Georgia Today: Senator arrested at Capitol; Firearm seizure at Ga. airports; Temp. protective orders

TRANSCRIPT:

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, Jan. 16. I'm Peter Biello. On this podcast, you'll hear the GPB news team's most recent reports. Your tips and suggestions for future episodes are welcome. Email GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. On today's episode, a Georgia state senator is arrested at the state capitol. The TSA says about 500 firearms were seized at Georgia airports last year. And protective orders are meant to shield survivors of domestic violence from further abuse. But many who start the process of getting one changed their minds.

Alba Rosa: It's also about how the accuser can feel when facing something like this, because it's more of a — an emotional aspect to it. It's not black and white.

Peter Biello: We'll take a look at how the process plays out in Georgia's Bibb County. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp delivered his annual State of the State address today at the state capitol. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: Kemp addressed the full state legislature and talked about several issues, including the impacts of Hurricane Helene, a proposed state income tax cut, and again reiterated his No. 1 priority.

Brian Kemp: Whether it is this legislative session or perhaps a second one later this year, we will achieve meaningful, impactful tort reform.

Sarah Kallis: His tort reform package, which would limit civil lawsuits, has not yet been unveiled. Proponents of tort reform say it could keep insurance costs down. Kemp said doubling down on school safety is another priority in the wake of a deadly high school shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis at the state capitol.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Augusta State Senator Minority Leader Harold Jones gave the Democratic response to Kemp speech. In it, he characterized the governor's plans as putting the interests of businesses over people. He says the state's budget surplus could be used for child care, affordable housing and health care access.

Harold Jones: We want to use a portion of the $16 billion surplus that the governor currently sits on. Republicans want to use that money to help corporations. We want to use that money to help you.

Peter Biello: The Georgia Democratic Party issued a series of what it called fact checks on the speech while it was happening. For complete coverage of the day's events at the state legislature, tune in to GPB's Lawmakers tonight at seven on your GPB TV station.

Caption

State Sen. Colton Moore

Credit: Capitol Beat News Service

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Authorities arrested a Northwest Georgia state senator today after he attempted to violate a ban on his entering the state House chamber. Trenton Republican Colton Moore scuffled with Georgia State Patrol officers before being handcuffed and taken away in a police car to the Fulton County Jail. Moore was banned from the House last year after making disparaging remarks in the Senate about the late House Speaker David Ralston. Today, he attempted to enter the House for Gov. Brian Kemp's State of the State address, and was blocked by the doorkeeper and state troopers.

Colton Moore: I represent 200,000 people in Northwest Georgia who duly elected me to be here today. And you're hindering that. Unconstitutional! You have no respect for the Constitution.

Peter Biello: Moore was booked on charges of obstructing law enforcement officers.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: The top leader at WellStar Health System is stepping down. The Marietta-based company said yesterday that its president and CEO, Candace Saunders, plans to retire at the end of June. Saunders has served in that role, leading one of the state's largest health systems, since 2015. She oversaw the shocking closure of Wellstar Atlanta's Medical Center in 2022, which left the city with only one Level 1 trauma center.

Caption

Giuliani

Story 5:

Peter Biello: It seems as though Rudy Giuliani is going to get to keep his beloved Yankees World Series rings. The former New York City mayor and ex-trump lawyer settled with two former Georgia election workers today in a deal that will let him keep his homes and personal belongings. In return, he'll compensate the two workers, and he promised to never defame them again. The former election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shae Moss, have been seeking all of Giuliani's property as part of a $148 million defamation judgment against him. The women won the defamation judgment after arguing Giuliani's lies about the 2020 presidential election being stolen led to death threats that made them fear for their lives. The amount of the compensation was not disclosed. The deal negated the need for a trial that was supposed to begin this morning in Manhattan federal court, where Giuliani was scheduled to be the first witness.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Media mergers have dominated the headlines about newspapers in the 21st century. This year, six Georgia papers were absorbed into one of the largest and fastest-growing print media companies in North America. In Milledgeville, that acquisition marks the end of a newspaper printing tradition that began over 200 years ago. Daniel McDonald of WUGA in Athens has more.

