Georgia Today: Military will help with Atlanta water problems; General Mills sued for discrimination

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB news. Today's Tuesday, June 4. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is calling in the U.S. military to help address problems with the city's water system. Black workers in Georgia sues cereal maker General Mills over allegations of racial discrimination. And could Georgia see the growth of more child care facilities open past normal working hours? These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Residents in parts of Atlanta have been without clean water for days since a series of water main bursts this weekend. The city has been under a state of emergency since Saturday, and now the mayor is calling in the military for help. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more.

Amanda Andrews: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to be in Atlanta as early as Tuesday. Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens says the Army Corps can help address vulnerabilities in the current water system.

Andre Dickens: We have sought their assistance because they are the government entity that most — have the most actual experience in these type of crises that we are in with crumbling and aging infrastructure.

Amanda Andrews: City council members also introduced an ordinance to provide financial relief to businesses disrupted by the water issues. The city of Atlanta has yet to release a timeline on when the pipes will be repaired and water fully restored. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews in Atlanta.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Officials in Sandy Springs, north of Atlanta, want a judge to rule on the city's lawsuit over a water system agreement with Atlanta to avoid the kind of crisis that's happening now. Sandy Springs gets its water from a system owned and operated by Atlanta. But City Attorney Dan Lee says a study found lax maintenance.

Dan Lee: We discovered that there hadn't been a measurable capital improvement in the service in Sandy Springs in over 40 years, and became very alarmed.

Peter Biello: Sandy Springs is seeking to force an intergovernmental agreement for water service and rates.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A Southeast Georgia conservation group, plans to sue the federal government over its environmental assessments of the $7 billion electric vehicle plant that Hyundai is building in Bryan County. In a legal notice filed yesterday, the Ogeechee Riverkeeper accuses the US Army Corps of Engineers of wrongly assuming the project would have a negligible impact on the region's groundwater supply. The group's legal director is Ben Kersch.

Ben Kersch: Overutilization doesn't just add more saltwater intrusion to Savannah's supply. Big, big withdrawals like this also impact, you know, the water table and the water well levels of people in the area.

Peter Biello: The agency and two other targeted plaintiffs in the case didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Caption

Fani Willis

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Former President Donald Trump is still pushing to get Fulton County DA Fani Willis off the Georgia elections interference case, and he may now have another date in court on the calendar. If oral arguments are requested and approved, that date is Oct. 4. Trump and eight other defendants had tried to get Willis and her office removed from the case, arguing that a romantic relationship she had with the special prosecutor created a conflict of interest. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in March found that no such conflict of interest existed. The appeal of that decision was filed by nine defendants in the case, including Trump. The three-judge panel would then have until mid-March to rule.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Cereal maker General Mills is being sued by several Black employees in Georgia who say they were the victims of racial discrimination. The eight current and former employees of the Covington facility east of Atlanta, say for the past three decades, a group of white managers known as the "Good Old Boys" used racist language, held Black employees to different standards and retaliated against them when they complained. The lawsuit cites as evidence a mural commissioned by the Good Old Boys in which General Mills cartoon Sonny, the Cocoa Puffs bird and the bee from Honey Nut Cheerios were depicted as Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Stonewall Jackson. The workers are seeking class action status for Black employees who worked at the facility within the last four years and received any, quote, "adverse employment action." General Mills says it doesn't comment on pending litigation.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The mother of an airman who was shot and killed by a Florida sheriff's deputy, says the deputy's firing was not justice for her son's killing. Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Eddy Duran was fired last week, about a month after he fatally shot Senior Airman Roger Fortson and while responding to a domestic violence call. For the first time since the firing, the family of Fortson spoke out. His mother, Chante-mekki Fortson says she wants to see the deputy charged.

Chante-mekki Fortson: I want justice for my child. You're not gonna throw me a bone. Take his credentials. Take his pension. Let the world know why he — he resigned and came back. Bring up charges against him.

Peter Biello: Civil rights attorney for the family, Ben Crump, said Duran should face charges for the May 3 shooting. An internal investigation by the department released Friday concluded that use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable. Fortson joined the Air Force in 2019 after graduating from Ronald McNair High School in DeKalb County.

Caption

Childcare

Credit: Pexels/Pixabay

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Parents know how hard it can be to arrange for child care. That's especially true for caregivers who work night shifts or on weekends. But not all child care providers are open during nontraditional working hours. GPB's Orlando Montoya has more on a Georgia effort to expand the available options.

Orlando Montoya: At Creative Labs Learning Center in Alpharetta, north of Atlanta, the day care centers director, Summaya Adam, knocks on a classroom door.

Summaya Adam: Hello.

[unidentified]: This is Miss Maya and Miss Audrey.

Orlando Montoya: The day care center workers are watching as young children play with blocks, bells and crayons. It's a brightly colored room and a typical noisy morning with 4- and 5-year-olds.

[unidentified]: Painting going on right now and then, home living. I think some of them are in the music side over there.

