Georgia Today: Kemp signs state budget; Deacon death lawsuit settlement; Pulitzer Prize winners

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, May 7. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, Gov. Brian Kemp signs a $36 billion state budget. Atlanta has settled a lawsuit with the family of a church deacon who died in a struggle with a city police officer; and some of this year's Pulitzer Prize winners have Georgia ties. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp signed a $36 billion state budget today. The spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year starting in July both increases spending and tax cutting, even as state tax revenues decline. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports Kemp is looking to the state's $8 billion surplus to allow him to remain on that course.

Sarah Kallis: Applause erupted as Kemp signed the budget. It includes raises for teachers, law enforcement and other state employees. Kemp says this year's budget demonstrates the state's priorities and will help Georgia serve its citizens.

Brian Kemp: And this budget in particular will help us further promote economic prosperity in communities all across the state. It will also provide Georgia students a quality education, care for health and well-being of our families and ensure the safety of our neighborhoods.

Sarah Kallis: The budget also includes funds for school safety, mental health care, and a rural workforce housing program. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis at the state Capitol.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Atlanta will pay nearly $4 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of a church deacon who died in a struggle with a city police officer. The officer shocked the deacon, Johnny Hollman, with a stun gun after Hollman refused to sign a citation in a minor car crash last year. The officer's attorney said Hollman resisted arrest. The Atlanta City Council approved the settlement yesterday, unanimously and without comment.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Sea turtle nesting season is officially underway in Coastal Georgia. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: Wassaw Island, near Savannah, laid claim to the first loggerhead sea turtle nest of the year on Sunday. More nests were found later that day further south on Blackbeard Island, as well as Jekyll Island, home of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Research manager David Zailo describes his reaction upon learning of Jekyll's first nest of 2024.

David Zailo: It was really exciting. It's, you know, a continuation of processes that have been going on for thousands of years. And we're working to make Jekyll Island a model system where we can balance wildlife thriving with limited development and tourism and recreational opportunities for people. So to be able to see that continue is extremely rewarding.

Benjamin Payne: The Georgia DNR is expecting a low to medium nest count this year, owing to the creature's natural three-year cycle. Last year saw a higher than expected sea turtle turnout. About 160,000 babies waddled their way out of some 3,400 nests. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff joined officials in metro Atlanta's Clayton County yesterday to announce half a million dollars in federal funding for construction of more affordable housing. Tangeles Sawyer is a first-time homeowner moving into the Hanna Springs subdivision in Lovejoy this month.

Tangeles Sawyer: It's something that I will always have. I'm gonna make sure I take care of it so that my kids and grandkids will always have a home.

Peter Biello: Federal funding will build three more houses. The subdivision will have a total of 28 affordable homes by the end of this year.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: 183 UGA faculty members signed a petition asking university President Jere Morehead and other top administrators to dismiss the immediate suspensions of students who were arrested in a campus protest. The students were among 16 protesters charged with misdemeanors after refusing to relocate their activities to designated protest areas on campus. The letter says UGA has the right to bring in the police and enforce campus free speech policies, but calls the suspensions unwarranted and antithetical to the university's mission. Associate professor Janet Frick told the Athens Banner-Herald that there are different perspectives about the tactics and content of the protests, but the sign faculty are concerned about the punitive nature of suspending the students. The university acknowledged receipt of the letter but declined further comment.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: A former Democratic congressman running for Georgia Supreme Court filed a federal lawsuit yesterday claiming a state agency is unconstitutionally trying to block him from talking about abortion. The Judicial Qualifications Commission says John Barrow is violating state judicial ethics rules by leaning heavily into his support for abortion rights. Barrow defended his campaign ads at a recent Atlanta Press Club debate, saying the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld similar ads.

John Barrow: Every person who's expected to be a judge has to have strong feelings about the law. And if he does have feelings about issues — important issues that everybody has an opinion about — and he keeps them to himself, he has no business asking for your vote.

Peter Biello: Barrow faces an uphill race against an incumbent, Justice Andrew Pinson, who has warned against what he calls politicizing nonpartisan races.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Atlanta City Council members want to speed up construction of the city's popular bike and pedestrian trail, the Atlanta BeltLine. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports council members yesterday approved $15 million that could help complete a section of the trail before the city hosts games in the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

Amanda Andrews: Construction on the Southside Trail was set to be completed in June of 2026, but now it could wrap up earlier. The city council approved an application for a $10 million grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission to fund the project. Councilmember Antonio Lewis says he's excited to see more parts of the city connected.

Antonio Lewis: I'm thinking about the kids in Carver High School, the young folks at — at, on Metropolitan Parkway who can now take this shortcut. If you live in Pittsburg, you can now get to your side of the district.

Amanda Andrews: The council also gave preliminary approval for an ordinance allowing the city to apply for $5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Once the segments of the Southside BeltLine are finished, it would create nearly 18 miles of paved multi-use trails, making it the largest stretch of the BeltLine. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Caption

Joseph Pulitzer

Story 8:

Peter Biello: This year's Pulitzer Prizes were announced yesterday, and both winners in the biography category have Georgia ties. Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyan Woo chronicles a Macon couple's escape from slavery in 1848. Woo spent lots of time researching the book at Macon's Washington Memorial Library, where librarian Muriel McDowell-Jackson manages the genealogy room.

Muriel McDowell-Jackson: It's just validation that something we here in Macon know and acknowledge was part of our history has been received and acknowledged by the world.

Peter Biello: Woo's book shared the prize with King: A Life by Jonathan Eig, a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. You can learn more about both books on GPB's Narrative Edge, our podcast about books with Georgia connections.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: In sports, the Braves face the Boston Red Sox tonight in the first of a two-game series. Former Brave Vaughan Grissom will face his former team for the first time since being traded to the Red Sox in the offseason. The Braves hope to stop a skid that left them with a 1 and 5 record, having lost to the Mariners twice and the Dodgers three times in the last six games. The Braves have now slipped to second place in the NL East, three games behind the Phillies. Reynaldo Lopez gets the start for the Braves tonight, and Chris Sale, who once helped the Red Sox win the World Series, will face his former team tomorrow.

Peter Biello: And that's 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'll stay current in your podcast feed if you do. And if you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Email us. 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