Georgia Today: Delta deals with tech failure fallout; Incarcerated women learn homebuilding skills

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB Bews. Today is Wednesday, July 24. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, Delta Airlines hurries to assist customers whose flights were canceled due to a tech failure. President Joe Biden will make his first public address since dropping out of the presidential race, and incarcerated women in Clarke County learn homebuilding skills behind bars. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: President Joe Biden will address the nation tonight for the first time since he announced his withdrawal from the presidential race. You can tune in at GPB.org, and watch it on GPB-TV tonight at 8 p.m. GPB's Sarah Kallis has more on what Georgia Democrats hope to hear from him.

Sarah Kallis: Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday through a social media post. He faced scrutiny for his age and competency after his June 27 debate performance in Atlanta. Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Elena Parent says that Biden made the right decision to leave the race and encourages Democrats to unite behind his vice president, Kamala Harris.

Elena Parent: I hope we hear a message of unity and what we need to do going forward, and I hope he also takes the time to take some — a bit of a victory lap for everything he's accomplished.

Sarah Kallis: Biden is set to speak at 8 p.m. tonight. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Georgia congressman Hank Johnson did not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress this afternoon. The Hill quoted the metro Atlanta Democrat as saying he would stay away. His decision came as Democrats remain torn between their longstanding support for Israel and their anguish about how it's conducted military operations in Gaza. Axios counted nearly half of House and Senate Democrats as skipping the address.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Delta Air Lines is apologizing to customers for disruptions that stranded travelers since an operational meltdown that began on Friday. In a letter sent by email this morning, the Atlanta-based airline said it would issue SkyMiles loyalty points and reimburse certain expenses to customers whose flights were delayed or canceled. Delta appears to be recovering. Airline tracker FlightAware listed 50 Delta flight cancellations today, including 17 at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. That's a significant improvement from yesterday.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: State lawmakers, students and teachers held a rally at the state capitol today to speak out against a decision by the state school superintendent to pull funding for Advanced Placement African American history courses. GPB's Amanda Andrews explains.

Amanda Andrews: The funding decision came Tuesday, leading many high schools to cancel plans to teach AP African American history when school starts in less than two weeks. Speakers at the rally believe HB 1084, which bans teaching so-called "divisive concepts" like race and racism, is the reason for the ban. Nate Whipple is a senior at Lassiter High School in Marietta. He says the removal of the course follows a trend around the nation of political suppression.

Nate Whipple: We are not interested in your political games. In the end, it's about our future and our right to a comprehensive education that respects and reflects the true diversity of our history and society.

Amanda Andrews: State School Superintendent Richard Wood says his decision doesn't prevent districts from teaching an existing, state-funded course in African American studies. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A new program is providing relief for family members and unpaid caregivers of Georgians living with dementia. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more on the program, from Emory's Integrated Memory Care Practice and the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ellen Eldridge: The Guiding and Improved Dementia Experience, or GUIDE model, supports people with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. Sharon Hall's husband was diagnosed at age 60 with early onset frontotemporal dementia, but she says respite care wasn't covered and private services were unaffordable.

Sharon Hall: So I've had all those very beneficial services of education and therapy and — and a geriatric psychiatrist for Rod. I've had all of that available to me since 2016. But what this guide does for me is add the part that was missing: Me.

Ellen Eldridge: The GUIDE model began on July 1 and will run for eight years. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: A German-based manufacturer of high voltage transformers for the utility sector plans to build a $28 million facility in East Georgia's Burke County. Ritz Instruments said yesterday the company expects to hire 130 workers for the plant by the time it begins operations in late 2025. Ritz Instruments already has two facilities in Georgia: a temporary one in Burke County employing 30 people and one in Northeast Georgia's Hart County.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: State utility regulators are meeting today for a hearing on a key component of Georgia Power's plans to significantly increase its electrical generating capacity. The state Public Service Commission earlier this year approved Georgia Power's plan to add 6,600MW of additional generating capacity, a jump from the 400MW the company had predicted it would need. The commission will hear testimony from Georgia Power officials, PSC staff and clean energy groups on a Georgia Power proposal to fast-track the construction of three methane gas burning units at West Georgia's Plant Yates.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: A probate judge has approved a referendum sought by residents of one of the South's last remaining Gullah Geechee communities of descendants of enslaved people. The referendum seeks to overturn a decision by McIntosh County commissioners to allow larger homes in the tiny Hogg Hummock community on Sapelo Island. McIntosh County Probate Court Judge Harold Webster yesterday ordered that a special election be held Octo. 1, on whether to overturn the zoning changes that Black residents see as a threat to an island enclave founded by enslaved ancestors. The judge said election officials verified more than 20% of county voters signed the referendum petition, reaching the threshold to put the issue on the ballot. County commissioners have asked a higher court to block the referendum, saying it would be unconstitutional.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: About 35,000 people are incarcerated in county jails around Georgia. In Athens, some incarcerated women at the Clark County Jail are spending their time behind bars in a surprising way: Learning how to build homes. Emma Auer with our partner station UGA in Athens, has more.

