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Georgia Today: Special elections; Ga. will work with ICE; Otis Redding Center for the Arts
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On the March 18 edition: 41 counties hold special elections; The Georgia Dept. of Public Safety set work with ICE; and Macon opens a new music education center named for Otis Redding.
Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. This podcast brings you the latest reports from the GPB News team. Today is Tuesday, March 18. I'm Orlando Montoya. Coming up on this episode: Georgia voters in 41 counties head to the polls to decide special elections. The Georgia Department of Public Safety will work with ICE to apprehend undocumented immigrants, and Macon opens a new music education center named for soul music legend Otis Redding.
Carla Redding-Andrew: Dad was amazing in his own right, but you know how he got amazing? A strong woman.
Orlando Montoya: These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Orlando Montoya: Voters in 41 Georgia counties are headed to the polls today to decide special elections. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports from Savannah, where a referendum will decide the future of a 1% sales tax for capital improvements at public schools.
Benjamin Payne: With this election, roughly $700 million of tax revenue is on the line for the Savannah Chatham County public school system over the next five years. It's money that Savannah resident Suzanne O'Day says is sorely needed for the district. And so she voted yes.
Suzanne O'Day: My middle schooler got into a good middle school, but it's slim pickings. It's like, you know, you're on pins and needles for months waiting to see if they're going to get in. And there's so few resources. Which brings us back to the vote today. It's like the public school system needs more resources to provide better schools for more kids in this county.
Benjamin Payne: Beyond Chatham, two other counties in Coastal Georgia are also holding sales tax referendums to raise revenue for their public school systems, including Bryan and Liberty counties. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.
Story 2:
Orlando Montoya: Elsewhere in Georgia, ballots include similar tax measures and candidates for offices made vacant by death or resignation. A special election in four South Georgia counties will choose a district attorney after the death of the late Tifton-based DA Brice Johnson in December. Polls will be open until 7 p.m..
Story 3:
Orlando Montoya: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will train all 1,100 sworn officers at the Georgia Department of Public Safety to help identify and apprehend people who are in Georgia without proper documentation and considered a public safety risk. Gov. Brian Kemp announced the partnership yesterday, aiming to support the Trump administration's immigration policies. Under the agreement, ICE will delegate immigration enforcement duties to Georgia troopers.
Story 4:
Orlando Montoya: Atlanta officials have announced a plan to upgrade the city's century-old water infrastructure. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports the investments outlined today come after water main breaks last year made system repairs a priority.
Amanda Andrews: Mayor Andre Dickens says the city is committing to an estimated $2 billion to renew or replace the city's drinking water infrastructure over the next 20 years. The city's already installed new technology at its largest water treatment facility, R.M. Clayton, to provide efficient maintenance. Watershed Commissioner Al Wiggins Jr. said the new technology will save over 168 million gallons a year.
Al Wiggins Jr: We've also deployed leak detection devices over 1,600 locations serving critical facilities such as hospitals, senior centers and correctional institutions. This has led to about 50 work orders for repairs.
Amanda Andrews: Dickens also created the Atlanta Water Advisory Group, led by former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, to work with city officials over the next 20 years of pipe replacements. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.
Story 5:
Orlando Montoya: The Georgia Public Service Commission is set to hear from Georgia Power later this month on how the company plans to meet the massive energy demands of new data centers in the state without passing on the cost to customers. The hearings come after legislation intended to protect residential consumers failed to make it out of the Georgia House and Senate.
Story 6:
Orlando Montoya: Augusta Richmond County is almost finished collecting debris from Hurricane Helene. A news release from the Augusta government today said four of its districts have been certified as complete, and the remaining four are expected to be complete by the end of the week. Augusta was among the Georgia cities hardest hit by the September storm. Georgia transportation officials declared state highways clear of debris on Feb. 28. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declared 10 Georgia counties clear of debris on March 11.
Story 7:
Orlando Montoya: A new center for music education and performance, named for the late soul great Otis Redding, officially opened today in Macon. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more.
Grant Blankenship: The Redding Foundation has for years taught young musicians and songwriters in their summer and after school programs, which had no space of their own. After the ribbon-cutting, they do. 15,000-square-foot Otis Redding Center for the Arts in downtown Macon is tailor-made for kids to create, and the small amphitheater outside is named for Otis Redding's widow and Carla Redding-Andrew's mother.
Carla Redding-Andrew: The Zelma Redding Amphitheater. You know, dad was amazing in his own right, but you know how he got amazing? A strong woman.
Grant Blankenship: On the stage, surrounded by well-wishers, Zelma Redding said she was blessed.
Zelma Redding: I fulfilled my dream for my late husband.
Grant Blankenship: For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.
Story 8:
Orlando Montoya: The Cumberland Inlet waterfront property in Saint Marys along the Georgia coast will be sold, as the developer has missed a $182,000 loan payment. The Camden County Joint Development Authority board voted unanimously to start advertising a foreclosure proceeding against the Jim Jacoby Development Company. Four years ago, the county agency extended an almost $11 million loan to the company to develop the former Gilman Paper site.
Story 9:
Orlando Montoya: A California-based human resources consulting firm plans to open a new corporate office in metro Atlanta, with plans to hire more than 700 workers. The company, Tri Net, said yesterday that its office in Dunwoody will serve as a national hub and represents a $15 million investment in Georgia. The news release didn't say exactly where in Dunwoody the office would be located, but the area is home to several large office parks that have been underused since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Story 10:
Orlando Montoya: Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a medical pacifier that makes monitoring newborns' vital signs easier on both parents and doctors. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.
Ellen Eldridge: By sucking on a pacifier, doctors can collect real time information about a newborn's electrolyte levels from their saliva — an alternative to having their blood drawn multiple times. Hong Yeo is an associate professor with Georgia Tech. He came up with the idea of an integrated system of biosensors.
Hong Yeo: Overall, I mean, it's going to be a lot more convenient for clinicians and physicians and also smarter than the existing system in a way that it can provide continuous datasets instead of discrete measurement using blood.
Ellen Eldridge: He says esearchers are trying to also measure lactate, glucose and pH levels in a similar way. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 11:
Orlando Montoya: Hummingbirds are expected to begin appearing in Georgia this week, and when they arrive from their winter homes in Central America and southern Mexico, they will be tired and hungry. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says to help them refuel, you can put out sugar water in feeders. DNR wildlife biologist Todd Schneider says red-throated hummingbirds are expected in South and Central Georgia. And when they zip down to your feeder, they also will be looking for other food in your yard.
Todd Schneider: They eat a lot of small insects: mosquitoes, gnats, sometimes small spiders, sometimes small caterpillars. So they're part of the ecological web out there and are very important to the ecology of — of the environment.
Orlando Montoya: He says if you feed hummingbirds this year, some of the same ones might return next year. He advises not to put nectar with red dye in your feeder and to clean your feeder weekly.
Orlando Montoya: And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit gpb.org/news. If you haven't yet hit subscribe on this podcast, take a moment right now to keep us current in your podcast feed. We'd love to hear what you think of this program. Send us a note to GeorgiaToday@gpb.org. I'm Orlando Montoya. We'll be back again tomorrow with another edition of Georgia Today.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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