Georgia Today: Savannah mayor goes undercover; Social media law; 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, the mayor of Savannah goes undercover with the Chatham County sheriff to catch scammers. Courts hear a challenge to a Georgia law aimed at restricting children's social media use, and the city of Atlanta gears up to host six matches of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Orlando Montoya: Typically in the U.S., we'll see friendly or exhibition matches come over from Europe in the summertime. Are these friendly exhibitions?

Jon Nelson: Oh no, not when there's money involved.

Orlando Montoya: Today is Friday, June 6. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Beginning in 10 days, Atlanta will host six matches in the FIFA Club World Cup. The 2025 tournament, featuring many of soccer's most elite club teams, is seen as a dry run for the 2026 World Cup, in which Atlanta will host eight matches. We get a club World Cup preview now with Jon Nelson of GPB Sports. He spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya about the competition, the excitement and the teams.

Orlando Montoya: Well, Jon, most people know about the World Cup, held every four years, when, like the Olympics, athletes play for their countries, but the Club World Cup is something a little bit newer and less well-known. What's the difference?  

Jon Nelson: Yeah, this is a 32-team format. It used to be one tournament, but now it's another tournament under a different name. And so, you have the best of the best from club competitions that have survived winning regional competitions in their league competitions over the last four years. And there was math involved. And now you have the best of the best thrown into this pile.  

Orlando Montoya: These matches are being held in the summertime when most of the world takes a break from highly competitive soccer, like in the Champions League and the Premier League. And typically, in the U.S., we'll see friendly, or exhibition matches come over from Europe in the summertime. Are these friendly exhibitions?  

Jon Nelson: Oh no, not when there's money involved. You walk in the door, just to give you an example. You go into the group stage. You get money for a win. You get a little less money for a draw. You go out of the group's stage. You get more money. You keep winning, and winning, and winning. By the end of it all, if you've won everything and you've won every match, you could walk away with nine figures to the left of the decimal place into your coffers to reward your players and your club. So yeah, there's a lot of money involved here.  

Orlando Montoya: And so who will we see in these matches? Will we see the big names from these clubs?  

Jon Nelson: I — yeah, I think you will, at least in the first two matches of the group stage, because if you have won your group and you're advancing to the knockouts, you want to make sure that your players are still as healthy as possible for that next stage. So, if your favorite team is already in the group stage and they still have a match to play, maybe you're going to see some squad rotation. So, if you're gonna be attached to a favorite club and you are going to be watching them in a — in a particular town, go watch one of the first two matches in the group stage to assure yourself that you're going to be seeing the best of the best, because that third one? You never really know, leading into the knockout.  

Orlando Montoya: I took a look at the list of the teams in the competition, and we have many expected European giants, favorites like Real Madrid and Manchester City, but we also have some farther-flung lesser-known names like Al Ain [F.C.] from Abu Dhabi and Urawa Reds from Tokyo. Will these clubs be able to compete with the high-spending European juggernauts?  

Jon Nelson: That's going to be the big question. You know, you end up with someone like an Auckland City who is a four-year ranking acceptee from Oceania in the Oceania Football Confederation. How will they stack up? Do we see matches where those clubs will sit there and defend for 90 minutes or just sit there and turn it into a kickabout for 90 minutes, just try to get that point, to try to that million dollars, to try get that that point? That's gonna be part of the strategy in all of this, where you see an Al Ahly or an Al Ain. That's going to be the fun part for me in all of this is seeing how they try and compete because of all of this cash that's on the line.  

Orlando Montoya: Now, a year from now, Atlanta will be one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup. How is the Club World Cup a dry run for the larger competition in 2026?  

Jon Nelson: Well, I think that what you do is you get to see what your infrastructure looks like. How does your public transportation go? How does the traffic look? How does public infrastructure happen? What does it do for economics? When it comes to the venues that are going to be there as your host venues for the clubs themselves — like we focused on GPB Sports, involving what it's gonna be like for Mercer University down in Macon to be a host for LAFC. It's gonna to be a great learning experience for Macon, for Charlotte, for Greensboro: all of these different little pockets that get to learn and get those boosts of the economy. It's going to be interesting. I'm looking forward to the empirical evidence on the flip side of this that they have to turn quickly and get ready for '26.  

Orlando Montoya: Jon Nelson of GPB Sports, thanks for the preview.

Jon Nelson: As always.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: A one-of-a-kind health care facility in Macon, where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities will be able to get primary and crisis care, is set to accept its first patients in the coming weeks. The center is a collaboration between the state, Macon's River Edge, and Mercer University. GPB's Sofi Gratas brings us there.

Sofi Gratas: Inside the new center, there are rooms for mobility training, dental care.

Unidentified: Blood workup or other types of...

Sofi Gratas: Doctors' offices are not always suited for people with disabilities. This center will have providers better trained to help. On the building's other side are de-escalation rooms and 16 beds meant for people in a mental health crisis. Kevin Tanner, who oversees the state behavioral health agency, says they hope to relieve pressure across the state.