Emma Auer: On a bright Tuesday afternoon in early June, I'm buzzed into the Clark County Jail and led to an unoccupied dormitory. Lined with empty metal bunk beds, the room is spacious and lit from huge skylights in the ceiling. Four women in blue correctional uniforms sit in front of a podium. The four women are graduating from the inaugural Future Foundation's program, a collaboration between Athens area Habitat For Humanity and the Sheriff's Office. It prepares women for life after incarceration by teaching them construction skills. Angela Moseley is one graduate of the program. When asked about what she's learned in the program, she doesn't mention hand saws or drywall. Instead, she talks about Habitat For Humanity, whose mission is to provide affordable housing to low-income people.

Angela Moseley: The biggest thing that I learned was that we could come together with a variety of people and do something. Not just help ourselves, but I was unaware of the purpose and the vision of Habitat For Humanity. But now that I know, you know, I'm invested in it myself.

Emma Auer: Athens has a well-documented housing scarcity issue. The women say they are honored to help alleviate it. The tiny home they built together has been moved to Micah's Creek, an affordable housing subdivision in Athens that is currently under construction. Jonathan Sims is a construction professional and Athens resident who taught the women in a class called Construction 101. He says the program took eight weeks.

Jonathan Sims: The ladies that I was teaching is the ladies that did the tiny house. So what they would learn in my class on Monday, they would go out on Saturday and be actually physically doing in the field.

Emma Auer: In addition to helping the community, the program seeks to reduce the rate at which people are re-incarcerated. In Georgia, the recidivism rate hovers around 30%. Where recidivism rates are falling, experts point to reentry and employment programs like Future Foundations, as some of the reasons why. Angela Moseley already has a plan for when she's released.

Angela Moseley: I fully intend on going to work for Mr. Spencer Fry, for Habitat for Humanity. We all being graduates, get an opportunity to be placed in, a Habitat program.

Emma Auer: Spencer Fry is the executive director of Athens Area Habitat for humanity. He also represents Athens in the Georgia House. He's not at the ceremony, but his presence is felt. The chief of the jail reads a message Fry sent over text.

Chief of Jail (reading note from Spencer Fry): "Ladies. Thank you." 

Emma Auer: Fry congratulates the women and thanks them for what they've taught him. By the end of his message, the women wipe tears from their eyes. During the ceremony, the women are given gold trimmed certificates that they can show to future employers. Sims says that this is just the beginning.

Jonathan Sims: My graduates from today is in the 101 class. They're moving to the 102 class.

Emma Auer: Angela is left with more than just practical knowledge.

Angela Moseley: We got to see on Facebook where so many people were invested in this program, and seeing the progress from start to finish. Everyone down to my dentist wanted to know how they could get involved in this.

Emma Auer: This isn't the last construction project that incarcerated women will complete, however. Behind the four graduates sits a row of five women: the next group of Future Foundations participants. For GPB News, I'm Emma Auer in Athens.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: In sports, tennis star and Atlanta native Coco Gauff will join LeBron James as a flag bearer for Team USA at Friday's opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in Paris. Gauff is the reigning U.S. open champion and is set to make her Olympic debut. She'll be the first tennis athlete to carry the U.S. flag. She and James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, were chosen by their fellow Team USA athletes. And as of the recording of this podcast, the Braves have lost at least one game today. They fell to the Reds this afternoon, 9 to 4, in the first game of a doubleheader. Starting pitcher Alan Winans gave up seven runs in the first three innings, while reliever Grant Holmes gave up another two. That brings the Braves' losing streak up to four games. Game 2 of the doubleheader is scheduled for 6:05. Chris Sale is scheduled to get the start for the Braves.

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 if you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, we encourage you to do it now. That way will pop up automatically in your podcast feed tomorrow with all the latest stories from Georgia. And as always, if you've got feedback or a story idea that we should know about, send it to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

---

For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news