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Georgia Today: Health care costs expected to rise; Weapons detection systems installed in schools
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On the Monday, Aug. 4 edition of Georgia Today: Health care costs are expected to rise next year; a Northeast Georgia community considers moving a whole cemetery to make way for a business park; and as some Georgia kids head back to school, they'll have to pass through a weapons detection system.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, health care costs are expected to rise next year. A Northeast Georgia community considers moving a whole cemetery to make way for a business park. And as some Georgia kids head back to school, they'll have to pass through a weapons detection system.
Bernard Watson: You can go to different events around metro Atlanta, you walk through them. We first rolled them out last fall at our stadiums and basketball games.
Peter Biello: Today is Monday, Aug. 4. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: The cost of health care is likely gonna rise next year. That is the conclusion of a study by KFF, a nonpartisan health care research group. That health care costs are rising is not new or terribly surprising, but the reason this time is at least in part the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies passed and extended during the Biden administration. Sen. Jon Ossoff says Georgia families need to prepare for the rise in costs.
Jon Ossoff: We're talking about thousands of dollars per year more that Georgia families will pay to get health insurance for ourselves and for our kids when folks are already having trouble making ends meet.
Peter Biello: Ossoff says Congress needs to find a solution. Those expiring subsidies could be extended if lawmakers so desire. If not, the KFF analysis found premiums may increase in Georgia by more than 20%.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Former football coach Derek Dooley officially launched his campaign for the 2026 Georgia Senate race today. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.
Sarah Kallis: Dooley's announcement emphasized that he is an outsider in the political world.
Derek Dooley: I spent three decades in coaching, probably doing the exact opposite what a lot of D.C. politicians were doing.
Sarah Kallis: The former University of Tennessee football coach is running as a Republican. He praised President Donald Trump in a campaign announcement video and said he will work with him if elected. Dooley has never run for office and largely stayed out of politics until now. Dooley grew up in Athens and is the son of the legendary University of Georgia football coach, Vince Dooley. He will face U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter in the Republican primary next year. The winner of that race will run against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: The City Council in Northeast Georgia's Commerce is set to discuss this evening the fate of a 200-year-old cemetery. A local developer wants to move it to build a business park. GPB's Chase McGee has more.
Chase McGee: About a quarter-mile into Deep Woods, the once-overgrown Wilson Wheeler King Cemetery is now covered in survey flags: red flags where its interred residents' heads are, and yellow at their feet. According to professional estimates, there could be as many as 200 buried here. Among those is James Wheeler, a Revolutionary War veteran. Last month, his third great-granddaughter, Rebecca Wheeler Bunce, was joined by about 50 other descendants and advocates to ask the City Council to keep the cemetery in place.
Rebecca Wheeler-Bunce: It was abandoned, but not abandoned in the sense that nobody cared. It was abandon because nobody could get to it.
Chase McGee: The advocates want better access to the remote site, or at the very least, ask that builders avoid touching the cemetery. The City Council votes on the measure on Aug. 18. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee in Commerce.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: Many Georgia students and teachers returned to the classroom for a new school year today. Public schools in Atlanta, Macon Bibb County and Savannah Chatham County are among those going back. In the state's largest district, metro Atlanta's Gwinnett County, school spokesman Bernard Watson says students will see a new weapons detection system.
Bernard Watson: The Evolve Weapons Detection System. A lot of people are aware of them because you walk through them when you go to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, you can go to different events around metro Atlanta, you walk though them. We first rolled them out last fall at our stadiums and basketball games.
Peter Biello: A new state law requires districts to have an emergency plan and other safety measures in place. That follows last year's deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. For many students in K-8 grades, it'll be the first school year without cellphones in class, since a new state law bans in-class electronic devices for young learners. As always, be careful around school buses and school zones. In many districts, school zone cameras will be turned back on, leading to fines for speeding violations.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: Amazon is considering Middle Georgia's Lamar County for the site of a massive new data center. The tech giant confirmed today that it purchased land in the county as it is, quote, "constantly evaluating new locations." The nearly 1,000-acre site sold for about $270 million and is already zoned for data center use. County Chairman Ryran Traylor says now he's waiting to learn more about the company's plans and how they balance environmental concerns with economic benefits.
Ryran Traylor: You know, we try to keep our community as rural as possible, but we also realize that a company like Amazon or anybody could obviously contribute to our our digest and take some of the burden off of the local citizens.
Peter Biello: Georgia has the second-fastest growing data center market in the nation, behind Virginia. Tomorrow, commissioners in neighboring Monroe County are expected to decide on a proposed 900-acre data center there.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: A 12-year-old Palestinian from Gaza arrived in Atlanta yesterday with his mother as part of a nonprofit's mission to evacuate children needing medical treatment. The boy, Yassin Alghalban, was searching for toys in the rubble of his destroyed home when an airstrike hit and he lost both of his legs. Steve Sosebee of Heal Palestine says the boy and his mother got permissions needed to come to the U.S. after a year of challenges, including having to go to court in Israel.
Steve Sosebee: Some of his injuries are permanent, obviously, but we want to give him back his childhood and we want give him some mobility and independence and give him a chance to be a child again.
Peter Biello: Sosebee says his organization has helped 65 kids get to the U.S. for medical treatment since the war in Gaza began in October 2023. Although the children and their caretakers are not seeking permanent residence, Sosebee says Israel isn't allowing people to return right now, which he calls another quote, "huge challenge."
Story 7:
Peter Biello: After seven years and numerous detours, a downtown Atlanta bridge is finally reopened to traffic. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports the bridge also has a new name.
Amanda Andrews: The Spring Street Bridge is now the Ted Turner Bridge, honoring one of the city's most famous business leaders and former owner of CNN. The upgrades include a new viaduct and roadway, focusing on improving traffic flow and safety. The area also features wider crosswalks and new bike lanes, linking businesses and entertainment districts. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens spoke at the project's ribbon-cutting. He says this corridor will support long-term mobility and ongoing efforts to enhance the downtown area. The project was a partnership between the local and state Departments of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.
Story 8:
Peter Biello: The first major league baseball game ever played in the state of Tennessee took place yesterday in a special matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds. The Braves won 4-2 at Bristol Motor Speedway where a baseball field was built in the middle of the racetrack. Atlanta's Eli White homered twice to put the Braves over the top. Fans from all over the South converged on the racetrack/ball field, including Mariah McClindon from Columbus, Georgia. McClindon says she sat through heavy rain on Saturday night until the game was officially moved to Sunday. And there was no question that she and her family would stay to see the game.
Mariah McClindon: No, as my brother put it yesterday, "I have the keys to the car." So we don't have a choice. But we all wanted to come, 'cause we love the Braves, and we're not missing this opportunity.
Peter Biello: Major League Baseball has been holding special regular-season games at new locations for the past few years, including "Field of Dreams" games in Iowa and last year's game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.
And that's a wrap on Georgia Today. Thanks so much for tuning in. Hope you had a great weekend. We've got a lot of news coming your way this week, so make sure you stay tuned to this podcast. Subscribe to it now and check GPB.org/news for updates on any of the stories you heard today and new stories that our reporters are writing. If you've got feedback, we would love to hear from you. Story tips are appreciated as well. Same email address, 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
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