Georgia Today: Winter storm on the way; Ponzi scheme guilty plea; Measles in Georgia

TRANSCRIPT:

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, the coming winter weather prompts Gov. Brian Kemp to declare a state of emergency. A Georgia financial advisor has pleaded guilty in a Ponzi scheme. And officials have confirmed a baby has the first case of measles in Georgia in 2026. 

Dr. Andi Shane: We want everybody, parents and children, to check their vaccination status and make sure that they're up to date on their measles vaccine. 

Peter Biello: Today is Thursday, Jan. 22, I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. 

Story 1

Peter Biello: Experts are warning people to keep up with current forecasts as a winter storm approaches. 30 North Georgia counties, including Atlanta's Fulton County, are under the latest winter storm watch issued by the National Weather Service at noon today. But if the storm moves further south, more areas of the state could see dangerous impacts. GPB's Chase McGee has more. 

Chase McGee: Dr. Marshall Shepherd is the Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia. He says counties in some places will see sleet or freezing rain. 

Dr. Marshall Shepherd: What's driving our scenario is something called the wedge. Here in Georgia, we get a nose or wedge of cold air that dams up against the Southern Appalachians and oozes down the I-85 corridor from the Carolinas into Georgia. 

Chase McGee: He warns that not only will we see precipitation, but you can also expect 20-30 mph winds, and then temperatures in the single digits next week as people recover from the storm. Shepard also warns that because of early online buzz about this storm, some people might have old or bad information about where it's going. Even worse, some people might not know it's coming at all. 

Dr. Marshall Shepherd: We have to be OK as a culture, as a society, with preparing for things, you know. I've seen scenarios where, you know, tornado watch was issued for folks and it didn't actually happen and it was almost like they were mad the tornado didn't destroy their house because they actually prepared for it. 

Chase McGee: Emergency officials say people need to have essentials on hand, including water, shelf-stable food, batteries, and light sources, regardless of what the forecast says right now. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Peter Biello: If you have not yet prepared for the storm, do it now. That's according to state officials. GPB's Sarah Kallis has more. 

Sarah Kallis: Georgia Emergency Management Director Josh Lamb says it's time for residents to stock up on food, gas, and other essentials before the storm brings ice and snow to the northern part of the state. 

Josh Lamb: By being ready for the storm, Georgians can do their part in minimizing risk, reducing the time it takes to recover, and most importantly, prevent the loss of life. 

Sarah Kallis: Lamb also says people should not use the oven to warm up their house or bring a generator inside because of carbon monoxide poisoning risk. Officials are also telling drivers to stay off the roads if they are icy and to drive slowly. If you must drive, they say to use extra caution. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis. 

Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency. The order suspends truck weight limits to allow emergency response services to move fuel and supplies around the state and authorizes the call of 500 National Guard troops. 

Governor Brian Kemp: Obviously, we do not have a need for those folks right now. Hopefully, we won't, but we just want to be prepared in case we do that we can move and get Gen. Wilson and his team responding as quick as possible. 

Peter Biello: Maj. Gen. Dwayne Wilson leads the Georgia National Guard. The troops could help clear the roads and move equipment if needed. He says trucks will start brining roads late Friday and local and state emergency management services will monitor the storm 24-7. 

Story 2

Peter Biello: The Georgia Department of Public Health last week confirmed a case of measles in a baby who was too young to receive the routine measles vaccination. It's the first case of the measles identified in Georgia this year. And last year in Georgia, there were 10. For more information on measles and how to best protect yourself, let's turn to Andi Shane. She's professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and a physician at Children's Health Care of Atlanta. Welcome to the program. 

Dr. Andi Shane: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here, Peter. 

Peter Biello: So measles is extremely contagious. Can you spell out what it takes for the virus to spread from person to person? 

Dr. Andi Shane: Yeah, so measles is one of the most contagious viruses that we know of, and it spreads via the airborne route, primarily. And so, unfortunately, if a person with measles is in a room and leaves the room, the measles virus can continue to be present in the room for up to two hours after the individual leaves the group. And also, if you have unvaccinated people who are in a room with somebody who has measles — or comes back into the room after someone with measles has left — between eight to nine of those individuals who are unvaccinated will then acquire measles. 

Peter Biello: So when doctors learn about a potential exposure situation, how do they go about tracking people down and let them know they might've been exposed? 

Dr. Andi Shane: So this is a collaborative team effort, when this occurs, between public health and the clinician who is involved. These outbreak investigations are a huge effort, require a tremendous number of resources and involve the public health agencies working together with the clinician, basically tracking everywhere that an individual who is infectious has been within a certain period of time. 

Peter Biello: Once someone's alerted that they may have been infected, what's next? Do they have to isolate themselves and monitor for symptoms? And if they have isolated, about how long do they have to isolate for? 

