Georgia Today: Shutdown affects foster care; Starbucks workers vote to strike; Smarter prosthetics

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here, we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, a look at how the ongoing government shutdown could delay reuniting children and foster care with their parents. Some Starbucks workers in Georgia vote to strike. And a Georgia Tech student who lost his foot as a child is now working with fellow students to build smarter prosthetics for others. 

Nathan Wallace: I almost wanted to cry just seeing how much time and how much energy and the passion that the people have in the lab towards this kind of field. 

Peter Biello: Today is Friday. November 7th, I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. 

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Advocates for foster care families are warning the continuing government shutdown could delay parent-and-child reunions. That's because the federal funding gap and ongoing court battles are adding to weeks of uncertainty over the food program SNAP. Kate Blair says she works with parents that could face a choice between food and their children. She's the executive director of Brightside Child and Family Advocacy in Savannah. 

Kate Blair: A judge cannot return a child to an environment where they cannot have a house and food and schooling, right? Like they're required to provide these needs. That is what I anticipate. That will be the impact if this continues and these families are without these much-needed benefits. 

Peter Biello: She says young adults transitioning out of the foster care system are feeling the impact first and reaching out to her for help. 

Story 2:

Peter Biello: As more than 1 million Georgians who rely on SNAP benefits face continuing uncertainty over the food program, an Atlanta filmmaker is stepping in to help. Tyler Perry told People magazine in an article published yesterday that he's donated nearly $1.4 million to Atlanta and Los Angeles groups helping impacted families. The organizations include Atlanta Community Food Bank and Meals on Wheels Atlanta. The media mogul told the magazine, quote, "compassion is not political, it's humanity." 

Story 3:

Peter Biello: The state's only medical school devoted to training doctors from rural Georgia to practice in rural Georgia will move to a new facility anchoring downtown redevelopment in Macon. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more on the groundbreaking. 

Grant Blankenship: When completed, Mercer University's medical school will move to a new $80 million facility on a former industrial site on the banks of the Ocmulgee River. Also planned are 198 apartments, retail space, and a conference center. Dr. Jean Sumner is the dean of Mercer Medical School and was a graduate of its first class some 40 years ago. She says the new school will help students, all of whom must come from Georgia, train with the latest technology before going home to practice. 

Dr. Jean Sumner: We're about 50% rural, 70% outside of metropolitan Atlanta, and those students are as good as any student you can find in this country. They have work ethic, they have resilience, and they — and they want to go home. 

Grant Blankenship: The new Mercer Medical School and the related development is expected to take about three years to complete. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon. 

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Starbucks union members have voted to strike at the company's U.S. stores next week unless it finalizes a contract agreement. Starbucks Workers United says it represents workers at a dozen Georgia locations, but it's unclear how many of them could be impacted by any strike. The work stoppage would begin on Nov. 13, Starbucks Red Cup Day, typically one of the company's busiest days of the year. 

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A Canadian timber company is closing its lumber mill in Augusta. West Frasier said yesterday the move will eliminate 130 jobs and is a result of quote, "challenging lumber demand." The company is another mill in British Columbia because of higher duties and tariffs. The announcement comes as George is on track to end the year with as many layoffs as 2023 and 2024 combined. 

Caption

Nathan Wallace (right) tests new prosthetic leg designs in Georgia Tech's EPIC lab.

Credit: Georgia Tech

Story 6:

After losing his foot as a child, one Georgia Tech student decided to use his experience to design smarter prosthetics for others. GPB's Chase McGee has more. 

Chase McGee: Nathan Wallace has been wearing a prosthetic leg for the majority of his life. That experience can be exhausting, especially on long treks across a college campus. But now, he works at Georgia Tech's Exoskeleton and Prosthetic Intelligent Control lab, helping design and test prosthetic legs that learn from their users. He says the first time he visited the lab, he was overcome with emotion. 

Nathan Wallace: I almost wanted to cry just seeing how much time and how much energy and the passion that the people have in the lab towards this kind of field. 

Chase McGee: That experience encouraged him to work towards a future in education, so he can continue his research and help the next generation of engineers. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee. 

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Opera is bringing to the stage this weekend the show about love, scandal, and death by tuberculosis. Can you name the show? It's Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, and the opera's guest conductor, Denmark-based Evan Rogister, recently sat down with GPB Classical's Sarah Zaslaw to talk about the tragic romance and the difference between conducting an orchestra and an opera. 

Evan Rogister: Well, I will say opera is simply almost twice as hard as doing symphonic work. I'll tell you that is still feels to me, I still feel like that 4-year-old getting to do his dream job; it's like playing in a candy shop. 

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Opera production begins tomorrow at the Cobb Energy Centre. You can hear Sarah's interview with Rogister at GPB.org/news. 

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. We do appreciate you tuning in and we hope you'll come back on Monday. We're gonna have the latest headlines. Same time, same place. Hope you subscribe to this podcast so you remember to listen and you can send any feedback and story ideas you have to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. You can always check for updates to these stories and read the latest headlines at GPB.org/news. Our reporters are constantly working and posting new stories there. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. And have a great weekend. 

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