Georgia Today: Nonprofit hospitals' big tax breaks; Delta loses millions; Atlanta mourns loss

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, April 13. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a study finds some nonprofit Georgia hospitals spend less on their community than they receive in tax breaks. Delta Air Lines loses millions in the first quarter, but is optimistic about what's to come. And Atlanta is mourning the loss of the first Black woman to serve on the Atlanta City Council. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1

Peter Biello: Sen. Raphael Warnock visited a University of Georgia research farm in Watkinsville today to discuss precision agriculture and what should be included in the upcoming farm bill. GPB's Stephen Fowler reports on the visit.

Stephen Fowler: Congress reauthorizes a new farm bill every five years. It contains legislation and funding for everything from crop insurance and forestry to sustainability and nutrition. Visiting UGA's Iron Horse Farm Facility, Sen. Warnock saw firsthand demonstrations of how improved technology can lower costs and limit wasted resources, including fertilizer and water.

Raphael Warnock: I heard from these farmers again today is that it's important that these different technologies, whether it's drones or robotics or monitors, that they be able to talk to one another.

Stephen Fowler: Warnock is a co-sponsor of the Promoting Precision Agriculture Act, which he hopes is included in this year's bill. It would pave the way for government standards around connectivity that would allow these new tech-infused tools to work seamlessly with existing technology. For GPB News, I'm Stephen Fowler in Watkinsville.

Story 2

Peter Biello: A recent study analyzing 2020 tax filings for more than 1,000 nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. found many in Georgia spent less on their community than they received in tax breaks. GPB's Sofi Gratas has details.

Sofi Gratas: Nonprofit hospitals are exempt from taxes because they agree to provide community services and take on costs for those who can't afford care. The analysis from the Lown Institute found 34 Georgia hospitals, mostly larger health care systems, received a total of $282 million in tax breaks — more than they spent on those services. President of the Lown Institute, Vikas Saini, says some nonprofit hospitals have become too focused on revenue.

Vikas Saini: These are the largest tax exempt organizations in the country, right? Of all nonprofits, they're really a different category. And so I think we need different solutions.

Sofi Gratas: 32 other Georgia hospitals reported spending more on community benefits than they received in tax breaks. Georgia does not set spending requirements for nonprofit hospitals. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Caption

Carolyn Long Banks, in an undated photo, served as the first Black woman on the Atlanta City Council.

Credit: GPB/File

Story 3

Peter Biello: Carolyn Long Banks, the first Black woman to serve on the Atlanta City Council, passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Banks was elected to the council in 1980. She also was an acclaimed civil rights activist and political leader. In the 1970s, then-Gov. Jimmy Carter appointed her to the Commission on Women. She also served as president of the National League of Cities and joined President Bill Clinton at the White House to sign his first piece of legislation, the Family Medical Leave Act. City Council members Michael Julian Bond and Andrea Boone released a statement last night saying Banks was a true trailblazer and will be remembered as a catalyst for change in the city and across the nation.

Story 4

Peter Biello: The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate inched down for the fifth straight week, which is positive news for potential home buyers and a real estate market that's been chilled by the Federal Reserve's series of interest rate hikes the past year. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported today that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate ticked down to 6.27% from 6.28% the previous week. The average rate last year at this time was 5%. The real estate website Redfin reports that the median sale price of a home in metro Atlanta is about where it was at this time last year and has held steady for several weeks.

Story 5

Peter Biello: Delta Air Lines reported a $363 million loss for the first quarter today, but says higher spending on labor and fuel overshadowed a sharp rise in revenue. But the airline predicted it will make a bigger than expected profit in the current second quarter, which includes the start of the key summer travel season. Airlines are getting a tailwind from the combination of strong demand and limited flights, which has pushed fares higher. Delta CEO Ed Bastian and other airline executives have been saying for months that travel demand shows no signs of weakening despite high inflation, layoffs in the tech industry, the failures of a couple of banks and uncertainty about the economy.

Story 6

Peter Biello: Wild Animal Safari theme park in Pine Mountain is scheduled to reopen the park's three and a half mile drive thru safari tomorrow. It closed after severe weather, including flooding and multiple tornadoes, caused extensive damage. More than 3,000 trees were uprooted and numerous buildings and habitats were destroyed at the park, located about 40 miles north of Columbus. Two tigers briefly escaped their enclosures before being safely recaptured by park employees. The park celebrated its 30th anniversary last year and is planning to add four new exhibits this year.

Story 7

Peter Biello: The DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously rejected an appeal for a land disturbance permit yesterday that would allow for the construction of a new public safety training center that opponents call "Cop City." Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens issued a statement after the decision saying, quote, "Every part of this project has been scrutinized and has been found to be fully compliant with the law and all environmental protection requirements." Activists, however, still have concerns about the project and what it will do to the environment, and they say they'll continue to protest. For more on this recent challenge to the controversial project, we turn to GPB's Amanda Andrews. Hi, Amanda.

