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Georgia Today: Mulberry cityhood lawsuit; Bulldog cheating accusation; Comedian Heather McMahan
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On the Tuesday April 30th edition of Georgia Today: A lawsuit aims to stop the vote on creating the city of Mulberry in Gwinnett County; A Georgia Bulldogs pitcher is suspected of cheating; And we'll hear part of my conversation with Atlanta comedian Heather McMahan.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, April 30th. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a lawsuit aims to stop the vote on creating the city of Mulberry in Gwinnett County. A Georgia Bulldogs pitcher is suspected of cheating. And we'll hear part of my conversation with Atlanta comedian Heather McMahon. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: A Savannah activist, is criticizing the Tybee Island Police Department for its handling of this year's Orange Crush Spring Break Festival. This comes after new police data show an increase in the number of arrests, despite a smaller turnout compared to last year's gathering. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.
Benjamin Payne: Jaydon Grant is a recent graduate of Savannah State University, the HBCU whose students in the 1980s originated Orange Crush, a popular spring break destination for young black adults like himself. Grant attributes this year's rise in arrests not to any increase in actual crime, but rather to a heavier police presence along the main road leading on to Tybee Island. A police presence he called, quote, overbearing.
Jaydon Grant: Whether you think Orange Crush is negative or whether you are fighting for Orange Crush as people have seen this year. Orange Crush is not going away just because of the police presence. Orange Crusgh is not going away because they blocking out parking in the roads,Orange Crush is still going to be here regardless of the facts, but we need to work together to make it great for both sides.
Benjamin Payne: Grant said he thinks Orange Crush gets disproportionately policed compared to Tybee Island's annual 4th of July festivities. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: A Gwinnett County resident, is suing the county's Board of Elections to stop the referendum to form the city of Mulberry. 70 year old Stephen Hughes lives in the area that would become Mulberry if voters approve it on May 21st. In a lawsuit filed last week, he says the proposed charter is unconstitutional because it prohibits the creation of a property tax or more than three city services.
Stephen Hughes: Any city in the state has a right to impose a property tax, should they so choose. You can't have the language that says you can't.
Peter Biello: GPB has reached out to the defendants in the lawsuit and they have not responded. But an advocacy group in favor of Mulberry cityhood called the lawsuit a, quote, desperate attempt to stop Mulberry's creation.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: Georgia's highest court has thrown out an indictment that charged a former police chief and a top aide with misconduct. Former Glynn County Police Chief John Powell and his former chief of staff, Brian Scott, faced felony counts of violating their oath of office. Prosecutors allege they failed to investigate allegations of misconduct within the department. But in a unanimous ruling today, the Georgia Supreme Court said the indictment was fatally flawed by technical errors. The decision likely ends the four year legal case against the lawman, who've been prosecuted and now exonerated twice.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: The Georgia mental Health Alliance is a network of labor, occupational safety, and public health organizations. This May, they're asking construction managers to set aside time to focus on mental health. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.
Ellen Eldridge: The workers building schools and homes need more than hardhats and safety goggles for protection. They also need support for their mental well-being. That's according to Mike Dunham with the Associated General Contractors of Georgia. He says mental health awareness is new to the construction industry.
Mike Dunham: I like what one of my members said. I can see a bad scaffold. I can see a bad trench, and I know how to address it. I can't see in the mind of one of my employees that's under, duress or is having a mental issue.
Ellen Eldridge: These safety stand downs are part of a national Mental health awareness Month, and include information about treatment and other ways to find help. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: A portion of the Chattahoochee River south of Atlanta remains unsafe for recreation, months after a surge in E coli bacteria. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is investigating the contamination, which starts at a City of Atlanta water treatment facility. Even as warmer weather entices kayakers and canoers, Andrea White of the Georgia River network urges people not to get on the water.
Andrea White: It's about a 60 mile stretch that we're concerned about in that particular situation. We've got the largest waste treatment site in the state that is not functioning properly right now.
Peter Biello: City of Atlanta officials have not responded to multiple requests for comment about the malfunctioning facility.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: An Augusta aircraft maintenance and repair company has begun work on a $33 million expansion. Standard Arrow said today the project will add 90 new jobs to the 170 it currently supports. The company is building a new hangar and engine shop adjacent to Augusta Regional Airport.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: Atlanta based auto and industrial parts supplier Genuine Parts has announced a leadership change. The company said yesterday its CEO, Paul Donoghue, will step down and be succeeded by president and chief operating officer William Stengel. Genuine Parts is Georgia's sixth largest company by revenue, bringing in more than $22 billion in 2022. That's according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: Congress bestowed one of its highest final tributes yesterday on a Columbus man who died earlier this month. Retired Army Colonel Ralph Puckett Jr was the last surviving veteran of the Korean War to receive the Medal of Honor. U.S. House Chaplain Margaret Kibben led the prayer at his Lying in Honor ceremony at the Capitol.
