Georgia Today: Calhoun drinking water suit; Warnock proposes Medicaid legislation; U.S. Soccer head

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, July 11. I'm Orlando Montoya. On today's episode, a Northwest Georgia city has settled a lawsuit over its drinking water. Sen. Warnock is proposing legislation to cover a gap in Georgia's Medicaid coverage. And we'll talk to the head of U.S. Soccer as Atlanta gears up to host World Cup matches. Those stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: The Northwest Georgia city of Calhoun and an environmental group have agreed to settle a lawsuit stemming from the group's concerns over drinking water. The Coosa River Basin Initiative accused the city of violating federal Clean Water Act standards by processing water containing so-called forever chemicals. The group's executive director, Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, wouldn't comment on the settlement amount, but says it will make drinking water safer in Calhoun.

Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman: We wanted to provide relief to the people who actually have these contaminants in their water, and then we also, you know, desperately want to stop these contaminants at the source. And we're — we're really excited with this development.

Orlando Montoya: He says the city has agreed to upgrade filtration systems at drinking water plants and strengthen agreements with chemical-discharging manufacturers. Calhoun's city manager declined to comment on the agreement.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is proposing legislation to address a gap in Medicaid coverage stemming from the state's decision not to expand the program. Georgia is one of 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid. That's left over 100,000 people who otherwise would have access to the government-funded health insurance to go without. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.

Sofi Gratas: The Bridge to Medicaid bill would extend tax cuts to people who are not eligible for Medicaid and non-expansion states, but also can't afford insurance. Georgia senator Reverend Raphael Warnock calls his proposal a stopgap measure, while state lawmakers continue to debate on Medicaid expansion.

Raphael Warnock: This refusal to expand is a drag on our health care system. This is a drag on our workforce. And in the meantime, I'm just determined to do something about it.

Sofi Gratas: The proposal aims to take advantage of the looming expiration of several federal tax provisions next year, including an end to existing tax credits, which help most people at and above the federal poverty level afford marketplace insurance plans. Sen. Jon Ossoff is a co-sponsor of the bill. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Caption

Jail

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: Atlanta's Fulton County is scrapping plans to build a new jail. County commissioners yesterday approved a plan to renovate the current jail at a cost that could go as high as $300 million. An entirely new jail would have cost nearly $2 billion. Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman said she came into office supporting a new jail but has changed her mind.

Khadijah Abdur-Rahman: We do not have public support for a new jail. We have public support for alternatives. We have public support to deal with our justice system. We have public support to do something, because we have had several deaths in that jail.

Orlando Montoya: Other commissioners said the vote just kicks the can on the crumbling 35-year-old facility. The jail is the subject of federal and state investigations into overcrowded and deadly conditions.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: CNN is eliminating about 100 jobs. The Atlanta-based news network's CEO, Mark Thompson, sent staff members a memo Wednesday saying the company is leaning into a reshaping of its business. His plan calls for the debut of CNN's first digital subscription product before the end of the year. 100 jobs represent about 2% to 3% of the network's total workforce of about 3,500. It's unclear how many of the job reductions would come from CNN's Atlanta headquarters, where fewer than 1,000 employees are based.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: Middle Georgia-based school bus manufacturer Bluebird will get nearly $80 million to convert a site previously used to make diesel-powered motorhomes to produce electric school buses. The White House announced the grant today as part of nearly $2 billion in awards aimed at a broad range of the automotive industry, including in presidential battleground states. The grants were authorized by the landmark 2022 Climate Law and come through the U.S. Department of Energy.

Caption

Stock trading

Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including Georgia's Sen. Jon Ossoff, is pushing for a ban on members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from trading individual stocks. The senators yesterday announced the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will consider the legislation later this month. While introducing the legislation yesterday, Ossoff cited a 2023 poll from the University of Maryland that found about 85% of Americans support a ban on individual stock trading by members of Congress.

Jon Ossoff: Across the state of Georgia, Democrats, independents, Republicans overwhelmingly agree that members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we legislate, and while we have access to confidential and privileged information. This is long overdue. This is necessary.

Orlando Montoya: Our current law requires lawmakers to disclose when they trade individual stocks and laws on insider trading — or trading a company's stock based on information about the company that isn't public — apply to lawmakers.

Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: The Atlanta Regional Commission's newest population estimates show the 11-county region added nearly 63,000 people from 2023 to 2024. That brings the region's population to 5.2 million, up 1.2%. The numbers released yesterday show a slight easing of population growth, attributed to a slowing of new residential building permits and moderating yet solid job growth. Atlanta's Fulton County led the region in population growth with about 17,000 new residents.

Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: Prominent Black faith leaders gathered at the state capitol today to support President Joe Biden's reelection bid, amid growing calls that he step aside because of his age. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: While the leaders called Biden's performance at the debate, quote, "poor," they said he should not step aside. Bishop Reginald Jackson represents over 500 African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia. He says it's frustrating to see calls for Biden's resignation.

Reginald Jackson: Let me challenge the Democrats and say, rather than asking whether or not Biden should step aside, why don't we look at his record?

