Georgia Today: Educational funds released; Former Ga. Justice gets achievement award; Cafe' Momentum

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Georgia schools welcome the release of education funds previously frozen by the Trump administration. A former Georgia Supreme Court justice gets a lifetime achievement award and an Atlanta cafe run by a nonprofit works to change the lives of teenagers released from juvenile detention.

Randy Jones: What's exciting is I'm learning new things, new experiences, you know, better opportunities.

Orlando Montoya: Today is Tuesday, July 22. I'm Orlando Montoya, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: Attorneys, family members, and free press advocates gathered at the state Capitol today to call for the release of Atlanta-area journalist Mario Guevara. The Spanish-language news reporter was detained by immigration officials, and his supporters say he's being unfairly targeted for his work. GPB's Sarah Kalllis reports.

Sarah Kallis: While the original charges against Mario Guevara have been dropped, he remains in ICE custody facing deportation to El Salvador. He was arrested at a protest in June and has been in custody ever since. Katherine Guevara is Mario's daughter.

Katherine Guevara: Since he's been detained, our family has felt an emptiness that we cannot begin to fill. My mom is exhausted. My brothers and I feel like we're stuck in a nightmare.

Sarah Kallis: While Guevara, who has a work permit, was granted bond by a judge in early July, ICE officers appealed the decision, his attorney said. A spokesperson for ICE declined to comment. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis at the state Capitol.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: Georgia officials are welcoming the Trump administration's release of $1.3 billion in support for after-school and summer learning programs. The funds had been held up as part of the administration's broader review of spending. But the release announced Friday is not complete. Georgia schools superintendent Richard Woods yesterday urged the U.S. Department of Education to send out another $5 billion for teacher training and other programs still on hold.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: A former chief justice of Georgia's Supreme Court was honored on Monday for his role in reforming the state's judicial system. WUGA's Emma Auer reports.

Emma Auer: Justice Norman Fletcher served as Georgia's chief justice from 2001 to 2005. In 2003, he was instrumental in passing the Georgia Indigent Defense Act, which formalized the state's public defender's office. Now 91 years old, he says that during his career he was disturbed by the lack of competent lawyers representing low-income defendants.

Norman Fletcher: I knew then that I've got to try to do something to bring it about so that Georgia's system would be one that would pass constitutional muster.

Emma Auer: Fletcher's lifetime achievement award was presented by the Georgia Public Defender Council, whose lawyers defend many of the states accused who cannot afford representation. For GPB News, I'm Emma Auer in Athens.

​​​​​​​Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: The Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Site soon will add 136 acres of protected wetland to its footprint. GPB's Grant Blankenship has that story.

Grant Blankenship: The Georgia Department of Transportation maintained the undeveloped tract along the Ocmulgee River Corridor as mitigation for damage to other wetlands during the construction of a Twiggs County stretch of the Fall Line Freeway. Now GDOT has given the land to the National Park Service. In an official statement, Chief David Hill of the Muskogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma said the tract holds profound cultural and historical meaning for the Muscogee people. Meanwhile, the bill that would officially make the Ocmulgee Mounds Georgia's first National Park, is still working its way through Congress. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

​​​​​​​Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: The Georgia Hospital Association has a new chairman. The group representing 150 Georgia hospitals said on Friday that the president and CEO of Albany's Phoebe Putney Health System, Scott Steiner, is now leading its board of trustees. The leadership change comes as Georgia hospitals face uncertainty about federal funding for health care programs, among other pressures.

Caption

The menu at Cafe Momentum Atlanta is seen in July 2025.

Credit: Ellen Eldridge/GPB News

​​​​​​​Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: Cafe Momentum serves Southern cuisine to its customers in Atlanta, but it also does more than that. The nonprofit also is working to change the lives of teenagers who have been in juvenile detention. That's through a yearlong internship program that offers education, job training and life skills, as GPB's Ellen Eldridge explains.

Ellen Eldridge: The kitchen at Cafe Momentum is big and much brighter than the intimate dining room. Antonee Pryce's dessert station is tucked in the back where she works slicing fruit and whipping cream. The mixer sits on a steel counter next to the sink. Today, Pryce is making strawberry shortcake.

Antonee Pryce: So I'm adding this balsamic glaze to the strawberries.

Ellen Eldridge: She says the teens in this program gravitate toward this sweet spot where she says they feel safe to talk to her, to vent. And while she listens, she also puts them to work.

Antonee Pryce: I also kind of push them along and say, "Hey, if you're going to hang out back here, everybody's got to do something."

Ellen Eldridge: Pryce says the students get excited and even in interested in baking.

Antonee Pryce: "Hey, how'd you make that? You really made that?" And I say "Yeah!" So you know, I had one young student a couple days ago, he came back and I actually showed him how make biscuits. So I said "Next time, I'm gonna stand and watch. And I'll guide you, but you'll do it from start to finish." So it gives them a sense of empowerment.

