Georgia Today: Water main break compensation; Assessing Ga.'s prison system; Marietta native is MVP

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today's Tuesday, June 18. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode: Help is on the way for businesses affected by Atlanta's recent water main breaks. Georgia is conducting research to improve problems at its troubled prison system, and a Marietta native is named the NBA Finals' Most Valuable Player. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Voting is underway in primary election runoffs in Georgia. GPB's Sarah Kallis has the latest.

Sarah Kallis: Voters living in the heavily Republican 3rd Congressional District in West Georgia are choosing between former state Senate Majority Leader Mike Duggan and former Trump adviser Brian Jack. The winner will face off against Democrat Maura Keller in November. Dan Scarborough voted in the runoff in Billerica.

Dan Scarborough: The economy is bothersome and affects everybody that I know. And the border — I'm not too keen on the border being open. Since we can't visit other countries without permission, no one should be able to visit ours.

Sarah Kallis: Polls are open until 7 p.m. tonight. The 14th and 2nd Congressional Districts are also holding runoffs. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Carroll County.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Help is on the way for small businesses impacted by water outages several weeks ago in Atlanta. The city's council yesterday approved a financial relief fund after a series of water main breaks left homes and businesses under boil water advisories for several days. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more.

Amanda Andrews: The Atlanta Recovery Fund will offer $7.5 million in relief money for businesses through Invest Atlanta. Funding will supplement lost revenue and compensate employees. Eligible businesses include those in the boil water advisory area with priority on industries directly impacted like restaurants, salons and day cares. Councilmember Antonio Lewis says residents in his district say they'll need financial support as well after the water crisis.

Antonio Lewis: I know we need to wait one month to see how bills were affected, but I want to see the mayor put together the same type of legislation — piece of legislation — that would take care of people in the city of Atlanta.

Amanda Andrews: Businesses will have, from June 24 to July 8 to apply for relief funds. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: South Korean automaker Hyundai today announced which vehicle model will be the first to roll off the assembly line at its $7 billion electric car and battery plant, currently under construction in Bryan County outside Savannah, GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: Autoworkers at Hyundai so-called Metaplant will christen the new EV factory, with the IONIQ 5 crossover expected to begin production sometime between October and December of this year. The IONIQ 5 is Hyundai's best-selling electric vehicle, and eventually the meta plant will be the company's only facility manufacturing it for the U.S. market. Joe LaMuraglia is head of communications for the Hyundai Metaplant.

Joe LaMuraglia: We are doing test production at the moment. Actually on Thursday, a bunch of vehicles will be going down the final line. So it's all about training. We call our employees Metapros. All of our Metapros that are hourly workers that will be working on the line have been training for months, being paid to train, and now they're getting into the factory and actually getting to do what they were trained to do, and that's really exciting.

Benjamin Payne: Hyundai says the EV factory in Bryan County will create 8,500 direct jobs. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: A Georgia man has been released from prison a decade after his toddler died in a hot car, a case that made global headlines after prosecutors accused him of murder. Prison and jail records show Justin Ross Harris was released on Sunday from a prison in Middle Georgia's Macon County and transferred the same day to a jail in metro Atlanta's Cobb County. He began serving his sentence in 2016. The Georgia Supreme Court overturned his murder conviction in 2022, but he continues serving time for other crimes.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Atlanta Public Schools have selected a business executive and former school superintendent from Tennessee to lead the city's school system. Brian Johnson was named as the sole finalist for the position today, about a year after the school district's last permanent leader left when her contract wasn't renewed. Johnson led Chattanooga's Hamilton County School District for four years, ending in 2021 when he became an executive with the trucking company U.S. Express Enterprises. He currently serves as an administrator at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Interim Superintendent Dr Danielle Battle will transition from her role by the end of August, following a Board of Education vote on July 8.

Caption

Prison

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Georgia is launching an in-depth assessment of its troubled prison system to identify steps needed to improve safety. Gov. Brian Kemp announced the move late yesterday, a day after a food service worker was shot and killed at a state prison in Southeast Georgia. The state also faces a federal probe into its understaffed and violent prison system. The assessment, by a Chicago-based consulting firm, is expected to cost between $2 million and $3 million.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Emory Healthcare is setting aside more than $100 million for employee raises. The health care system told GPB late yesterday the pay hikes will affect 17,000 of its 25,000 workers. The raises are being phased in over a six-month period that began in March. They do not include pay hikes for physicians or physician assistants, but rather the system's "patient-facing" workforce, including nursing teams, therapists, technologists, food workers and others.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The nation's largest privately owned company, global food processor Cargill, plans to open a new office hub in Atlanta. The Minnesota-based company said today the move is expected to create more than 400 jobs. Cargill's digital and technology division will be the initial tenant at the hub's location within the city of Atlanta. The exact site was not disclosed, but it comes as technology giants including Google, Microsoft and Apple opened offices in Atlanta, spurring tech jobs, especially near Georgia Tech and Midtown Atlanta.

Caption

Basketball

Story 9:

Peter Biello: In sports: Marietta native Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown is the NBA Finals' most valuable player. The Wheeler High School graduate helped the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 106 to 88 in the NBA Finals last night, winning their 18th title, making them the franchise with the most championships in league history. Brown finished the night with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. And the Braves face the Detroit Tigers at home again tonight. Spencer Schwellenbach is scheduled to get the start for the year. Last night, the Braves and Tigers held each other scoreless for more than half the game. Gainesville, Ga., native Reese Olson pitched six scoreless innings for the Tigers. With the game tied 1-1, Ozzie Albies homered to give the Braves the lead. Final score: Braves 2, Tigers 1. Jesse Chavez pitched five outs of scoreless relief for the Braves. He says the Braves are successful because, win or lose, the team's effort is consistent.

Jesse Chavez: Just keep showing up every single day. Know what you got to get accomplished, because we're all professionals and we all know what we got to do. And that's the biggest thing. Show up every day, get ready for tomorrow and let's see what happens.

Peter Biello: With his brief outing, Chavez lowered his opponent's batting average with runners in scoring position to a major league-best 0.059. He's also allowed only one of his 13 inherited runners to score this season, which is second best in the National League.

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, take a moment. Do it now. It'll keep us current in your podcast feed. And if you have feedback or a story idea for us, 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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