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Georgia Today: Historic snowfall in Georgia; Bird flu spreading; Former Brave falls short of HOF
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On the Wednesday, Jan. 22 edition of Georgia Today: Snow falls across Georgia — in some areas, lots of it; bird flu spreads among the state's commercial poultry producers; and a former Braves outfielder falls short of gaining entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, Jan. 22. I'm Peter Biello. On this podcast, you'll hear the latest reports from GPB's newsroom. Your feedback and news tips are welcome. Email GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. On today's episode, snow falls across Georgia — in some areas, lots of it.
Billy Hancock: We're measuring 7 inches here at the sheriff's office. Fire departments across the county are measuring 9. So we're saying 7 to 9 inches of snow across the county.
Peter Biello: Also, bird flu spreads among the state's commercial poultry producers. And former Braves outfielder Andruw Jones falls short of gaining entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: Historic amounts of snow and ice made a mess of roads and took down power lines across Georgia today. At one point, all lanes of traffic were closed on Georgia[s] Interstate[s] 75, 475 and 16 around Macon. More than 400 flights into or out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were canceled. The greatest snowfall amounts were in Southwest Georgia, specifically Cordele, where Crisp County Sheriff Billy Hancock declared a local state of emergency.
Billy Hancock: We're measuring 7 inches here at the sheriff's office. Fire departments across the county are measuring 9. So we're saying 7 to 9 inches of snow across the county.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Schools shut down and many businesses closed across Georgia. In Savannah, as GPB's Benjamin Payne reports, many decided to make the most of the city's first snow in seven years.
Benjamin Payne: A slushy mix of sleet and snow in the wee hours of Wednesday morning transformed the Hostess City of the South into a sort of tropical winter wonderland: palm trees speckled with droplets of frozen rain, magnolia leaves encased in thin layers of ice and Spanish moss swaying in the breeze of subfreezing wind chills. For some lucky kids, a makeshift sleigh ride was in order. Savannah resident Marissa Prouse tied rope between a golf cart and a kiddy pool carrying her daughter Everly and her friend through otherwise quiet side streets.
Marissa Prouse: They love it. This is their first snow day, and they're enjoying themselves on our all day off. A snow day, 2025.
Benjamin Payne: No more snow is in the forecast. So Savannah fans are trying to savor a moment they haven't had since January of 2018. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: The effects of all this snow are expected to linger tomorrow, as GPB Grant Blankenship reports.
Grant Blankenship: Snow lasting well into Tuesday night meant by morning, Interstates 75 and 475, smack in the middle of Georgia, were closed and some drivers were left stuck on the side of the road. But there was fun to be had in Macon's in-town neighborhood for those on foot.
Kyle Davis: One, two, go!
Grant Blankenship: Like Kyle Davis and his son Ward. It was Ward's first snow ever, and Kyle says it's rare for him as well.
Kyle Davis: I don't know if I've ever been in Macon when it snowed. What?
Ward Davis: I wanna slide down the hill!
Kyle Davis: Okay, we'll slide again. We'll slide again. Get your son.
Grant Blankenship: Roads in much of Georgia and the South are expected to be treacherous into Thursday. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she had resigned from her position on the president's Export Council. But that didn't stop President Donald Trump from claiming she and more than 1,000 appointees had been fired. The president specifically mentioned Bottoms and World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres in a social media post. In a statement released yesterday, Bottoms clarified that she had resigned days earlier writing, quote, "You can't fire someone who has already resigned."
Story 5:
Peter Biello: A federal appeals court will hear arguments tomorrow in a three-year-old case over Georgia's congressional and state legislative district maps. It's part of a lawsuit filed by five voters supported by the Democratic-affiliated National Redistricting Foundation. Its executive director, Marina Jenkins, argues the maps dilute the political power of Black communities in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Marina Jenkins: At stake in this case is Black Georgians' right to political autonomy and also the integrity of our rule of law, of our democracy itself. The judiciary must enforce the law when rights are violated.
Peter Biello: Georgia's argument, led by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in part claims a section of the Voting Rights Act is no longer constitutional. The three-judge panel to hear the case consists of judges appointed by Presidents Clinton, Obama and Trump.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: New research shows medication dispensed to young adults with opioid use disorder declined between 2020 and 2023. And that is despite increased awareness among pediatricians and access to telehealth prescriptions. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.