Kevin Tanner: We need a place to bring very difficult-to-treat individuals where we can stabilize them, really understand medically, behaviorally, what's happening with the individual, and then we can step them down to a community placement.

Sofi Gratas: Like a transitional or group home. People can be housed at the Macon Center for up to 90 days. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A new walk-in mental health clinic is now operating in Villa Rica, about 30 miles east of Atlanta, to help people experiencing a mental health crisis. After a soft launch last month, Tanner Health's Willowbrook at Tanner opened WillowBrook Urgent Care for Mental Health and Substance Use this week. It's designed to help all people of all ages experiencing depression, anxiety, stress, postpartum issues, and substance use disorders. Dr. Kenneth Genova is executive medical director and vice president of Willowbrooke at Tanner. He says without this program, patients would end up waiting for hours in emergency rooms and miss out on referrals to specialty care.

Dr. Kenneth Genova: So our goal was to, when someone comes, screen them for whatever level of care and services they need. And if we can provide that level of care right then and there, do it. And if not, have a set appointment for them to go to the level of care that's appropriate.

Peter Biello: Genova says 3- to 5-hundred people each month have been asking for mental health services, a number he expects to grow.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority has laid off nine employees to address budget shortfalls. The employees primarily served young people in education and job training, Programs and are not tied to the agency's core mission of providing affordable housing. Executive director Justin Jones says funding has been steadily decreasing for years and inflation has increased expenses.

Justin Jones: Congress — both houses — are responsible for appropriations. And, you know, they have made the decision year after year to give us less funds.

Peter Biello: Jones says one of those who had been laid off has been rehired in a different capacity.

Caption

Social media

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A federal judge heard arguments this week on a Georgia law aimed at restricting social media use for minors. The group NetChoice, representing Google and Meta, among other companies, objects to the law, which is set to go into effect on July 1.  Under the law, children under the age of 16 would need parental consent to open social media accounts. Georgia lawmakers of both parties passed the law last year. Advocates say it's designed to protect children from adult bad actors online. NetChoice successfully overturned similar laws in Arkansas and Ohio after arguing they unfairly censored free speech on online platforms.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Savannah City Hall is nearing completion of the first major interior restoration project in the building's history. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: Built in 1906 and known for its gold leaf dome, Savannah City Hall has been largely closed to the public since last summer. In that time, workers have restored original mahogany woodwork, historic brass lighting, and a deteriorating parquet floor that sparked the entire project. They're also creating a new welcome center to replace the cramped security checkpoint in the building's entrance lobby. Luciana Spracher is Savannah's Director of Municipal Archives. She says the project is about —

Luciana Spracher: — making sure that we preserve this treasure for our citizens and making that it's around for the next generations of citizens.

Benjamin Payne: The $5 million restoration wraps up in July, with City Council meetings set to return to the building in August. A final phase to complete work on City Hall's rotunda is still in need of funding. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The mayor of Savannah and a Chatham County Sheriff recently went undercover to catch scammers. Scammers posing as members of the Chatham County Sheriff's Office demanding between $2,000 and $50,000 to avoid jail time recently ran into trouble when they called Savannah Mayor Van Johnson. While on the phone with the scammer, Johnson added Chathm Sheriff Richard Coleman to the call, Coleman told The Current. He said he and Johnson decided to meet the scammer at a Walmart for a money handoff, although the scammer never showed. Coleman says the investigation is still ongoing. And if you get one of these calls, he said take time to verify and reach out to the sheriff's office or other groups the scammers claim to represent.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said this month that common ravens are having an uncommonly good nesting season. DNR staff found three ravens' nests in northeast Georgia. Ravens are state-listed as rare in Georgia, and it's unusual to find more than one nest in the state. The large bird is considered a species of greatest conservation need in the latest state wildlife action plan.

Caption

The James Brown Arena in Augusta has been called "functionally obsolete." A maintenance worker died there in November. The cause of his death is still under investigation.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Story 9:

Peter Biello: Augusta commissioners want the new arena being built to replace the old James Brown arena to retain the name of the godfather of soul. GPB's Orlando Montoya reports project leaders are looking for a new name to add as a corporate sponsor.

Orlando Montoya: It's not unusual for new entertainment venues to get corporate names, but when the Augusta Coliseum Authority and its private partners recently called the project the New Augusta Arena — an apparent placeholder for a yet to be signed corporate name — community members started asking questions.

Alvin Mason: When did this happen? How did it happen? Why did it happen?

Orlando Montoya: That's Augusta Commissioner Alvin Mason. He says voters approved a local sales tax to fund a new arena based on the Augusta legend's name.

Alvin Mason: You sold a bill of goods to this community utilizing the name "James Brown."

Orlando Montoya: Commissioners voted this week to draft a letter supporting Brown's name on the arena, expected to open in 2027. For GPB News, I'm Orlando Montoya.

Peter Biello: We hope you feel more connected to your state now that you're caught up on Georgia news. By the time you hear this podcast, other newsworthy things likely have happened, so check out the latest at GPB.org/news. We will be back on Monday, so make sure you subscribe to this podcast and send your love notes or your constructive feedback to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks for listening. And have a great weekend.

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