Daniel McDonald: On a Tuesday evening in Milledgeville, Keith Justice is helping load a roll of paper the size of a coffee table into the underbelly of a long line of green machines stretching the length of two school buses.

Keith Justice The paper goes through one unit, we web it up, go through the yellow, comes down, goes in the blue. And when we run it, it presses that impression.

Daniel McDonald: Justice has been in the press room at the Union Recorder, Milledgeville's  newspaper for 38 years, his entire career.

Keith Justice: When it comes out from the folder...

Daniel McDonald: In the Newsroom, there's a faded black-and-white photo of Keith Justice celebrating the paper's 175th birthday with 40 colleagues.

Keith Justice That's what's amazing. It took that army to get the paper out. But through all the changes, the press has always been in the mix, and it's still standing there, and it makes me feel proud because I'm still standing right here with the press. Still with it. Yep.

Daniel McDonald: 30 years later, the Union Recorder may employ a quarter of that army, and the presses are leaving. Union Recorder editor Natalie Linder says that's because the paper's new owner, Mississippi-based Carpenter Media Group, will print the paper 200 miles away in Bainbridge. Press foreman Keith Justice is leaving the paper, too. Linder has led the Union Recorder since 2008. She says this will mark the first time the state's longest continuously publishing newspaper won't be printed in Baldwin County.

Natalie Linder: Whereas some papers stopped publishing during the Civil War, we did not. We haven't missed a print date, and we don't intend to even with this transition.

Daniel McDonald: But the paper will drop to two days in print from the current three. Christina Smith is an associate professor of journalism at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. She researches community newspapers. Smith says it's good the Union Recorder will remain in print.

Christina Smith: This community still is ripe for the print front. People are still picking it up. They're still getting subscriptions, hard copies, in large part because of the age of the audience.

Daniel McDonald: Milledgeville is still a regional hub for government services, health care and higher education. And it's growing as a retirement community. But Smith worries when media conglomerates absorb small papers, it can mean fewer reporters living in the communities they cover and readers recognizing less of themselves in their local papers. Union Recorder editor Natalie Linder is confident her employer won't make that change in Milledgeville.

Natalie Linder: It's still us. It's still the same people they see at the schools, at church. At the grocery store. We're still here.

Daniel McDonald: Even if the local paper is now printed four hours away. For GPB News, I'm Daniel McDonald in Milledgeville.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The Transportation Security Administration says nearly 500 firearms were seized at Georgia airports in 2024. That number released today hasn't varied much since travel started picking up in the wake of the 2020 pandemic. TSA officials reminded air travelers that guns can be taken on commercial aircraft only if they're unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case, and placed in checked baggage. Violating the rules could result in criminal citations, arrest, and thousands of dollars in civil penalties.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Temporary protective orders are meant to protect survivors of domestic abuse from further threats. But they don't always work. In Bibb County, these protective orders, for a variety of reasons, once requested, don't always go into effect. And when they do, they frequently don't stop a perpetrator from committing more acts of violence. Reporter for the Macon Telegraph Alba Rosa has been looking at the trends in Bibb County and is with me now. Welcome to the program.

Alba Rosa: Hello. Thank you for having me.

Peter Biello: Tell me a little bit why you became interested in this subject to begin with. Is there a particular story that led you here?

Alba Rosa: Over the summer in the past year, our district attorney, Anita Howard, raised a press conference on a recent murder-suicide that happened between Cotina Fuller and Wayne Fuller Jr. In it, she is talking about how there was a protective order in effect before everything went down and Wayne Fuller went and shot his wife, Cotina, in a gas station. And then he shot himself. Before that, Wayne Fuller Jr. was held on bond on a separate crime. And she questioned the judge and said, "Why is this man out on bond when he has an active protective order?" Which brought me into like wanting to look more into why protective — like, you know, the nuances of protective orders and if they work as intended.

Peter Biello: The nuances, as you mentioned, are important here. To put a temporary protective order in place, you have to file with a court and then 30 days later, there's going to be a hearing. What have you found out about why those hearings don't always result in a temporary protective order?

