Georgia Today: Federal drought relief; CDC addresses racial disparities; Monkee honors R.E.M.

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, Nov. 6. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, the federal government sends relief to farmers in Northwest Georgia struggling with drought. Georgia is getting money from the CDC to tackle racial and ethnic disparities in health care. And Micky Dolenz of the Monkees pays tribute to Athens music legends R.E.M. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Federal agriculture officials have issued a disaster declaration for four Northwest Georgia counties after at least eight weeks of drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture today included Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties in the disaster area. The declaration allows area farmers impacted by the drought to apply for emergency credit to help them stay afloat financially. The deadline to apply is the end of June next year. National Weather Service data show that only 1 inch of rain has fallen in Summerville in Chattooga County over the past two months, when normally the town would receive nearly 8 inches of rain.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: If the sheriff of Fulton County wants to relieve overcrowding at the county jail, he's going to need another plan. That's because a state judge threw out his plan to send detainees to other states. And as Amanda Andrews reports, advocates for the recently incarcerated say they have a better idea.

Amanda Andrews: Women on the Rise is a nonprofit working with formerly incarcerated women of color, run by women who have been impacted by the criminal legal system. The group provides a year of resources to women once they're released from jail to reintegrate them into society. Executive Director Robyn Hasan-Simpson Bey says their work stops overcrowding by preventing women from returning to jail.

Robyn Hasan-Simpson Bey: We're there to walk them through the process, help them get stable housing, help them with getting a livable wage job, or for some of the mental health issues, we help them file for benefits. But then we start talking to them to say this: "You know, what led to your incarceration?"

Amanda Andrews: Women on the Rise is working to secure funding from Atlanta City Council for direct aid to the community to reduce arrests. For GPB News. I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: An Associated Press investigation has found that an artificial intelligence tool developed by a Brunswick-based former social worker doesn't live up to its promises. Thea Ramirez developed a tool called Family Match to help match adoptive parents with some of the nation's most vulnerable kids. It drew inspiration from online dating services to help struggling child welfare agencies. The Georgia Department of Human Services dropped Family Match last year after trial runs, saying it wasn't able to produce adoptions. Ramirez said in an email that family match is a valuable tool.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Georgia is getting $4 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to tackle racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes. The grants are focused on Atlanta and Savannah, with one grant going to more rural areas in central Georgia. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.

Sofi Gratas: Of the 28 states funded, Georgia received the most money through the CDC's grant program. Alicia Wright with the North Central Health District in Macon says over the next five years, the money will support nutrition, exercise and vaccine programs in Hancock, Washington and Baldwin counties.

Alicia Wright: We are going to focus on the African-American population within all three of these counties,.

Sofi Gratas: Statistically; Black Georgians have higher rates of certain diseases.

Alicia Wright: Hypertension, diabetes. So a big piece of this is chronic prevention.

Sofi Gratas: Those diseases, among COVID-19 and homicide, are the leading causes of death in the North Central Health District. The CDC named racism a public health risk in 2021. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas in Macon.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Georgia drivers are one step closer to being able to use Peach Pass on toll roads across the nation. Peach Pass is a small, thin transponder put on windshields to pay tolls on express lanes in metro Atlanta, the state Road and Tollway Authority announced today that they successfully tested its integration into toll road systems in eight states. Those states include Florida and Illinois, but notably do not yet include New York or Virginia. The authority says those states are coming soon.

Caption

Actress and advocatebBrooke Shields speaks at a Nov. 2, 2023, luncheon with the Atlanta Women's Foundation.

Credit: Ellen Eldridge / GPB News

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Brooke Shields has been a model and an actress, but perhaps one of her most important roles involves her advocacy of women's mental health issues. She spoke last week at an Atlanta Women's Foundation luncheon and fundraiser about the importance of empowering women and supporting their education. She says she's using her experiences with postpartum depression and other adversities to inspire people like her because, she says there is still time for a 50-something-year-old woman to make a difference.

Brooke Shields: Over 23 years I will have been just a mom, really. And then that starts to change. And I really thought, who am I now? What am I? And I just want — I want women to give themselves a pat on the back and say, look how far you've come. You've all had adversities, you've all had to overcome things and sadnesses. And it just it's a lot. And I'm beginning to feel like, yeah, I did it. And I can do more and I'm not done. You know, I don't have one foot in the grave. It's like you're either the sexy girl at the bar or your in Depends.

Peter Biello: Shield says she's working on a book that will be part memoir and all about understanding this era of life.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: On Friday afternoon in downtown Athens, local musicians paid tribute to the 1960s band The Monkees, and by covering their hit "Daydream Believer."

Crowd: *Sings "Daydream Believer"*

Peter Biello: The occasion: Micky Dolenz of The Monkees is out with a new EP, Mickey Dolenz sings R.E.M. He spent part of Friday signing copies of the EP for fans at Wuxtrty Records in Athens, the city where R.E.M. first got together. The EP includes R.E.M. hits such as "Radio Free Europe", "Man on the Moon," "Leaving New York" and "Shiny Happy People." Athens Mayor Kelly Gertz presented Dolenz with the ceremonial keys to the city. R.E.M. members Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Bill Berry were in attendance. Mike Mills was out of town. Dolan's thanked R.E.M. and praised their songs.

Micky Dolenz: I'm blessed. I'm so thankful to be able to, you know, try to do my little interpretation, as it were, of these wonderful, wonderful songs.

Peter Biello: If you'd like to hear how Dolenz interpreted those songs, you can find them on streaming platforms and at your local record store.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: In sports, the Georgia Bulldogs remain unbeaten for yet another week after defeating Missouri 30 to 21 on Saturday for their 26th consecutive win. Despite the win, the Bulldogs struggled to run the ball consistently, putting more pressure on the passing game that was missing injured tight end Brock Bowers for the second straight game. In the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings rallied to beat the Atlanta Falcons 31 to 28 yesterday. Head coach Arthur Smith says Taylor Heinicke will once again be the starting quarterback in this weekend's game against Arizona. That's per team reporter Tori McElhaney. In basketball, the Atlanta Hawks face the Thunder in Oklahoma City this evening after beating the New Orleans Pelicans over the weekend. And none of the Atlanta Braves nominated for a Gold Glove award prevailed. The award goes to the best defensive player in each position in each league. Former Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson won it this year for the Chicago Cubs. Nominees for the Braves were third baseman Austin Riley, left fielder Eddie Rosario and centerfielder Michael Harris II.

Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. Thanks so much for tuning in. Make sure you come back tomorrow. Best way to do that is to subscribe to this podcast. That way we will pop up in your podcast feed with all the top stories in Georgia tomorrow afternoon. And if you want to learn more about any of the stories you heard today, check out our website, GPB.org/news. We would love to hear some feedback or some story ideas from you. Tell us what's going on in your community. Let us know by email. 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