Greetings, Georgia.

It's Wednesday, April 26, 2023.

After months of hinting at a likely bid, President Biden officially announced on Tuesday that he will seek a second term as president of the United States in the 2024 election.

Meanwhile, here in Georgia, an amendment regulating backyard hens in the residential zone was passed by the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners, a decision that brought pledges to unseat the current board from the capacity crowd of Catoosa County chicken advocates.

And Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and activist who was an associate of Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young, has died at age 96.

This is Georgia Today.

TOP STORIES

✭ Rivian to install electric vehicle charging stations at state parks

(Capitol Beat News Service)

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is stepping up to help roll out a network of electric vehicle chargers across the Peach State.

EV maker Rivian, working with the DNR and Georgia Power, will install charging stations at five state parks and one state historic site.

• “Rivian is a valued partner in electric vehicle innovation and in growing the EV market here in the No. 1 state for business,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday.

The governor joined Georgia Commissioner of Natural Resources Mark Williams and executives from Georgia Power and Rivian at Tallulah Gorge State Park to announce the initiative.

• “We are excited to partner with Rivian and Georgia Power to help our visitors and Georgia travelers reduce emissions and protect our great state’s natural beauty for generations to come,” Williams said. “We have strategically placed these chargers at state parks that are accessible to smaller cities and towns.”

✭ Macon-Bibb County and the GBI ink deal for a regional gang task force headquarters

Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller, at the podium, is flanked by GBI Director Michael Register (center left), other GBI investigators, federal prosecutors and local law enforcement during the announcement of the GBI middle Georgia region's gang task force headquarters. (Grant Blankenship / GPB News)

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is moving the headquarters of the Middle Georgia branch of the state’s Gang Task Force into a fortress-like Macon-Bibb County government building known by many simply as “The Castle.” 

The GBI task force has been active in Middle Georgia for three years, but up until now it has not had an office to treat as a regional headquarters. The building, formerly used as the transportation management office for Macon-Bibb County, is being renovated to fit the role after a memorandum of understanding between county government and the GBI. 

The new location for the task force is positioned between two local poles of law enforcement: the office of the United States Attorney for the region and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

United States Attorney for Georgia’s Middle District Peter Leary said he looks forward to strengthening the collaboration between federal prosecutors and the state’s top investigators. 

GPB NEWS HEADLINES

• Koko Da Doll, an Atlanta woman who gained notice in a documentary about transgender Black women and the dangers they face, was shot to death in Atlanta last week, her sister said.
   
• The University System of Georgia (USG) will waive SAT and ACT test requirements at most of the system’s 26 institutions for another academic year.

• The chairmen of the two legislative committees responsible for tax policy will co-chair an upcoming review of all of Georgia’s tax credits.
   

WHO KNEW?

✭ 'School spirit' sneakers: how one nonprofit fulfilled a wish for a Valdosta student

Allea Christopher (seated) and her principal, LeAnne McCall (center), sport custom crimson tennis shoes from Girls on the Run South Georgia. (Lauren Pope / Lowndes County Public Schools)

Ninth-grade student Allea Christopher gained attention at Lowndes High School in Valdosta for her collection of Adidas shoes. 

When Lowndes High School Principal LeAnne McCall noticed Christopher was wearing gold and black shoes, the colors of the rival school, she asked why. Christopher told her that Adidas does not make crimson shoes, Lowndes High School's color.

• "Allea is always dressed to the nines. She always looks amazing every day," McCall said. 

The pair made a video and sent it to Adidas, asking the company to add crimson shoes. Christopher uses a wheelchair and has small feet, which limits the shoes available to her. 

Christopher and McCall's video grabbed the attention of Claire Walton and Mary Crawford from Girls on the Run South Georgia.

Walton called Wade Custom Shoes Company, located in Valdosta, to help Christopher get her dream shoes. The final product was crimson shoes with bedazzled accents and an illustration of the school's mascot, the Vikings, on the sole. 

• "Giving the shoes to Allea was really a very special moment," Walton said. "She was so excited. She gave me a big hug and she put on a big smile, and just it was just a moment that I will remember forever."

Mifepristone (left) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 to induce first-trimester abortions in combination with a second drug, misoprostol. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Latest podcast episode: Political Rewind: DA Fani Willis says charges due this summer; Biden announces reelection bid

Highlights: President Joe Biden officially announced his reelection bid; Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says indictment decisions will come this summer; What's the future for mifepristone access?

Tune into GPB Radio and GPB.org at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. for Political Rewind.

Today on Political Rewind: Emory University's Andra Gillespie, University of Georgia's Charles Bullock and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein.

Antisemitic flyers show up in East Atlanta; Stone Mountain's Confederate Memorial Day celebration plans; and Forsyth County is planning a $1 billion arena.