Margaret Kibben: May we be inspired by Colonel Ralph Puckett Jr's extraordinary and courageous example of character driven leadership, that we would take a firm hold of the baton you now pass from him to us.
Peter Biello: Puckett was 97 years old, and only the eighth private citizen to lie in honor at the Capitol.
Story 8:
Peter Biello: The last few years for Atlanta based comedian Heather McMahan have been chock full of achievements aspiring comedians dream of. She's recorded two Netflix specials and participated in the Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival, conducted interviews on the Oscars red carpet on television. She's grown her podcast following, and she's connecting with audiences on topics both serious and silly, including the death of her father and her IVF journey. Heather McMahan is with me now to talk about her amazing career. Heather, thank you so much for being here.
Heather McMahan: Thanks for having me. This is very cool.
Peter Biello: Very cool to have you. I wanted to ask you about your origins as a comedian because you're in your first special. Sun, I never had you talked to some extent about Instagram being the thing that really helped you take off, but I imagine that is just the tip of the iceberg. The 7/8 are still underneath as you're working on your material, perhaps on stage in smaller clubs. Is that what it was like for you?
Heather McMahan: Yeah, I mean, I got my start in New York and then moved to L.A.. I kind of worked my way through this this club called the Upright Citizens Brigade. So I was always on the, like, improv sketch comedy trajectory. And then I kind of got back to my roots and just started doing stand up, and I realized that I just loved it so much because it, you know, I could say whatever I want. So standup is what really launched me. But I used Instagram as a tool to get all my material out there, much like all these, you know, all these big comedians out coming up through TikTok. It's just another vessel to get your material out there.
Peter Biello: And was it useful as like immediate feedback, like you're learning what catches on in, you're learning what doesn't. And then you can use that on the stage.
Heather McMahan: Oh, absolutely. And the way I really took off when Instagram Stories became a thing. And now it's like, you know, the grandma thing to do. But and I would literally like, write bits in like 15 second intervals. So that's kind of how I really started to like, hone my, my timing and, and my material. And it was immediate. Just the engagement was through the roof. My agents were like, let's put a, you know, a tour on sale and see how it goes. And it sold out like the first ten minutes. So I owe a lot to to the early days of Instagram.
Peter Biello: You are very vulnerable about yourself in your podcast. Yeah, on the stage. In your in your videos on social media, were you instantly vulnerable like that, or did you take some time for you to sort of open up and be comfortable with putting yourself completely out there?
Heather McMahan: My comedy has always been, obviously from my point of view, my perspective. Right. I can't tell somebody else's story. And at the time that things really took off, I was actually at a very dark, deep, depressed time in my life. I just lost my father, to cancer, and it happened very quickly. So my life was completely shaken up. I was always doing funny things on Instagram even before he died. But then I started to put these very vulnerable moments on Instagram, and it wasn't to appeal to anybody but myself. It was just very cathartic for me. And it was unhinged. I'd have like seven glasses of Chardonnay and then I'm like, let's try out this new beat on Instagram. And it worked. And the response that I got specifically from other women that were like, thank you so much for talking about this. Thank you for so much for taking us on your journey. I realized I wasn't the only one who's going through that, and it just made me double down on what I was talking about, and it just really took off from there. Wow.
Peter Biello: Okay. Well, we're going to talk a little bit about your dad, your audience, and how you connect with, your audience in general. But first, I want to get too far before we give, our audience a sense of what your comedy is like. So we have a brief clip from your first. Here we go. Comedy special, sun I never had. Let's listen.
Heather McMahan (from comedy special): And listen. I was watching my therapist the other day on TikTok, and. Oh, yeah. My therapist is TikToks, so. And she was saying she was like, Heather, would you talk to your eight year old self the way you have been talking to your adult self?
Peter Biello: So that's from Son I Never Had. And there's a version of this conversation happening now on video. You can watch it at GPB.org. But for our radio audience, which you can't see in the videos that Heather is dancing the way ridiculous TikTok people dance. Yes. While she's saying all that. So I wanted to ask you about the physical aspect of your comedy. Yeah. Because you are not just dancing. Sometimes you're lunging, sometimes you're running, you're kicking. How important is it to you to be that kind of a presence on the stage?
Heather McMahan: It's just what I know. It's in my nature. Like, I, I commend other artists who just can stand there and deliver jokes. But as so much of my comedy is through my physical charisma, if you will. I just don't know how to stand still. I've always worked to stage. I've always been in a glitter suit or feathers or something bedazzled. I just like to be a very, an old school showman. That is my performance style. So people like, when they come to my show, they're like you. You know, if I wear an Apple Watch, I walk, like, 15 miles onstage, and I. That's the best workout I could ever do is just doing 90 minutes of comedy every night.
