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Georgia Today: Chattahoochee River closure; Macon rallies for Jewish community; Lemonade stands
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On the Monday, July 3 edition of Georgia Today: State officials are extending a partial closure of the Chattahoochee River; Over a thousand people turn out to show their support for Macon's Jewish community following neo-Nazi rallies in the city; And thanks to two Atlanta siblings, you can now buy lemonade legally on private property in Georgia.
Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, July 3. I'm Orlando Montoya. On today's episode, state officials are extending a partial closure of the Chattahoochee River. Over a thousand people turn out to show their support for Macon's Jewish community following neo-Nazi rallies in the city less than two weeks ago. And thanks to two Atlanta siblings, you now can buy lemonade legally on private property in Georgia. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Orlando Montoya: Fulton County officials are blaming a sewage treatment plant malfunction for a spill that closed an 11-mile stretch of the Chattahoochee River in metro Atlanta over the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend. Chattahoochee River keeper Jason Ulseth says plant operators were unaware of the malfunction until his organization noticed untreated wastewater going into the river on Thursday.
Jason Ulseth: Samples were collected this morning at four locations downstream of the spill site, and we will have those results available tomorrow morning, which would tell us if we're able to have the river opened up for the Fourth or not.
Orlando Montoya: The unspecified malfunction occurred at the Big Creek water reclamation plant near Roswell and closed the river downstream to Peachtree Creek. That's a popular stretch, normally filled with loads of recreational users on hot summer days. Ulseth says he's worried that once the river reopens, people will avoid it.
Jason Ulseth: I do get concerned that people will develop a stigma that the river's this polluted cesspool and you shouldn't touch it. But that's just simply not the case. Generally, the water quality in metro Atlanta and the Chattahoochee River is very good, except for following heavy rains and in emergency situations like this particular spill.
Orlando Montoya: Fulton County has installed a disinfection system to help kill some of the sewage as harmful E. coli bacteria and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was expected to increase flows from Buford Dam to dilute the sewage.
Story 2:
Orlando Montoya: More than 2,000 people filled a Methodist church in Macon yesterday to show their support for the city's Jewish community. The service came in the wake of a neo-Nazi rally held less than two weeks ago in front of the city's Temple Beth Israel. The event had to be moved from the synagogue after the numbers expected to attend grew. Jamie Kaplan's family has attended the temple for several generations. She says the outpouring of love from the community has far exceeded the recent antisemitic events.
Jamie Kaplan: It did happen. It was awful hate, but it's been erased a thousandfold by how this community has embraced the Jewish community.
Orlando Montoya: Many politicians attended the gathering, including U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Macon's U.S. House Rep. Sanford Bishop.
Story 3:
Orlando Montoya: A residential treatment facility for children with serious emotional and behavioral challenges is expanding in Douglasville, west of Atlanta. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports.
Ellen Eldridge: Youth Villages is adding new educational, wellness and administrative buildings to its Inner Harbor campus. The project also adds five cottages with 28 beds for young people needing inpatient therapeutic services. Tanya Anderson is the executive director of the facility. She says the goal is redefining mental health services in a residential setting.
Tanya Anderson: So really make it a healing space while these children are away from their families. And so this is years to come. What we are doing now will impact hundreds of kids in the years to come, and we're just super excited about that.
Ellen Eldridge: The Douglasville campus currently has 128 beds for children between the ages of 6 and 17. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 4:
Orlando Montoya: Georgia has one of the fastest-growing rates of maternal mortality in the nation. That's according to a report published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The number of white and Hispanic mothers who died within a year of giving birth more than doubled over the past two decades. Rates among Black mothers have long far exceeded those of other groups, a problem that affects women regardless of socioeconomic backgrounds.
