Georgia Today: Older women protesting; Brant Frost Ponzi investigation; Norfolk Southern merger

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, recent protests around the state are being driven and attended by politically active older women. We'll tell you why. State officials released facts and figures around students taking advantage of private school vouchers, and a proposed data center in Monroe County failed to get past a zoning committee.

Speaker 2: If that building is rated at 100 megawatts, it will continue to consume 100 megawatts. It means we're going to put in machines that will consume every drop of energy that we were designed to consume.

Orlando Montoya: Today is Tuesday, July 29. I'm Orlando Montoya, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya:Imagine a political protest. Maybe who you see in your mind are lots of passionate and young people. But look around the crowd at some of the recent political demonstrations in Georgia protesting the policies of President Donald Trump, and you'll see something else: lots of older women. GPB's Sarah Callis explains why some of these women are taking to the streets.

Protester: What do we want?

Crowd: Justice!

Sarah Kallis: About a thousand protesters are walking in late afternoon July heat from the John Lewis Memorial in Atlanta to Ebenezer Baptist Church during what is billed as" Good Trouble Day" on the anniversary of Lewis's death. Many have signs protesting the Trump administration. Kathleen Hamill is in exercise clothes. She has no sign, just a bottle of water. She came with a friend today. This isn't her first march, even just this year. She also attended the "Hands Off" protest in March in Atlanta. Hamill says, as a lawyer, she tries to be nonpolitical and nonpartisan.

Kathleen Hamill: At a certain point, you know, it's like how do we stand up for the rule of law if, you know, the Constitution and the basic principles are being chopped up?

Sarah Kallis: Hamill is in her 50s. She is part of a new movement of protesters who say they have hit their breaking point since President Donald Trump took office in January. Many are women, especially middle-aged and older white women. Christine Konradow-Stauskowitz of Tucker is a protest organizer with the group The Pocketbook Brigade. She hears from a lot of women who have very basic concerns, like, "Will tariffs mean I can't fix my car? Or be able to buy my kids' school supplies?" But she says many have never protested before. They have to be convinced.

Christine Konradow-Stauskowitz: If you've never tried sushi and you're afraid, and all your life you don't try it, and then finally one of your friends talks you into it and you love it, then all of a sudden, sushi's not that scary anymore.

Sarah Kallis: Stauskowitz says the ages of Pocketbook Brigade protesters range from 40 to 80. The organization has seen hundreds of people show up to events, and many of them say they feel less hopeless after marching.

Christine Konradow-Stauskowitz: What we're doing at the Pocketbook Brigade is helping people to kinda go through a cathartic experience by marching and talking to other people.

Sarah Kallis: Or, in other words, to vent.

Tammy Greer: I have seen, again, an outlet for individuals to voice their frustration.

Sarah Kallis: That's Tammy Greer, Clark Atlanta University professor, studying policy and social movements. She says while giving women that outlet is good, she'd like to see the energy from the street turn into a more concrete strategy for political action.

Tammy Greer: If there's no one doing that, then we're running from chaos to chaos, rather than taking a moment to develop something that is long-term, that is goal-oriented, that people can get on board with.

Sarah Kallis: That, she says, could be the difference between marching to feel good today versus working toward lasting change. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kalis.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has launched an investigation into a company accused of operating a Ponzi scheme. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in mid-July against Brant Frost IV and his company First Liberty Building and Loan. Frost was active in funding political campaigns. Raffensberger has already called on politicians to return any campaign contributions from the company or the Frost family.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: Nebraska-based Union Pacific is seeking to buy Georgia-based Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S. The proposed merger had been reported for weeks, but the companies did not formally announce it until today. It's unclear how the merger would affect Norfolk Southern's Atlanta headquarters. The announcement says that the combined company would be based in Omaha but that Atlanta would remain a, quote, "core location over the long term." It's also unclear if the merger would pass regulatory scrutiny, as some shippers fear consolidation would lead to higher prices and snarled traffic. Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena promised this merger would avoid the mistakes of past mergers in the railroad industry.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: Boosters for a planned data center in Monroe County in central Georgia failed to get rezoning approval for the project yesterday. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more.

Grant Blankenship: The 900-acre data center planned for wooded land at Interstate 475 and U.S. Highway 41 in the town of Bolingbroke was opposed by most of the 500 people at the zoning meeting. The project boosters told residents data centers are becoming more efficient every day and the final footprint can end up being smaller and less intrusive when it comes online in 2034. Bolingbroke resident and data center industry consultant Jordan Berntz warned his neighbors that's not how it works.

Jordan Berntz:  If that building is rated at 100 megawatts, it will continue to consume 100 megawatts. It means we're gonna put in machines that will consume every drop of energy that we were designed to consume.

