Georgia Today: Georgia judge rejects Trump; Georgia Milestones student test; Craft brewery expansion

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, July 31. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, the state judge denies a request from former President Donald Trump. Statewide student assessments show some improvement, but COVID learning loss still lingers in Georgia. Craft breweries expand following a law change. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: A judge has denied former President Donald Trump's request to quash an investigation into possible criminal interference in Georgia's 2020 election. GPB Sarah Kallis has more on Judge Robert McBurney ruling.

Sarah Kallis: McBurney said that Trump and a, quote, "alternate elector" who signed on to the complaint do not have legal grounds for this challenge and that there is no reason to disqualify Willis. Trump's request was a long-shot effort to avoid prosecution in Fulton County for his efforts to change the results of Georgia's 2020 presidential election. McBurney also dismissed a request to prevent the special grand jury report from being used as evidence and sealed from the public. A similar motion to disqualify Willis is set to be heard by another judge on Aug. 10. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: The first of two new reactors at Georgia's Plant Vogtle has entered commercial operation. Georgia Power announced this morning that Unit 3 at the plant southeast of Augusta completed testing and is now sending power to the grid reliably. It's the first American reactor built from scratch in decades. Unit 3 enters commercial operation after years of delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns at its full output of 1,100 megawatts of electricity. Unit 3 is expected to power half a million homes and businesses.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Georgia gas prices jumped an average of 19 cents per gallon over the past week. Auto Club AAA says today's average price for regular unleaded in the state is now $3.55. That's still 23 cents less than it was this time last year. AAA says the price rise is tied to oil refineries adjusting their production because of soaring temperatures.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: A group of black gun owners held what they called a historic first-ever convention in Atlanta over the weekend. GPB's Donna Lowry has more from the National Association of African-American Gun Owners, or NAAGA.

Donna Lowry: When the COVID-19 pandemic fueled a rise in firearm sales, the National Library of Medicine found Black Americans among the fastest-growing gun owners. Membership in NAAGA has skyrocketed to 50,000 since its founding in 2015. Executive Vice President Douglas Jefferson says Black Americans are buying guns for the same reasons as anyone else: mostly personal safety and that perceptions about who owns guns are also changing.

Douglas Jefferson: The majority of African-American gun owners are good, upstanding citizens. They're not criminals. They're not doing things illegal or immoral when it comes to firearms.

Donna Lowry: NAAGA's inaugural convention attracted over 1,500 people from across the nation. Donna Lowry for GPB News.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: State health officials say a Georgia resident has died from a rare brain infection commonly known as the brain eating amoeba. The unidentified victim was infected with Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that destroys brain tissue. Officials said the victim was likely infected while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond, but did not say which one. Infections usually occur through the nose. Infections do not occur by swallowing the water, and it is not contagious. Because the amoeba is very common, there is no routine test for it and it can't be controlled. Swimmers can reduce their risk of infection by limiting the amount of water that goes up their nose. The CDC recommends not jumping or diving into freshwater and holding your nose shut and keeping your head above water.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Ten children were taken to a hospital for heat-related injuries while at a back to school festival in Savannah yesterday. The event, featuring Savannah rapper and basketball star Flau'jae Johnson, was scheduled for an outdoor park at 3 p.m. on a day when heat index values topped 100 degrees. Emergency responders started receiving phone calls around 4:00 and quickly dispatched nine EMS units to the scene. The event was abruptly canceled. Of the children taken to the hospital, all were discharged within hours.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Scores in Georgia's end-of-the-year high stakes testing showed some progress in at least one key area for the state's schools. As GPB's Grant Blankenship reports, the results also show some challenges in other areas.

