Georgia Today: ATL mayor on protester vandalism; School based health centers; Augusta National heist

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB news. Today is Wednesday, April 17. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens says vandalism won't stop the construction of the controversial police training center. A statewide program provides needed medical care in some rural areas; and an Augusta man is charged with trafficking stolen merch from the Augusta National Country Club. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens says more than two dozen acts of arson and vandalism connected to a police and firefighter training center now under construction, have caused $10 million worth of damage to public and private property. Dickens outlined the sabotage at a news conference today, saying it won't slow the project.

Andre Dickens: The training center is well on its way during this construction cycle. We will continue to construct the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center and we will complete it during this year. We're moving forward as planned, and we're not allowing the distractions to stop us.

Peter Biello: Center opponents, citing environmental and policing concerns, have tried to stop it through a referendum, a process so far thwarted by the city's legal challenges.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: A state judge is ordering five insurance companies to pay $345 million to 20 men sexually abused at a private school in Rome. The men say they were abused by a teacher and dorm supervisor at Darlington School over a 20-year period ending in 1994. Their attorney, Darren Penn, says the school's insurers unsuccessfully argued their policies didn't cover the abuse.

Darren Penn: This ruling gives the survivors vindication for this long road that they've been on. It gives them a sense of justice.

Peter Biello: The alleged abuser never faced criminal charges. The men reached a separate settlement with the school in 2021.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: The number of antisemitic incidents of violence, vandalism and assault rose a staggering 140% last year. That's a nationwide figure released yesterday by a Jewish advocacy group, the Anti-Defamation League. The organization says in Georgia, there were 172 antisemitic incidents in 2023. That's up from 80 the previous year. Columbus Rabbi Larry Schlesinger says while antisemitism is old, its modern forms need to be addressed.

Larry Schlesinger: I sense that social media has sort of given a green light to antisemitic rhetoric that used to be covert is now, you know, very overt.

Peter Biello: According to the ADL, the bulk of Georgia antisemitic incidents took place around metro Atlanta, although no region of the state was without them. In Macon in June, hundreds gathered to support Temple Beth Israel after it was targeted by an antisemitic group from Florida. The ADL says nationally, incidents spiked after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Georgia has more than 100 health clinics just steps away from or even inside schools. That's because a few years ago, the state committed millions of dollars to school-based health centers. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more on how it works and how some counties are left out.

Nurse: So welcome. This is the entryway. This is where everyone...

Sofi Gratas: I'm at Jeffersonville Elementary School in Twiggs County. Walking down the halls of a brand new clinic. A medical student motions to a room with a TV for telehealth and two empty suites being prepped for dentist chairs. It smells like fresh paint.

Nurse: These are the exam rooms for more primary care settings.

Sofi Gratas: This clinic will be one of about 30 new school-based health centers to be up and running over the next few years: part of a multi-million dollar historic investment from the state through federal COVID relief funds.

Mack Bullard: And it's not just for the kids, but if they have a little brother at home or grandparent at home, they can come and be seen, too.

Sofi Gratas: That's Mack Bullard, superintendent of the Twiggs County School District. What he describes is a big difference compared to the school nurse's office you may remember, and a big deal in Twiggs County, where kids and adults are largely uninsured. Many don't see a doctor or dentist regularly. Bullard says he realized it was the school district's job to help fix this.

Mack Bullard: And we knew as a result, our students weren't able to truly maximize their learning because all those barriers existed.

Sofi Gratas: Research shows school-based health works to keep schools healthier, but also to improve grades and attendance. That reflects the experience at Ingram Pye Elementary School, 30 miles away in Bibb County, where on a recent morning the waiting room was full of adults. There, Katherine McLeod says she saw a shift when the district first opened a clinic just around the corner from the school's front doors. McLeod runs the practice that partners with Ingram Pie.

Katherine McLeod: When we first got started and were seeing a fair number of children, the school could see an immediate improvement in attendance.

Sofi Gratis: The shift was brief, but McLeod believes it was because parents could send their kids to the clinic during school rather than keep them and their siblings home or pull them out of class when they felt sick. Those parents could also come in themselves. McLeod says that explains the grownups in the waiting room.

