The Brief from WABE

A US Senator from Georgia is worried elected officials have too much insider access to play the stock market game with any fairness; Georgia's top doc is worried lawmakers might go too far in opposing vaccinations; and members of the state's GOP fear regulation of free speech on college campuses is silencing conservative voices. But don't you worry. Instead, get caught up with a quick listen to The Brief from WABE.

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For the third time this year, Spelman College receives a bomb threat; there's been a sharp drop in new COVID infections reported in Georgia, but the numbers of folks who must be hospitalized remains high; and guilt and distress are two things most would agree have no place in public school classrooms. Georgia's GOP says the fear of that possibility alone is enough to pass a law that would prevent certain topics related to race from being taught in schools. [So sorry, kids--you can't blanketly claim guilt or distress as a way to get out of third period.]

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Metro Atlanta sees Covid-19 cases falling or remaining steady during the first week of February; immigrants seeking asylum in Georgia courts are finding more success under the current administration; lawmakers debate changes to the state's hands-free driving laws and a conversation with U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock on what more federal funding for tech education could mean for Georgia.

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The three white men guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, who was Black, rescind their guilty pleas on federal hate crimes charges; Years after parts of their back yards were taken for the BeltLine, and some 30 Decatur homeowners are finally going to see a check in the mail; And how do you get elementary school kids to come back to school on a Saturday to get a shot? Throw a big superhero-themed party. Oh, and give 'em $100.

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Mea Culpa, power grab, or simply because they can? State House Republicans have the backs of Gwinnett County's GOP minority, who are using that power to counter Democratic gains at the county level; Fixing a problem that doesn't exist is how the head of Georgia Equality, Jeff Graham, describes an effort by the Georgia Senate to prevent trans students from joining sports teams aligned with their gender identity; and Cobb County is set to vote on limits for short-term rentals, like AirBnB.

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After Democrats swept elections for Georgia's largest school district, senate Republicans feel it's time to make those seats non-partisan; Kind of like Y2K, only this time for real, one state official urges Georgians to look beyond their cell phones as telecom shutters 3G service; And the power of a refrigerator to help provide those with food insecurity more healthful food.

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Gwinnett County Republicans have a redistricting map that looks... different...than the one the current all-Democratic county commission drew up. That's not going over so well; state GOPers want to put $6,000 vouchers into parents' hands so they can choose where to send their kids to school--public or private; and a second day of bomb threats against HBCUs has the FBI and APD combing Spelman's West Atlanta campus.

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A federal judge strikes down plea agreements in the hate crimes trial for the men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery; Gov. Kemp tours a metro school to tout his education agenda (but says nary a word about proposed state laws banning Critical Race Theory and some books); and Georgia Power sunsets all of its remaining coal fired powerplants.

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Baby, it's cold outside--the coldest weather metro Atlanta's seen in at least four years is upon us; Turns out that tossing an old M-60 battle tank followed by parts of a defunct bridge into the ocean can really help the underwater ecosystem off Georgia's coast; and a local coalition says the best way to cut down on former inmates returning to prison is to remove questions about convictions from college admissions forms.

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Teachers aren't happy about two bills from the Ga State Senate that would ban "divisive concepts" from their classrooms. The head of Georgia's largest educator organization says they plan to let lawmakers know it; East Cobb gets the greenlight to cityhood--why one official is asking to pump the breaks; and housing appreciated in value a staggering 20% in metro Atlanta last year.

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