Georgia Today: Georgia district maps found unconstitutional; Lt. Governor wants guns for teachers

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, October 26th. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a federal judge rules that the states voting maps need to be redrawn because they violate the Voting Rights Act. Georgia's lieutenant governor says he wants to pay teachers to carry guns in schools and the city of Atlanta and the owner of a crumbling housing complex are fighting over the property's future. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: A federal judge has ordered Georgia lawmakers to create new redistricting maps, finding several state legislative and congressional boundaries violate the Voting Rights Act. GPB's Stephen Fowler has more.

Stephen Fowler: Much of Georgia's population growth the last decade has been driven by nonwhite voters in metro Atlanta, but that wasn't reflected in the GOP led legislature's redistricting maps in 2021. Now, Judge Steve Jones says those maps violated federal law and minimized black voting power. The 516 page ruling finds that there should be an additional majority black district in several areas, including one congressional district and state House district centered west of Atlanta. Two new House and two Senate districts in Atlanta, southern suburbs and two new House districts around Macon. He gives lawmakers a deadline of December 8th to hold a special session and pass new boundaries. It's likely the state appeals. For GPB News, I'm Stephen Fowler.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Georgia's lieutenant governor says he wants to pay teachers $10,000 a year to carry guns in school. Republican Bert Jones said yesterday that he intends to push the measure in the state Senate during the General Assembly session that begins in January. The proposal drew immediate criticism from teacher groups. Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, called the idea dangerous and misguided.

Lisa Morgan: It is horrifying and appalling to me that anyone would think someone who has devoted their lives to caring for students would want to introduce a firearm into the classroom.

Peter Biello: Jones arming teachers would be voluntary for school districts and teachers and include pay for teachers to take firearms training. It's unclear if his plan has the support of other top Georgia Republicans. The state House speaker, governor and state school superintendent did not respond to requests for comment.

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Story 3:

Peter Biello: A man from northwest Georgia's Bartow County has been arrested in connection with the January 6th attacks on the U.S. Capitol. The U.S. District Attorney's office in Washington, D.C. said yesterday that 31 year old Jacob Davis of Adairsville was arrested last week and charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor offenses. Prosecutors allege Davis was part of a large group of violent rioters that pushed themselves against police as they attempted to breach the building. They also allege that he hurled a long wooden board that landed on officers heads. Davis is one of at least 24 Georgians and more than 1100 individuals total to be arrested in connection with the events of January 6th, 2021.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Robins Air Force Base is adding two new units that will hire more than 300 employees. Air Force officials said yesterday the 350th Spectrum Warfare wing is the next step in the creation of a group centered on electronic warfare. The Wing's colonel, Joshua Kozlov said Robins will be the heart of the Air Force mission currently based in Florida.

Joshua Kozlov: Our mission necessitates a diverse array of skill sets encompassing engineers, electronic warfare officers, software programmers, intelligence professionals, technicians, mission planners and aircraft operators and maintainers. We're going to bring all that to Georgia, Middle Georgia.

Peter Biello: The Air Force plan to bring the units to Robins in 2027, but pushed up the timeline.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: One of Georgia's largest mortgage lenders says it plans to cease operations at the end of the year. Gainesville, based Homestar announced on Monday that it's shutting down on the heels of additional mortgage volatility driven by rising interest rates. The 21 year old company said it will continue to lock in loan interest rates through the end of the month and fund all loans in its pipeline. Homestar operates more than 50 branches across the country, according to Housing Wire. It originated more than $10 billion in consumer mortgages over the past five years. That's according to the company.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The city of Atlanta and the owners of the Forest Cove Apartments are battling in court over the fate of the now vacant subsidized housing complex. For years, Forrest Cove had been a crumbling hazard for its occupants. Its new owners hope to avoid having to demolish the apartments so they can be rebuilt. A pending lawsuit the city of Atlanta announced earlier this month argues it's owed millions for relocating Forest Cove's former tenants. Kurt Lentz is counsel for the real estate company Millennia, which owns Forrest Cove through its subsidiary, Phoenix Ridge. Kurt, thank you so much for speaking with me.

Kurt Lentz: Yeah, thank you, Peter, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

Peter Biello: I understand you're still waiting for the lawsuit to be filed, the one the city announced earlier this month. But Millenia, Phoenix Ridge is suing the city of Atlanta. You're saying the city harmed your clients by seeking to demolish Forest Cove? Can you tell us a little more about that?

Kurt Lentz: So Forest Cove is a Section eight based housing project, which means that HUD rental subsidies run with that property in order for those rental subsidies to continue to run with the property, the property has to be there.

Peter Biello: Meaning to preserve those rental subsidies. It can't be demolished. It has to be renovated. Is that what you're saying?

Kurt Lentz: Yes. It can't be completely razed. Phoenix Ridge was set to spend $60 million tearing it down to the Joyce in the studs and building back the same 396 affordable housing units in Forest Cove that were existing when we purchased the property in April of 2021. What happened was that the city filed an action against the property seeking to demolish it, and once they obtained that demolition order, it put a halt to everything that we were trying to do with the property.

