WABE's Week In Review

The city of Atlanta and other partners are trying to fill in the gap that will be left by residents using SNAP losing the benefit. Meantime, Georgia says it will not help some of the 1.4 million people living here that receive SNAP with Governor Brian Kemp saying the state will not bail out the federal government. Plus, Georgia Head Start programs will shutter as the federal government remains shutdown. Also the election for two seats on the utility regulatory board has become a high-profile race with both parties pouring in cash. And how one Atlanta-based artist is using video games to translate the emotions of isolation fueled by the immigration experience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The election for two seats on Georgia's Public Service Commission, the board that regulates your utilities, is now more high profile than ever with national dollars coming in. Plus, a fired Georgia teacher is suing her district over her first amendment rights for what she posted about the killing of Charlie Kirk. And Georgia environmental activists are asking the state to permanently protect areas around the Okefenokee Swamp from mining. We'll have officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources explaining what they're considering to make more money from parks. Also, we look at how some local groups are trying to help victims of violent crime get compensated. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Devon Horton resigned on Wednesday just days after a federal indictment against him in the state of Illinois for an alleged kickback scheme at his previous school district. Plus, more than five dozen detainees at the Fulton County Jail are currently sleeping on the floor, while a new diversion center designed to help prevent overcrowding is struggling to fill its beds. Also food vouchers for TSA workers offered by the city of Atlanta are allegedly caught up in federal government red tape. And an Atlanta food institution-- "Eats"-- closes its doors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DeKalb County's school board has suspended Superintendent Devon Horton with pay following a federal indictment in the Northern District of Illinois. He's accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks on a school construction project while a superintendent in suburban Chicago and faces 17 federal charges of embezzlement, wire and tax fraud. Also, thousands of Georgia moms and young kids are at risk of losing federal food assistance, depending on how long the current government shutdown lasts. Plus, some Atlanta’s senior residents will get help staying in their homes through a program that’ll cover their property taxes. And school book bans in Georgia are coming largely from Cobb County as the trend grows nationwide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take a local look at the impact here from the federal shutdown from the airport to natural disaster response to the healthcare implications. Plus, Coastal Georgia residents will get to vote on a controversial zoning change for an historic Gullah-Geechee community on Sapelo Island. And Atlanta Public Schools has launched a new text message hotline to help students work through mental and emotional challenges they may be experiencing. Also, international students in Georgia could see limits to the amount of time they can stay in the U.S. with F-1 visas. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The State Senate in Georgia is looking at ways to possibly incorporate a plan from several Republican state lawmakers and candidates who are pushing to eliminate the state income tax. Plus, it has been a year since Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of Georgia. We look at how some residents are rebuilding in ways that has them more prepared for the next storm. And Georgia will now have to do more to track food insecurity in the state following cuts to a federal program by the Trump administration. We also examine the local impact on the new fee for H-1B visa applicants. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federal officials ordered CDC workers back to in-person work this week about a month after a gunman shot hundreds of rounds at the buildings and killed a police officer. Plus, the Trump administration is pausing the reasonable accommodation for CDC workers with disabilities that allowed them to work remotely. Plus, the crowded race for Georgia governor gets more crowded. And we look at the electric vehicle sector post Hyundai immigration raid and just as Rivian broke (ceremonial) ground on its factory outside of Atlanta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hundreds of South Koreans who were working on building an electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah are now back in South Korea, following last week's ICE raid. We look at what happened and the business and political implications of the raid. Plus, the latest in the case against people who were protesting Atlanta's public safety training center, an update on MARTA and new information about the state of DeKalb County's tree canopy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two top officials who resigned last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning of grave threats to public health under the Trump Administration, as Georgia's two U.S. Senators call for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign. And we mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School. Plus, a visit to a bookstore in Marietta that makes sure LGBTQ folks are the main characters of their stories, and we explain why state scientists are studying rusty fish hooks left behind in rivers and streams. