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Georgia Today: Ossoff holds Atlanta rally; Youth Village expanded; Tariffs and Ga. brewing industry
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On March 24th edition: Ossoff holds a rally in Atlanta; Douglasville expands a children's behavior health facility; tariffs worry Georgia's brewing industry
TRANSCRIPT:
Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to Georgia Today. On this podcast, we feature the latest reports from the GPB News team. On today's episode. Sen. Jon Ossoff holds a rally in Atlanta, fueling speculation over a possible 2026 reelection bid. Douglasville expands a residential facility for treating children with behavioral health challenges. And how has continuing uncertainty over tariffs affected Georgia's brewing industry?
Adam Beecham: Usually the time of year now where we start to look at barley futures, it is a time of great uncertainty. So we're in a wait-and-see phase for that.
Orlando Montoya: Today is Monday, March 24. I'm Orlando Montoya.
Story 1:
Orlando Montoya: Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff rallied Democrats with an anti-Trump message on Saturday, as speculation heats up about the 2026 U.S. Senate race. GPB's Sarah Kallis was at the event, dubbed "The Rally for Our Republic."
Sarah Kallis: Ossoff speech focused on growing frustrations with the Trump administration, including Department of Government Efficiency cuts, Elon Musk's role in government and what Ossoff called corruption.
Jon Ossoff: Georgia will bow to no king.
Sarah Kallis: The unofficial reelection campaign kickoff drew a crowd of 2,000 to a venue in Atlanta. Stephanie Rogers drove from Canton for the event.
Stephanie Rogers: I felt like it was really important to engage in something positive and to fight back for what's happening in our country and stand up for our democracy.
Sarah Kallis: So far, no Republican challengers have officially announced a run against Ossoff in 2026. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.
Story 2:
Orlando Montoya: Georgia elections officials are set to cancel up to 455,000 inactive voter registrations this summer. It's one of the largest voter purges in state history. State elections director Blake Evans says voters facing cancellation likely have moved or not voted in the past two presidential elections. The secretary of state's office will mail a notice in July to those facing cancellation.
Blake Evans: The main thing is when people move, just common folks, you know, a lot of times don't — don't think about updating the elections office that they have moved and canceling their — to, to cancel their record. And so this is just the legal process to make sure that — that outdated records aren't sitting unnecessarily on our voter rolls.
Orlando Montoya: Evans says the number of cancellations is high because of a partnership with the Electronic Registration Information Center, a national nonprofit that notifies state elections officials if a voter gets a driver's license in another partner state.
Story 3:
Orlando Montoya: Problems are mounting for the voting rights group founded by Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams. The New Georgia Project in January admitted to illegally working for Abrams and others without disclosing campaign contributions and spending. This morning, the executive director of the state's ethics commission, David Amadi, told his board that a U.S. House Committee on elections has asked for the commission's files on the case, and he has provided them. Amadi also said he referred the case to the U.S. Department of Justice as required by law. The Georgia Senate also is preparing to launch its own investigation into the group, whose founder became a lightning rod for Republicans when she challenged Brian Kemp in two unsuccessful gubernatorial bids.
Story 4:
Orlando Montoya: Georgia breweries had a rough 2024 with several closings across the state. Now, brewers are feeling uneasy with the continuing uncertainty over tariffs. GPB's Chase McGee has more.
Chase McGee: Athens craft brewery Creature Comforts holds the title of Georgia's largest independently owned brewery, but recently their focus has been on the on-again, off-again tariffs on Canadian imports like barley and aluminum, says CEO and co-founder Adam Beauchamp.
Adam Beauchamp: Usually the time of year now where we start to look at barley futures and it is a time of great uncertainty. So we're in a wait-and-see phase for that.
Chase McGee: Beecham has worked with the same Canadian barley supplier for 11 years. That longstanding relationship is now in question.
Adam Beauchamp: We have been told that our contract pricing is good for 2025, and so supplier is indicating that they'll honor it for us. I do not have a contract yet for 2026.
Chase McGee: That's not the only bad news. While Creature Comforts buys their aluminum cans in the U.S., Beauchamp says the sudden demand from other manufacturers here could drive up their prices going forward. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee in Athens.
