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Georgia Today: Hurricane Idalia preparation; Former Trump Chief of Staff; Vince Dooley intersection
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LISTEN: On the Tuesday, Aug. 29 edition of Georgia Today: A hurricane headed for Georgia has officials and farmers preparing for heavy winds, rain, and possible flooding; former President Trump's one-time chief of staff testified in an Atlanta federal court and one of our reporters was there; and an intersection in Athens now bears the name of a Bulldog legend.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, Aug. 29. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode: There's a hurricane headed for Georgia, with officials and farmers alike preparing for heavy winds, rain and possible flooding. Former President Trump's onetime chief of staff testified in Atlanta federal court; and an intersection in Athens now bears the name of a Bulldog legend. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: More school districts in Southeast Georgia have announced closures tomorrow ahead of Hurricane Idalia. Glynn County and Valdosta City schools are among those closing. Savannah-Chatham County Schools plan virtual Learning. Meanwhile, officials on Tybee Island say they expect flooding to close the only road on and off the island tomorrow night. South and coastal Georgia counties are expected to go on hurricane watch early Wednesday as the storm brings heavy winds, rain and possible flooding. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more on how farmers should prepare ahead of the storm.
Sofi Gratas: Farms in Georgia lost billions of dollars after top crops were ravaged by Hurricane Michael in 2018. Director of the University of Georgia Weather Network Pam Knox says Tropical Storm Idalia won't be as destructive for cotton and peanuts, typically picked later in the fall, but it will cause damage.
Pam Knox: All that wind is definitely going to cause a lot of stress on the plants that could blow off leaves or the developing cotton bolls. And so the advantage is that this is happening earlier in the growing cycle, and so it's probably not going to be as bad as Michael, but it's going to have impacts for sure.
Sofi Gratas: While rainfall is welcome following abnormally dry conditions in the southwest, Knox says too much water can cause disease in peanuts, so farmers should apply fungicide before the storms roll in and limit watering in most fields. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.
Peter Biello: GPB's Grant Blankenship has more on storm preparations.
Grant Blankenship: In the population center of Valdosta in Lowndes County, officials are anticipating up to 6 inches of rain, enough to overwhelm storm drains and lead to flash flooding. But Lowndes County public information officer Meghan Barwick says the main threats are what could be hurricane force winds. She says to prepare for power outages.
Meghan Barwick: Make sure that you have your emergency supply kit that has nonperishable food items, medicines for everyone in your household for up to 3 days.
Grant Blankenship: Barwick says that means potable water too. And of course you won't be alone stocking up at the store.
Meghan Barwick: So we just encourage folks to be prepared, be patient and be kind.
Grant Blankenship: Lowndes County leaders also say if you worry your home might not make it through a hurricane, seek alternative shelter. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Former President Donald Trump's onetime chief of staff testified yesterday in an Atlanta federal court hoping to move his trial on election interference charges out of state court. GPB's Stephen Fowler was there and reports on what Mark Meadows told the court.
Stephen Fowler: Meadows is one of 19 people charged with breaking state law by aiding in a failed effort to overturn the 2020 election. Among other things, Meadows visited a Cobb County signature audit conducted by the GBI and facilitated calls between Trump and a top investigator, as well as the infamous call with the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. In testimony Monday. Meadows said those actions were part of his official duties as chief of staff and were not illegal. The DA's office disagrees, arguing they were political in nature and not protected by federal law. Now it's up to Judge Steve Jones to issue a ruling in the near future. For GPB News, I'm Stephen Fowler in downtown Atlanta.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a group of student activists in Georgia announced a policy platform that addresses their demands to the state. GPB's Sarah Kallis has more on yesterday's gathering.
Sarah Kallis: Student organizers from the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition announced their platform in front of a mural of the late congressman John Lewis. They said they are focused on increasing funding for public education, LGBTQ rights and climate change. Jordan Maddox is a student at Georgia State University. He says their organization hopes to continue the fight that Lewis and others led.
Jordan Maddox: 60 years later, there's still much to fight for every day. Young Georgians, Black, brown, LGBTQ class and working class organizing in the streets and at the ballot box against the legacy of the same harmful forces.
Sarah Kallis: They plan to presented to lawmakers over the next several months. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: Pilots at Southwest Airlines plan to picket at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and four other airports on Friday. It's their first demonstration after three years of bargaining between their union and Southwest, the last major airline without at least a tentative deal with its pilots.
Story 5:
The Savannah attorney who owned the University of Georgia's famous Bulldog mascots has died. Sonny Seiler began the tradition of bringing his dog called Uga to UGA games in 1956 when he was in school there. Five years ago, he told GPB about his family's continual line of burly English bulldogs that is now up to Uga 11.
