Copy
View this email in your browser
THURSDAY, SEPT. 29, 2022

Greetings, Georgia.


Tropical Storm Ian may become a hurricane again this evening as it makes its way to Coastal Georgia and the Carolinas. See below for National Weather Service forecast links and visit gpb.org/storms for weather stories and preparedness tips.

Also in the news, State Election Board Chairman William Duffey Jr. said the board contacted the FBI about voting machine breaches in Coffee County, Ga., and epidemiologists warn fall’s flu season may be busy with COVID still in the mix.

Read on for Georgia today.

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Website

✭ Tropical Storm Ian may become a hurricane again on approach to Georgia and Carolinas

Tropical Storm Ian is predicted to strengthen a bit as it moves over the Atlantic Ocean, before making a new landfall in South Carolina on Friday. (NPR)
 

Ian was exiting Florida on Thursday as a tropical storm — but it could regain hurricane status, drawing power from the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters also warn of a dangerous storm surge and other impacts, from Florida to North Carolina.

  • "Some slight re-intensification is forecast, and Ian could be near hurricane strength when it approaches the coast of South Carolina on Friday," the National Hurricane Center said early Thursday.

Flooding is a concern as a hurricane watch — meaning hurricane conditions are possible within the area — is in effect along the coastline from Florida and Georgia into South Carolina, stretching from below Jacksonville, Fla., up past Charleston, S.C. 

Outside of Coastal Georgia, where the watch is in effect, other regions of the state may experience wind gusts and isolated rain and storms but severe weather is not forecasted.

Check your local forecast for the most accurate weather information in your part of the state.

Read More
RELATED: 

Visit GPB.org/storms for updates, safety resources, and emergency management information.

Visit the National Weather Service, Charleston, S.C. for Coastal Georgia weather forecasts, flooding and storm surge information.

Visit the National Weather Service, Peachtree City, Ga. for weather forecasts for other regions of Georgia.

Here, you will find Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency information.

Flu season may worsen this year with relaxed COVID-19 mitigation, experts warn

(CDC/Pexels)

Some epidemiologists say the upcoming flu season is a bit of uncharted territory with respect to its expected intensity. That’s because, over the past two years, people have been wearing masks to avoid catching COVID-19, which also dramatically slowed transmission of influenza viruses. 

Now, mitigation efforts are virtually nonexistent in some areas, including among health care workers in nursing homes and hospitals, according to recent recommendation changes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When President Joe Biden recently said "the pandemic is over," epidemiologists like Amber Schmidtke said that is simply not so.

  • “It was surprising because his claim isn’t supported by data and because he doesn’t have the power to declare that a pandemic is over, and certainly not when COVID-19 continues to cause problems throughout the world, including in many countries who have yet to receive a single vaccine dose,” Schmidtke wrote
Read More
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward

Virginia Gov. Youngkin holds get-out-the-vote rally for Gov. Brian Kemp in Alpharetta

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin held a get-out-the-vote rally for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in Alpharetta Sept. 27, 2022. Youngkin has been campaigning for Republican candidates in battleground states like Georgia. (Jill Nolin / Georgia Recorder)


Gov. Brian Kemp hit the Atlanta suburbs Tuesday in hopes of firing up conservative voters in an area that has been moving toward Democrats in recent elections.

Kemp took the stage in Alpharetta’s City Center with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose narrow win last year and success in suburban areas made him a rising star in GOP politics. Youngkin has been campaigning for Republican candidates in other battleground states, like Michigan and Nevada, stirring speculation about his own political aspirations.

  • “Every state in America deserves a Republican governor,” Youngkin told reporters when asked about whether the 2024 election speculation has become a distraction for him.
Read More
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward

✭ The power of the vote in Georgia's disability community

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities is hosting a candidate forum this week as a way to both show the power of the disability community and learn from the candidates about their disability platforms. (GCDD)

As the midterm election fast approaches, many groups of people are asking to meet with candidates to get to know their specific viewpoints on issues that are most important to them. The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities is hosting a forum Thursday night to hear about issues of importance to Georgia's disability community.

GPB Morning Edition host Leah Fleming spoke with D 'Arcy Robb, executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities.

  • "You know, we just want to make sure that folks with disabilities have the information they need and the support they need to be able to vote," said Robb. "You know, that's really critical. And so a lot of it is just, you know, is really just voter engagement — from a strictly nonpartisan standpoint, of course — but making sure that folks have the information and making sure, for example, that it's broken down in a way that folks are comfortable with it."
Read More
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward

Georgia students mingle with farm animals to spark interest in agriculture

Chattahoochee Hills Charter School students pet a 900-pound dairy cow named Lana, during a USDA event Sept. 27 aimed at sparking young Georgians' interest in agriculture.
(Riley Bunch / GPB News)

 

Students from Chattahoochee Hills Charter School, ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade, met some interesting new classmates on Tuesday.

One of them was Lana, a 900-pound dairy cow who stood lazily in the shade while students stroked her back and marveled at her size.

Lana was accompanied by some friends from the Little Red Barn Mobile Petting Farm — a Scottish Highland cow named Cinnamon, two Shetland sheep called Heather and Heidi and a rabbit who goes by Butterscotch.

Principal Patrick Muhammad said the goal is to cultivate an early interest in agriculture that will hopefully lead to a career.
  • Agriculture is the No. 1 business and income of the state of Georgia, but it’s always 30,000 jobs short,” he said. There's careers in agriculture — but (students) have no idea about it. So my goal every day is expose them to new opportunities. So as they get into college, start choosing career paths, they can look at agriculture.”

 

Read More
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
RELATED: 

Trio of new murals spotlight change in Brunswick 

 In Brunswick, Ga., three murals highlighting local Black history and social engagement were completed in September.  (Jeffery M. Glover / The Current)
 

On Saturday, Sept. 24, Brunswick celebrated the completion of three new public murals by artist Sheila Pree Bright in the project, “Honoring the Past and Building the Future.”

The honorees:

  • Georgia Gibbs was co-founder, and secretary of the local NAACP in 1929.
  • The Rev. Julius Ceasar Hope mural honors the pastor who played a major role in desegregating public areas around Brunswick.
  • In Ahmaud Arbery Park in Brunswick, a multi-walled mural is inspired by Arbery, a jogger who was killed in 2020 while running in a white neighborhood nearby. 

Bright said she's happy to bring the community together, and sought to inspire just one person.

Read More
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward

Headlines around the state

Savannah Morning News: Marietta Daily Journal: District: 
Monday through Friday, host Bill Nigut leads a panel of journalists and experts in a respectful discourse on topics reflecting our state's political news. 

Listen live at 9 a.m. or catch the encore broadcast at 2 p.m.

Today's episode can be heard below!


Georgia Today is written by Sarah Rose and written and edited by Khari Sampson and Kristi York Wooten.
Thank you for sharing your evening with us. Feel free to send us feedback at GAToday@gpb.org.

Like what you're reading? Share with a friend!

We count on YOU and your donations, to support our journalism. Show your support!
Donate
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Copyright © 2022 Georgia Public Broadcasting, All rights reserved.

 

Our mailing address is:

260 14th St NW • Atlanta, GA 30318

1-800-222-4788

GAToday@gpb.org



Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.