Story 5:
Orlando Montoya: The Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia says the organization is opposed to a proposal to build a rock quarry near a park in the town of LaSalle that the Girl Scouts frequently use. In a statement, the Girl Scouts organization says its members are concerned that the rock quarry planned just 2 miles from camp Martha Johnson, just west of Macon, would pose a threat to the health and safety of residents of Crawford County, as well as the Girl Scouts from around the state who visit. They say rock quarries generate harmful dust and contribute to air and water pollution. WMAZ reports a representative for the development company behind the quarry, Cottondale, says the dust particles produced by the quarry won't be a problem. Cottondale did not respond to GPB's request for comment by deadline. County commissioners are scheduled to make a final decision on the quarry on July 18.
Story 7:
Orlando Montoya: The automotive sector has overtaken logistics and parcel delivery as the top driver of industrial leasing in metro Atlanta. That's according to a June analysis by commercial real estate services company JLL. So far this year, the automotive sector represents about a third of all industrial leases in the region. JLL broker and executive Managing Director Reed Davis says three years ago it wasn't even a top 10 industry.
Reed Davis: Georgia has intentionally kind of positioned itself to be the hub of these electric mobility industry, and there are some incentives around that as well from the state perspective. And there's just a lot of companies that are wanting to come in.
Orlando Montoya: The numbers are the latest indication of how broadly and swiftly Georgia's massive new electric vehicle and battery plants are impacting the state's economy. The analysis also showed a bump in the energy and utility sector and a decline in e-commerce.
Story 8:
Orlando Montoya: If you see kids with lemonade stands offering cool drinks on these hot Georgia days, you can thank two Atlanta siblings. GPB Donna Lowry tells us they pushed for a new law that makes it legal for kids to sell lemonade on private property.
Donna Lowry: A few months ago at the state Capitol, 9-year-old Jack Genauer told state House lawmakers why he liked having a lemonade stand outside his home.
Jack Genauer: My favorite parts of running the business were doing taste testing and making the packets of lemonade to sell.
Donna Lowry: But his business, Lemonade In The Shade, founded with his 12-year-old sister, Temima, didn't last long. They learned they needed a business license and safe boot handling certifications, Temima told state senators that didn't seem fair.
Temima Genauer: Kids should be able to run a lemonade stand without worrying about being shut down.
Donna Lowry: Fortunately, their state senator, Elena Parent of Atlanta, helped them create the Georgia Lemonade Act. It became law on July 1. Now the siblings look forward to the hot weather, bringing them thirsty customers. Donna Lowry for GPB News.
Story 9:
Orlando Montoya: The Atlanta Braves begin a three-game series against the Guardians in Cleveland today, riding an eight-game winning streak. The Braves beat the Miami Marlins yesterday 6 to 3 to complete the three-game sweep. Orlando Arcia, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson launched homers and pitcher Spencer Strider threw 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits. Strider says the team hopes to carry its momentum into the second half of the season.
Spencer Strider: It's just a testament to the guys in here, just to — just how easy it is to pitch with them behind me so I don't have to be perfect. I just have to go out there, get as many as I can and limit damage and they're going to come alive at some point. And they always have so far.
Story 10:
Orlando Montoya: And the Braves will have a franchise-record eight players headed to the All-Star Game in Seattle next week. Major League Baseball yesterday announced the results of the last part of the selection process in which players, coaches and managers vote on which of their peers should go as pitchers and reserves. Pitchers Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder and infielders Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies all got the nod. Manager Brian Snitker says he loves getting to tell players they've been selected to go.
Brian Snitker: Tell those guys. You know, when I went in with that big stack of invitations that they have and told them, that I was pretty special. I mean, it was that was really, really probably the best one I've ever been a part of today.
Orlando Montoya: Three Braves players had already made the starting roster based on fan votes: Sean Murphy, Orlando Arcia and Ronald Acuña Jr.
Orlando Montoya: And that's it for this pre-Independence Day edition of Georgia Today. As always, you can find many of these stories and much more Georgia news at our website GPB.org/news. Stay current with us in your feed by mashing the subscribe button. That way you never miss a thing. Send us your feedback to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. And finally, have a great Independence Day. Enjoy the holiday, stay safe, have fun and I'll talk to you next time.
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For more on these stories and more go to GPB.org/news.
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