Georgia Today: Mike Collins runs for Senate; Violent Atlanta weekend; Heat advisory in effect

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, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins announces his candidacy for U.S. Sen. John Ossoff's seat in next year's election, the Georgia Department of Agriculture is warning about the dangers of extreme heat on pets and livestock, and a teenage track star is setting new records.

Track announcer: There she is, Melanie Doggett, set the national record in the semis. We'll just look at the clock, it's her against the clock.

Orlando Montoya: Today is Monday, July 28. I'm Orlando Montoya, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: Jackson congressman Mike Collins will run for U.S. Senate in 2026. The Republican made his announcement in a video posted to social media where he touted a bill he sponsored named after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. She was murdered by a Venezuelan man who was in the U.S. without proper documentation. The freight industry executive also highlighted his relationship with President Donald Trump.

Speaker 3: It's time to send a trucker to the U.S. Senate to steamroll the radical left, deliver on President Trump's America First agenda, and put the people of Georgia back in the driver's seat.

Orlando Montoya: Collins will face off against a fellow Republican and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter of St. Simon's Island for a chance to challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. John Ossoff next year. Other GOP candidates also are considering joining the race, including former college football coach Derek Dooley.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: About half of Georgia is under a heat advisory, as temperatures in many parts of the state climbed near 100 degrees, with heat index values making it feel much hotter. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more on how residents and officials in metro Atlanta are responding.

Amanda Andrews: The city of Atlanta is offering a cooling center to the public from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Wednesday at Selena Butler Park. The facility will also provide bottled water for residents in need. Emily Daly lives in Stone Mountain. She took her two young kids to a park this morning and plans her days around the heat.

Emily Daly: It's a constant, like, math that you're doing in your head. "OK, so if we go to the grocery store first thing in the morning, it won't be too hot. But it's also our only time we can be outside before it's too hot, so what do we do? Do we get our errands done, or do we go do fun things, or?"

Amanda Andrews: The National Weather Service recommends drinking plenty of fluids, limiting outdoor activities and checking on the elderly or those without air conditioning. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: Cooling centers were open at sites throughout the state. If you have to be outdoors, stay hydrated, take shade breaks, and never leave kids or pets unattended. Of course, people are recommended to stay indoors, but that could make you feel restricted. Carrie Shaw was cooling off in a park in Decatur.

Carrie Shaw: My name is Carrie Shaw. I mean, honestly, sometimes you feel like a prisoner inside. I try to keep them, keep the kids out of the heat as much as I can. But you know, I mean we'll try to go out early in the day before it gets way too hot. And then hopefully, you know we'll go to the Y pool or something like that in the afternoon. So yeah. Or, you know, going to air-conditioned places, going to Target, something like the library. Plenty of water, plenty of popsicles for kids and grownups, yeah.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: And what about our animal companions? The Georgia Department of Agriculture is warning pet and livestock owners to keep their animals safe as we experience some of the hottest temperatures of the year so far. GPB's Sarah Kallis has that story.

Sarah Kallis: Extreme heat can be potentially life-threatening to both pets and farm animals. Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper says some animals should be monitored for heat illness, and if you suspect they're sick, you should move them to shade, give them water, and call your local veterinarian.

Tyler Harper: I just want to continue to remind farmers and also pet owners across the state to ensure that their pets have significant amounts of hydration as well as shade and —

Sarah Kallis: Animals with flat faces are especially susceptible to heat illness. Dogs are also at risk of burning their paws on hot asphalt if they are taken for a walk in the heat. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: Atlanta police say one person is dead and 10 others were injured after an exchange of gunfire in a busy nightlife area late Sunday. Police don't know yet what prompted the shooting in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, but they don't believe it was gang-related. The majority of victims were likely innocent bystanders. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens addressed the violence this morning.

Andre Dickens: We haven't had a weekend like this in a long time. We know that summer months often bring some of the most challenging times when it comes to crime and gun violence in our communities. We are doing all that we can to prevent these tragedies even before they happen.

Orlando Montoya: The violence comes on the heels of a significant drop in Atlanta crime numbers. Data released at the end of June showed six-month, year-over-year homicides down by 30%, shootings down by 21%, and auto thefts down by 40%.

Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: Meanwhile, a judge has forced the Atlanta Police Foundation to provide hundreds of pages of records to journalists seeking information about the controversial Public Safety Training Center in Southeast Atlanta. But those documents contained retractions, which appeared to violate the judge's order. And they also came after a deadline, which, if met, could have changed public opinion about the project at a critical moment. Joy Ramsingh is an attorney representing both Atlanta Community Press Collective and Chicago-based research center Lucy Parsons Lab, who argued for the document's release. She spoke with GPB's Peter Biello about the decision.

Peter Biello: A judge has forced the Atlanta Police Foundation to provide hundreds of pages of records to journalists seeking information about the controversial Public Safety Training Center in Southeast Atlanta, known to opponents as Cop City. Joy Ramsingh is an attorney representing both Atlanta Community Press Collective and Chicago-based research center, Lucy Parsons Labs. Ramsingh argued for the documents release and she's with me now to talk about them. Welcome to the program.

Joy Ramsingh: Glad to be here.

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Police Foundation provided you redacted documents at first, but now they are saying that they will provide you with unredacted documents. This comes after you applied some legal pressure. What information is now going to be revealed to you in these unredacted documents?

Joy Ramsingh: Basically, officials at APF had forwarded varieties of emails to their counsel. ... I've glanced very briefly at the records. I don't think the material was privileged at all in any sense. It's just been in keeping with what APF has done at every step of the litigation, which is, frankly, to just kind of drag their feet as much as possible and to redact as much as possible, whether it merits redaction or not.