Peter Biello: So I wanted to ask you about your father and his influence on you. Because your son I never had, referring to the thing he says about you. Right. You're the son he never had.
Heather McMahan: Right.
Peter Biello: In the intro to that show on Netflix, you, are shown bringing out an urn. Supposedly your dad, although I think he was scattered at the waffle House.
Heather McMahan: Yes, he was scattered at a waffle House and all over the state of Georgia. But, yes. Okay.
Peter Biello: So, so important places to him. Georgia in general. Waffle House in particular. But he's he's brought out. And then you talk about his his passing on your special and you make something very heavy, very serious and sad. Funny. And I'm curious about how you worked on that, how you made that happen.
Heather McMahan: Well, honestly, the whole situation in real life was actually quite funny. And I do think that that's the universe's way of just like, you know, the pendulum swings super dark, but then there are moments of levity that were so ridiculous and absurd and unhinged. I'm like, God's pulling a prank on me. Like I.
Peter Biello: Actually the doctor.
Heather McMahan: Was, oh, yeah, the doctor told us our our father wasn't going to make it was the hottest man I've ever seen in my life. I, you know, it just everything. You know, my dad ended up being too fat for the casket that we had originally bought for him. So we had to get a plus size casket, and my mom's, like, over my dead body and his. Am I going to, let my husband feel like he was heavy set, even going down into the ground. So we cremated him, because he was too chubby. I mean, there were just so many moments where I'm like, this is not actually happening. So I obviously, as a, professional order vocal, I said, I have to explain this to my audience so that they understand that even if they're about to go through something really dark, you have to find those ridiculous moments, because everything is so absurd, right? There is life before my dad or life with my dad, and then life after my dad. I think once you go through something dramatic like losing a loved one, it completely changes you as a person. Now I feel like I'm not afraid of death. I'm not afraid of what's next, because I've already. I've already felt that horrible pain that nobody like. My life is forever changed, so I don't know why. I just have a very, like, joyful perspective on a lot of stuff now. Because I've been there, I've been at the bottom. But now when I'm when I'm at the top, it feels even sweeter.
Peter Biello: But. Well, I just want to end on this. Your reputation is that you've been very kind and generous with your audience. You're giving of yourself, you're constantly generating material, and you're thinking about your audience and what your audience would benefit from, and also your reputation after shows. Being generous with fans, connecting with them, talking with them at length about their own issues after you're their therapist, that's.
Heather McMahan: I'm essentially the Taylor Swift of comedy, which is now I'm starting to figure this out a lot of material, very kind. And I give a lot to the fans. Yes, thank you for that.
Peter Biello: So that's all I'll say, is that you've been very kind to fans and you've been very kind to come into GPB and, and speak with me about your comedy. Thank you so much.
Heather McMahan: Listen, I'm so honored and I'm so grateful that people come to shows and that they can relate to the material. So why would I not spend extra time with people who have invested in me? I'm just so incredibly grateful. And, thank you for having me. This has been such a thoughtful conversation.
Peter Biello: That's Atlanta comedian Heather McMahan. She'll be participating in the Netflix Is a Joke Comedy festival this Sunday. We spoke about a lot more than what we could broadcast on GPB today, but you can find a video of our full conversation at GPB.org.
Peter Biello: Georgia state residents will be allowed to book accommodations at Georgia state parks and historic sites a month earlier than out-of-state visitors. The state Department of Natural Resources made the change earlier this month, citing difficulties some residents have experienced while booking campsites and cottages. Georgians will be allowed to book 14 months in advance, compared to 13 months in advance for nonresidents with proof of residency required at check in.
Story 9:
Peter Biello: In sports in college baseball videos showing Georgia's Christian Mracna's activity in the bullpen and during a dominant performance are leading some to accuse the pitcher of cheating by using some kind of substance on the ball. Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle told The Associated Press he suspects the pitcher was putting a foreign substance on the ball. A sticky substance on the pitcher's fingers could help the hurler put more spin on the ball, which could make it harder to hit. Schlossnagle says he wishes he would have caught it more akin to pitch the last two innings of a 5 to 4 win on Saturday, striking out six in a row to end the game. Pitchers caught using a foreign substance are ejected, per NCAA rules. Georgia and the Southeastern Conference declined to comment. In Major League Baseball. Mitch Garver hit a two run, game ending home run in the ninth inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 2 to 1 win over the Atlanta Braves yesterday, a game that was dominated by spectacular pitching from Atlanta starter Max freed and Seattle starter Bryce Miller ended with Garver tossing his bat in front of home plate to celebrate the first Walk-off home run of his career. A.J. Minter took the loss. Renaldo Lopez is scheduled to get the start for the Braves tonight as the two teams face off again in Seattle.
Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And remember to subscribe to this podcast. We'll be back in your podcast feed tomorrow with all the top stories from Georgia. And if you've got feedback, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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