Georgia Today: Mailing medical marijuana; Roller derby; Atlanta Braves historic win

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Democrats remain hopeful they'll win a long shot Georgia congressional seat. Medical marijuana patients in Georgia will soon be able to get their products through the mail, and Braves ace Chris Sale had high praise for Ray Kerr after the Braves' historic win last night. 

Chris Sale: He embodies everything that a professional athlete should be in terms of resilient, never giving up, never backing down. We don't win this game without him. 

Peter Biello: Today is Friday, Oct. 2. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. 

Story 1

Peter Biello: Democrats in Georgia's most conservative congressional district know the odds of winning a congressional seat aren't in their favor, but they remain hopeful. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports. 

Sarah Kallis: Democratic candidate Shawn Harris has run twice to represent the 14th District and will be on the ballot again in November. He told voters at a town hall in Cobb Thursday he is hopeful voters will send him to Washington, but acknowledged it's an uphill battle. Navy Eager, a voter in Cobb County, says even if Harris does not win the seat, shaving the margins is still an accomplishment. 

Navy Eager: Moving the needle closer is still a mission accomplished in my book because it puts us on the map and it gets people paying attention. 

Sarah Kallis: Republican congressman Clay Fuller beat Harris by over 10 percentage points in April's runoff special election after former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Cobb County. 

Story 2

Peter Biello: Georgia medical marijuana patients soon will be able to get their products delivered through the mail. The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission says patients with verified access will be able to receive cannabis from licensed dispensaries. Delivery of THC products became an option when the drug was federally reclassified from a Schedule I to a Schedules III drug in April. Gary Long is CEO of Botanical Sciences, a chain of physician-owned dispensary. He says the change will clear up access issues for patients. 

Gary Long: Many of whom are living in rural communities. They don't have access to a local dispensary or they could be infirmed potentially in their home or in a long-term care setting or even in a healthcare facility like a hospital. All of those scenarios could now be serviced by delivery. 

Peter Biello: The proposal now heads to the secretary of state's office for a signature. The first cannabis deliveries will go out later this month. 

Story 3

Peter Biello: If you've ever anticipated that first bite of a tomato sandwich and been disappointed, there might be an explanation. GPB's Chase McGee explains. 

Chase McGee: New research from the University of Georgia has identified a tomato gene responsible for flavor. It's why a homegrown heirloom tomato tastes better than what you buy at the store. As growers domesticated the tomato for large-scale agriculture, they selected for traits like disease resistance or crop yield, according to UGA horticulture professor Esther van der Knaap. 

Esther van der Knaap: In that selection process, inadvertently, the good gene was lost and the story here highlights for breeders now how they could improve flavor of tomato by selecting this good gene in their germplasm. 

Chase McGee: Vonderknapp says with modern plant genomics, it should be easy for tomato breeders to reintroduce the gene for flavor, while keeping yields and disease resistance high. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee. 

Story 4

Peter Biello: That's the sound of fans at Truist Park celebrating the final out of last night's Braves win against the Philadelphia Phillies. For the first time ever, the Braves have eliminated the rival that shut them out of World Series contention in 2022 and 2023. Michael Harris II homered in the first inning to give Atlanta a 3-nothing lead — a huge psychological boost that just seemed to power the Braves and the fans in Truist Park through the rest of the game. And downstairs after the game, the champagne started flowing. Those screams of joy belong to Braves designated hitter Dominic Smith, spraying his teammates — and the press — with champagne. Pitcher Grant Holmes is among those drenched. His signature long curly hair is saturated with champagne and Budweiser. Holmes was the second Atlanta pitcher of the game, and he inherited a lead he never gave up. 

Grant Holmes: Coming out with a lead, y'know, knowing that we had a chance? Y'know, it was pretty special. It was awesome. 

Peter Biello: The whole Wild Card series was marked by several dramatic moments, including Austin Reilly's go-ahead homer late in Game 1. In what would seem like a risky move on the part of manager Walt Weiss, who started relative newbie Ray Kerr on the mound for the deciding Game 3, Kerr allowed only a single hit in three innings of work. Braves ace Chris Sale had high praise for Kurt. 

Chris Sale: You'd want to talk about resilience. Ray Kerr is what this team is this year, and he embodies everything that a professional athlete should be in terms of resilient, never giving up, never backing down. We don't win this game without him. 

Peter Biello: Now it's on to the National League Division Series in LA against the defending World Series champions, the Dodgers. Utility man Mauricio Dubon says this moment feels really good. 