Ellen Eldridge: As the interns learn to cook by watching, Pryce is learning how to help by listening.

Antonee Pryce: Being a good listener is really key when we're doing this because we can talk all day long but they're in a space where they need to be heard.

Ellen Eldridge: She says life is like baking in that it requires a lot of patience and attention to detail. Three-time intern of the week, Randy Jones, says he's learning how to handle responsibility.

Randy Jones: Can't have nothing if you don't work for it, can't just expect it to come to you.

Ellen Eldridge: The 16-year-old started in April with the second cohort of Cafe Momentum interns.

Randy Jones: What's exciting is I'm learning new things, new experiences, you know, better opportunities.

Ellen Eldridge: He's currently one of 25 teenagers currently learning how to take care of themselves by serving others.

Randy Jones: I like to cook some good old spaghetti with some chopped up sausages, a lot of cheese. I put a little sugar in mine too — you know, I like a little sweetness — with the bread on the side.

Ellen Eldridge: Benjamin Wills is the executive director of Cafe Momentum Atlanta. He says they work with 15- to 19-year-olds who were involved with the justice system within the last year.

Benjamin Wills: They're doing things like learning about conflict management, healthy relationships, resume building, having access to mental health therapy, as well as working in a casual fine dining restaurant three nights a week.

Ellen Eldridge: In 2022, more than 800 kids were in youth detention statewide. And the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice says 1 in 4 teenagers will be charged with another crime within a year of release — which, even for kids, could lead to real prison, depending on the crime. Georgia is one of a few states in the nation that prosecutes 17-year-olds as adults and sometimes incarcerates children as young as 13 in adult facilities. So the stakes are high for programs like Cafe Momentum, which partnered with the department's juvenile justice reentry services program for their first group of interns. Quintin Heard or "Q," is the restaurant program manager. He's a big guy, a former Marine. He says, a five-star kitchen can be a stressful environment, and he's often the one teaching the interns how to cool down.

Quintin Heard: You're working with youth who probably haven't had these type of experiences before. So sometimes there may be emotions that we have to kind of work with, hurdles that we have to get over. So I just help out with being able to kind manage those situations in real time.

Ellen Eldridge: Skills they'll need in the kitchen and in life. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

​​​​​​​Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: Officials in South Georgia's Coffee County broke ground today on eight homes for families whose homes were destroyed during last year's Hurricane Helene. The faith-based initiative is being led by local religious and civic leaders and a Kentucky-based disaster response ministry, The HOPE Initiative. Douglas Mayor Tony Polk says the estimated $2 million project is the beginning of a larger push for affordable housing in the community.

Tony Polk: Every journey starts with that first step. I believe that the city of Douglas and Coffee County were bold enough to make that first stop. And I know that today, hope has been restored in our community.

Orlando Montoya: Polk says the volunteers are expected to build the homes within six to 10 months. The devastating storm damaged thousands of residences across the state.

​​​​​​​Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: The names of two Georgia military bases could change again if a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act makes it through the legislative process in the coming months. The U.S. House last Friday approved a version of the military spending bill with an amendment that would prohibit reversing the work of the Military Naming Commission. That's the panel that renamed Georgia's Forts Benning and Gordon to Moore and Eisenhower in changes aimed at removing names honoring Confederate leaders. The commission was created by Congress in a bipartisan law that the Trump administration skirted when it restored the old names using different first names. Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon was one of two Republicans to cross party lines to approve the amendment.

Don Bacon: I also think, having a base named Eisenhower, I can't think of a better base name. Then Hal Moore and his wife, heroes in Vietnam, beloved by everybody. And I don't know anybody that doesn't like Eisenhower or the Moores. And what the administration is doing, particularly the secretary of defense, is sticking his finger in the eye of Congress by going back and changing the names to the old names.

Orlando Montoya: The House bill still has to be reconciled with the Senate's version. The naming amendment was one small part of the massive legislation, which also would boost military pay and increase defense research and development spending.

​​​​​​​Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: Coca-Cola says it will add a cane sugar version of its trademark cola to its U.S. lineup this fall, confirming a recent announcement by President Donald Trump. Trump said in a social media post last week that the Atlanta-based beverage giant had agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship product in the U.S. Coke has been sweetened with high fructose corn syrup since the 1980s. The company confirmed the new product today in its second quarter financial statement.

​​​​​​​Story 10:

Orlando Montoya: The company transforming the former Atlanta headquarters of CNN into a downtown retail, restaurant, entertainment and office hub has released new details about the project. New renderings from architecture and interior design firm TVS tease a sleek and modern revamp of the iconic property in the heart of the city's sports, entertainment and convention district.

And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about many of the stories that you hear on this podcast, visit our webpage, GPB.org/news. It's always updated and you'll find the latest reports from our GPB News team. If you haven't yet hit subscribe on this podcast, take a moment to do that now. That'll help you to stay current with us in your feed. And we always welcome your feedback. Tell us what we're doing right or wrong at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Orlando Montoya. I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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