Peter Biello: After your client purchased Forest Cove in April of 2021, the problems didn't go away. Three months later, police found 150 code violations, including broken windows, open vacant units, severe overgrowth, burned buildings, trash. This was months before the order to demolish the property. Could your client have worked harder to make it a better living environment and in some ways avoided the demolition order altogether? I mean, the conditions were pretty bad after Millennia through Phoenix Ridge took ownership.

Kurt Lentz: But within the you know, the code violations were there. And I think that speaks to the scope of what Phoenix Ridge was going to do. Forest Cove had been allowed to deteriorate for decades under previous ownership. Under lapsed code enforcement, it had gotten to the point that it was in April 2021 and then in December of 21 or July of 21, when those code violations were cited because of decades of neglect. I don't know what 150 code violations were. I'd have to to check to see what they were.

Peter Biello: Just to be clear. Some of those violations were trash, broken windows. Broken windows can be fixed in a day. And there were people still living there. And in fact, the last resident moved out in the end of September 2022. That's more than a year and a quarter later. And I also will add, Millennia was managing the property in 2017, four years before that point. And those problems like crime, mold, trash, broken windows persisted for that long. Why wasn't Millennia stepping up when residents were asking for help back then?

Kurt Lentz: I think Millenia was doing it. Millenia was doing what it was able to do. And Millennia. You know, even though it wasn't the owner at that point spent millions of dollars on the property. Infused capital. But again. A lot of these these things. You know, you mentioned windows being a quick fix. A lot of the other persistent issues are. Are not. Quick fixes. They're not. You know. Meant to. The property, if you've seen it. Needed to be completely rebuilt. And that is what. That is what Phoenix Ridge and Millenia came to. The table to do.

Peter Biello: In May of 2022. And Andre Dickens Mayor Andre Dickens committed to use more than $9 million in federal funds to pay for the relocation of those residents. Was there an agreement at the time that Millennia would would reimburse?

Kurt Lentz: There was. What the agreement said was that we would reimburse the city of Atlanta once we were able to close on the financing for a rehabilitation, rebuild or sale of the property in the conditions that would require us to do it, that the city agreed to have it been met. And they haven't been met in large part because of the city's own actions and inactions under that agreement.

Peter Biello: That's Kurt Lentz, counsel representing the real estate company Millennia, which through its subsidiary, Phoenix Ridge, owns Forest Cove Apartments. These apartments are in the Thomasville Heights neighborhood of southeast Atlanta. Last month, the Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance to adopt the Thomasville Heights Neighborhood Plan as a non-binding guide for future development in the community. That plan includes developing parcels of land surrounding Forest Cove. Land says this plan shows the city's motive for knocking down Forest Cove. He says the city wants mixed income apartments and townhomes because it believes Thomasville Heights is the next Grant Park or Wormwood Park, meaning a neighborhood with lots of valuable property. Mayor Andre Dickens declined my request for an interview when we met at an event earlier this week. His communications manager said "Not today." and his team has not responded to my requests to find the time to talk. You can find more information about this story, including links to the Thomasville Heights neighborhood Plan and Phoenix Ridge's suit against the city at GPB.org/news.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: With this year's unpredictable weather, some trees have become zombies or trees that look healthy but are actually sick. Jonathan McNeil with Arbor Guard Atlanta says a warm winter followed by a hard freeze in March as well as later heavy windstorms and tornadoes, pests and diseases can all cause zombie trees. Some signs of an unhealthy tree include hollow spots, deadwood, cracks in the tree, or even an excess limb. He says some are just sick and can be healed.

Jonathan McNeil: But some trees are, you know, straight up zombie trees. Just like, that trees destined for failure. Like it's covered in mistletoe and has a canker. There's fungus all around the root plate and on the trunk and, you know, may still be hanging on, but eventually, you know, it's going to give way.

Peter Biello: He says the tree may otherwise show signs of life, and a certified arborist can determine if it can be healed or needs to come down.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: In sports, the Georgia Bulldogs head into this weekend's matchup against Florida with the nation's longest winning streak of 24 games. They've won two in a row and five of six against the Gators in what's called the world's largest outdoor cocktail party. The game is played at the neutral site in Jacksonville. The Gators home field is in Gainesville, Florida, Georgia. Quarterback Carson Beck will be the third Jacksonville native to start a QB in the series in his hometown. And the Atlanta Braves signed righty Pierce Johnson yesterday to a two year contract worth more than $14 million guaranteed with the $7 million club option for 2026. That includes a quarter million dollar buyout. Johnson has agreed to donate 1% of his salary to the Atlanta Braves Foundation. The 32 year old pitched a point 763 over 24 games with the Braves this year after being acquired from the Rockies in July.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: And finally, actor and director Ethan Hawke will make an appearance in support of his new film Wildcat at the Rome International Film Festival in Rome, Georgia, next week. Wildcat, directed by Ethan and starring his daughter Maya Hawke, is a biopic about Georgia novelist Flannery O'Connor that takes place as she tries to get her first novel published. The film will play on November 3rd at the De Soto Theater. The Rome International Film Festival will run from November 2nd through the fifth and is celebrating its 20th year. There will be more than 125 film screenings over the long weekend.

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And if you haven't subscribed to this podcast yet, take a moment and do it now. We're going to be back and your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon with all of the latest news from the Peach State. And if you've got feedback, send us an email. We'd love to hear from you. 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