Georgia Today: GA Democrats call for new leader; BioLab partially reopens; Kroger opioid settlement

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, Nov. 12. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, Georgia Democrats call for a new state party leader. The BioLab plant in Conyers partially reopens and Kroger agrees to a settlement for its role in the opioid crisis. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

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Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga.

Credit: Courtesy of Congresswoman Nikema Williams official website

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Some Georgia Democrats are calling on their state party leader to step down after their losses in last week's elections. Atlanta congresswoman Nikema Williams's leadership is coming under fire in a pair of recent letters, one from Young Democrats of Georgia and the other from a group of 20 state House candidates who mostly lost their elections. Duro Haynes chairs the Democratic Party in metro Atlanta's Henry County.

Duro Haynes: A football team has a bad season, they don't keep their coach on. They swap out and redo some stuff in the hopes that we could have a better showing next season. And that's exactly what I feel is happening here.

Peter Biello: A spokesperson for the state party would not comment on Williams's future, but he said Democrats did better in Georgia than in any other state, increasing Kamala Harris' vote total over President Biden's in 2020 by more than 70,000.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Today is the deadline for Georgia counties to certify the election results. GPB's Sarah Kallis tells us what's next.

Sarah Kallis: Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the election went smoothly and counties uploaded their results to the secretary of state's website quickly after polls closed. When all was said and done, almost 5.3 million people voted in Georgia. Raffensperger said despite some issues at the polls, people showed up.

Brad Raffensperger: Citizens will not be fearful coming out to vote. In spite of having over 60 bomb threats, people still voted. We will not be cowered.

Sarah Kallis: Once the counties certify, Raffensperger will certify the results of the election, and then Gov. Kemp will certify the slate of electors. The electors will meet to cast their ballots in December. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: The U.S. Supreme Court is refusing to let former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows move his election interference case from Georgia to federal court. The justices did not detail their reasoning in a brief order handed down today. Meadows was expected to argue in federal court that he was immune from prosecution. He's one of 19 people indicted in Georgia in an alleged illegal scheme to keep then-President Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. Trump also is charged, though his reelection last week makes any trial unlikely while he's in office.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: The man accused of killing a 22-year-old nursing student on the University of Georgia campus in February has waived his right to a jury trial. Jose Ibarra appeared in an Athens-Clarke County court today asking a judge to hear the case instead of a jury. After asking Ibarra a few questions, Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard determined Ibarra made his request willingly. Jury selection had been expected to begin tomorrow in a case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration. Federal authorities say Ibarra, a citizen of Venezuela, illegally entered the country in 2022 and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: The BioLab plant in Conyers, east of Atlanta, has partially reopened six weeks after a massive chemical fire there. GPB's Pamela Kirkland reports, residents say they're concerned.

Pamela Kirkland: While BioLab has been cleared to resume fulfilling customer orders, they say manufacturing operations remain on hold. Conyers resident Madelyne Reece calls BioLab's announcement frustrating.

Madelyne Reece: We as a community are fed up and we're angry and we're not going to go quietly as they try to get this back up and running again.

Pamela Kirkland: Michael LeBlanc lives just a mile from BioLab. He says people are uneasy about what a full reopening might bring.

Michael LeBlanc: It's still kind of up in the air whether it is going to become business as usual. I know they'll have to do a rebuild. The moment that we come see them rebuilding is the moment I think we're all going to go, "Hey, wait a minute."

Pamela Kirkland: The Sept. 29 fire at the facility released a plume of chemicals into the air, triggering evacuations and closing Rockdale County schools for weeks. The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners have filed a federal lawsuit against BioLab and its parent company seeking damages. For GPB News, I'm Pamela Kirkland.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Ohio-based supermarket giant Kroger has agreed to pay Georgia more than $55 million for the company's alleged role in the opioid crisis. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced the settlement late last week. The state accused Kroger of improper oversight of opioid dispensing. Georgia will use the money for opioid treatment and recovery efforts. It's one of many high-profile multi-state deals reached in recent years with drugmakers, pharmacies and others in the ongoing public health emergency.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened three more disaster recovery centers to help Georgia residents affected by Hurricane Helene. The centers in Richmond Hill, Sylvania and Tifton bring to 17 the number of locations where residents can get one-on-one help for individual business or farm-related assistance. The openings come after the agency extended the deadline for individual relief applications to Jan. 7.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Georgia tax collections fell by 3.4% last month compared to October of 2023, The State Department of Revenue said Friday it brought in $2.5 billion last month, down nearly $90 million from the same month the year before. The decline stems partly from an income tax filing deadline extension because of disruptions caused by Hurricane Helene.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: Georgia Power says its first grid-connected battery energy storage system has gone into commercial operation. A facility in west central Georgia's Talbot County will generate 65 MW of battery storage. Georgia Power says the system can store energy produced when demand for electricity is lower and return it to the grid when demand is higher. The facility in Talbot County is the first for Georgia Power, and others are in the pipeline.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: MARTA, the Atlanta Region Transit Link Authority and the Georgia Department of Transportation are holding public meetings on Dec. 4 and 5 on preliminary plans for transit service along Interstate 285. The meetings are a chance for the public to learn about and share their opinions on the proposal. The I-285 Express Lanes Transit study looks into expanding transit access using GDOT's planned express lanes along the northern portion of I-285 between H.E. Holmes and Indian Creek MARTA stations.

Story 11:

Peter Biello: Home Depot continued to deal with a pullback in spending from customers in its fiscal third quarter, but it was less severe than in the past, and its performance beat Wall Street's expectations. The Atlanta-based home improvement retailer also boost its full year revenue outlook. Revenue for the company improved 6.6% to more than $40 billion. Home improvement retailers like Home Depot have been dealing with homeowners putting off bigger projects due to higher rates and concerns about inflation.

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Sweetwater

Story 12:

Peter Biello: Atlanta's Sweetwater Brewing Company has unveiled the headliners and other details for its next 420 Fest. Hip hop's Cypress Hill, rockers The Revivalists and jam band Greensky Bluegrass are among those with top billing for the festival, scheduled for April 2025. 420 Fest began in 2005 and has gone through several ups and downs, including a 2023 downsizing that some attributed to Georgia's gun laws. Next year's festival will return it to Atlanta's historic Pullman Yards.

Story 13:

Peter Biello: In sports, Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale has officially been named a finalist for the Cy Young Award, the top honor for pitchers. He was nominated in the National League, along with Paul Skenes of the Pirates and Zack Wheeler of the Phillies. Sale led the majors with 18 wins and a 2.38 ERA and led the National League with 225 strikeouts. Winners will be announced on Nov. 20. And in basketball, the Atlanta Hawks play the Celtics in Boston tonight. The Hawks lost to the Bulls on Saturday night.

And that's it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And remember to subscribe to this podcast. We're going to be back in your feed tomorrow afternoon with all the latest news from Georgia. And as always, we are open to your feedback. If you've got any, send it to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday @GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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