Alba Rosa: So there are multiple reasons why a protective order might not be in place. Most of them have to do with the accuser not wanting to proceed with the case. So they might not show up in court. They might voluntarily dismiss the protective order or just — just not serving the papers. And when it comes to serving the papers, that's a — that's a challenge that comes to accuser's wanting — not wanting to face their alleged abuser. And they often have to go through law enforcement to do — to go through that serving paper process.

Peter Biello: And law enforcement isn't always successful at finding the person they have to serve.

Alba Rosa: That's right. Yes. I've visited the courthouse a couple of times, and I've heard those accusers explain to judges that they weren't able to serve papers correctly because they have just not been found.

Peter Biello: In which case they have to file again and another 30-day clock begins.

Alba Rosa: Yes, exactly.

Peter Biello: And when a protective order is approved, how effective are they at keeping alleged abusers away from their targets?

Alba Rosa: Well, according to what I've looked into, it's — it basically helps out for a year or so, depending on the severity of the situation and will only guarantee a criminal charge if the alleged abuser actually does violate the protective order.

Peter Biello: What would you say are the benefits of the system you're describing? A system that does have some significant flaws.

Alba Rosa: Well, at least a criminal charge is guaranteed because with Crisis Line and Safe House (of Central Georgia), they actually help you write up a protective order and you are represented by a lawyer through in these cases. I think that is also something positive that has come out of this process.

Peter Biello: What resources are available to people who need help requesting a temporary protective order?

Alba Rosa: Here in Bibb County, like I mentioned, we have Crisis Line and Safe House, which is this 24 — 24/7 process in which you can call their number and they will have you reach out to this — their in-house lawyer, who will then help you file, go through the filing process, ask you these questions about when — when was the last time that you have made contact with this person? Are you guys together? Do you have — have children together? And in that way, like this person will guide the accuser on what will happen in the court case and the likely outcome.

Peter Biello: And what changes are advocates recommending to improve the system so that it better protects people in potentially dangerous situations?

Alba Rosa: Well, in my conversation with Bonnie Carlson with Mercer University, she mentioned that it would be very helpful for law enforcement to have better, more knowledge on the nuances of protective orders. When it comes to domestic violence cases, it's not always black and white, and it's always a very complicated situation. And it's something that's also very personal that not a deputy or law enforcement would understand. So it's — she mentioned that that would be an important thing to improve.

Peter Biello: Alba Rosa is a reporter for the Macon Telegraph. Thank you so much for speaking with me.

Alba Rosa: Thank you for having me.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: One more story before we go today. Bob Uecker was known as "Mr. Baseball" for many reasons. He could play. He played for the Milwaukee Braves, Saint Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and part of his last season with the Atlanta Braves. And he could wax poetic about the game as well. And he did a lot of that, spending more than half a century in the broadcast booth, calling plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, a career that started in television at WSB in Atlanta. And that nickname, Mr. Baseball, came from Johnny Carson. How did he get that name from Carson? Well, Uecker got his big comedy break after opening for Don Rickles at Al Hurt's nightclub in Atlanta in 1969. That performance caught Hurt's attention and the musicians set him up to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He became one of Carson's favorite guests on the show. He put his self-deprecating humor on full display, as he did in this episode in 1971 when he spoke to Carson about superstitions that foretold a bad day in the batter's box.

Bob Uecker: Or if I'd see a bulldog running across a field with a cigar in his mouth. It just — I just — I knew I wasn't going to get a hit that day. Or maybe my last time at bat. I'd look in the visitor's dugout and see all the guys sitting there with their street clothes on.

Peter Biello: In all, Uecker made more than 100 appearances on Carson's show. Bob Uecker died this morning at the age of 90 after a battle with small cell lung cancer. Rest in peace, Uek.

Peter Biello: And that is a wrap on today's show. But more news is always being written and posted at GPB.org/news. And when you subscribe to this podcast now, you'll have an easier time finding it tomorrow. And as always, your feedback is welcome by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello and I am off tomorrow. Orlando Montoya will be in the chair. Enjoy your weekend.

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