Peter Biello: If they did, as you say, drag their feet, what in those documents do you think they were not eager to have revealed publicly?

Joy Ramsingh: Well, that's just it, Peter. I mean, when we got the information, it was nothing. I mean, it was the largest "nothing burger" you can possibly imagine. They had literally just — APF officials had forwarded emails of news coverage to their counsel. And so the redacted information — if you want to put it that way, whole pages blacked out — was nothing but a forward message from APF to APF counsel, it was forwarded. So, we didn't know that, right? Frankly, if we had known that it was nothing, we wouldn't have had to go through the motion. But we didn't. And all we saw was a completely black redacted page. So again, you have a situation where the lack of communication and the, just the approach of "redact everything and provide no explanation" led to additional litigation that was probably unnecessary.

Peter Biello: Is there anything in these documents that you believe or your clients believe would have changed public opinion about this project before it was opened?

Joy Ramsingh: One of the things that the folks of Atlanta did not know was, not just the amount of influence that APF had over the building of the training center, which is essentially carte blanche construction and design, but also the presence that APF has over policing throughout the city. One of the things that I didn't know before I got these records and before I became active in this lawsuit: I don't think the people of Atlanta understand that there's a private entity out there that is surveilling them. I mean, their operations shield hundreds of cameras throughout. And when you see these cameras on the street, when you're walking in Buckhead and you look up and you see a camera it says "Atlanta Police Department." But the entity that is actually operating and maintaining the cameras — and, presumably, watching the footage — is APF which is a completely private organization. And so having a window into their operations is critical.

Peter Biello: Similar police foundations exist for cities across the United States. Does the judge's ruling in this open records case have implications for those police foundations across the country?

Joy Ramsingh: I think so. So this decision is not legally binding, right? — on anyone except these parties in the state of Georgia. But it is highly persuasive. Because of the breadth of records that this request covered, these requests covered everything from emails to board meeting minutes, to agendas, to plans, to studies, to contracts. — most importantly, contracts, right? With other private companies. Because the ruling was so broad and the kind of information that it covered, virtually at this point, I can't really think of a record that would not be public that would be in APF's possession.

Peter Biello: Opponents had wanted to prevent the opening of the public safety training center, but it's open now. What do your clients hope to accomplish by bringing these documents to light?

Joy Ramsingh: Our goal is not so much to affect a certain outcome, but to give people the information that they need to decide whether or not they're satisfied with policing in Atlanta. And if they're not, then they can take those concerns to their lawmakers through the democratic process.

Peter Biello: Joy Ramsing is an attorney representing both the Atlanta Community Press Collective and Chicago-based research center, Lucy Parsons Labs. Joy, thank you so much for speaking with me.

Joy Ramsingh: Thank you for having me.

Peter Biello:  And we've reached out to the Atlanta Police Foundation for comment, but have not yet heard back.

Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: Millions of Americans miss important medical appointments and procedures because they don't have someone to drive them home. A new study suggests options that could help solve the problem. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.

Ellen Eldridge: A survey of nurse anesthetists found most were in favor of changing the recommendations on who can take a patient home following a surgery or a procedure. The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists website now states patients can be released to a quote, "responsible individual" able to care for them. Jennice Gist is a CRNA and lead author on the study. She says that includes someone under 18.

Jennice Gist: It could be someone's granddaughter and they could be 16, 17 years old but as as long as they have. The intellect and the ability to sign off on discharge instructions."

Ellen Eldridge: She suggests scheduling procedures earlier in the day and following up with the caretaker the same day as discharge. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: In Georgia business news, a Georgia-based car dealership giant is buying a Massachusetts-based auto group in a deal valued at nearly $1.5 billion. Metro Atlanta's Asbury Automotive Group and Metro Boston's Herb Chambers Companies announced the acquisition last week. Asbury operates 145 car dealerships, while Herb Chamber operates 33 dealerships.

Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: The International Trade Commission has found that unfairly traded Chinese golf carts have materially harmed U.S. manufacturers. The finding last month is a win for two major Augusta employers, Clubcar and Easygo, and paves the way for anti-dumping duties on low-speed personal transportation vehicles that could top 100%.

Story 10:

Orlando Montoya: And a Philadelphia-based bagel chain plans to open at second Georgia location and its fourth in the South. Building permits show plans for a Spread Bagelry in Atlanta. The Montreal-style bagel bakery already has a location in Savannah. Spread has 13 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. According to Montreal's tourism agency, the city's bagels differ from others by being poached in honey water, giving them a sweetness, and baked in a wood-fired oven, giving them a distinctive chew, color, and crust.

Story 11:

And in Georgia sports, a young Georgia track star is making national headlines. Melanie Doggett, an eighth grader from Fairburn, south of Atlanta, became the second-fastest 14-year-old ever in the 200-meter dash. It happened at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympics in Savannah over the weekend.

Track Announcer: There she is, Melanie Doggett, set the national record in the semis. We're just looking at the clock, it's her against the clock.

Orlando Montoya: She clocked a blazing 22.94 seconds, breaking her own meet record just the day before. Doggett said she wasn't paying attention to her speed. She was just focused on crossing the finish line. The meet wrapped up yesterday in Savannah at Savannah State University with athletes from across the country competing for national titles. Last month, Nike signed Dogget to a name, image and likeness deal.

And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit gpb.org/news. If you haven't yet hit subscribe on this podcast, take a moment right now and do that to keep us current in your feed. If you have feedback for us, please send it our way. Our email address is georgiatoday@gpb.org. I'm Orlando Montoya. I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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