Sonny Seiler: He goes with the team. Wherever the team goes, we go. And if the team flies, we fly, unless it's a short trip. They're all good travelers. They're all well cared for and well taught, well-trained, and we've never had any real trouble with them.
Peter Biello: Seiler also served as the lead defense attorney in a notorious 1980s case involving a young man's killing that became the hit book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In a statement, the university says Seiler died in Savannah after a short illness and is owed a debt of gratitude for the legacy that will continue. Sonny Seiler was 90 years old.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: The family of the late University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley gathered with Gov. Brian Kemp and other officials in downtown Athens yesterday morning to name an intersection after the Bulldog legend. The intersection of Broad and Lumpkin Streets now honors Dooley. His widow, Barbara, says she's grateful to be able to remember her late husband when walking around downtown Athens. Dooley guided UGA football for a quarter century, including the 1980 national championship. He died last year at the age of 90.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a state of emergency for the whole state in preparation for Hurricane Idalia. Florida Residents in low lying areas are already preparing for the arrival of the hurricane, which has a projected path that includes coastal cities like Savannah, Charleston and Myrtle Beach, S.C, and Wilmington, N.C. Southern Georgia is expected to get heavy rain on Thursday. For more on the coming storm, we turn to CNN senior meteorologist Brandon Miller. Thank you very much for speaking with me.
Brandon Miller: Thank you, Peter.
Peter Biello: So what elements are coming together to make this storm so powerful?
Brandon Miller: Well, Peter, you know, we are reaching the peak of hurricane season that happens here sort of the last week or two of August through September and into the first or second week of October. So, you know, 'tis the season, if you will, and that happens because the oceans are heating up. You know, every year this time of year. You know, the land, we tend to get our hottest land temperatures in July and August, but the ocean takes a little longer to heat up. It lags a little bit. So September and even into October, we see the hottest ocean temperatures. And that's sort of why this is peak hurricane season. So, you know, this system sort of has its origins just across Latin America. And it moved up into into the Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico. And it's taking its time, getting its act together. But now that it has, it's going to be explosively developing through the day today here on Tuesday before its ultimate landfall overnight into Wednesday morning.
Peter Biello: Mm hmm. And how does this storm compare to storms people in Florida and South Georgia may have seen in the past?
Brandon Miller: Yeah, So actually there's some uniqueness with this storm. It's, it's going to make landfall in what we call the big bend of Florida, that sort of where it bends back from peninsular Florida into the panhandle of Florida. And, you know, that is an area that gets a lot of storms, but generally not ones that are this strong, not Category 3 and above, but actually haven't seen a Category 3 or above storm in over 100 years right where this storm is going to make landfall. So for those of us in Georgia, this one will be more impactful to our state, most likely because it's going to make landfall much closer. So for that analog, we sort of think back to Hurricane Michael back in 2018, that was a Category 5 that made landfall in the Panhandle and that one wrecked much of South Georgia. It came through very hard as that storm was moving quickly and it just kind of buzzed solid through much of South Georgia. Southwestern Georgia especially took a hard hit because it just didn't have much land to go over in the panhandle before it got to Georgia. So it didn't lose much intensity.
Peter Biello: Talk to us a little bit about people's travel plans and travel possibility. This is right before Labor Day weekend. People might have had plans to head to the beach. But what's travel going to look like?
Brandon Miller: Once Thursday, once Thursday evening comes about, Idalia, which will be a tropical storm at that time, will move out to sea. And I think all the direct impacts on the state will be over at that time. So I would expect airports to be reopening. There's a lot of people who probably had back logged, backed up travel that are going to have to work their way through the system. So there will no doubt be some downstream effects. But areas where the hurricane hit, if you were headed down to Apalachicola, you're headed down to Clearwater, potentially, you know, that's something you're going to want to check before you leave and see just how hard did they get it from this storm. You should know that by Wednesday night or by Thursday, you know, before traveling into those areas, I would say.
Peter Biello: CNN senior meteorologist Brandon Miller, thank you so much for speaking with me. Really appreciate it.
Brandon Miller: No problem. Thank you, Peter. Stay safe.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: In sports, Ronald Acuña Jr. says he's okay after fending off two fans, including one who knocked him over in right field during the Braves/Rockies game in Colorado last night. One fan got his arms around Acuna during the middle of the seventh inning. Security had to pry him off. A second fan then sprinted toward the group, knocking down Acuna, and that fan was tackled as one of the security people chased him down. Acuna remained in the game, which was one of his career best. He tied career highs with four hits and five RBIs, hit his 29th home run and stole two bases to increase his major league-leading total to 61. He is one homer shy of becoming the first to hit 30 dingers and steal 60 bases in one season. The Braves won the game 14 to 4. The two teams face off again tonight.
And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit our website, GPB.org/news. If you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, now's a great time to do it. We will be back and your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon. And if you have feedback, send it our way. The best way to send it is by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.
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