Katherine McLeod: Fairly quickly, people in the neighborhood realize we're here.

Sofi Gratas: A neighborhood where cost and transportation were once the biggest barriers to health care.

Katherine McLeod: Currently, we see more adults than children.

Sofi Gratas: Now, the Bibb County School District has plans for another clinic at a different school. So far, clinic funds have only gone to school districts, which are either rural or on the State Department of Education's list of academically underperforming districts.

Zabrina Cannady: We don't have schools that are on those lists.

Sofi Gratas: Zabrina Cannady is with the Houston County School District. She says she's glad Houston schools don't meet the academic bar for health clinic funds, but she still sees health-related barriers to school success. So she helped organize a pop-up clinic on a weekend in February.

Zabrina Cannady: So with us not having — not qualifying, we're trying to still bring services.

Nurse: So if you're flossing, you want to make sure you're doing this.

Sofi Gratas: Kids and adults like Carolina Lideno then all came for free checkups, dental and vision exams given by volunteer clinicians. Lideno brought her mother and baby while her son was at school.

Carolina Lideno: .Aprovechamos todos.

Sofi Gratas: We took advantage of everything, she says in Spanish, because, she adds, it's not always accessible to go and get a checkup.

Carolina Lideno:  Y si nos remiten al medico, pues buscar.

Sofi Gratas: "And if they refer us to a doctor, we'll look for one." For now, in Houston County, that extra care won't be on campus. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas in Macon.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, according to federal data. Today, Georgia Democratic state representatives commemorated Black Maternal Health Week to talk about the issue. Rep. Lydia Glaize says she experienced two high-risk pregnancies and called the state of maternal health care for Black women in Georgia, quote, "unacceptable."

Lydia Glaize: This is the final day of Black Maternal Health Week, but it is not the final day of all of the crises that women, particularly Black women in Georgia, will experience as they try to bring forth their child by choice.

Peter Biello: Georgia has one of the highest rates of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States.

Caption

Pets

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The Atlanta City Council approved a resolution Monday to form an agreement with Fulton County to resume animal control services. The county abruptly halted animal control services in the city on April 5. The Fulton County Commission could take up Atlanta's resolution, an agreement at its meeting today.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: An Augusta man has been charged with trafficking millions of dollars in stolen merchandise and memorabilia from Augusta National Golf Club. GPB's Chase McGee reports, prosecutors allege the Masters heist took place over a 13-year period.

Chase McGee The charges were outlined in a brief two-page document filed in the Chicago-based federal court. They say Richard Globensky knowingly transported golf tour merchandise and historical memorabilia from the golf club to Tampa, Fla. The alleged thefts took place between 2009 and 2022. The charges don't specify what kind of memorabilia was stolen. The Chicago Tribune identified Globensky as a 39-year-old former employee of Augusta National, although his role at the club isn't clear. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Leaders and artists gathered at an aquatic and recreation center in Southeast Atlanta to celebrate new public art. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more from the C.T. Martin Natatorium.

Amanda Andrews: The Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Innovation Corridor includes nine major art installations. The pieces are designed to celebrate Atlanta's civil rights history and honor local heroes. Mayor Andre Dickens says the art is part of a larger redesign the city has made on the MLK Jr. Drive corridor.

Andre Dickens: So this is yes, we're here for art, but we're also talking about how to make sure people are safer crossing MLK, which is — which has had its challenges over time.

Amanda Andrews: The redesign included additional pedestrian access, bike lanes and trails for the public to access the art safely. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: Today is the start of Vidalia onion season. The sweet onions grow only in 20 South Georgia counties, and are set to be packed and shipped to grocery stores across the country today. The state agriculture commissioner and the Vidalia Onion Committee sets the official pack date each year, based on the soil and weather conditions during the growing season.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: In sports, Reynaldo Lopez struck out seven over six scoreless innings. Orlando Arcia homered, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 6 to 2. And in volleyball, the Atlanta Vibe defeated the Grand Rapids Rise last night for the team's record-setting seventh straight win. Atlanta fell in the first set, but won the next three, extending rallies with a season-best 21.8 digs percent.

Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And if you haven't subscribed to this podcast yet, do it now. That way, we'll be back in your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon. And if you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Email us. The address is 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