Sarah Kallis: Jackson also said he believes Biden's policies benefit his community more than Trump's. So far, Biden has said he will remain in the race. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: Delta Air Lines says its second quarter profit is down 29% from a year earlier, and it's giving a disappointing outlook for the third quarter. The Atlanta-based airline said today higher costs and low base fares have weakened its profits, despite strong revenue and record travel numbers. Delta is spending much more on labor, jet fuel and other big items. Its second quarter earnings were $1.3 billion, down from $1.8 billion last year.

Story 10:

Orlando Montoya: The Georgia Council for the Arts is awarding $3.5 million in state funding through more than 300 grants and more than 200 organizations. The Georgia Department of Economic Development announced the initial awards for the 2025 fiscal year yesterday. They include grants to some of the state's largest arts organizations and many smaller ones across the state. The agency says arts and culture represents about 4% of Georgia's economy and accounts for more than 159,000 jobs.

Caption

Soccer

Story 11:

Orlando Montoya: The U.S. Soccer Federation has fired the head coach of the U.S. men's national team, Gregg Berhalter. The news late yesterday came after the team's disappointing early exit from the Copa America tournament, and kicks off a major shakeup for the team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. I spoke with the head of U.S. soccer, JT Batson, at our studios on June 28 as he was in Atlanta for the Copa America tournament. At that time, he was hopeful the Americans could turn around their fortunes. Our conversation, however, was focused on what could come out of the World Cup, eight matches of which will be played in Atlanta.

JT Batson: Thanks. Great to be here.

Orlando Montoya: Mr. Batson, the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup was 1994. And out of that came Major League Soccer, a body that has transformed the sport in this country. Now, U.S. Soccer recently launched a legacy initiative for 2026 World Cup called "Soccer Forward." How does that match with the ambition of MLS?

JT Batson: Sure. Well, really excited to be here. And it's — You talk about the ambition of MLS. There's no greater city to to be in to talk about that than than here in Atlanta. What Atlanta United and Arthur Blank and team have done to show the world, how not just Atlanta is a soccer city, but America as a soccer country is really incredible. And if you think back to — to 1994, for those of you who are old enough to — to remember, you know, there was no scale professional soccer in this country. And when our team got together and with all of our different stakeholders across the soccer ecosystem and said, "hey, if MLS was born out of '94, you know what is going to be born out of 2026 and what's going to have that impact?" And almost to a person, people came back and said, "hey, how do we make it to where every kid can play soccer in this country?" How do we make it to where soccer is the most accessible sport and everyone can benefit from sport we love?

Orlando Montoya: So is it a grant program? A program of professional development? Exactly what?

JT Batson: Sure. So there are three platforms, with Soccer Forward. One is a common advocacy platform. So how do we give everyone across America the tools to be able to go to their school districts, go to their parks departments, go to their, you know, local neighborhood councils to be able to advocate for safe places to play and programing for kids. Second pillar is around resources and knowledge share. So if I run in a community program, what are low-cost soccer models that I can bring to life? If I have a field that is has a particular use case, but I want to make it accessible. Well, how do I deal with insurance issues and how I deal with liability? So all of the sort of nuts and bolts that — that it takes to, to be able to, to deliver this at scale. And the third is around inspiration. How do we use all of the exciting events that are going on in this country to inspire a generation to want to go out and play?

Orlando Montoya: Another issue in soccer right now is the short supply of referees, especially in youth sports. How can soccer lead the way in changing this?

JT Batson: Well, as someone who grew up refereeing soccer here in Georgia and now is certified to referee again, this — this is certainly personal to me. And, and, you know, again, you know, we have to take a comprehensive approach to this. One, is we have to make sure that it's, you know, safe and fun for people to referee. So we've announced a referee abuse prevention plan, which we're very proud of and that's now live in market. We also have to make it easy for people from lots of backgrounds to be able to become a referee and — and treat this like a workforce development for folks to support them across their entire journey. It's not just enough to get them on the field. It's also about how do you make them successful, how do you keep them wanting to come back and make sure the environment is one where they're having fun and and flourishing?

Orlando Montoya: You just mentioned your background in Augusta and your time helping to run a club there, refereeing, I think even mowing fields —

JT Batson: Sure.

Orlando Montoya: Doing all kinds of things that you do in a small club like that. And I love that little biographical tidbit about you. How do you now as an executive — the top executive in the sport in this country — how do you use that experience to advocate for every level of soccer?

JT Batson: Being reminded of, you know, the millions of volunteers who, you know, drive kids to practice, who coach the games, who mow the fields, who, you know, line the fields, who, you know, do all the things that make it to where,we're all able to watch games, is super important. And one of the big things is we built out our national training center here in Atlanta. We spend a lot of time talking about how do we bring to life the history of all the volunteers, all those parents, all those adults who have, you know, come before us, to, to make all of this possible. And so I think making sure that, at U.S. Soccer, we stay grounded in what makes soccer great in this country. And all the millions of people who do that is is incredibly important.

Orlando Montoya: JT Batson is CEO of U.S. Soccer. Thank you for joining me today.

JT Batson: Thanks for having me.

Orlando Montoya: And once again, I spoke with JT Batson on June 28 before yesterday's news that U.S. Soccer fired U.S. Men's National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter.

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 and do that now to keep us current in your podcast feed. If you have feedback, send that to us at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Orlando Montoya. I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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