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Georgia Today: Exec order targets unions; Aerospace and Defense Alliance; Alzheimer's advisory group
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On the Monday, Aug. 25 edition of Georgia Today: An executive order targets unions at the Department of Health and Human Services; Georgia aerospace and defense companies form an organization to advance their industries; and two Georgia residents will serve on a new advisory group for Alzheimer's disease.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, an executive order targets unions at the Department of Health and Human Services. Georgia aerospace and defense companies form an organization to advance their industries and two Georgia residents will serve on a new advisory group for Alzheimer's disease.
Andrea Lucas: Being an African-American woman who had early onset Alzheimer's, I just felt like I needed to come out of the shadows.
Peter Biello: Today is Monday, Aug. 25. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: The Georgia National Guard will join part-time soldiers from other states to support federal immigration enforcement, GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.
Sarah Kallis: A spokesperson for the Georgia National Guard says Georgia troops will give logistical and clerical support to officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to free ICE to make more actual arrests. Republican Senate Public Safety Committee Chair John Albers says this is not the first time the Guard has been deployed to help immigration enforcement. Georgia has stationed National Guard troops at the border since 2019.
John Albers: That's why we have the Guard, in order to be able to quickly assemble and go to an area of need to provide, whether it be some safety, some relief, whatever the need happens to be. They're the most highly trained and patriotic men and women, and they're the right people for the job.
Sarah Kallis: About 75 troops will deploy around the state after training in September. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Staff at agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services are expected to lose their access to unions. An executive order ending collective bargaining for thousands of government employees had been put on hold by appellate judges in California until Friday, when the decision was reversed. The American Federation of Government Employees Local 2883 served staff at Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They say the decision strips CDC staff of a support system at a time when layoffs and violence have already left them demoralized. Local 2883 says it will continue to represent members in workplace disputes and provide other resources.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: Atlanta Democratic state Rep. Tanya Miller has announced her candidacy for Georgia attorney general. She joins two Republicans and a Democrat in the race. Current Attorney General Chris Carr is running for governor, leaving the position open. Miller became chair of the House Democratic Caucus last year and has opposed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp's legislation limiting lawsuits. She plans to focus on fraud, predatory lending, and corporate landlords. Former Democratic House Minority Leader Bob Trammell from West Georgia, Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert of Athens. And Republican state Sen. Brian Strickland of McDonough also are running.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: Georgia's leading aerospace companies today announced the formation of a new statewide organization dedicated to advancing the state's aerospace and defense industries. The Georgia Aerospace and Defense Alliance is being launched by Gulfstream Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce, Flight Safety International, and Pratt & Whitney. It will be housed at Mercer University in Macon, with Ember Bentley as executive director and Jay Neely as its initial board chairman. Bentley most recently served as chief of staff and vice president for external affairs at Middle Georgia State University in Macon, home to Georgia's flagship school of aviation. Neely serves as board chairman for the State Department of Economic Development.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: Two Georgia residents will serve two-year terms on the Alzheimer's Association's National Early Stage Advisory Group. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports they hope sharing their personal experiences will raise awareness about living with dementia.
Ellen Eldridge: Atlanta's George King and Andrea Lucas want others to know that quality of life is possible while living with Alzheimer's disease. Sixty-year-old Lucas says she was diagnosed last year with mild cognitive impairment.
Andrea Lucas: Being an African American woman who had early onset Alzheimer's, I just felt like I needed to come out of the shadows. I needed come out the shadows because, again, my first instinct was to be — you know, to hide.
Ellen Eldridge: More than 7.2 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's disease, including more than 188,000 in Georgia. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: An interchange in Roswell has officially been named in honor of Roswell police officer Jeremy Lebonte, who was killed in the line of duty in February. Lebonte's wife, Alyssa Lebonte thanked the community for honoring her husband.
Alyssa Lebonte: It makes me really proud to know that his name and his sacrifice won't be forgotten. And he would hate the spotlight, but everyone deserves to know what kind of man he was in and out of the uniform.
Peter Biello: Lebonte was shot and killed while responding to a suspicious person call. The state legislature passed a bipartisan resolution in April, renaming the intersection in his honor.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp will lead a trade mission to Brazil and Argentina this week. The governor and first lady Marty Kemp will join representatives from state departments of economic development and agriculture and the Georgia Ports Authority in meeting with executives from companies already operating in Georgia or building new projects here. Last year, Georgia exports to Brazil totaled $748 million, with another $120 million in exports going to Argentina.
Story 8:
Peter Biello: A bit of news on the metro Atlanta transit system MARTA today. MARTA's Decatur station will close its western entrance Sept. 2nd through 5th during renovations of the City of Decatur's public square above the station. The eastern entrance on Church Street will remain open and bus service is unchanged.
Story 9:
Peter Biello: The City of Dunwoody is hosting a free kids' bike safety rodeo next month. The event is billed as showing young cyclists' essential safety skills while building confidence on their bicycles. The event is Sept. 13 for kids 5-12.
Story 10:
Peter Biello: In sports, in golf, Tommy Fleetwood ends a summer of heartache with the richest prize on the PGA Tour. He won the Tour Championship at Eastlake in Atlanta yesterday for his first tour title to capture the FedEx Cup and its $10 million reward. Fleetwood got plenty of help at the start when Patrick Cantlay began bogey, double-bogey and could never catch up. Scottie Scheffler hit his opening tee shot out of bounds and still was a threat until a tee shot into the water ended his hopes on the 15th. Fleetwood shot 68 and won by 3 over Cantlay and Russell Henley. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley tied for seventh.
In baseball, the Braves head to Miami today for a three-game series against the Marlins. This comes after dropping two games of three over the weekend to division rival, the New York Mets.
And the Atlanta Falcons are hosting a girls flag football showcase tonight. 200 high school athletes will get to show off their skills to college coaches in a combine style workout. The Falcons say more than 100 Georgia high school athletes have received offers to play flag football at the next level from this event since its inception in 2021. Flag football is a fast-growing sport in Georgia with more than 300 high school programs.
And that is all the news that's fit to broadcast on the podcast today. We appreciate you tuning in and we hope you'll come back tomorrow. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast so we pop up in your feed tomorrow afternoon. And check out GPB.org/news for updates on any of the stories you heard today. And if you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Send an email to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. News tips welcome as well. Again, GeorgiaToday@GPB.org I'm Peter Biello. Thank you 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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