Grant Blankenship: The zoning board voted not to recommend that the Monroe County Commission approve the data center when it takes up the issue next week. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Forsyth.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: Four Georgia metro areas have landed high on a list of the nation's top locations for food manufacturing. South Carolina-based site selection firm Global Location Strategies today released its 2025 rankings based on several factors desired in the food manufacturing industry. Warner Robbins and Savannah were the nation's top two locations, with Atlanta and Gainesville in the top 10. The report highlighted the recently opened Link's beef jerky plant in Warner Robins and the recently announced King's Hawaiian expansion in Gainesville. It also sheds light on how the Trump administration's tariffs and regulatory changes could impact the industry.

Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: State lawmakers once again are resuming debate on whether Georgia should legalize sports betting or casino gambling. The proposal has been kicked around the state capitol for decades, but legislation to advance the issue always has stalled. Now a Georgia House committee is studying the feasibility of a constitutional amendment that would legalize some forms of gambling. That panel held its first meeting yesterday in the Northeast Georgia city of Watkinsville. Atlanta Democratic state Rep. Stacy Evans serves on that committee.

Stacy Evans: I served for seven years, left for a little bit, and came back. We were talking about this when I left, we were talking about it when I came back, and we're still talking about it. And hopefully we'll get some resolution out of this.

Orlando Montoya: The panel is expected to meet again in late August and provide legislative recommendations for the General Assembly that returns in January.

Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: The Georgia Student Finance Commission has released new data about the Georgia Promise Scholarship. That's the state program that releases funds for students to attend private schools. GPB's Chase McGee has more.

Chase McGee: The commission's data shows around 8,600 students met eligibility requirements to receive a $6,500 scholarship. They report 64% of those students will use those funds to attend approved private schools. The report also says 3 of 4 students come from lower income households, which they define as families who make less than $128,000 a year. 45% of scholarship recipients live in counties where there is no program-approved private school, meaning they will likely attend schools in other counties. Recipients in DeKalb, Henry, Bibb, Richmond, and Chatham counties make up more than a third of all students enrolled in the program. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: Retailers rushing to stock up before expected tariffs have boosted the Port of Savannah to its second-busiest year. The Georgia Ports Authority today reported that the port moved 5.7 million container units in the 2025 fiscal year. That's an 8.6% increase over the previous year. The surge is partly due to President Trump's promises to enact heavy tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: All right, music fans, fans of hip hop and R&B, ONE Musicfest just dropped its 2025 lineup. We are talking about the Southeast's largest annual urban progressive music festival. It returns to Atlanta's Piedmont Park on Oct. 25 and 26. Headliners this year include the Dungeon Family paying tribute to the late Rico Wade, Future, Ludacris, Mary J. Blige, and The Roots. The two-day festival blends hip-hop, R&B, and viral newcomers with sets from Jasmine Sullivan, Clips, Greg Street, and more. Organizers say this year's festival will be bigger than ever, spotlighting legends and rising stars across generations.

Story 10:

Orlando Montoya: A rare natural spectacle near the Okefenokee Swamp stunned visitors at Stephen C. Foster State Park last Saturday. Roughly 300 alligators packed into a single boat basin — swimming, feeding and occasionally bellowing — in what experts call a rare congregation. Researchers say these events only happen once or twice a year and are likely driven by a mix of food availability, water levels and temperature. The gators cleared out by the next morning, but that swirling sea of jaws was unforgettable.

Story 11:

Orlando Montoya: Coming out of that mental image now, we turn to Georgia sports. The Atlanta Braves snapped a five-game losing streak with a 10-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City last night. Ronald Acuña Jr. Hit a two-run homer, his 14th, in the third inning. And an inning later, Marcelo Zuna added another two-run shot, also his 14th. Austin Riley hit a solo homer, his 15th, in the seventh inning. The series continues tonight with the right-handed pitcher Eric Fetty making his Braves debut.

Orlando Montoya: And in the WNBA, the Atlanta Dream moved up from No. 6 to No. 2 in the league's Power Pole ranking. The move comes after a pair of big wins for Atlanta following the All-Star break, including a victory over the Phoenix Mercury in Phoenix that featured Brittany Griner's first game against her longtime team, and a win over the Minnesota Lynx that ended the Lynx 14-game home winning streak. The Dream play the Golden State Valkyries tonight at Gateway Center, their home in Atlanta's College Park.

Outro:

Orlando Montoya: And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. We always invite you to visit our website, gpb.org/news, for the latest from our GPB newsroom. We also want you to hit subscribe on this podcast. We tell you to do it all the time because it's important for you to keep up with Georgia news in your podcast feed. Hitting subscribe helps you do that. If you have feedback, send that our way. We welcome feedback at GeorgiaToday@gpb.org. I'm Orlando Montoya, and I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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