Story 5:
Orlando Montoya: Georgia lawmakers have passed a relief bill aimed at helping farmers and timber owners harmed by Hurricane Helene. One key provision allows counties to waive severance taxes on timber harvested through 2025 and reimburse them based on pre-storm values. House Majority Whip James Burchett says the measure protects both counties and landowners.
James Burchett: If we were to, at this point, utilize the severance tax, the counties would receive actually less money because the value of the product is much less now because of the damage and the flood on the market. What this will do is the last three years' average price is what the counties will be reimbursed at.
Orlando Montoya: The timber tax break is part of a nearly $300 million aid package now awaiting the governor's signature.
Story 6:
Orlando Montoya: Columbus Mayor Skipp Henderson says the city is reviewing whether any material evidence exists that council members violated Georgia's Open Meetings Act. The inquiry follows a call by the Columbus NAACP for an investigation into whether a quorum of councilors privately discussed appointing a replacement for former Councilor Judy Thomas. Thomas resigned on March 11 for medical reasons. That same day, the council voted 6 to 3 to appoint John Anker, a former mayoral candidate, without publicly considering other names. Henderson had urged them to wait. The NAACP s concerns center on whether any backroom discussions occurred by text, email or in person that would violate transparency laws. Henderson says if any issues are found, they will be forwarded to the state's attorney general.
Story 7:
Orlando Montoya: A new residential facility that treats children with behavioral health challenges is expanding. Youth Villages in Douglasville, west of Atlanta, now includes a cottage that, when complete, will accommodate 16 young people. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.
Ellen Eldridge: The residential youth program is designed to support the social, emotional, mental and physical needs of people living through trauma. Tanya Anderson is the executive director of Youth Villages. She says community-based or front-end treatment is ideal, but access to inpatient care is also critical.
Tanya Anderson: But when there is a need to do what we call the back-end work, when they have to be out of the home and in facilities, having the appropriate facilities to be able to do that is so vitally important.
Ellen Eldridge: She says the project in Georgia is the largest investment Youth Villages has made in its nearly 50-year history. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 8:
Orlando Montoya: A jury in metro Atlanta's Cobb County has ordered Monsanto parent Bayer to pay more than $2 billion in damages to a man who says the company's Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer. Attorneys for the plaintiff, John Barnes, said in a statement late Friday that the verdict includes $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. The verdict marks one of the largest legal settlements in a long-running series of court battles Monsanto has faced over Roundup. The agrochemical giant says it has prevailed in 17 of the last 25 related trials, and remains committed to fighting them. Monsanto says it will appeal the verdict.
Story 9:
Orlando Montoya: Visitors to the world's busiest airport are now greeted with a large mural honoring Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. The mural was painted by the prominent Atlanta artist Fabian Williams, and is based on a widely circulated photo of the couple, the longest married presidential couple in U.S. history at 77 years. It highlights aspects of their lives with quotes about their journeys together, framed by clouds and stars. Both Jimmy and Rosalynn are depicted with their trademark broad smiles. Williams calls it "Well Done, Good and Faithful Servants." It comes about three months after Jimmy's death, at age 100 and. 15 months after Rosalynn's death at age 96. Williams also created the poster for last year's Jimmy Carter Centennial Concert at Atlanta's Fox Theater. You can see the mural at gpb.org/news. You can watch the concert at gpb.org/jimmyCarter100.
Story 10:
Orlando Montoya: A DeKalb County student is heading back to the Scripps National Spelling Bee for a second year in a row. Austin Elementary School's Sarv Dharavane won the 64th Georgia Association of Educators State Spelling Bee last week, clinching the title by correctly spelling — and I'm probably going to mispronounce this, but "berghan"? B-E-R-G-H-A-N, meaning a bird of prey. And he also correctly spelled "compas" — com-pas? Compass? C-O-M-P-A-S. Just one S. It's described as a Haitian music genre, so maybe compas. Your guess is as good as mine. The national competition will take place in Washington, D.C., this May. Last year, Dharavane tied for 22nd place in the national competition. Good luck, Sarv Dharavane.
Orlando Montoya: 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. Keep us current on your podcast feed. Hit subscribe. If you have feedback, we'd love to hear it! Email us at 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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