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Georgia Today: New details on BioLab fire; Medicare coverage changes; Macon downtown redevelopment
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LISTEN: On the Monday, Nov. 25 edition of Georgia Today: New details on the BioLab fire that forced evacuations and shelter-in-place orders in Conyers; Medicare will no longer cover the cost of teleheath consultations; and Macon officials plan to use American Rescue Plan funds to help improve food access.
Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, Nov. 25. I'm Orlando Montoya. On today's episode, new details on the BioLab fire that forced evacuations and shelter-in-place orders and Conyers. Medicare no longer will cover the cost of some telehealth consultations. And Macon officials plan to use American Rescue Plan funds to help improve food access. These stories and more coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Orlando Montoya: Nearly two months after a fire at BioLab's plant in Conyers, federal investigators are calling the incident, quote, "completely unacceptable." A report released Friday by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, or CSB, provided new details about the blaze. The Sept. 29 fire started when water reacted with chemicals stored at the facility used to clean pools and spars. The first 911 call came after a BioLab employee on fire watch heard a popping sound. A second larger fire broke out around noon. The resulting plume released chlorine gas, leading to widespread evacuations and weeks of shelter-in-place orders. A BioLab spokesperson said in a statement that the company will cooperate with CSB's ongoing investigation. The CSB has called for stronger regulations on reactive chemicals, urging better oversight to prevent future disasters.
Story 2:
Orlando Montoya: Macon-Bibb County officials plan to use millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan money to help address persistent issues of food access. GPB's Grant Blankenship explains.
Grant Blankenship: Macon is in the midst of a downtown redevelopment boom that includes a growing list of some 52 restaurants. But there are no grocery stores downtown or even in adjacent neighborhoods. Many don't have easy transportation to take them to suburban grocers. Now, the Macon Bibb County Commission has allocated 3.2 million federal dollars to the city's Urban Development Authority, led by Alex Morrison, to tackle the issue.
Alex Morrison: We're going to start with identifying some key properties in current food deserts. We're going to see if we can't put our thumb on the scale for some of these neighborhoods and see if we can't get something moving.
Grant Blankenship: Morrison says that could be anything from a traditional grocer to a food co-op. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.
Story 3:
Orlando Montoya: One of the leaders of Macon's downtown rebirth has died. Josh Rogers led the nonprofit Newtown Macon. During his tenure, the organization spearheaded a rapid growth in new apartments in downtown Macon and launched a small business loan program aimed in part at supporting Black-owned businesses. When Newtown, Macon won a national award for downtown revitalization this year, Rogers shared the credit with the community.
Josh Rogers: A lot of places you point to one thing; There was a silver bullet. There was a lucky break. For us, it hadn't been any of that. It's been a thousand people working together on a common and shared vision. And I think that is a lesson that the world could take away, is that when we find common ground and work together, that's when we succeed.
Orlando Montoya: Josh Rogers died on Sunday while running. He survived by his wife and two children. He was 42 years old.
Story 4:
Orlando Montoya: Some Medicare patients will have to figure out how to get to certain doctor visits after the end of the year. That's because Medicare no longer will cover the cost of some telehealth, a year and a half after the official end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports, the impact in Georgia could be felt the hardest in rural areas.
Ellen Eldridge: People on Medicare will soon have to return to in-person visits for certain telehealth visits. That includes physical therapists, speech language pathologist and audiologists. Jessica Wagner is with RXNT, a cloud-based health care software company. She says Medicare will still cover mental health care remotely, but it's a step back to revoke in-home access to these other providers.
Jessica Wagner: That's just about what Medicare is going to cover versus what they're not going to cover. And it's essentially causing providers and patients to have to jump through hoops to meet all of these requirements so that their their doctor's visits are covered.
Ellen Eldridge: Wagner says because of the change, some seniors will now have to drive well over an hour to see specialists in person that they currently see from home. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 5:
Orlando Montoya: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening two more disaster recovery centers in Georgia, one in Lincoln County and one in Wilkes County, both of them northwest of Augusta as Georgians continue to face the fallout from Hurricane Helene. The centers will be open Monday to Saturday from 8 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.. FEMA now has 20 such centers open around the state. The agency says all recovery centers will be closed this Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.
Story 6:
Orlando Montoya: A new report suggests new data centers could end up significantly hiking electricity bills. A Washington, D.C.-based free market think tank, the Jack Kemp Foundation, released the report, saying data centers could force an energy crisis by the end of the decade. Georgia Power says almost 83% of its new electricity demand is coming from data centers. Report coauthor economist Ike Brennan says policymakers should consider more than just their new tax revenue when they approve the energy-intensive facilities.
Ike Brennan: It's really difficult to get politicians anywhere to focus on what's going to happen four or five or six years down the road. So I think what you're seeing is they're making decisions that will help them financing in the next three or four years, and they're not really thinking about what's going to happen in 2030 or 2032.
Orlando Montoya: Georgia Power is working to keep up with the demand, getting state utility regulators to approve an emergency update to its plans for new power generation earlier this year.
Story 7:
Orlando Montoya: Authorities are reporting what could be a breakthrough in a 44-year-old cold case in Southeast Georgia's Glynn County. Over the weekend, county police said they're investigating the discovery of human remains found in a vehicle submerged in a pond in Brunswick on Friday. Police said they don't know the identity of the remains, but the vehicle found matches that of Charles and Catherine Rohmer, a wealthy New York couple that checked into a Brunswick hotel in April 1980 and were never seen again.
Story 8:
Orlando Montoya: Closing arguments got underway today in the state's longest-ever criminal trial. Two defendants remain in the sprawling gang and racketeering indictment that included Atlanta rapper Young Thug and, initially, 27 others. Witness testimony began almost a year ago.
Story 9:
Orlando Montoya: And finally today, Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson has died, eight months after he announced he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The Department of Labor announced his death on Sunday. Thompson took office in 2023, assuming control of a state agency that had been battered by a wave of unemployment claims during the pandemic. The statewide-elected Republican was 59 years old.
Orlando Montoya: And that's it for this edition of Georgia Today. I'm Orlando Montoya, filling in for the traveling Peter Biello this week. It is, of course, a short work week. And if you also have travel plans, we'd love it if you'd take our GPB podcasts along with you on your journeys. We have many great podcasts to choose from, including A Fork in the Road, Peach Jam, Salvation South and Narrative Edge. Find GPB podcasts at GPB.org/Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. As always, hit subscribe on Georgia Today to keep this podcast current in your feed. Send us feedback to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org and download it again and listen tomorrow. I'll be here. And safe travels.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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