Georgia Today: Jones announces governor candidacy; UGA sleep study; Smithsonian voting exhibit

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones announces his campaign for governor. A new study highlights the importance of sleep on brain development, and Georgia will soon be host to a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian on the history and future of voting in America.

Speaker 2 We're bringing this exhibit to places where the children in the communities might never have the opportunity to see a Smithsonian exhibit. It's hard to measure the value of that.

Peter Biello: Today is Tuesday, July 8. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.

Caption

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones announces plans to introduce legislation targeting social media companies and teenagers.

Credit: Georgia State Senate Video

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has made his long-anticipated entry into the 2026 governor's race official. The Jackson Republican today highlighted his ties to Donald Trump and conservative policies. GPB's Sarah Kallis has more.

Sarah Kallis: Jones announced his candidacy with a video posted to his X account. His campaign promises include eliminating the state income tax, increasing penalties for fentanyl dealers, and keeping transgender women out of women's sports.

Burt Jones: Every day, I'm going to work hard and never quit fighting for your family and mine.

Sarah Kallis: Jones' campaign says he already has $14 million on hand. He will face off against Attorney General Chris Carr in the Republican primary next year. Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited, so he cannot run for reelection next year. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Carr says he raised $1.25 million for his 2026 gubernatorial campaign between Feb. 1 and June 30. Carr announced his totals to the Associated Press yesterday, but hasn't yet filed his official report, which is due today. This brings Carr's total fundraising to nearly $3.5 million since November. Other Republicans who could jump into the race include Secretary of State Brad Ravensburger and Rome congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Several Democrats also have begun campaigning for the seat, aiming to end the Republicans' 28-year hold on it. Democratic candidates former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and state Sen. Jason Estevez said last week they each raised a little more than a million dollars since February.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A Georgia appeals court has upheld a ruling requiring county election officials to certify results by legal deadlines. The decision stems from a lawsuit involving a Fulton County election board member who abstained from certifying primary results last year. The court affirmed that officials cannot use their concerns to justify not certifying results. Certification, a routine administrative task, has become contentious since the 2020 election, when some Republicans resisted certifying results. Georgia law mandates certification by 5 p.m. the Monday after an election. The court also clarified limits on officials' document reviews, sending part of the case back for further consideration.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Next year, half a dozen Georgia cities will host a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian about the history and future of voting in the United States. As GPB's Grant Blankenship explains, it will happen despite sweeping federal budget cuts.

Grant Blankenship: "Voices in Votes: Democracy in America" is about the rights and responsibilities of Americans to keep our democracy through voting. Georgia Humanities was already working on plans to bring the exhibit to places like Cartersville, Brunswick, and Dawson when their grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities was cut by DOGE. Now Georgia Humanity's President Mary McCartin-Wearn says Voices in Votes will still happen through philanthropic giving.

Mary McCartin-Wearn: We're bringing this exhibit to places where the children and the communities might never have the opportunity to see a Smithsonian exhibit. And it's hard to measure the value of that, the measurements in your heart.

Grant Blankenship: Meanwhile, McCartin-Wearn says there's still uncertainty about how Georgia Humanities will maintain its funding over the long term. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A new study from the University of Georgia shows that sleep for children is crucial for healthy brain development. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.

Ellen Eldridge: Researchers used Fitbit watches to track the hours and quality of sleep of 2,800 adolescents over two weeks. They compared that data with MRI brain scans and found that those who sleep less were more likely to have problems. Linhao Zhang is the study's lead author.

Linhao Zhang: They are able to develop more healthy brain development and then that will improve their mental health because they have better emotional regulation and cognitive control.

Ellen Eldridge: The study used data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the country. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

​​​​​​​Story 6:

Peter Biello: The Teamsters are pushing back against a proposed cost-saving measure at UPS. The metro Atlanta-based shipping giant earlier this year announced a massive restructuring with plans to eliminate 20,000 jobs. Last week, UPS said it would offer its first-ever buyouts to full-time delivery drivers in the U.S. Teamsters president Sean O'Brien says the move violates the company's 2023 contract with the union.

Sean O'Brien: UPS has welcomed a dangerous fight to its doorstep, and we need to be prepared, we need be ready and courageous enough to call out UPS for what they are: another greedy profit-driven corporation.

Peter Biello: UPS calls the severance offer generous and voluntary and says it remains committed to its agreements. The company's restructuring is aimed at shedding money-losing operations and shoring up profitability.

​​​​​​​Story 7:

Peter Biello: Georgia health care giant Wellstar has named a new president and CEO. The Marietta-based company today announced its next chief executive, Katul Patel, who currently serves in top positions at two large health care systems in the Pacific Northwest. He'll succeed retiring CEO Candice Saunders to oversee a health system with 11 hospitals and more than 30,000 employees in Georgia.

​​​​​​​Story 8:

Peter Biello: The Augusta Symphony has a new executive director. The organization today announced the appointment of Paige Tom as its next leader, overseeing the symphony's operations, programming and outreach. Tom previously served as the finance director for the symphony and Augusta's Miller Theater. She'll succeed Becky Dearden, who was named to the post during the symphony's 70th anniversary last year. The organization says it reaches 20,000 people a year through its annual concerts.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: Georgia Tech has named Ryan Alpert as its next vice president and director of athletics. Alpert is currently senior deputy athletics director and chief revenue officer at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. At Tennessee, Alpert helped boost annual revenue by more than a hundred million dollars since 2022, as he oversaw development, marketing and ticketing, among other things. Alpert also served as the lead on the Neyland Entertainment District, a public-private partnership designed to redevelop Knoxville's riverfront and enhance the game day experience around Neyland Stadium. In a statement, Georgia Tech president Angel Cabrera says Alpert has what it takes to build a winning culture. He'll start at Georgia Tech later this month.

​​​​​​​Story 10:

Peter Biello: And Minnesota Twins outfielder and Georgia native Byron Buxton has been announced as the fourth participant in the Home Run Derby. The event is next Monday, right before the All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta. Buxton joins Nationals outfield James Wood, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. And Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in the competition. Buxton has 20 homers this season. He's from Baxley, Ga., and was the second overall pick by the Twins in the 2012 draft.

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. We hope you'll come back tomorrow. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast so we'll pop up in your feed automatically. And if you want the latest news, you can always check GPB.org/news. Now we are always open to your feedback, so let us know what you like and don't like about this podcast. You could also send us news tips. The email address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. Any note you send to that email address will go to the whole team. Again, GeorgiaToday@GPB.org I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening, we'll see you tomorrow.

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