Ellen Eldridge: Buprenorphine is the only medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat opioid use disorder in adolescents ages 16 and up. But there's also a lack of providers, and many adolescent treatment facilities don't offer the medication. Dr. Andrew Taranella is a pediatrician and researcher with the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Andrew Taranella: Unlike methadone, buprenorphine is often much easier for clinicians to prescribe as any connection with a DEA prescribing authority, including pediatrician and other youth-serving primary care clinicians can prescribe it from their office.
Ellen Eldridge: Nationwide, more than 700,000 people aged 25 and under had opioid use disorder in 2023. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: State officials are confirming the third case this year of highly pathogenic avian influenza in chickens, also known as bird flu. It's the state's second-ever case in a commercial poultry flock. Roughly 170,000 chickens have been culled in Northeast Georgia's Elbert County. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.
Sofi Gratas: The State Department of Agriculture says the affected area in Elbert County is under quarantine and that sanitation and disposal is ongoing. Bird flu is extremely contagious and spreads quickly, so poultry producers, big and small, should be taking extra precautions, says Alex Turner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That means disinfecting shoes, changing clothes and taking measures to keep chickens away from wild birds or other bird species that could contract the disease.
Alex Turner: To make sure that if I go in with birds, that there's no chance I can carry the virus in with me and contaminate my own birds. It's not how all of your birds got sick. It's how one bird in one house got sick.
Sofi Gratas: Officials say the risk of spread to humans in Georgia is still low. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.
Story 8:
Peter Biello: Georgia's data center market has doubled since 2020. A new report released this week by site selection analysis firm Land Gate says the state now has 87 data centers concentrated in metro Atlanta. Their growth, driving electricity demand, has concerned state lawmakers. A special legislative committee on the state's long-term energy needs is expected to hold its first meeting next week.
Story 9:
Peter Biello: Housing rental prices continue to fall as new construction outpaces rental demand. Numbers released this week by Realtor.com show metro Atlanta rents declined by nearly 3% in December compared to December the year before to just under $600 per month for units of two bedrooms or fewer. Nationally, December was the first month in two-and-a-half years that the national median asking rent fell below $1,700.
Story 10:
Peter Biello: The Greyhound bus depot in Anniston, Ala., is closed today in honor of Charles Person. At just 18, Person was the youngest of the original 13 Freedom Riders. He was on the Trailways bus that arrived in Anniston on May 14, 1961, where riders were beaten and forced to the back of the bus. A second attack followed when the bus reached Birmingham. The bus depot in Anniston is part of the Freedom Riders National Monument. Person helped create the Freedom Riders Training Academy, which teaches nonviolent protest. His funeral was scheduled for today at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Story 11:
Peter Biello: For Andruw Jones and his fans across Braves Nation, last night was a disappointment. After all, the Hall of Fame ballots were tallied, Jones fell short of the threshold to be admitted to Cooperstown. He earned 261 votes out of the 394 from the Baseball Writers Association of America. That's 66.2%. He needed 75% to gain admission. It is an improvement over last year, when he earned 61.6% and 7.3% when he first appeared on the ballot in 2018. But not all hope is lost: Jones has two more chances on the ballot. It was a good night, however, for Billy Wagner, the left-handed pitcher who made it to the Hall of Fame on his last year of eligibility. He spent his final season in the majors with the Braves in 2010. His 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings are the most among pitchers with at least 900 innings, though his 903 career innings are the fewest among Hall of Famers. And in basketball news, the Atlanta Dream have sold out their 2025 full- and half-season ticket memberships for the second straight season. In addition, the Dream have already completely sold out four of their 22 home games, including the matchup against Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever in June. Limited single game tickets for most of the remaining home games will go on sale next month.
Peter Biello: I'm recording this episode of Georgia Today from home today. Walking home from the MARTA station last night confirmed my choice not to drive. The roads were slippery and the salt trucks were few and far between. I hope you managed to get wherever you had to go safely. But more than that, I hope you are able to stay home and keep warm. No matter the weather, GPB will have the latest news on the air at GPB.org/news and on this podcast. Subscribe now. Then you won't miss a thing. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks so much for listening. I'll be back in the studio tomorrow, I hope.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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