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Georgia Today: Possible gov't shutdown could cause flight delays; Atlanta United gets new coach
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LISTEN: On the Friday, Dec. 20 edition of Georgia Today: A possible government shutdown could cause flight delays at Atlanta's airport; Atlanta United has a new coach; and, post-retirement, a Macon man finds a new calling as a bingo caller.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Friday, Dec. 20. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a possible government shutdown could cause flight delays at Atlanta's airport. Atlanta United has a new coach. And post-retirement, a Macon man finds a new calling as a bingo caller. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport expects 3.7 million travelers during a 17-day holiday period beginning today. Some of them could be delayed if a government shutdown begins tonight and extends for weeks like the last one in 2018. Aaron Barker represents unionized transportation security officers in Georgia as part of the American Federation of Government Employees. He says congressional leaders are using federal workers as political pawns.
Aaron Barker: We are urging you, please do not let this happen. Fund the government and keep us open and let our officers do their job.
Peter Biello: The shutdown would force TSA and other essential government employees to work without pay until Congress passes and the president signs a stopgap spending measure.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Officials in Macon yesterday detailed plans surrounding the New Year's Day demolition of a derelict 13-story hotel. GPB's Grant Blankenship reports, people interested in watching the implosion now have instructions on how to do it safely.
Grant Blankenship: The process will start at 6 a.m. when an exclusion zone around the hotel will be swept for people. By 9 a.m., charges are expected to detonate, floor by floor, to allow the building to drop in on itself. By 11 a.m., street cleanup should be done. JJ Martin of Target Contractors LLC, he company planning the demolition, says the exclusion zone is meant to make dropping tons of concrete and steel safe.
JJ Martin: Without anyone coming inside and subjecting themselves to injury or trying to make that TikTok video, like, that Facebook post and, you know, "Look at me!" We want to eliminate that.
Grant Blankenship: Macon-Bibb County officials say the best place to watch the implosion of the old Ramada Hotel is atop Coleman Hill, about a quarter mile away. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: A new study finds the number of longleaf pines in the Southeast is on the rise with some of the biggest gains in Georgia. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports the rise comes after years of work to bring back one of the state's most iconic trees.
Benjamin Payne: Between 2010 and 2020, Georgia added nearly 50 million new longleaf pine trees, plus 20 million new seedlings. Those are among the findings in a new paper published by scientists at the U.S. Forest Service. Kevin Potter was lead researcher.
Kevin Potter: That the increase was as large as it was over as short a time frame suggests to me that there is a real concerted effort by a lot of people to make sure that this species is back on the landscape.
Benjamin Payne: However, Potter and his team also found that longleaf pines are growing in more and more isolated fragments of forest land. The tree is regarded as a biodiversity hotspot, providing refuge for important animal species, including the gopher tortoise and red-cockaded woodpecker. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: People go to all kinds of places in search of some meaning for their lives. For many, it's church. For others, it's the ballpark, concerts or museums. Maybe book clubs. For John Akaki, there's meaning in his post-retirement job as a bingo caller at the Moose Lodge in Macon. Taleen Hanna of Mercy University's Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism brings us this audio postcard.
John Akaki (ambient sound): G-52. G-52.
John Akaki: I was brought up in a bingo hall and my mother played, so I was kind of like ready for it. To honor her.
John Akaki (ambient sound): B-3. B-3.
John Akaki: In this bingo booth, the bingo machine holds 75 balls, and I'm going to turn on the shaker and blower, and it's going to mix it up. Basically, the balls will come up this tube. And from there, I will take it and I'll put it right here. All that equipment costs about $15,000. It's not an inexpensive business to be in.
John Akaki (ambient sound): All right. We've got a blue card. For those newbies, the corners are free on the letter H ...
John Akaki: A good bingo player is pretty savvy. They're pretty experienced. They can yell that bingo and some of them come out of their chairs yelling bingo, because it's — it's big! People see them; you know, it's instant affirmation when you win. So winning is important.
John Akaki (ambient sound): Well, we do appreciate you coming again. I took that horseshoe away from that table over there where the tea is. I got rid of that horseshoe. I've moved it.
John Akaki: And you'll see, like a lady might have enough cards to cover the whole table, and it looks like wallpaper rolled up on the ground on both sides of the table. And she's fast, efficient, effective. And they know what they're doing. And not everybody wins, but the wealth is spread around over time.
John Akaki (ambient sound): G-55.
Bingo player: Bingo!
John Akaki (ambient sound): G-55 brings us a call. Bingo.
John Akaki: My mom used to take me in 1968 and '70. I lost her in '71. So that's why I do this, because this is like connecting with her from heaven to here. She probably says, "I never thought my son would be calling bingo games."
John Akaki (ambient sound): 3-7-0-8-5. Look at that. Two postage stamps, one on top of the other. Look how many they did. Anybody else?
Bingo worker: Sign that, and I'll go get you a gift.
John Akaki (ambient sound): We have Sharon in the back.
John Akaki: We kind of have fun with it. So we play bingo. We play bingo.
Peter Biello: You just heard John Akaki of Macon on why he's a bingo caller. That piece was produced by Taleen Hanna of Mercy University's Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: Atlanta United has hired Ronny Deila as its new coach, bringing him back to Major League Soccer three years after he guided New York City FC to a championship. The 49-year-old Norwegian manager agreed to a three year deal to replace Rob Valentino, who served as interim coach after Gonzalo Pineda was fired in early June. In a video posted on the team's website, Deila said he's accepted the position in part because of the team's ownership, its facilities and his own experience as an Atlanta United adversary.
Ronny Deila: I played against Atlanta before. I know what kind of fans they have, what kind of stadium and what kind of opportunities there are there to to win something and to, to create something special. So — so for me, it is, as you know, a dream to have opportunity to come here and work with you.
Peter Biello: Deila's hiring completes an overhaul of Atlanta United's leadership team. He's been a coach for 17 years across several countries and has won a total of six trophies, including four league titles and two domestic cup competitions.
Peter Biello: And that's a wrap on a busy week of Georgia Today episodes. Thank you so much for listening. If you want to learn more about any of the stories we've been following, check out our website, GPB.org/news. And remember to subscribe to this podcast. It's a great addition to your weekday afternoon listening habits, and you'll be caught up on all the news pertaining to Georgia. If you've got feedback, we would love to hear from you. Send it to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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