Georgia Today: Foster care changes, Paulding deputy faces legal action, local actor in Tina musical

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Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, Feb. 22. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, lawmakers are demanding changes to address failures in Georgia's foster care system. A Paulding County deputy faces legal action for allegedly using excessive force. And we talked to a local actor playing a starring role in the Tina Turner musical, now playing at the Fox Theater. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1

Peter Biello: The Georgia Department of Human Services is under fire from lawmakers for its management of thousands of children in foster care. GPB's Sofi Gratas has details.

Sofi Gratas: A recent inquiry into DHS, led by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, targets the Department of Family and Child Services and demands it address failures in Georgia's foster care system. DFACS oversees over 10,000 foster kids and is struggling with placement. The department said in January that last year it cost $28 million to temporarily house foster kids in hotels, many with a history of abuse or mental health issues. The inquiry also points to high turnover rates among DFACS case workers. This year, DFACS will see additional workforce strains with large-scale changes to Medicaid eligibility, which the department oversees. Gov. Brian Kemp plans to fund a 300 additional DFACS employees in preparation, though DHS already has over 150 vacancies. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Caption

A person walks into a mental health clinic.

Credit: File photo

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Peter Biello: A bipartisan group of Georgia lawmakers is pushing to improve mental health care this year. Under House Bill 520 filed yesterday, the state would expand its student loan forgiveness program for mental health care providers. It also would require more data sharing between agencies. Rep. Todd Jones of South Forsyth is a co-sponsor of the bill.

Todd Jones: The inability of agencies to share data with each other in terms of the care for not just minors but also adults is absolutely something that we need to focus on, and we're going to focus on how it is that we can do that within the federal and the state construct.

Peter Biello: The legislation also would try to make it easier for officials to use a form of court-ordered outpatient treatment created last year.

Story 3

Peter Biello: Savannah Mayor Van Johnson has made his reelection bid official. In a campaign announcement on Monday, Johnson touted his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hiring of a new city manager, and the opening of a new city owned arena.

Van Johnson: And I'm asking you for the go again, as we did four years ago, to allow me the opportunity to serve as your mayor for four more years. Let's do it again.

Peter Biello: Johnson became mayor in 2020 and is expected to face challengers on the ballot this November. One of those is current city council member, Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter. She's already announced a run. The entire city council will be up for reelection after a tumultuous few years that saw frequent infighting among its nine members.

Story 4

Peter Biello: Another auto parts supplier has announced a new manufacturing facility near the site of a future Hyundai Electric vehicle plant in Southeast Georgia. South Korea's Sewon Precision plans to build what state officials are describing as the largest known private investment in the city of Rincon. It's a $300 million facility and 700 workers are expected to be hired to work there.

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Peter Biello: Attorneys representing a man injured during an interaction with a Paulding County deputy last year are taking legal action against the department. Tyler Canaris was initially stopped and questioned in March of last year by Paulding County Sheriff's Deputy Michael McMaster. Video footage of the incident was posted to YouTube this month, spurring more public interest in the case. The video shows the deputy restraining Canaris against a car before slamming him on the ground. Canaris was hospitalized with a fractured skull, among other injuries. He was formally arraigned with obstruction charges in December. His attorneys are demanding McMaster be fired and the charges against Canaris dropped. They also say they'd like to see the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the Paulding County Sheriff's Office.

Story 6

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Hawks have fired head coach Nate McMillan. Hawks general manager Landry Fields announced the decision yesterday. The Hawks are 29 and 13 and eighth in the East this season, struggling to remain in playoff contention. McMillan had a record of 99 and 80 as Atlanta's coach, including a 27 and 11 record as interim in the second half of the 2020 2021 season. Assistant Coach Joe Prunty will serve as interim coach.

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Peter Biello: Home Depot says it's giving its employees $1 billion in raises. The Atlanta based home retail giant announced the pay hikes yesterday for frontline hourly employees. The company's president and CEO says the move is needed to attract and retain workers. Home Depot has 90 stores and more than 30,000 employees in the state.

Story 8

Peter Biello: Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport reported more than 93 million passengers in 2022, and that's almost a quarter increase from the prior year but still short of 2019 record 110 million passengers. Airport officials say that they expect Hartsfield to retain its status as the world's busiest airport when an international airports group releases its numbers later this year.

Caption

Garrett Turner plays Ike Turner in the touring musical "Tina."

Credit: Matthew Murphy

Story 9

Peter Biello: Tina Turner's life story has been told in several ways, including a book, a movie, and now a musical currently running at Atlanta's Fox Theater. Tina: The Tina Turner Musical runs through this Sunday. The Tina Turner story cannot be told without including her former husband, Ike. Emory University graduate Garrett Turner — no relation — plays Ike in the musical. He's also a Marshall Scholar, among many other achievements. GPB's Leah Fleming talked with the actor about playing the role.

Leah Fleming: Hi, Garrett.

Garrett Turner: Hi, Leah. So great to be here.

Leah Fleming: So I want to talk to you about Ike as a musician. But first address the issue that quite honestly, Ike is most known for. He was abusive to Tina, and in her memoir, she talked about how he beat her with a shoe stretcher while she was pregnant, burned her with scalding coffee. He's also had a cocaine addiction. So I'm wondering, how do you, as an actor first come to terms with who this man was and what is it like to portray this man for you?

