Georgia Today: Cyber attack suspect indicted; Athens to Savannah bike trail; Braves are Wild Card

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Friday, July 26th. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a federal grand jury indicts the man allegedly behind a string of cyber attacks, including one at Warner Robins Air Force Base. A bike trail linking Athens and Savannah will break ground tomorrow, and the Braves hold the National League wild card spot right now. But can they hang on? These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: An independent energy consultant, says Georgia Power should delay its plans to increase electrical generation through natural gas. The state Public Service Commission held a hearing Wednesday on the company's plans to build three gas and oil burning units that the company says are urgently needed to meet the state's rapid growth. Economic and financial consultant Albert Lin says those plans should be delayed to consider potentially less expensive alternatives.

Albert Lin: Innovation and technology has created ways to conserve, to create demand response programs and to generate electricity with all kinds of technologies with low or no fuel cost.

Peter Biello: The commission is scheduled to vote on the project on August 20th.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: It's back to school season for Georgia students over the next few weeks, and this class will be the first to return with a new state law aimed at protecting students around bus stops. The new law went into effect this month and increased fines for illegally passing school busses from 250 to $1000. Montrae Waiters of Auto Club Triple A says not everyone knows the laws for when to stop for a bus.

Montrae Waiters: It's not hard. Folks always stop for school busses when you see those yellow flashing lights. That is the indicator that that bus is preparing to stop. So it's very important for drivers to slow down.

Peter Biello: State lawmakers unanimously backed the law after a driver struck and killed an eight year old while illegally passing a stopped bus in metro Atlanta's Henry County in February.

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Medicaid

Credit: Georgia Health News

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission met for the first time yesterday to address Medicaid reform in Georgia. Governor Brian Kemp continues to favor alternative solutions to full Medicaid expansion. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.

Ellen Eldridge: The nine member commission has two years to evaluate and make recommendations to improve quality of, and access to health care services for people with low incomes. Committee Chair Kelly Nagle says their first report to the Governor and General Assembly is due December 1st.

Kelly Nagle: Political conversations will continue around the options that we document, but our job is simply to explore and document them. Policymakers will ultimately debate and decide what, if any, such options are suitable for Georgia.

Ellen Eldridge: Now, go says they will also explore reimbursement and funding for Georgia health care providers, including premium assistance programs. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: A federal grand jury has indicted a North Korean military intelligence operative for his alleged involvement in cyber attacks against American military bases and health care providers, including Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins. Rim Jang Hyuk is alleged to be part of a group of North Korean intelligence operatives known as Anduril. The State Department said yesterday they're offering a reward of up to $10 million for anyone who provides information to help locate Hyuk. He's accused of targeting 17 entities in 11 states.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A state judge in metro Atlanta's Cobb County, has thrown out the county's maps for its elected commission. The ruling yesterday means May primary elections for two commission districts will have to be redone, and November general elections for those districts will have to be postponed. At issue are competing Republican state drawn and Democratic county drawn maps for the narrowly divided commission. Republican Commission candidate Pamela Reardon lives in one district under the local map, but plans to run in another district under the state map.

Pamela Reardon: They also had a runoff, expensive runoff. So all the taxpayers money that went into that election that now is negated is a waste of taxpayer money.

Peter Biello: The judge says the county map violates the state constitutions home rule provision. Georgia students in some grades approached pre-pandemic achievement levels on standardized tests given in the 2023 2024 school year, but students in other grades remain below pre-pandemic levels and haven't yet shown clear signs of recovery. The numbers come from the latest milestones test results released today by the Georgia Department of Education. The strongest gains came among fifth graders, who gained six points in proficiency in English language arts compared to the previous school year.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: A 12 year old girl whose disappearance galvanized a Georgia community, has been found in Ohio. The sheriff in northeast George's Hall County says Maria Gomez Perez was found yesterday. She was in the company of a Guatemalan man who is now jailed. Gomez Perez was last seen at her father's home on May 29th in Gainesville, and her disappearance sparked a huge search.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Advocates for a bike and pedestrian trail linking Athens and Savannah plan to break ground on the project tomorrow. Its backers say the 211 mile high low trail would be the longest paved trail in America. Trail founder, Sandersville resident Mary Charles Howard says the path was inspired by the 39 mile Firefly trail around Athens.

Mary Charles Howard: And I was commuting past it for about four years and I just was dreaming. Gosh, I wish that could continue on to my home. But why would anybody stop it in the middle of nowhere? And so that's again why we chose this huge regional vision.

Peter Biello: Construction is set to begin on the paths initial two mile segment in Middle Georgia's Washington County. Project backers don't have funding for the entire project. They hope to show how the trail can help improve people's health and increase tourism in rural Georgia.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Former Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez was in Atlanta earlier this month to speak at the Key Club International convention. Before the event, Hernandez spoke to GPB about her work as an ambassador for the humanitarian aid organization Unicef.

Laurie Hernandez: When I had the opportunity to be an ambassador, it just it was the biggest game changer for me because I get to now use this platform that I gained from gymnastics and raised Unicef in the process.

Peter Biello: Hernandez, who is from new Jersey, will be a commentator for NBC's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. She said these games will feel different from the last games.

Laurie Hernandez: I think because of it being a Covid game definitely made things difficult. There was a big energy shift not just for gymnastics, but for all sports, so we're going to see a lot of really incredible athletes out there this summer, especially because we've got new audiences.

Peter Biello: The opening ceremony was set for this afternoon and 47 Georgians are expected to be on hand. That's according to a list compiled by official Olympic broadcaster NBC.

Credit: File photo

Story 9:

Peter Biello: In sports. The Atlanta Braves are looking to break a five game slide with a win against the New York Mets tonight. Charlie Morton is scheduled to get the start. Last night's loss to the Mets came despite Chris Sale throwing seven and a third solid innings. He gave up two runs and struck out nine, but some poor base running late in the game cost the Braves an opportunity to break the tie and an extra innings. The Mets were able to walk off the win, and that puts the Mets within striking distance of the Braves in the National League wild card spot. The Braves are hoping to hold on tonight.

Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. You want to learn more about any of these stories or stay on top of the news over the weekend? Visit us at GPB.org/news and remember to subscribe to this podcast. That's the best way to stay on top of the news. When you do, we will pop up automatically in your podcast feed on Monday afternoon. And if you've got feedback or a story idea, something we should know about, we would love to hear from you. Send an email to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. And your message will reach the whole team. Again, that email is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening and have a great weekend.

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