Thursday on Political Rewind: We turn our attention to the issues people of rural Georgia face. For many years, political leaders routinely talked about the two Georgias: the prosperous Metro Atlanta region and the vast majority of the state’s geography where prosperity was out of reach for many. The phrase went out of favor in political circles because it seemed divisive and discouraging of change. But the problems remain and can’t be easily ignored.
The research shows that across 152 counties, 38% of Black residents in the rural South have no home internet access, compared to 23% of white residents.
Most of Georgia’s landmass is rural. But less than a quarter of the population lives in rural areas. And, according to the latest figures from the United States Census, that percentage is dropping as the state grows more diverse and more urbanized. With redistricting getting underway, some small-town Georgia officials worry their shrinking populations could also cost them political influence at the state Capitol.
More than a year into the pandemic, it’s clear its impacts hit some communities much harder than others. People of color have died in greater numbers in many parts of the state, and COVID-19 death rates are often higher in rural areas with a shortage of medical facilities. On the latest Georgia Today podcast, host Steve Fennessy and Olivia Goldhill, an investigative reporter who covers the pandemic for Stat News, explore how hospital closures are hampering some counties’ efforts to combat the pandemic in southwest Georgia.
In sprawling Flathead County, only 25% of adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Public health experts worry about reservoirs of potential outbreaks as neighbors still debate the virus' danger.
Vice President Harris is leading the White House push on a $100 billion broadband plan — an assignment that could burnish her deal-making bona fides, but also comes with some political risks.
In the next phase of the race to vaccinate Americans, the Biden administration knows the government is not the best messenger. So it's asking communities for help.
A wave of departing medical professionals in rural areas threatens to leave gaping holes in these health care systems and local economies, triggering a death spiral that may be hard to stop.
The isolation and uncertainty of the pandemic are driving the dramatic drop in numbers, threatening the already precarious economies of these areas and widening their socioeconomic drift.
In the 2020 election, the rural-urban divide sharpened even further from 2016, with Republicans consolidating power in rural America which could help them hold onto the U.S. Senate.
As COVID-19 cases increase, many rural communities, places which were largely spared during the early months of the pandemic, are now contending with a spike in infections and hospitalizations.
With a deadline looming, Census workers in Colquitt County are racing to count as many people as possible. At stake, they say, is $500 million for this rural county in southwest Georgia.
The agency serves areas where private carriers won't go. And in those remote communities, which helped elect the president, the Postal Service can be seen as a lifeline as well as a human connection.
Rural America is often painted in broad strokes. Small towns have been hit hard by population declines as more Americans flock to urban and suburban...