Orlando Montoya: Later they'll play outside, have lunch, and learn their numbers and letters. Maybe some kid-friendly signs. Day care centers like this one, serving about 100 children, can be a lifeline for busy parents, but they aren't typically open before 7 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on weekdays or anytime on the weekend. That's what makes day care centers like this one unusual.

Summaya Adam: For a facility like this, there's cost involved, so it's not very common.

Orlando Montoya: A national survey of early care and education from 2015 says only about 1 in 12 day care centers are open during nontraditional hours. Smaller home-based providers and unpaid child care workers, like family members, increase the options for some parents. But availability isn't always guaranteed, and there are still many days when Marilee Reese has to choose between taking care of her 5-year-old twins and accepting work.

Marilee Reese: I work with party planning and decorations, so, you know, usually the planning and the background work is during the week, which works well with their school hours, but usually the parties, most parties are on the weekends.

Orlando Montoya: She says she's turned down plenty of work to take care of her kids, Aiden and Ayesha. And since their father works in trucking, it's hard for him to take off work as well, and that puts a financial burden on their family.

Marilee Reese: There was a lot of, like, juggling with the kids and not just being able to take everything I want to take on. But now it's better.

Orlando Montoya: That's because Reese is one of many parents now enrolling their kids in nontraditional hours care at Creative Labs. It's one of several places around the state where child care is now available during those hours, because of federally funded grants from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, or DECAL. The agency's director of community partnerships, Jill Taylor, says the main reason child care is hard to find after hours comes down to money.

Jill Taylor: Even a small adjustment to a child care provider's operating hours can come with considerable cost.

Orlando Montoya: But the main reason Congress included child care in the 2020 pandemic relief law, the American Rescue Plan, where the federal funding comes from, also comes down to money.

Jill Taylor: The availability of high quality child care and early education plays a key role in Georgia's workforce development.

Orlando Montoya: Less child care equals fewer work opportunities for parents. The agency's grants range from $50,000 to $750,000, and are going to seven individual child care providers, like Creative Labs and six larger child care collaborative programs across the state, like those overseen by Atrium Health and Macon and Columbus Technical College. But the grants are a pilot program lasting only for one year. Will that mean Creative Labs and the other grantees will pull back their hours once the funding ends? DECAL's Taylor says she doesn't know, but that the grants are aimed at sparking conversations about long-term solutions. Adam already is having those conversations.

Summaya Adam: By having that marketing going, having the staffing in place, by having those families reach out and then talk to other families. We would like for this to continue and not to just be like, "okay, we're done" kind of I thing. This should be something that is established in the community. That's what we're going after, where people are now coming to us and asking, "hey, do you have this?"

Orlando Montoya: Thanks to federal funding, she and 12 other grantees have it — for now. For GPB News, I'm Orlando Montoya.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The Georgia Historical Society this weekend unveiled a new historical marker at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Atlanta's Auburn Avenue. The oldest African-American church in Atlanta, it was established in 1847 by enslaved people. The marker highlights the church's role as a community center that hosted political gatherings, benevolence societies, and a public school. The marker also highlights the play Heaven Bound, written in the 1920s by the congregation to help pay for the church's existing building. Heaven Bound has been performed annually since 1930 and has gained audiences nationwide.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: The Muskogee County School District has joined a class action lawsuit against Facebook's parent company, meta, as well as TikTok and Google. The suit alleges the company's marketing practices make the platforms addictive, which harms the students and the school district. The school board voted during last month's meeting to join the lawsuit, as recommended from the superintendent.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: New state funding will help grow an Atlanta program that empowers and supports people living with mental illness. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.

Ellen Eldridge: Members of Clubhouse Atlanta can get a sense of independence while collaborating on work-oriented tasks such as meal prep and cooking. Executive Director Denise Brodsky says the $250,000 from the state will help them expand services.

Denise Brodsky: We have a business unit, we have our culinary unit, and we have our employment unit. And so whatever, whatever unit that member feels that they want to participate in and that they want to contribute to, they sign up to do that work that day.

Ellen Eldridge: Brodsky says money from the grant helps people find social connections and build self-confidence. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 11:

Peter Biello: The Atlanta BeltLine announced today that it will begin the redesign of one of its busiest intersections this coming weekend. The intersection of 10th Street and Monroe Drive near Piedmont Park will be fully closed on Sunday evening until the evening of Friday the 14th. Single day closures will occur after the 14th. Planned improvements include a new 10th street bike lane, a raised pedestrian crossing, and new pedestrian and traffic signals. The project adds yet another closure to the 22-mile pedestrian and bike-friendly loop around the city, which has an overall target completion date of 2030.

Story 12:

Peter Biello: In sports, the Atlanta Braves are in Boston this evening to face the Red Sox for the first of a two-game series. Max Fried is scheduled to start for the Braves. Fried has a 1.69 ERA over the last three appearances and is 5-2 overall. Fried has completed seven innings or more in four of his five starts last month. He's up against Boston's Kutter Crawford, who got a 6.75 ERA over the last three games.

Peter Biello: 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 remember to subscribe to this podcast. We'll be back tomorrow afternoon with all the latest news from Georgia. And if you've got feedback for us, send it to us 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