Georgia Today: Ballot challenges from Dems; Poll worker shortage; Gas leak at Fulton County Jail

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, July 16. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode: Georgia Democrats are fighting to keep some candidates off the ballot this November. Georgia's secretary of state wants more poll workers for this year's elections. And the aging Fulton County Jail in Atlanta faces a new safety hazard. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Georgia Democrats are challenging efforts to place Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and three other candidates on the state's presidential ballots. It's part of a nationwide effort to block candidates who could siphon votes from incumbent President Joe Biden. Besides Kennedy, Democrats are targeting independent Cornel West. Green party candidate Jill Stein and Party for Socialism and Liberation nominee Claudia de la Cruz. The Georgia Democratic Party accuses those candidates and parties of running afoul of Georgia's election laws. The challenges trigger hearings before an administrative law judge, with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger making the final decision, which any side could appeal in state court.

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Brad Raffensperger

Credit: Stephen Fowler | GPB News

Story 2:

Peter Biello: The Georgia secretary of state's office is partnering with a national nonprofit to engage more poll workers ahead of the November election. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will work with Vet the Vote in an effort to recruit veterans to become poll workers. Vet The Vote director Dan Malone says he is looking forward to the partnership.

Dan Malone: There's no community better position to serve as poll workers in this nation, and we know from experience at Vet the Vote that when veterans serve as poll workers, they remind us that there is so much more that binds us together as Americans than what pulls us apart.

Sarah Kallis: Vet the Vote started to help address poll worker shortages. But Raffensperger hopes the partnership will also help voters who've expressed a lack of trust in the election process feel more confident. He plans to promote the effort in counties with large populations of veterans. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: The Democratic National Committee says it's investing $15 million in seven swing state parties, including $1 million in Georgia, in a counterprogramming offer to the Republican National Convention, happening this week in Milwaukee. The DNC announced the funds this morning. It's meant to help open more field offices, bolster staffing, and coordinate party efforts for down-ballot races.

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Fulton County Jail

Story 4:

Peter Biello: A carbon monoxide leak at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail sent one jail employee to the hospital and injured five others last night. All the injured employees worked in the jail's kitchen and experienced nausea and other symptoms before the kitchen was evacuated. No other areas of the jail were affected, though the kitchen is now not operating while the leak's source is investigated and fixed. The sheriff's office says the jail has food prepared for such emergencies. It is the latest challenge for the crumbling and overcrowded jail, the subject of state and federal investigations into dangerous conditions.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Three federal lawmakers from Georgia have introduced legislation to help upgrade Atlanta's water infrastructure. The announcement from U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and Atlanta congresswoman Nikema Williams comes weeks after a series of water main breaks left thousands of homes and businesses without water for days. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water planner Brian Choate says his agency is helping Atlanta with an assessment of its water infrastructure.

Brian Choate: And then that will open the door, potentially, for much larger pockets of funding. Because it's going to take billions to do that.

Peter Biello: The bills introduced in the House and Senate would increase a congressional spending authorization for Atlanta water projects, but it still would require a federal appropriation.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The brother of the man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, has pleaded guilty to having a fake green card. The U.S. Justice Department says Venezuelan citizen Diego Ibarra pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing fraudulent documents in a federal court in Macon yesterday. Diego's brother, Jose Ibarra, has been charged with murder and other crimes related to Riley's death. Diego Ibarra is not suspected in the homicide, and Jose Ibarra has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Diego Ibarra faces up to 10 years in prison for having fake IDs. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 7. Jose Ibarra's murder trial is expected to take place this fall.

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Solar panel

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Georgia utilities earned high marks this year in an annual report on the state of solar power in the South. GPB's Grant Blankenship reports.

Grant Blankenship: In its "Solar in the Southeast" report, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy notes that Georgia Power ranks fourth out of 14 major regional electricity providers in a key measure: watts of solar electricity generated per customer. As a state, Georgia only falls behind solar powerhouse Florida by that measure. But the report cites the growth of data centers as a major challenge to the pace of rolling out new solar, making carbon-emitting natural gas more appealing to utilities in the short run. That bore itself out in Georgia Power's emergency change to its generation mix approved this year. But the state's report still forecasts a further doubling of Georgia's solar generation by 2025 through things like NextEra Energy's 260-megawatt project southwest of the Augusta, and through more from Georgia Power. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The city of Lafayette in Northwest Georgia recently received more than $6 million through the Bipartisan infrastructure law for upgrades to a road through the city's downtown. Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff visited Lafayette yesterday to highlight a project on Villanow Street.

Jon Ossoff: I've been so impressed, Mayor, during our time together here this morning by what a shared vision this community has for its development. You know you're not letting growth happen to you. You're growing on your terms — good growth.

Peter Biello: The project will include ADA sidewalks and ramps, traffic calming measures, and lighting.

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Bald eagle

Story 9:

Peter Biello: Surveys of bald eagle nests in Coastal and Northeast Georgia are showing an above average number of fledglings this year. That's according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The DNR's Bob Sargeant says a nest is successful when at least one young eagle flies the nest. He says most years he expects a success rate of about 70%. This year, he says that number in Coastal and Northeast Georgia was 82%.

Bob Sargeant: That was quite good. But much better than I expected. And, you know, really encouraging because it was just two years ago, that we had the outbreak of avian influenza. And on the Georgia coast, the nest success rate fell by over 30%.

Peter Biello: Sargeant attributes this year's success to good rainfall and abundance of food, and lack of tree damage from major tropical storms. He says bald eagle numbers have increased since the 1970s, but the species is still rare in Georgia and classified as threatened under state law.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: State and federal health officials are warning consumers about an illness-causing psychoactive edible, often sold as gummies. The Georgia Department of Public Health is among agencies investigating Diamond Shruumz brand products after reports of severe reactions to them in 27 states, including Georgia. The agencies say the products often appeal to children.

Story 11:

Peter Biello: In sports, Georgia coach Kirby Smart says Bulldogs players who have been arrested or cited for driving violations have been disciplined with suspensions and fines through the collective that provides name, image and likeness payments to the school's athletes. This comes a week after one Georgia player was arrested on reckless driving charges, and another cited for street racing. Smart called these off-field issues unfortunate and disappointing. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported, there have been two dozen incidents involving Georgia players and driving-related violations, starting with a crash that killed a player and a recruiting staffer in January of last year.

Peter Biello: And that is all we've got for this edition of Georgia Today. But there will be more tomorrow. The news never seems to stop, and you can stay on top of it all by subscribing to this podcast today. That way will pop up almost magically in your podcast feed tomorrow. And if you want to learn more about anything you heard today, visit GPB.org/news. And if there's something that we should be reporting on or some feedback that you might have, send it to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. That's GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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