Georgia Today: 'Cop City' referendum update; Support for fired Cobb County teacher; Hurricane prep kits

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, July 27. I'm Orlando Montoya. On today's episode, a federal judge rules in favor of Atlanta organizers gathering signatures to force a vote on the controversial police and firefighter training center. Community members are rallying in support of a Cobb County teacher facing termination over a book she read to her students. And some vulnerable residents along Georgia's coast will be getting hurricane preparation kits. Those stories and more coming up on today's edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: A federal judge has handed a big win for Atlanta organizers who are trying to gather more than 70,000 signatures to force a vote on a police and firefighter training center that they oppose. The judge ruled that the city had imposed an illegal requirement that those collecting signatures have to be residents of Atlanta. He extended the deadline for organizers to gather signatures from mid-August to late September.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: Some parents, teachers and bookstores are planning events this weekend to support an elementary school teacher in metro Atlanta's Cobb County. The teacher, Katie Rinderle, is believed to be the first to face termination under a state law passed last year, targeting so-called divisive concepts in the classroom. She ran her fifth grade students the book My Shadow is Purple by Scott Stewart, which deals with a child who doesn't see his shadow as blue for boy or pink for a girl, but purple as both. University of Georgia teaching professor Stephanie Jones is among the organizers of an event encouraging the book to be read aloud this weekend.

Prof. Stephanie Jones (reading from the book): "I dance with the pinks as they turn and they spin and play sport with the blues as they lose and they win. Some of my friends think I'm simply confused. But the thing I love most is not having to choose. Some telling me I'm blue; only blue can be strong. But my mom is strong too, so I think they're wrong. Some tell me I'm pink because pink's the most caring. But Dad's always crying and loving and sharing."

Orlando Montoya: Jones says at least 80 people have registered to host events across the state tomorrow and Saturday. Among those participating are the Georgia Association of Educators, the Southern Poverty Law Center and bookstores, including Charis Books in Decatur. Jones says she doesn't understand why the book is inappropriate.

Prof. Stephanie Jones: What Scott Stewart is doing in such a beautiful, lovely way is telling us all that none of us stand or live in boxes.

Orlando Montoya: Rinderle will face a termination hearing in August after at least one parent complained to school administrators about the book being read to the class.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: Georgia prison officials have selected a contractor to build a new state-of-the-art prison. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more.

Grant Blankenship: The company, called Balfour-Beatty, won the $320 million contract to build a new 3,000-bed prison for the Georgia Department of Corrections. The entire campus is planned to take up around 100 acres and include nearly everything it needs for self-sufficiency: utility infrastructure, essential plant, medical facilities, kitchen and ample space for educational and vocational programing. The Georgia Department of Corrections is currently conducting an in-house needs assessment, which will drive the further design. Two challenges they face are the continued loss of GDC prison guards and building the facility to address near-saturation of contraband smartphones, which the GDC says lead to disorder, crime and violence inside prisons. Where the prison will be is still unknown. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: DNA analysis has helped scientists identified the remains of a U.S. Army soldier from Georgia who was killed during the Korean War. U.S. officials announced yesterday that Army Sgt. First Class James L. Wilkinson of Bowden, Ga., was identified late last year. Scientists used mitochondrial DNA, along with a chest X-ray and other tools to examine previously unidentified remains. Wilkinson was 19 when he went missing in September 1950. He was presumed dead, but his body could not be immediately recovered. The Army began recovering remains from the area in 1951. Wilkinson will be buried on Sept. 16 in Barrow County.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: Metro Atlanta's Cobb County has debuted an autonomous shuttle that takes people around one of its business districts. The Cumberland District has partnered with the shuttle service Beep to provide a driverless vehicle that connects key destinations Cobb Galleria and The Battery. The free shuttles will run during an eight-month trial period.

Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: Coca-Cola yesterday reported second quarter earnings of $2.55 billion. The Atlanta-based company said it had a profit of $0.59 per share. Earnings adjusted for non-recurring costs were $0.78 per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations.

Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: As this year's hurricane season continues, some of Coastal Georgia's most vulnerable residents will be getting hurricane preparedness kits. GPB's Devon Zwald reports a nonprofit is handing them out in Savannah and Brunswick.

Devon Zwald: The kits come in a 5-gallon orange bucket and include nonperishable foods, first aid kits and information on how to access disaster resources. The Partnership for Southern Equity partnered with local organizations to assemble 500 of them. Domonique Mack is with the partnership. She says the kits are designed to have essential goods ready to go when a hurricane strikes.

Domonique Mack: No one has to search all over town to try to find the items that they need in order to get themselves ready for a disaster when it hits. It's that it'll all be in one central location.

Devon Zwald: 250 of the kits will be handed out at the Savannah Chatham Economic Opportunity Authority tomorrow from 10 a.m. to noon. For GPB News, I'm Devon Zwald.

Caption

This June 23, 2015 file photo shows a carving depicting Confederate Civil War figures Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Credit: AP Photo/John Bazemore

Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: Civil rights groups are criticizing a concert series with Black performers to be held at Georgia's Stone Mountain Park. The Atlanta NAACP president says the event this weekend, called Soul Fest, is a way to sanitize the message sent by the mountain's giant carving of Confederate leaders.

Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: The Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students is in its 11th year hosting the Atlanta Mayor's Summer Reading Club. This summer's institutions in the city of Atlanta are hosting book club reads aimed at promoting literacy skills and vocabulary enrichment in children 5 years and younger. At an event held last week at Georgia Public Broadcasting, former Atlanta Dream player Kia Vaughn read this year's book selections The Curious Cardinal and Little Blue Truck Leads The Way to a group of children and families.

Kia Vaughn: I think kids are amazing and, you know, we all know that they're the future. So just instilling is like confidence. To be able to read is actually bonding time with whomever wants to read with them. But it's good motor skills. It's — it's a good thing to have.

Orlando Montoya: Vaughn said it felt great to connect with the kids while reading to them. The Mayor's Summer Reading Club continues through the end of July. And for more events in the program, visit our website: GPB.org/news.

Story 10:

Orlando Montoya: Northwest Georgia's Berry College has been named among the most beautiful college campuses in the nation. Travel and Leisure magazine ranked the college on its annual list next to Stanford University in California and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The magazine noted Berry's status as the world's largest contiguous college campus, with more than 27,000 acres of fields, lakes, forests and mountains.

And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. For more Georgia news, visit our website, GPB.org/news. That's where you'll find a constantly updating stream of stories from our reporters across Georgia. Always keep up with the latest there. You can send us feedback to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. We love to hear what you have to say and take your suggestions for stories as well. And as always, hit subscribe on this podcast, it really does help us out. So you always stay current with us in your feed. And I'm Orlando Montoya. It's been a pleasure hosting all this week for Peter Biello. He'll be back next week. So I'll see you one more day tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in.

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