Grant Blankenship: How well a child reads by the third grade is widely considered a key predictor for their future. The just released 2023 Georgia Milestones test scores show 2% more of the state's third graders are reading at or above grade level compared to 2022. But that recovery is still just a fraction of the learning loss seen during the COVID pandemic, and the gains are not shared evenly across the state. Literacy rebounded by over 9 percentage points compared to last year in the West Georgia region, running from Columbus to Cordele. That follows a massive pandemic slide there. But in the rural Oconee River region, midway between Augusta and Macon, with some of the most impoverished communities in the state, third-grade reading proficiency is still dropping. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

Story ​​​​​​​8:

Peter Biello: Senators approved legislation last week that would provide upgrades to Georgia military facilities. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 would provide funding to Fort Gordon, southwest of Augusta, for a new child development center. It also authorizes the construction of new classrooms at Fort Gordon Cyber Center of Excellence. The bill also extends the authorization required to complete a new forensic lab at the Fort Gillem enclave southeast of Atlanta. The bipartisan bill includes a 5.2% pay increase for service members, a larger increase than last year's 4.6% raise. The bill now heads to the president.

Story ​​​​​​​9:

Peter Biello: While Georgia Economic development officials are touting big wins, including Hyundai and Qcells, some are also asking a big question: Where are all the new workers going to come from? GPB's Ambria Burton reports on a meeting last week in Savannah of the Georgia Senate Study Committee on expanding Georgia's workforce.

Ambria Burton: Business representatives told lawmakers about their efforts to expand and improve the local workforce. They said some of their successful methods could be applied statewide. But Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Bert Brantley says while the region grows economically, worries still remain about finding enough qualified people.

Bert Brantley: We've got an incredible manufacturing sector that has been very strong here for a number of years but is about to even be stronger and play a even more important role in our economy. All that's very exciting and there are a lot of folks here that are looking forward to that. But they're also concerned about what's going to happen from a workforce standpoint.

Ambria Burton: Current efforts by local companies include workforce studies, pathway programs for students, crew readiness programs and more. For GPB News, I'm Ambria Burton.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: Georgia's small beer brewers say they have a lot more growing to do six years after a new law allowed them for the first time to sell their product directly to consumers. GPB's Orlando Montoya reports.

Orlando Montoya: Since the 2017 law went into effect, the number of Georgia craft breweries has nearly doubled to 171. But Joseph Cortes of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild says the state still sits in the bottom 10 states for breweries per capita. He says the law kept in place what he calls restrictive measures aimed at protecting beer distributors.

Josesph Cortes: It said to these small businesses, we're going to give you a small kernel of something that you can use to open your business and survive, but not thrive, not truly thrive as an industry.

Orlando Montoya: He wants state lawmakers to increase the amount of beer breweries can sell directly to consumers and allow direct sales to stores without going through distributors. The guild is planning media, phone brewery, canvassing and other campaigns over the next few months to push legislation ahead of next year's General Assembly. For GPB News, I'm Orlando Montoya.

Story ​​​​​​​11:

Peter Biello: In sports, the Braves take on the Los Angeles Angels this evening at home in Truist Park. It's the first of a three-game series. The Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8 to 6 yesterday to complete the three-game series sweep. Michael Harris II goes into tonight's game with a 12-game hitting streak. It is currently the longest active such streak in the majors. Manager Brian Snitker praised his team for showing resilience during yesterday's game as the Braves fell behind and then caught up again.

Brian Snitker: I say that nothing fazes them. And you know, they just started, you know, every day a new inning — we put a bad inning behind us and you know, win the next one. You know, it's nice to be a good club like this.

Peter Biello: How good? Well, the Braves entered this series with the best record in baseball, 67 and 36, while the Angels are third in the American League West. Superstar Angels pitcher and hitter Shohei Ohtani is currently not scheduled to start on the mound for any of the games against the Braves this week.

Peter Biello:And that is it for today's edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. It's great to be back with you after a week off. Thanks to Orlando Montoya for hosting the podcast. Remember, for more on these stories and four other stories that have broken since we've dropped this podcast in your feed, check out GPB.org/news. We've always got new stuff posted there, and subscribing to this podcast is a good idea too. We've got a lot of news coming your way this week. If you've got feedback, we would love to hear from you. Email us. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. We like story ideas too; let us know what's going on in your community. Again, that email 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