Georgia Today: Public Service Commission runoff results; Election committee; Type 1 Diabetes Barbie

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here, we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Peter Hubbard claims victory in the Democratic runoff for Georgia's Public Service Commission. State lawmakers hold a committee on how to improve elections, and toy maker Mattel releases the first Type 1 diabetes Barbie doll.

Torri Symone Fairris: She is anything that she wants to be and now that they've put diabetes on her, she's really saying to the world that you can do and be anything you want while having diabetes.

Peter Biello: Today is Wednesday, July 16. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.

Caption

Peter Hubbard

Credit: Photo contributed by Peter Hubbard

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Peter Hubbard is claiming victory over Keisha Waites in the Democratic runoff for Georgia's Public Service Commission. The commission oversees utilities, including Georgia Power. The runoff yesterday was necessary because neither candidate won a majority in June's primary. Waites is conceding the race to Hubbard. The winner will face Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in November. Debate in the race has focused on rising Georgia power bills. Hubbard is a green energy advocate who supports solar power. Waits is a former state legislator and Atlanta City Council member. Hubbard built a strong lead in unofficial returns. He showed strength in the core metro Atlanta counties of Fulton and DeKalb.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: A committee of state lawmakers examining how elections are run held its first meeting yesterday at the state capitol, GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: The House of Representatives Study Committee on Election Procedures heard from state officials on the role of the State Election Board, Georgia's voter roll maintenance process, and voter registration procedures. Rep. Tim Fleming, who was also running for secretary of state in 2026, chairs the committee.

Tim Fleming: We are not here to litigate past elections, but rather to prepare Georgia for the future, to make sure that every legal vote counts, that voters have confidence in the system, and that our processes are secure, efficient and fair.

Sarah Kallis: The committee plans to hold five more meetings and then issue recommendations for elections policies that could become bills next year when the General Assembly reconvenes. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A senior official at the Atlanta Federal Reserve says many business owners in Georgia are wary of passing tariff costs onto consumers because of uncertainty over exactly how the levies will play out. Speaking at Savannah State University yesterday, Atlanta Fed Chief Economic Advisor David Altig shared a general trend from recent surveys conducted with business leaders.

David Altig: What we hear is the following sort of story: We have already seen cost pressures. It's already with us. We are reluctant to pass those prices on if we just have to reverse them when the tariffs don't turn out to be what we think they might be.

Peter Biello: Altig says the Atlanta Fed will get a clearer view of how the Trump administration's tariffs are impacting the economy once second-quarter data is released next month.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: We want to note that the following story includes references to suicide. The Trump administration is shutting down a national suicide lifeline for LGBTQ youth, effective tomorrow. The move was signaled last month when the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced an end to tailored support for LGBTQ Youth through the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people. Milena Alvarez of Lost and Found Youth, an Atlanta LGBTQ youth support organization, is worried.

Milena Alvarez: The last thing you would want to do is to refer youth to 988 and then not have anybody answer that call. Our concern is that the numbers of suicides will increase.

Peter Biello: The Trevor Project and other groups will continue to run 24/7 mental health support services and 988 leaders say the hotline will serve anyone who calls with compassion.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made about 4,000 immigration arrests in Georgia so far this year. Numbers from the Immigration Data Project show the agency now has made nearly twice as many immigration arrests in the first half of this year than in all of 2024 and five times more than in 2023. They demonstrate how rapidly the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement and how Georgia fits into it. Among other findings in a GPB analysis of the data, the vast majority of people for whom ICE issued detainer requests in Georgia, 80%, had no criminal convictions. A detainer request is made to a local law enforcement agency to delay an individual's release from jail so that ICE can take custody of them. Atlanta's Gwinnett and DeKalb counties and Savannah's Chatham County had the highest number of such requests. Separately, only about 40% of those arrested by ICE had pending non-immigration-related criminal charges. Many taken into ICE custody in Georgia end up at one of the nation's most overcrowded immigration detention centers. Numbers released last week by a Syracuse University-based immigration data clearinghouse shows South Georgia's Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin County held more than 2,300 people as of April. That was more than 300 people over its contractual capacity. Both data sets were based on publicly released data, including through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Five children from Georgia living with Type 1 diabetes were among 170 kids who traveled to the nation's capital last week to lobby Congress to fund T1D medical research. But they also came home with a now-sold-out toy that's making them feel a little less alone. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports.

Ellen Eldridge: Last week, Mattel released the first Type 1 diabetes Barbie. They partnered with research and advocacy nonprofit Breakthrough T1D to create the doll. More than a million people in the U.S. live with the autoimmune disorder. It requires lifelong insulin because the body can no longer produce it. 15-year-old Torri Symone Fairris from Atlanta attended Children's Congress where she was also given a Barbie. She says it feels good to be represented.

Torri Symone Fairris: She is an actor, an astronaut, a doctor, a nurse. She is anything that she wants to be. And now that they've put diabetes on her, she's really saying to the world that you can do and be anything you want while having diabetes.

Ellen Eldridge: Each Barbie wears an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, like many children and adults living with T1D. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Caption

Founders of The Carter Center, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter pictured in 1979.

Credit: Jimmy Carter Library

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The public can now pay their respects at the final resting place of former President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter. The National Park Service announced this week the Carter Gardens at the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park is now open. The Carters were laid to rest at their former home in Plains, Ga. The former president was buried next to his lifelong sweetheart at their family plot in January. Rosalynn Carter died November 2023. The Gravesite Garden, designed by Rosalynn Carter and overlooking a pond built by the couple, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on major holidays. While the Carter home remains closed since their passing, the residence is now part of Jimmy Carter National Historic Park.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: At last night's All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, for the first time in Midsummer Classic history, a pitcher challenged a call by the home plate umpire. Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, starting for the American League, successfully challenged a called ball and struck out San Diego Padres star Manny Machado. It wasn't last night's only use of what's known as the Automatic Ball Strike System, or ABS, and none of its uses would have changed the outcome of the game, but it got a positive review from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who served as skipper for last night's winning National League team.

Dave Roberts: I thought it was great. The fans enjoy it. I thought the players had fun with it. And there's a strategy to it if it does get to — to us during the season. But I like it. I think it — it's good for the game. I'm OK with it.

Peter Biello: Last night's All-Star Game ended in a tie-breaking homerun swing-off, which functioned like soccer's penalty kick shootout. Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who led the American League team, says he wouldn't be surprised if people start talking about using the swing-off to break ties in the regular season.

Aaron Boone: Obviously, you know, I don't think that should happen necessarily or would anytime in the near future, but I got to say, you now, it was pretty exciting.

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Braves resume their regular season on Friday, as they host the New York Yankees for the start of a three-game series.

One more note about last night's MLB All-Star Game. Following the sixth inning, the stadium lights dimmed as a projection recreated Hank Aaron's historic 715th home run, the one that broke Babe Ruth's record in 1974. The moment played out on the field and video board using projection mapping and pyrotechnics. Aaron's widow, Billie Aaron, stood and waved to a cheering crowd after the tribute.

And that is a wrap on this edition of Georgia Today, but we will be back tomorrow, so make sure you subscribe to this podcast to stay on top all of Georgia's headlines. And if you've got a headline that we should be making, but we haven't yet, let us know by email. We love your news tips. Send them to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. That's also where we take your feedback, by the way, so let us what you like about the podcast and what we could do better. Again, GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. All the latest headlines are available for your viewing pleasure at GPB.org/news. We hope you make frequent use of that page. I'm Peter Biello.. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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