Dr. Andi Shane: So there's — it depends on the exposure and the extent of the exposure. We have two situations. One is quarantine when an individual is asked to not go out into the environment after they've been exposed. That individual who's been exposed is not symptomatic. And so they have to be in their home for a period of time after the last infectious exposure. And that can vary, depending on the situation, between three to four weeks. If a person is exposed and becomes symptomatic, then they also go into what we call isolation, where they have to remain at home or in a home environment for a period of time as well. 

Peter Biello: How effective is the measles vaccine at preventing serious illness? 

Dr. Andi Shane: So the MMR vaccine — and that's the vaccine that is available in the United States — it contains protection against measles. One of the M's stands for measles, one of the M's stands for mumps and the other — and the R stands for rubella. What we know is that in a population who receives one dose of the measles vaccine it's between 93% to 95% effective and that is after the receipt of one dose. In the United States, we recommend that everybody receive a second dose and that additional dose, it provides additional protection in that 5% to 7% who may not have mounted protection to the original vaccine. And so with two doses, 97% or so, 98% of the population is immune to measles. 

Peter Biello: So what should you do if you think your child may have been exposed to someone who has a confirmed case of measles? 

Dr. Andi Shane: So first of all, we want everybody, parents and children, to check their vaccination status and make sure that they're up to date on their measles vaccine. So that's the one thing that everybody can do. If we're up-to-date for age on measles vaccination, then the chances that you will acquire measles after being exposed are extremely low. If your child is unvaccinated or unable to be vaccinated and you hear or are concerned that they may have been exposed to someone with measles, the first thing to do is to monitor for symptoms and if symptoms should develop, then seek medical care. It's also important before going to a physician's office, if you think that you have measles, to call ahead and notify so that you can be seen in a way that you won't expose other people to the measles virus if you in fact do have measles. 

Peter Biello: Well, thank you so much for this information. Andi Shane is professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and a physician at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Thank you so for speaking with me. 

Dr. Andi Shane: My pleasure. 

Story 3

Peter Biello: The state will not prosecute a former candidate for the Georgia Public Service Commission who was arrested and charged with stealing Georgia Power trade secrets. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wrote in a court filing yesterday that the evidence doesn't support further prosecution of consumer advocate Patty Durand. The Democrat was arrested after an October PSC meeting when she took a Georgia Power notebook that was left unattended at a podium for hours. 

Credit: DBHDD

Story 4

Peter Biello: The Trump administration wants to release Georgia's mental health care system from federal supervision after 16 years. The State Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities yesterday announced a joint court filing with the U.S. Department of Justice. If the court approves it, Department Commissioner Kevin Tanner says the agency no longer would have to abide by more than 60 provisions of a 2010 settlement. 

Kevin Tanner: The 60 behavioral health provisions will be replaced with a single requirement that we house 537 additional individuals in supportive housing. These will need to be provided through 404 Georgia housing vouchers. 

Peter Biello: The original settlement was meant to avoid a lawsuit over accusations that the state violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Tanner said funding for those housing vouchers are included in the department's latest proposed budget. He credits the development to years of investment in Georgia's behavioral health system. 

Caption

Residents lined up to speak during public comment at the Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting Jan. 21, 2025. The majority of them focused on housing.

Credit: Amanda Andrews / GPB News

Story 5

Peter Biello: Fulton County commissioners have approved funding for supportive housing after a public outcry from residents and leaders of the city of Atlanta. But GPB's Amanda Andrews reports the money approved will last only through this year.

Amanda Andrews: Fulton County voted to approve $2.1 million for supportive housing projects addressing chronic homelessness. Atlanta housing organizations are expected to open 230 new units of supportive housing this year. Funding covers the cost of social services through 2026, but funds for 2027 and beyond are not a given. Sojourner Marable Grimmett is a housing advocate. She says sustained help would be ideal. 

Sojourner Marable Grimmett: People need stable housing, affordable housing, and so this would be a long-term solution for me, an effort that I believe that the board of commissioners need to look down the road, if you will. 

Amanda Andrews: Fulton County passed its 2026 budget in a 4-3 split vote. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews. 

Story 6

Peter Biello: A Georgia financial adviser has pleaded guilty in a Ponzi scheme that bilked more than 2,000 people out of $380 million. Federal prosecutors say 54-year-old Todd Burkhalter entered the plea yesterday to wire fraud.  Burkhalter was accused of marketing fraudulent investment schemes and pocketing the money. His company was based in Alpharetta, north of Atlanta, and the FBI says many of his victims lived in the Atlanta area. 

Story 7

Peter Biello: Augusta has its first-ever James Beard Award-nominated chef. The awards, often called the Oscars of the Food World, yesterday announced semifinalists for its 2026 honors, along with nine Atlanta-area restaurants or chefs. This year's nominees include Todd Schaeffer of the 12-year-old Abel Brown Southern Kitchen and Oyster Bar in Augusta. 

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit gpb.org/news. And if you haven't yet hit "Subscribe" on this podcast, make sure you do it now. Keep us current on your podcast feed and send us feedback if you've got any. The best way to reach us is by email. The address is georgiatoday@gpb.org. 

I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.