Amanda Andrews: Hey, Peter. How are you?

Peter Biello: Good, good. So what was the DeKalb board supposed to decide and how did they decide it?

Amanda Andrews: DeKalb County had issued this land disturbance permit to the Atlanta Police Foundation back in February, and residents decided to appeal it basically immediately. And what the board was hearing was that appeal from a few months ago. And the residents are saying that this project would basically pollute the river. It would put too much sediment in the water and violate Georgia's water quality laws put forth by the Georgia Environmental Protection Department.

Peter Biello: And put this into context for us. Why is this decision important?

Amanda Andrews: So this decision, this permit, is what allows the project to begin at all. The Atlanta Police Foundation had to file a series of permits saying how they were going to prevent sediment from getting into the water, what waste management strategies they had. And now that this appeal has been rejected, construction can move forward. Environmental groups were trying to get this land disturbance permit overturned to protect the South River forest and specifically Entrenchment Creek and the South River. The Georgia EPD has already said that this is an endangered river, and so this project is going to put more sediment in there, potentially threatening the wildlife in the water. So that's what the environmental groups were trying to prevent. And now that this permit has been upheld, they're going to have to take some other routes to see that happen.

Peter Biello: Okay. And with respect to the opposition to this controversial project, there are a couple different tracks that groups have been taking. One is an environmental one like this particular challenge, and there's also the abolitionists. Can you tell us about those two?

Amanda Andrews: Yes. So the environmental groups are really largely focused on making sure that this South River is protected. They're not really focused on the policing aspect so much as the environmental aspect. They really want to protect the water. They want to protect the trees. And if the Police Foundation could move this training facility elsewhere, they would be OK with that, whereas the abolitionist groups are focused on preventing this project from happening altogether. You know, they see this police training center as a further militarization of the police and an immediate threat to the Black communities who live nearby.

Peter Biello: So what were activists saying after this decision? Did you talk to any?

Amanda Andrews: Yes. So I spoke to Kamau Franklin. He's the leader of Community Movement Builders, a grassroots organization here in Atlanta. And they're saying that, you know, they have a lot more legal actions, that they have planned, a lot more plans for protests to push back against politicians and to put pressure to stop this project from happening, You know, even as far out as protesting to prevent World Cup games from coming to Atlanta, which is something that Mayor Dickens is already preparing for with the revitalization of downtown. So abolitionists have a lot planned out into the future.

Peter Biello: One more thing before you go, Amanda, and that's a question about the task force that's meeting next week. There was one task force, and now there is another with respect to this project. What can you tell us about this new one? Who's in it and what they're going to be looking at next week?

Amanda Andrews: Yes. So this new task force is actually meant to work in conjunction with the previous task force; it's made up of about 40 people from various environmental groups, residents, things of that nature. And they're meant to — the only thing that's really different from the previous group is that they will have input on what kind of training the police receive at this new center. But again, this new group doesn't have the ability to veto the project, but they will be commenting on what kind of training the police receive and making minor changes to the facility as a whole.

Peter Biello: Which sounds a lot like the first group. That one couldn't be this project either.

Amanda Andrews: Yes, so they are very similar, but this is a larger group that's meant to supplement the first group and and kind of address people's concerns that there hasn't been enough public input.

Peter Biello: GPB's Amanda Andrews, reporting on how the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously rejected an appeal for a land disturbance permit yesterday that would allow for the construction of a new public safety training center that opponents are calling "Cop City." You can find all of our coverage on this at GPB.org. Amanda, thank you so much.

Amanda Andrews: Thanks for having me.

Story 8

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Braves have the day off today before heading to Kansas City tomorrow to face the Royals. This comes after the sweep of the three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds was completed last night with a 5 to 4 win. Eddie Rosario homered for the first time this season in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a tie and give the Braves the edge. Starting pitcher Spencer Strider had a rough start, giving up three runs over five innings. Braves manager Brian Snitker says Strider is still learning.

Brian Snitker: And he hasn't experienced a whole lot, yet. But just to see how he corrected things was very, very, I think, very encouraging.

Peter Biello: Though he didn't get the win, Strider extended his streak of consecutive outings with nine or more strikeouts to seven. That's going back to September of last year. Yesterday's win came on the 57th anniversary of the Braves' first game in Atlanta after moving from Milwaukee in 1966.

That's all we've got for today's edition of Georgia Today. But we do appreciate you tuning in. Thanks very much for being there. Hope you'll join us tomorrow as well. Remember to subscribe to this podcast so we're always there in your podcast feed. And if you've got some feedback or maybe a story idea, something you'd like us to cover, we are always happy to hear what you have to say. Send us an email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. If you like this podcast, leave a review; that'll help other folks find it. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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