Friday on Political Rewind: How do we come to terms with debates over the very nature of U.S. history? Clint Smith’s debut work of nonfiction and offers a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of our country’s legacy.
Another controversial part of Georgia's sweeping new voting law would allow state officials to temporarily take over local county elections boards, with Republicans eyeing Fulton County as the first target. An analysis of the measures and statements by election officials suggest that a takeover of Fulton is unlikely to happen any time soon — if at all.
While Georgia’s redistricting process is inherently partisan, there are measures that experts say can be employed to make the process fair and transparent. But a Georgia News Lab/GPB News review finds the state falls far short of those measures.
As the once-a-decade process of redrawing Georgia’s legislative and congressional districts gets underway, government accountability groups and members of the public are calling on lawmakers to increase transparency and public input in the process.
Thursday on Political Rewind: Georgia Republicans have begun taking steps to a possible takeover of Fulton County elections. A letter signed by two dozen state senators supports a performance review of the county’s election chief. Also: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s moratorium on evictions during the pandemic is set to end this Saturday, potentially unleashing a wave of pent-up evictions around metro Atlanta.
The original lawsuit, filed last summer, claims the Georgia Public Service Commission’s statewide at-large districts dilute the voting strength of the state’s Black residents and that the state should move to regional districts represented by one commissioner.
The push and pull between the state and local officials during the pandemic is familiar: Last year, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp blocked local leaders from imposing their own facial covering requirements. This year, his power to do so is more limited.
Historically, the LGBTQ community has faced higher-than-average unemployment rates and workplace cultures that are often difficult to navigate. COVID-19 has only deepened those difficulties for those seeking work. So the city of Atlanta and Goodwill of North Georgia are now taking a step to connect LGBTQ Atlantans with more job opportunities by partnering up for the city's second annual virtual LGBTQ Opportunity Fair.
Workers at the Clarkston Community Health Center are in a fight against vaccine hesitancy. Immigrants, many refugees, make up more than half of the residents in this city of about 13,000 people. The population is at high risk of contracting the virus and, community leaders say, among the hardest to convince to be vaccinated.
A Southwest High School football player died Monday night after collapsing at the team’s practice earlier in the day. 15-year-old Joshua Ivory Jr. died following a medical emergency at practice, according to the Bibb County School District.
Wednesday on Political Rewind: Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C., continue as a U.S. House panel investigates the Jan. 6 insurrection. Meanwhile, data show that the Center for Disease Control’s new guidance on wearing masks to fight the spread of the highly contagious delta coronavirus variant should apply to people in all but a small handful of counties in Georgia.
World Hepatitis Day is commemorated each year on July 28 to enhance awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer.
