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Georgia Today: Georgia Power energy negotiations; New BioLab report; Non-opioid painkiller approved
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On the Tuesday, May 27 edition of Georgia Today: Georgia Power pushes more fossil fuel use to accommodate data center growth; Investigators highlight the "disturbing" ways BioLab was storing dangerous chemicals; And a new painkiller could help patients avoid addiction to opioids.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Georgia Power pushes more fossil fuel use to accommodate data center growth. Investigators highlight the "disturbing" ways BioLab was storing dangerous chemicals, and a new painkiller could help patients avoid addiction to opioids.
Dr. Jessica McCoun: So there's no habit-forming potential. This actually gets to the root cause of the pain versus just decreasing what your body is feeling of the pain.
Peter Biello: Today is Tuesday, May 27. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: State-mandated negotiations over how Georgia Power will generate electricity over the next decade have begun, GPB's Grant Blankenship explains.
Grant Blankenship: Georgia Power expects 25% more energy demand by 2030 as compared to the last integrated resource plan approved by Georgia's Public Service Commission. That's due to data centers and cryptocurrency mines. The utility proposes to power those in part by postponing the end of coal generation and adding new fossil gas power plants. But expert testimony from the Public Service Commissions staff said the predictions are exaggerated, leading to this exchange between attorney for Georgia Power, Brandon Marzo, and PSC staff expert, Karan Pol.
Karan Pol: If your recommendation is adopted and the company doesn't have capacity enough to reliably serve load, you are all but assuring an economic slowdown for Georgia, is that correct?
Brandon Marzo: That seems speculative.
Grant Blankenship: The hearings also coincide with the start of voting in two public service commission seats. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Federal investigators are calling last year's chemical fire at BioLab in Conyers quote "disturbing" as new details from the investigation emerge. GPB's Pamela Kirkland reports.
Pamela Kirkland: In its second update, released Friday, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board says BioLab was storing nearly 14 million pounds of reactive chemicals, more than double what the company originally planned for the facility. Almost 3 million pounds were stored outside designated areas. The report also notes that a firewall failed, allowing the fire to spread through more of the warehouse. The CSB says it found corrosion on a sprinkler pipe near where the fire likely began. The exact cause is still under investigation. Earlier this month, BioLab announced it would not resume manufacturing in Conyers, though it will continue to operate as a distribution site. The company has not responded to a request for comment. For GPB News, I'm Pamela Kirkland.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute says the big budget bill passed in the U.S. House last week will force Georgia either to pick up the tab for Medicaid cuts or make hard choices about who and what Medicaid covers. The group's analysis, published today, says the federal budget package now being negotiated with the U S. Senate threatens financially strained hospitals, especially in rural Georgia. The Institute also addressed the bill's impact on food insecurity in the state.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: The police officer who arrested a Northwest Georgia college student whose immigration-related detention sparked outrage this month has resigned. In his resignation letter posted to social media, Leslie O'Neal accuses the Dalton Police Department of not adequately defending him. O'Neal pulled over Ximena Arias-Cristobal for a traffic violation by mistake. That encounter led the 19-year-old to spend more than two weeks in a federal detention center.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: A new painkiller could offer patients a way to avoid potentially lethal addiction to opioids. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.
Ellen Eldridge: The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug called Journavx, which blocks pain signals from getting to the brain. When someone experiences pain, the signal travels from the peripheral nervous system to the brain for processing. Opioids manage pain by blocking pain receptors. Dr. Jessica McCoun worked on the drug's clinical trial. She says Journavx works on nerves outside the brain.
Dr. Jessica McCoun: So there's no habit-forming potential. So this actually gets to the root cause of the pain and stops the potentiation there versus just decreasing what your body is feeling of the pain.
Ellen Eldridge: McCoun says this is a breakthrough for pain related to accidents, surgeries or other acute injuries. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: Two service members were inducted yesterday into the Fallen Heroes Memorial in Gwinnett. U.S. Army National Guard Spc. Travis Jordan-Pameni died last July in a non-combat-related incident in Baghdad, and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O'Hara died in a helicopter crash during a training mission near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January. Their names were inscribed in the monument that stands on the grounds of the Gwennett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: Hundreds of people gathered in Conyers, east of Atlanta, over the weekend to remember George Floyd on the anniversary of his death. DeKalb County pastor Jamal Bryant led a prayer vigil in front of a Target store. Bryant has campaigned against Target since the company rolled back its diversity programs in January. The company defends its commitment to a welcoming environment. The gathering was among many across the globe remembering the 2020 police killing of Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man whose last words "I can't breathe" became a rallying cry.
Story 8:
Peter Biello: A new study suggests pregnant women face higher risks of complications if they're exposed to heat waves. Dr. Lyndsey Darrow is an epidemiologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the lead author of the study on heat waves and preterm labor. She says extreme heat is more likely to affect pregnant women who are older, poorer, or who live in urban centers.
Dr. Lyndsey Darrow: More and more people are being affected by these types of events. So we're going to have to continue to invest and try to mitigate the effects of these exposures.
Peter Biello: She notes that as climate changes, more severe heat events could make the problem worse.
Story 9:
Peter Biello: To help swimmers pick safe spots to take a dip, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper says it's going to publish weekly water quality reports throughout the summer. The riverkeeper says every Thursday they will collect and analyze water samples for E. coli bacteria. They'll then report what they find on maps on the SwimGuide.org as well as Facebook and Instagram. The maps will include swimming spots throughout Lake Lanier, metro Atlanta, West Point Lake and Columbus. Green checkmarks will indicate a low risk of E. coli and red X's will indicate high risk of E. coli contamination.
Story 10:
Peter Biello: South Georgia's Crisp County is warning residents of an imposter scam. The Sheriff's Office says scammers are pretending to be employees of the Crisp County Sheriff's Office using real employee names pulled from their website. Imposter scams can occur over their phone, email, text or social media. The sheriff's office says their office will not ask residents to pay a fine of any kind over the phone.
Story 11:
Peter Biello: Georgia taxpayers can expect rebates from a tax relief package signed into law this year to start dropping into accounts starting next week. The State Department of Revenue says the first batch of refunds will be deposited early next week for timely filers. House Bill 112 passed unanimously and gives one-time rebates of between $250 and $500 depending on filing status. It was made possible by the state having a $16 billion budget surplus.
Story 12:
Peter Biello: In sports, days after the Braves released shortstop Orlando Arcia, the former All-Star's reportedly finalizing a deal to join the Colorado Rockies. MLB.com reports the team has not confirmed the news. The Braves release Arcia after he was designated for assignment to make room for right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who was returning from nearly a year away, as he recovered from a leg injury. Though defensively, Arcia has been on point, he's been a weak spot in a lineup that generally has struggled in the first two months of the season. The Braves open a three-game series against the Phillies in Philadelphia tonight.
And in basketball, the Atlanta Dream face the Los Angeles Sparks in California tonight. The Dream beat the Connecticut Sun on Sunday to give them a 3-2 record.
Peter Biello: And that's a wrap. We hope you had a great long weekend. Thank you for coming back to the news here on Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check out GPB.org/news. And we'll be back again tomorrow afternoon, so make sure you subscribe to this podcast. Your feedback is what powers us. So let us know what we're doing right and what we can improve. The email address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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