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Georgia Today: Severe weather preparedness; First Black Falcons head coach; Killer Mike speaks
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LISTEN: On the Feb. 6 edition of Georgia Today: Lawmakers in the House advance a bill that would require cash bail for more crimes; Raheem Morris makes history as the first Black head coach for the Falcons; and Killer Mike is speaking out about his arrest at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, Feb. 6. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, lawmakers in the House advanced a bill that would require cash bail for more crimes. Raheem Morris makes history as the first black head coach of the Falcons, and Killer Mike is speaking out about his arrest at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: House lawmakers passed a bill this afternoon requiring cash bail for 30 more crimes. The state Senate passed the bill last week. The measure would restrict the ability of organizations and individuals to pay bail on behalf of others. Under the new legislation, no person or group could pay more than three cash bonds per year, and several misdemeanors like trespassing and unlawful gathering would become bond offenses. National nonprofit The Bail Project has paid bail for more than 1,500 Georgians since 2019. Jeremy Cherson works with the group, and he says this bill doesn't make Georgia safer.
Jeremy Cherson: Regulating charitable bail organizations is like trying to close food pantries and claiming that you're solving the problem of hunger. It's counterproductive, it's counterintuitive, and it-it's unnecessary.
Peter Biello: Supporters of the bill say it will make communities safer and encourage people to show up for court.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Killer Mike is speaking out about his arrest at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. The Atlanta rapper and activist was led away in handcuffs by Los Angeles police at the arena where the ceremony took place, after joyous moments for him when he won three awards in quick succession. In a statement today, Killer Mike said the arrest stemmed from confusion over which door he and his team should enter and a quote, "overzealous security guard." He was booked on a misdemeanor charge and is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles court on Feb. 29. The arrest overshadowed Sunday's other Grammy wins for Georgia-based musicians. You can find a list of Georgians coming back home with the Grammy statue at gpb.org/news.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: A tornado hit the east side of Valdosta on Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service says two people were injured. The EF2 tornado damaged or destroyed several buildings and took down power lines. Thousands of people across the state lost power, though it has since been restored. Do you know where you would take shelter if a tornado was headed your way? How would you protect important documents from floodwaters? The National Weather Service and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency are asking Georgians these questions as part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week. GMA's Lisa Rodriguez Presley says the goal is to get people thinking about steps you can take now to prepare for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and more.
Lisa Rodriguez Presley: And if you're prepared for one, there's a really good chance that you're going to be prepared for almost all of them. So we want for people to take those proactive steps and prepare before there's an emergency.
Peter Biello: And for more resources on how to prepare for severe weather, visit GPB.org.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: State House budget writers have approved Georgia's amended state budget, including $315 million to cover bonuses already paid to public employees and $1.5 billion for road building and maintenance. House Appropriations Committee voted to advance the budget earlier today. The full House is scheduled to vote on the bill tomorrow.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: The White House says Black business ownership is growing at its fastest pace in 30 years. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Isabel Guzman, visited historically Black Clark Atlanta University yesterday to promote small business resources to students.
Sarah Kallis: Guzman told students that Atlanta boasts high rates of entrepreneurship among Black and brown people, and that small business ownership can help bridge the racial wealth gap. She says cities like Atlanta represent hope and opportunity.
Isabel Guzman: And — and our nation needs to prove that we can overcome barriers for those very entrepreneurs because they're starting businesses at a high rate.
Sarah Kallis: Guzman says entrepreneurs in Georgia have filed 827,000 new business applications since she became the SBA administrator in 2021, but growing costs of capital and high interest rates continue to pose challenges for small business owners. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: In other business news, one of the country's last remaining tower manufacturing plants is closing. 1888 Mills in Griffin between Atlanta and Macon notified the state of the closure in a filing on Friday. The filing says 180 employees will be laid off beginning in late March. 1888 Mills opened in 1996, resurrecting a struggling textile mill that started in 1888.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: The Georgia Film Academy is expanding to South Georgia. The nine-year-old state collaboration said last week it's set to bring professional film and television production and post-production courses to Wiregrass Georgia Technical College in spring 2025.
Story 8:
Peter Biello: And a South Korean auto parts supplier plans to build a $30 million manufacturing facility in Southeast Georgia's Candler County. Dewan Climate Control makes automotive, heating and air conditioning systems, and it's expected to be a key supplier for the Hyundai electric vehicle plant under construction in Bryan County. The company expects to hire 200 workers and begin operations in 2026.
Story 9:
Peter Biello: Raheem Morris is making history as the Atlanta Falcons first Black full-time head coach. Morris says the significance is not lost on him.
Raheem Morris: I do understand the importance of being the first Black coach in Atlanta history without an interim tag. I understand the importance of that for us. I understand that importance for the people before me, the people after me. The current people right now. I understand importance of that, how important that is to the city.
Peter Biello: Morris had his first news conference yesterday since he was hired last month. He highlighted his hopes for his tenure, including a Super Bowl championship, and said that leading the Falcons is like coming home. He was a Falcons assistant from 2015 to 2020 and interim head coach in 2020.
Story 10:
Peter Biello: In other sports news, Leah Edmond of the Atlanta Vibe has been named the latest Pro Volleyball Federation Player of the week. The outside hitter helped the vibe to a sweep of the San Diego Mojo in their home opener last week, as her team improved to a 3 and 0 on the season. She tallied 16 kills in only three sets. Atlanta hosts Grand Rapids on Friday. And in the NBA, Atlanta's Trae Young is going back to the All-Star Game after all, and Toronto's Scottie Barnes will play in the NBA showcase event for the first time. NBA commissioner Adam Silver picked Young and Barnes as injury replacements today, adding them to the Eastern Conference roster for the game planned for Feb. 18 in Indianapolis.
Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit our website GPB.org/news. And if you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, take a moment and do it now. We'll be back in your podcast feed automatically tomorrow. If you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an 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
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