The Richmond County (GA) Board of Education's Super District 7 seat is on the November 8 ballot. Charles Walker Jr. faces challenger Brittiany Broadwater. Learn how their views are different in some ways and similar in others so that you can decide which candidate to support. We also have a special guest AK Hasan to describe the duties of school board members.

The Richmond County (GA) Board of Education's Super District 9 seat is on the November 8 ballot. Incumbent Venus Cain faces challenger Christopher Mulliens. Learn how their views are different in some ways and similar in others so that you can decide which candidate to support.

Today's episode is devoted to explaining the concept of mid-term elections -- which offices are on the Georgia and Richmond County ballots, and who has qualified to run in Richmond County. Local Matters is doing our research and helps you do yours!

Dr. Lee Merchen, District 6 Health Director, Georgia Department of Public Health, joins us to discuss Monkeypox, what it is, where it came from, and how it is transmitted. She explains how to determine whether you need to be vaccinated. We also discussed the current variant of covid.

Dawn Peel, Director of Crisis Coordination, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, talks about what to do when someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis. Over 360,000 Georgians have some form of serious mental illness. Learn what to do, and what happens when you call for help.

Ron Wakefield, Director, Division of Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, discusses how Georgia cares for people with special needs.Some of us are not able to live independently, for a variety of reasons. DBHDD works with school systems and families to identify those who need services and to connect them to services through community based providers or through their state hospitals.

Erica Knighton has resided at the Gracewood campus of the East Central Regional Hospital since 1975. Her mother, retired educator Ann Streetman Knighton, discusses her journey as a black, divorced, woman advocating not only for Erica, but for others with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her advocacy has resulted in change for many, including the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). She describes why in some instances, institutional settings are best.

State Representative Sheila Clark Nelson is completing her third term in the Georgia General Assembly. She has represented East and South Augusta in District 125, and did not seek reelection. She discusses key legislation passed this year, addressing mental health, financial aid for college students, and the professional licensing process for military spouses who are transferred to Georgia. She also describes a day in the life of a legislator.

A newcomer to Augusta, Dr. Marain has become a one woman band in watching what happens in Richmond County State Court. She sits through court sessions, and we can too. She also captures data and advocates for change in state laws which would relieve the enormous consequences that our most vulnerable neighbors face when they commit even relatively low level offenses. Learn more at https://www.augustajustice.org/.

Jared T. Williams, District Attorney of the Augusta Judicial Circuit, joins Local Matters for the final part of a two-part conversation. This episode focuses on the job of the District Attorney (the chief law enforcement officer of the circuit), and how he approaches it. He provides an explanation of the limitations of the criminal justice system that led him to run, and how he has worked with his staff to prosecute those types of cases that are of utmost importance to him.