Garrett Turner: Yeah, let's talk about it. You know what? Not only in Tina's memoir did she say she beat her. But in Ike's autobiography, he said he beat her. And so it speaks to the man. You know, he he went through so much himself in his own life, you know, born into poverty in small town Mississippi. His father was essentially lynched. He Ike was sexually abused when he was young. And so he was filled with trauma. And yet throughout his life, you know, had decisions to make about the man he wanted to be. And so as an actor, that is really what I was diving into. The research of this man is like, how and why did he make the choices that he made? You know, I sometimes referred to his arc as a spiritual tragedy because in relation to the abuse that he meted out, along with like the incredible kind of commercial success that the Ike and Tina Turner Revue had, he it's not that he was incapable of knowing or understanding the harm he was bringing against other people. You know, it was just that he didn't have the will to admit to wrong that he was doing. And you can see that in interviews with him later on in his life after Tina had left him. And. Yeah, yeah. I think it's a it's a sad trajectory, but it's still like a really powerful human story to tell.

Leah Fleming: Mm hmm. So when you were thinking about all of this, I mean, did you actually want to play Ike when you first thought about all of that? Or were you thinking, Yeah, let me let me try this.

Garrett Turner: I love that question. So what happened was my my manager reached out and he was like, Yeah. Telsey casting wonders if they can see you for Ike for the first national tour of Tina. And my response was, I think I'm more of a Raymond. And so Raymond is like, Jean is boyfriend, you know, in the first act. And he's he these are much better, let's just say. Right. But then they came back and they were like, well, you know, they could see you for Raymond. But it's an ensemble role. And, you know, Ike is a lead and gets paid a lot more. And so I was like, you know, I could I could come in for Ike, you know, if that's what they're asking to see me for. Let me try it out. And then when I started the audition process, you know, I think there are a lot of. Things about the way I approach the character that just really clicked.

Leah Fleming: You know, you wrote this, and I think this kind of speaks to what you're talking about now. You you once wrote, As actors, we must traverse the full spectrum of human emotions. We must tune our instrument to channel whatever our characters encounter. But my central wavelength, my main frequency is joy. But that kind of brings me to this thinking about going into this role as I was. That is that, you know, what's that like that for you?

Garrett Turner: Yeah. Let me just say this. It is an absolute honor to play this role. And night after night, eight shows a week. And, you know, for all of his moral failings, he he learned how to play the guitar. He learn how to play the piano. He started a band with his friends, you know, and and just had the temerity to keep going. And they gained some semi fame in Saint Louis, which is when, you know, that pivotal moment he met Anna mae Bullock, who would become Tina Turner and capitalized off of his and her talent and the talent of that group to to spur them on to international fame, literally like traveling the world, playing. And anyone who has the fortitude to do that is a genius. And, you know, it's really a true slice of black history.

Leah Fleming: That is my conversation with Garret Turner. And during the conversation, at one point, Garrett talked about how he prepares each night to play such a complicated man in Ike. He has a ritual he does before the show.

Garrett Turner: Tina is Buddhist and she found that faith along her path. And it was really something that was central to her liberation. And yeah, the show sort of mentions how Ike decried that, you know, he wasn't into it. And so I decided to use something like adjacent to the faith, if you will, to ground myself before the show. So I just have this this Tibetan singing bowl that I — that I use just as a space of ritual. And for myself, prayer — said, Yeah, just to take that moment of grounding myself in myself, right? And then allowing myself to step into who Ike is.

Leah Fleming: That is Garrett Turner, an actor playing in the role of Ike Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.

Story 10

Peter Biello: Opponents of a proposed mine near the Okefenokee swamp in Southeast Georgia spoke out last night during a virtual meeting held by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: More than three dozen people urged the EPA to block Alabama-based company Twin Pines Minerals from building a titanium dioxide mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, a national wildlife refuge. Among the speakers were scientists, environmental lawyers, students and concerned citizens like Mary Gibson, who lives close to Okefenokee in St Marys.

Mary Gibson: The idea that the EPA is even considering such an application boggles my mind. It is a betrayal of their very existence to consider such an ecological disaster.

Benjamin Payne: No one in attendance spoke in favor of the proposed mine. The EPD is accepting written comment on the company's plans until March 20, and the agency will hold a final public hearing over Zoom on Thursday night. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne.

Peter Biello: And that is a wrap on today's edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for listening. We appreciate having you as a listener. We hope we can have you as a subscriber as well. Subscribing to Georgia Today is, of course, the best way to stay current on all the top stories coming out of the newsroom. So subscribe and we will be right back with you in your podcast feed tomorrow.

Now, you may have heard that former President Jimmy Carter is currently in hospice. GPB will report on the latest developments. We hope that you'll tune in on the air, check for the latest at GPB.org, and of course, we will have all that coverage right here in this podcast as well. So stay tuned for that.

If you've got feedback, we'd love to hear it. Send us an email at GeorgiaToday@gpb.org. And if you like what you hear on this podcast, please do leave a review. That helps other listeners find us. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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