Mauricio Dubon: First step, trying to enjoy this, enjoy tonight and then forget about it tomorrow and keep going. 

Peter Biello: And now Dubon and the Braves turn their attention to Saturday's Game 1 against the Dodgers. Over the regular season, the Bravers beat the Dodger's five of six times. It's a stat that could give even the most pessimistic Atlanta fan a reason to hope. 

Story 5

Peter Biello: In 2008, the Soul City Sirens became the only women's flat track roller derby team in Augusta. Today, the team is a second home for transient military families. GPB's Amanda Andrews spoke to the skaters about how they found the Sirens ahead of the team's fall intro to roller derby boot camp. 

Speaker: Still in anybody's court to go through a full home of W on today's matchup between the Soul City Sirens and Black Skaters with Attitude, BWA. 

Kelly Biller: My name is Kelly Biller, my derby name is Kalamity, and I am the current president of the Soul City Sirens roller derby team. I attended a boot camp and fell in love with it since then. I just wanted to know more. I wanted to learn how it was played. I was really eager to start hitting people. It's a great stress reliever. So it's just, and the community itself, everyone is just so welcoming. We're very inclusive. And we just try to let everyone know that derby is for everybody. 

Tanzania Ellis: I never skated but I was just like "Let me do something crazy; let's just get cuckoo bananas" and that's why I did it and it was the best choice ever. My name is Tanzania Ellis, my derby name is Yankee Doodle Tanzi and my jersey number is 315. I'm from Syracuse, New York, and we moved out South because my husband's active duty and so after moving down South, everyone would call me a Yankee. And so that's why I stuck with Yankee. My ZIP, like my area code back home is 315, and my nickname is Tanzi, for — short for Tanzania. So I went to boot camp January of 2025. I went all by myself and I've made the best of friends and it's just been so good mentally, physically. I learned about myself that I can do hard things. I can do challenging things. And if I put my mind to it, I can find my community. I can build my family away from home. 

Speaker: And close that gym session to pick up some points before — And can pick up one of her own! 

Faith Powell: So my name is Faith Powell but I go by Panic when I'm here. I moved here to Georgia and I had no friends and these guys are like my family. I never played a sport before and this just taught me how to feel athletic, strong and empowered. I'm addicted to it. 

Speaker: And here they go, ooh, what a big ol' hit! Coming up, number 301, a massive hit on Panic. 

Faith Powell: I went to boot camp and it was a lot of fun because like I said I knew how to roller skate a little bit but I was like a little baby deer on wheels. They teach you everything, they let you borrow gear so you're nice and safe. And we're not going to ever just throw you out there and just expect you to hit people; like we're going to teach you about safety, skill, the basics. 

Speaker: Four points at a time is not a bad deal at all!

Faith Powell: I feel like when you have roller derby you have a country full of cousins, basically. I was a captain on this team for about three years, so I mean we just grow together, we sweat together, we play together, win and lose. It's like a big old bond. 

Speaker: Big round of applause for them today. It doesn't happen without them, everybody. 

Peter Biello: Soul City Sirens' fall boot camp runs through Oct. 25. The team will host a winter boot camp in January. 

Story 6

Peter Biello: Augusta University now has its own branded beer. The university said yesterday that it has partnered with Savannah River Brewing Company to create a 5.3% alcohol blonde ale. Called Bell Tower, it comes in cans featuring AU's signature bell tower in blue and gray colors. 

Story 7

Peter Biello: A 107-year-old ice cream shop in Savannah has opened a new location. Leopold's Ice Cream, a staple in the city's historic district, got the ribbon today on a storefront in the city's Starlin neighborhood just south of downtown. Shop owner and Hollywood producer Stratton Leopold recently spoke with David Zelsky of GPB's Fork in the Road about the iconic ice cream parlor's Georgia Grown connections. Founded in 1919 by Greek immigrant brothers, Leopold's now has four locations serving beloved flavors, including its original rum ice cream with candied fruits and roasted pecans, the Tutti Frutti. They opened at Savannah Hilton Head International Airport in 2017 and on Wilmington Island just east of Savannah in 2025. 

Peter Biello: 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 want support the work being done at GPB to bring you all this news, make a contribution during our fall fun drive at gpb.org. If you haven't subscribed to this podcast yet, take a moment. Do it now. That'll keep us current in podcast feed. We're going to be back on Monday. You've got feedback. We'd love to hear it as well. Email us. The address is [email protected]. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. And have a great weekend. 

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