results of Georgia's 2020 presidential elections.
Trump surrendered himself on Thursday evening to the jail where he was fingerprinted and his mugshot was taken. He has had to turn himself into authorities three other times this year, but Thursday marks the first time his mugshot was taken. His bond was set at $200,000 and included expansive restrictions against witness intimidation.
Stories around the state
ATHENS: 62 years after the the first Black students were admitted, a UGA professor reflects on progress. As University of Georgia students head back to campus, a professor is remembering the bravery and hardships of the first Black students to be admitted to the Athens college over 60 years ago.
CAMDEN COUNTY: 5 things: Spaceport Camden spending. Under pressure from lawsuits, and from some of its own elected officials and residents, Camden County has started to release records about the $12 million in taxpayer money it spent on the canceled spaceport project.
MACON: State plans to make one of Macon’s deadliest roads safer for pedestrians. A series of small concrete islands is planned to increase pedestrian safety along one of the deadliest highways for foot traffic in Bibb County.
MARIETTA: Lawyer for fired Cobb County teacher says review process was political. The Cobb County School Board voted to fire Katie Rinderle, and elementary school teacher who was accused of violating Georgia's divisive concepts law. Her attorney, Craig Goodmark, spoke with GPB's Peter Biello.
* GPB NEWS POP QUIZ *
All caught up on the news? Take our new GPB News Quiz and see how informed you are about what happened this week in Georgia.
Podcast highlights
Breaking down the Georgia indictments
Battleground: Ballot Box tracks Georgia’s central role in the nationwide fight over who we vote for and how those votes are counted, and has been downloaded more than 750,000 times since its first episode in 2020. Meanwhile, a grand jury in Atlanta has handed down indictments alleging the election conspiracy was created by former President Donald Trump, and that his efforts to pressure, cajole and harass officials into changing the outcome amounted to a mob-like criminal endeavor. On this episode of Battleground: Ballot Box, we’ll turn back the clock to understand how we got here and how Georgia’s election system came to be ground zero for election conspiracies.
Featured podcasts
Georgia Today: Former President Donald Trump hired a new Atlanta attorney to help him fight his Fulton County election interference indictment. GPB's Donna Lowry reports.
Narrative Edge: Hosts Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya dive into Jonathan Eig's King: A Life.
Salvation South: Narrated by Chuck Reece, the latest episode features writers and poets telling stories about the South they love.
Fork in the Road: A Fork in the Road Podcast: Season One Look-back Bonus Episode
Culture and events
Aug. 28 marks the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington
To honor the occasion, leaders are seeking the energy of the original movement for civil rights:
Sixty years ago, Andrew Young and his staff had just emerged from an exhausting campaign against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.
But they didn't feel no ways tired, as the Black spiritual says. The foot soldiers were on a "freedom high," Young recalls.
"They wanted to keep on marching, they wanted to march from Birmingham to Washington," he said.
And march they did, in the nation's capital. Just four months later, they massed for what is still considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice demonstrations in U.S. history.
Recommendations
TV: 'Star Wars: Ahsoka' has a Jedi with two lightsabers but not much else. Yet.
Movies: Leonard Bernstein's family defends appearance in Maestro nose flap
Music: A history of hip-hop in Georgia: From Jack the Rapper to 'rap's epicenter'
Art: Maui's cultural landmarks burned, but all is not lost
Food: Custard shop that survived COVID and car crashes finds sweet success on Instagram
Events around the state
Aug. 26: The final day of this year's Georgia Mountain Fair in Hiawassee features music performances, arts and crafts, carnival rides, unique attractions and a glimpse into North Georgia's history and culture. Casting Crowns will perform at 7 p.m.
Aug. 26: Experience the sights and sounds of the March on Washington in a panoramic multimedia display at Atlanta's Center for Civil and Human Rights. In honor of the 60th anniversary, admission to the Center will be free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entry is a 4 p.m.). Registration is recommended in advance.
Aug. 30- Sept. 3: Atlanta Black Pride Weekend. Five days of events across the city including a festival in Piedmont Park.
Aug. 30: Summer Full Moon River Floats on the Ocmulgee River. The boats are festooned with glow sticks on this float from Highway 83 bridge to Juliette, Ga.
Aug. 31: The Savannah Folk Music Society presents a night of contra dancing at Starland Yard.
GPB News Weekends is written by Kristi York Wooten and Sarah Kallis and edited by Khari Sampson.
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