Georgia Today: Bernice King speaks out against HUD cuts; Fort Gaines disbands its police department

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, the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks out against federal cuts to public housing, Southwest Georgia's Fort Gaines disbands its police department, and the city of Columbus celebrates the centennial of the Liberty Theater, a treasured historic landmark.

Oz Roberts: The Liberty Theater itself was probably a forerunner in having that opportunity for Black performers to perform around the country.

Orlando Montoya: Today is Friday, April 11. I'm Orlando Montoya, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard says the Trump administration is preparing to release records about the assassinations of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Gabbards said her agency has had over 100 people working, quote, "around the clock" on the release.

Tulsi Gabbard: These have been sitting in boxes in storage for decades. They have never been scanned or seen before. We'll have those ready to release here within the next few days.

Orlando Montoya: Through the Atlanta-based King Center, King's daughter Bernice King previously said her family's loss remains deeply personal, and she hopes the family will be allowed to review the files before they are made public.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: Separately, Bernice King also is speaking out about the Trump administration's funding cuts in the area of public housing. GPB's Devon Zwald has that story.

Devon Zwald: In February, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development canceled millions of dollars in grants to nonprofits that handle housing discrimination complaints. A judge temporarily froze the terminations. King said yesterday the cuts undermined the Fair Housing Act.

Bernice King: These policy shifts are not occurring in a vacuum, as we know. They're not just numbers on a budget sheet. They have real devastating consequences for families trying to survive, for communities trying to thrive, and for a nation that claims to stand for justice.

Devon Zwald: King made the remarks in Seattle near where Habitat for Humanity is building a new condominium that will be named after her father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Habitat raises awareness about fair housing in April in remembrance of the Fair Housing Act passage in 1968, a week after Dr. King's assassination. For GPB News, I'm Devon Zwald.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: The U.S. Marshals Service says a convicted killer who was mistakenly released from a jail in metro Atlanta's Clayton County has been caught two weeks later in Florida. A Marshals spokesman said Kathan Guzman was apprehended today. The Clayton county district attorney's office said he was found at his mother's house. Guzman has admitted to strangling his girlfriend, 19-year-old Delilah Grayson, in 2022. The county sheriff has blamed the mistaken release on jail employees who failed to read paperwork carefully.

​​​​​​​Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: Fort Gaines has disbanded its police department. The council of the Southwest Georgia city, population 1,000, decided last week to turn its public safety over to the Clay County Sheriff's Office because it no longer can afford its two officers and chief. The sheriff has about five deputies, according to Fort Gaine's mayor, Kenneth Sumter, who says small towns across Georgia are struggling with staffing.

Kenneth Sumter: Law enforcement, first responders, take a good chunk out of a city's budget. But yeah, for small cities with minimum resources for revenue, it does create a problem. But we have created an environment here in our community where there is less violent crime than our neighboring counties — in Alabama across the river or even here in the counties that are adjoining us. So we would we do have a quiet and safe community.

Orlando Montoya: Sumter said he disagreed with the council's decision, but will enforce it as mayor.

​​​​​​​Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: Savannah's St. Joe's Candler Health System has opened a $10 million medical campus in Bryan County. The facility in Elibel is aimed at the growing communities and workforce along the Interstate 16 corridor that includes Hyundai's massive new vehicle factory. It includes urgent care, occupational medicine, and other services.

​​​​​​​Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: Global shipping giant Amazon celebrated the opening of a 90,000-square-foot delivery center in Columbus yesterday. It's the first Amazon facility in Columbus and has created about 200 jobs. It began operating in December, handling tens of thousands of packages per day in the Columbus area.

​​​​​​​Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: And the city of Columbus is celebrating the centennial of a treasured historic landmark. A sold-out gala tonight will honor the legacy of the Liberty Theater. Opened as a movie house in 1925, the Liberty was Columbus's first Black theater and later became a stage for entertainers who weren't allowed to perform in segregated theaters. It closed in 1974, reopened in 1997, and is currently closed again because of structural issues. Oz Roberts chairs the gala committee.

