The Brief from WABE

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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Banning Critical Race Theory in Georgia becomes an official Senate proposal. And while it's top-of-mind for many state lawmakers, it's not tip-of-tongue, as the bill never mentions CRT specifically; mental health improvements get wide support; and the pandemic's effect on Georgia restaurants.

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Calling it illegal governmental overreach, Georgia's Attorney General celebrates victory after the Biden administration withdraws its OSHA-enforced vaccine mandate; the GOP-controlled Georgia Senate says banning critical race theory, stipulating conditions for when and how social media companies ban politicians, and preventing women from having abortion pills mailed to them are top of their legislative agenda this session; and neighbors of the newly-announced Rivian EV factory east of Atlanta serve up a big helping of NIMBY.

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Fulton's DA gets her wish for a special grand jury to dig deeper into Pres. Donald Trump's alleged election metaling efforts; A potential state constitutional amendment sees a majority of Senators support it. It died anyway. And how do you overcome the 90-foot elephant in the room when discussing the future of Stone Mountain Park? Point a finger and plan anyway.

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Years into a public health crisis and state health officials still have to bargain hard to get an adequate cut of the budget pie; Fulton County writes a seven-figure check to study building a new jail; and a conversation with researchers who say Black women in rural Georgia are dying unnecessarily and disproportionately from cervical cancer.

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Georgia's Sec. of State said it would take a subpoena before he'd cooperate with Fulton County's investigation into whether former President Donald Trump broke Georgia election law. Mr. SOS, your wish might just be a Special Grand Jury's command; Georgia sets a new record for the number of residents with a job; and AirBnB says Midtown, Atlanta is where it's gonna set up shop for its big, corporate tech hub. Those are just a smattering of the stories you'll hear on today's version of The Brief from WABE.

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Stacey Abrams stumps for the first time since launching her gubernatorial re-bid; Behind on your mortgage or utilities because of the pandemic? Georgia has $350-million for folks in that position; and a conversation with the head of Georgia's AME Church, whose op-ed in the New York Times questions whether Democrats have abandoned the Black community because of their softness on voting rights legislation.

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COVID's Omicron variant shows an initial decline; Georgia's University System treats every employee like smokers; and a look at trends emerging this week at the Gold Dome as Georgia's focus turns to paying the bills.

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Why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s family says don't poach his words if you're not going to embody his beliefs; State agencies are fixin' to come to the governor with hands extended; and remembering MARTA CEO Jeff Parker, who died by suicide on Friday.

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The COVID-19 numbers are out, and Georgia is seeing an exponential number of new cases; What's good on the environment front as we kick off 2022; and COVID pills? What COVID Pills? Georgia's largest hospital system hasn't seen a single pill yet. But, hey--they're comin'.

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