Georgia Today: Govt. shutdown continues; Affordable Care Act preview; UGA releases study on coyotes

Sofi Gratas: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Washington lawmakers remain at a standstill over reopening the federal government. Georgians get a first look at their Affordable Care Act plans. And a new study from UGA highlights the challenges of managing coyote populations in the South.

Heather Gaya: Coyote densities were back up to where they had been before any lethal control efforts had started and now we've found that they appear to be pretty stable at that level.

Sofi Gratas: Today is Monday, Oct. 6. I'm Sofi Gratas, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Sofi Gratas: Washington lawmakers remain under a federal government shutdown, showing few signs of progress. Here in Georgia, many furloughed federal workers say they're living paycheck to paycheck. Furloughed CDC workers spoke to former Atlanta state senator and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jason Esteves at a campaign event on Friday.

Transportation security workers at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport are getting some relief during the government shutdown. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta congresswoman Nikema Williams announced the three new measures taking effect next weekend. They include free parking and meal vouchers during the funding lapse.

And the government shutdown is impacting at least one farmer's market in Georgia that serves people under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The Forsyth Farmers Market in Savannah said on Friday that it would suspend its program doubling SNAP benefits at the market because of a funding gap experienced by its partner, Wholesome Wave Georgia. Wholesome Wave gets its funding for the match program from a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. An anonymous donor did step in to fund the program this past weekend, but the program's future is still uncertain. The market is still accepting SNAP vouchers.

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Insurance

Credit: Stock photo

Story 2:

Sofi Gratas: Georgians looking for a new or different health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act can start comparing plans now before open enrollment starts on Nov. 1. It's called "window shopping." But the premiums people see now are just estimates and they could go way up. Window shopping on Georgia's state-based marketplace, Georgia Access, started on Oct. 1. 2026 plans might look much higher. That's because in rate filings, insurance companies have justified increases in monthly premiums across several plans, citing cuts to federal assistance. They also expect healthy people will drop their insurance if Congress doesn't extend enhanced premium tax credits past the end of the year. Natasha Taylor of the consumer advocacy group Georgia Watch says people will not know the real cost of their health insurance until January.

Natasha Taylor: As they're shopping for plans ahead of time, is just keeping in mind that the rates are gonna go up.

Sofi Gratas: Congress is still in a stalemate over health care spending.

Story 3:

Sofi Gratas: Georgia Democratic leaders struck a defiant and hopeful tone at an annual pep rally and fundraiser over the weekend. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports the Carter-Lewis dinner in Atlanta offered a peek at the party's messaging heading into an election year.

Sarah Kallis: The guests heard from party leaders, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who centered his speech around condemning President Trump's policies on immigration enforcement, including the call-up of the National Guard. He also spoke about a path forward.

JB Pritzker: The most patriotic thing we can do for our country right now is to raise the alarm about the danger we are in, build the resistance we need to preserve democratic ideals we hold so dearly, and plant and water the hope necessary to sustain us through the difficult days ahead.

Sarah Kallis: Georgia's two Democratic senators were not in attendance as the federal government shutdown continues. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

​​​​​​​Story 4:

Sofi Gratas: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent almost a million dollars on television ads in Atlanta last week. It's part of a national campaign aimed at recruiting local officers to join the agency as the Trump administration ramps up deportation efforts. ICE is offering sign-up bonuses of up to $50,000 as many local law enforcement agencies struggle to meet staffing demands.

​​​​​​​Story 5:

Sofi Gratas: The head of a nonpartisan agency tasked with finding a new prosecutor for the Georgia election interference case is asking for more time. The judge overseeing the case on Friday ordered the prosecuting attorney's council of Georgia to appoint a prosecutor in 14 days or he would dismiss the case. The agency's director today asked for an extension to that deadline, saying his office hasn't received the case file yet.

​​​​​​​Story 6:

Sofi Gratas: A South Georgia funeral home director is facing more charges after an investigation found 18 decomposing bodies at his place of business. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Friday announced 38 new felony and misdemeanor counts against Chris Johnson of Douglas. Johnson was arrested almost a year ago in a disturbing case that shook many in the community. He previously pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including abuse of a dead body.

​​​​​​​Story 7:

Sofi Gratas: An Indiana-based manufacturer of school bus seats celebrated the opening of a new plant in Macon last week. The company, IMMI, or "Immy," partnered with Macon-based school bus maker Bluebird Corporation on the facility, employing 80 people.

​​​​​​​Story 8:

Sofi Gratas: A new study from the University of Georgia highlights the difficulty in managing coyote populations in the South. GPB's Chase McGee has more.

Chase McGee: You might view coyotes as something of a pest predator. They seem to pop up in both urban and rural areas. But researchers at the University of Georgia found that lethal removal of coyotes often doesn't do much to shrink their population. Researcher Heather Gaya says coyote populations bounce back quickly and then stabilize.

Heather Gaya: And within two years of those efforts being stopped entirely, the coyotes' densities were back up to where they had been before any lethal control efforts had started. And now we've found that they appear to be pretty stable at that level.

Chase McGee: She also says the best thing you can do to control populations is to help them move on: Work with neighbors to make sure the coyotes have no food available and work to create a better environment for them in the woods, away from your home. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Sofi Gratas: That is it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you wanna learn more about these stories and hear more, too, visit GPB.org/news. And if you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, take a moment right now and do it. Keep us current in your podcast feed. If you do have feedback, we would love to hear it. Email us at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Sofi Gratas and we'll see you tomorrow.

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news