Oz Roberts: You know there were places like the Apollo Theater that most people are familiar with. But the Apollo Theater actually opened up 10 years after the Liberty Theater so the Liberty Theater itself was probably, you know, a forerunner in having an opportunity for Black performers to perform around the country. But you know we had the likes of, you know, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey who was born and raised in Columbus as well and Ma Rainey was known as the mother of the blues. And tonight we've got the gala. And the gala is an opportunity for us to showcase the incredible talent that we have here in Columbus. Some of them still live here, some of them don't live here anymore, but they're all coming back to share and lend their talent for this amazing opportunity for us to kind of brand and rebrand the Liberty so that we can actually build it back better. The Liberty Theater itself is closed right now because it has some structural issues. And so this is an opportunity for the community to know that we're going to bring the Liberty back and the things that they can look forward to seeing at the Liberty once those doors do reopen.

Orlando Montoya: Tonight's gala will be at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. The Columbus government took over the building in 2023 and hopes to reopen it by the end of this year.

Caption

A view of a flag at a hole on Augusta National Golf Course during The Masters Tournament.

Credit: File

​​​​​​​Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: As the Masters Tournament unfolds in Augusta, one man is reflecting on the legacy of those who helped shape the sport. Fred Bennett was one of Augusta National's best known caddies. His son, Lawrence Bennett, says for years Black caddies, like his father, were largely forgotten until recently.

Lawrence Bennett: I never thought this would happen, you know, because when the club went from all-Black caddies to Caddy Master Enterprises, these people were forgotten.

Orlando Montoya: Until 1982, every golfer playing in the Masters had to use an Augusta National caddy from their all-Black caddy corps. Bennett followed in his father's footsteps, working at the club for more than 50 years, as a chauffeur, a jacket manager, and even dressing club chairman. And when he needed help paying for college?

Lawrence Bennett: The club manager said, go to the front office, write a payday cap switch for $853.56 per semester. And they paid for me to go to college.

Orlando Montoya: He says honoring his father's legacy during this Masters week feels like coming full circle.

Story 9

Orlando Montoya: The 89th annual Dogwood Festival kicked off today in Atlanta's Piedmont Park. GPB's Peter Biello was there.

Peter Biello: As the dogwoods bloom, Piedmont Park will play host to Atlanta's longest-running fine arts festival. In addition to the fine art market, there will be live music, a 5K race, and a variety of family-friendly activities. With clear skies in the forecast, the festival is expected to be well attended, and festival organizers say the best way to get to the festival, is without a car, either through public transportation, by bike, or on foot. The festival is free to attend, with VIP experience tickets available. The festival wraps up Sunday. For GPB News, I'm Peter Biello in Piedmont Park.

Orlando Montoya: And I'll be at the festival tomorrow, Saturday, alongside one of the co-hosts of the PBS travel photography program View Finders, and we have an interview with the festival's director at GPB.org/news.

Story 10

Orlando Montoya: In sports, Atlanta Braves fans waited out nearly a 3-hour rain delay last night to see Marcel Ozuna hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Braves to victory 4-2 over the Philadelphia Phillies. It happened just before 1 o'clock in the morning. Starter Spencer Schwellenbach gave up a homer to the Phillies' Kyle Schwaber, ending a shutout ending streak at 16. The Braves are now 3 and 9, heading into a three-game series starting tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays. Bryce Elder is scheduled to start for the Braves.

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. That's where many of the stories that you hear on this podcast live in a longer digital format that you can read. Hit subscribe on this podcast if you haven't done so already. That helps you to keep us current in your feed and it helps us because you'll hear us more. If you'd like to send us feedback, we welcome that, and we do respond to questions and concerns at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Orlando Montoya, looking forward to a great weekend. I hope you have one, and join us again on Monday for another Georgia Today.

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news