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dozens of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention former and current employees demonstrated this week in support of the agency's top leadership, several of whom resigned following the firing of CDC director Susan Monarez. Plus, we have more from Georgia lawmakers about the mobilization of the National Guard in an effort to assist at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the state. And the Atlanta City Council is caught in the middle of a fight over what to do about the deterioration of the Fulton County Jail, where some people held there are again sleeping on the floor. We'll also look at how those who fled Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago have made an impact in Atlanta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fulton County commissioners gave the green light to a new $1.1 billion jail project in na effort to replace the beleaguered current facility. Meantime, some of them could face jail or fines for refusing to appoint controversial Republicans to the election board. Plus, hundreds of workers at Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received permanent termination notices this week, according to the American Federation of Government Employees. And we look at why food banks here say they are seeing such an increase in need. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A week after the shooting at the headquarters of the CDC in Atlanta we look at how anti-vaccine rhetoric and unfounded claims against health professionals has led to violence and threats toward them and their institutions. Plus, insurance on the ACA marketplace could spike if Congress fails to act. And what does the future look like for Georgia parks that rely on federal funding. Also, we track how well sea turtles are adapting to climate change. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Delta Air Lines officials say they will not use personal data in AI pricing after facing criticism from U.S. Senators. Plus we explore how federal cuts under the Trump administration could impact organizations helping refugees settled in Atlanta, aiding low income residents in need of healthcare and maintaining the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. And we look at Georgia's impact in the Voting Rights Act which was passed 60 years ago this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the Trump administration continues cutting tens of thousands of jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, staff and vets who rely on Atlanta's VA braces for changes. We also profile a program that helps those previously incarcerated find housing that is now struggling to stay intact after federal funds are drying up. And as a variety of industries in Georgia--from construction to tech--report they're struggling to find skilled workers, we look at a new trade school aiming to help bridge the gap between education and labor. Plus, we have a remembrance of philanthropist and developer Tom Cousins, who died this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia’s abortion law took effect three years ago this week. It limits allowing the procedure to roughly the first six weeks of pregnancy, and some Atlanta abortion rights advocates, doctors and patients say it continues to interfere with reproductive healthcare. Advocates and lawyers for a Spanish-language journalist fighting deportation from Georgia say they believe his plight is retaliation for his work. A new report from the University of Georgia says the state needs better coordination to prepare for worsening disasters like hurricanes and heat waves. Last month, a meteorite made a bit of a scene in metro Atlanta, streaking across the sky before shooting through the roof of a house in Henry County. We examine the space rock. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MARTA's Board of Directors says CEO Collie Greenwood, who is Canadian, is taking early retirement after he stepped down abruptly this week over immigration issues. A prominent Georgia Republican is apologizing for an alleged Ponzi scheme that cost investors millions in the now defunct First Liberty Building and Loan. Georgia’s physician shortage could grow worse because of changes to medical student-loan programs under President Donald Trump's spending and tax bill that passed earlier this month. Georgia leaders and education advocates are calling on Governor Brian Kemp to push for the release of federal funds for after-school and summer programs after the Trump administration announced it would withhold $200 million in previously approved education funding for the state. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We review plans from Fulton officials that would see property owners in the county face a 12.5% tax rate increase. Plus, members of Georgia’s Africa legislative caucus are calling on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stop the Trump Administration's plan to ban visitors from African and Caribbean countries. And we look at the big numbers being touted by candidates for Georgia's governor and where that money is coming from. (Here's a hint: Loans.) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump's spending plan could have big impact on Georgia. We look look at the thousands of solar jobs at stake as well as how it could affect Georgia's state budget. Plus, a local journalist who was arrested while covering a protest on Chamblee Tucker Road is now out on bond from an immigration detention center. Atlanta after-school and summer program providers are sounding the alarm after the Trump administration abruptly paused their federal funding. And as many folks "shoot the Hooch" over the holiday weekend, we look at how clean (or not) the Chattahoochee River actually is. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look at the confirmation hearing for the proposed new head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta as well as more funding and program cuts. Plus, a Salvadoran journalist is now fighting deportation after he was arrested in Georgia while covering a protest as he faces new criminal charges in Gwinnett County. And the future is uncertain for federal programs that help elderly and low income Georgians pay energy bills but there may be alternatives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Georgia woman declared brain dead but kept on life support because she was pregnant was removed from her ventilator this week, days after her baby was delivered by emergency C-section. Plus, a local journalist is awaiting a bond hearing from the Folkston ICE Processing Center in southeast Georgia after he was arrested while livestreaming police conduct at an Atlanta area protest. We also have more on Georgia politicians being rattled by the recent assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker at her home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.