Carter visits Ga. pharmacy; Disaster Mitigation Committee; New food bank in Atlanta

Summary

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Georgia Today — August 26, 2025

Host: Peter Biello (Georgia Public Broadcasting)
Main Themes: Drug costs and pharmacy sustainability, disaster mitigation efforts in Georgia, community food security developments, and updates on local arts, business, and events.

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Episode Overview

This episode of Georgia Today brings sharp focus to how policy, community action, and economics intersect in Georgians’ daily lives. It covers Congressman Buddy Carter’s visit to discuss drug costs at a local pharmacy, a statewide examination of disaster response and resilience, and the expanding effort to fight food insecurity with a new community food center in Atlanta. The episode weaves in updates on art, festival funding, and local businesses, painting a vivid picture of issues impacting Georgia residents.

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1. Buddy Carter Visits Atlanta Pharmacy: Rising Drug Costs and Independent Pharmacies

[01:01–02:11]

• Key Points:

  • U.S. Rep. (and Senate candidate) Buddy Carter visited Briarcliff Pharmacy to learn about challenges pharmacists face due to rising drug costs.
  • Pharmacy owner Jonathan Marquess shared how insurance reimbursements often don't cover prescription costs, forcing the pharmacy into financial losses.
  • Carter blamed some of the cost pressures on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and touted his new bipartisan bill targeting PBMs’ practices.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “Our pharmacy, we paid $12 and the insurance came back and said we’ll pay you $7.41.” — Jonathan Marquess, explaining the financial squeeze ([01:36])
  • “This man or woman standing there having trouble breathing, it’s hard to say no to that.” — Jonathan Marquess, on the moral challenge facing pharmacists ([01:42])
  • “Those losses threaten the livelihood of independent pharmacies.” — Sara Kalis, GPB Reporter ([01:46])

• Insight:

  • The story highlights the unsustainable economics for smaller, independent pharmacies and prompts Carter to advocate for regulatory change.

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2. Disaster Mitigation Conference: Building Resilience Across Georgia

[03:02–03:49]

• Key Points:

  • Rep. Clint Crow, who led the state’s Disaster Mitigation and Resilience study committee, joined nationwide experts in Athens to discuss preparedness.
  • The committee’s main recommendation: establish a statewide office for disaster mitigation coordination.
  • Georgia’s vulnerability isn’t limited to hurricanes—from the Gulf or Atlantic—but includes all natural and man-made disasters.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “We’re not just looking at hurricanes. We’re looking at all natural and man-made disasters for that matter. Anything we can be prepared for for any kind of a large-scale emergency response.” — Rep. Clint Crow ([03:21])

• Insight:

  • The convening, sponsored by Pew Charitable Trust, emphasizes learning cross-state best practices and the necessity of a centralized disaster response system.

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3. Atlanta’s New Community Food Center: Meeting Growing Needs

[03:49–04:34]

• Key Points:

  • The new Adamsville center is the fourth established by Atlanta Community Food Bank.
  • Its offerings include fresh, frozen, and baby food—demonstrating a multifaceted approach to food insecurity.
  • The center, funded by local government and community investment groups, is seeing high demand, already serving 700 families with plans to expand.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “As a community, we’ve got to come together and increase access for our neighbors. We have too many kids and families and seniors who need more access. So it’s on us to make sure that all of our neighbors, all the families in metro Atlanta and North Georgia have what they need.” — Kyle Wade, President of Atlanta Community Food Bank ([04:17])

• Insight:

  • The expansion is a direct response to rising food prices and highlights the collaborative, community-driven response to basic needs.

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4. Additional Local Highlights & Updates

[04:46–08:46]

• Booting Proposal in Sandy Springs ([04:46]):

  • Legal proposal to increase booting warning sign size to four by three feet.
  • Push for more public transparency in booting contracts.

• Freddie Styles Fundraiser after Tragic Fire ([05:11]):

  • Well-known Atlanta artist Freddie Styles lost his home and art collection in a fire.
  • Community fundraising: out on Film screening of “Making Sweet Tea”; GoFundMe and auction efforts raise substantial aid.

• Georgia Ports Authority Economic Impact ([06:01]):

  • Report: 650,000 jobs supported statewide through port activity (UGA’s Selig Center).

• Brookhaven Dome Tile Dilemma ([06:18]):

  • Colorful tiles for City Center Dome too vibrant; city explores refund or community art projects for repurposing.

• The Nerd Store Relocation ([06:35–07:53]):

  • LGBTQ-friendly gaming shop in Albany moved to a new location, cutting overhead; ongoing fundraising for sustainability.
  • “We’re still trying to raise money via the GoFundMe… at the end of our three years here in this space, we do want to have the option to buy.” — Daniel Van Odegam, co-owner ([07:35])

• Atlanta Dogwood Festival Funding Crisis ([07:53–08:46]):

  • Festival (since 1936) may be canceled unless $250,000 is raised by November.
  • “We’ve been around longer than ‘Gone with the Wind’ and it looks so successful… people probably felt that it was successful, it didn’t need help.” — Brian Hill, Festival Director ([08:33])
  • Financial woes date to the pandemic, despite high public attendance.

• Atlanta Braves 2026 Season Opener ([08:46]):

  • Braves open at home vs. the Kansas City Royals on March 26, 2026—first home opener since 2022.

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Memorable Quotes

| Time | Speaker | Quote | |---------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:36 | Jonathan Marquess | “Our pharmacy, we paid $12 and the insurance came back and said we’ll pay you $7.41.” | | 01:42 | Jonathan Marquess | “It’s hard to say no to that.” | | 03:21 | Clint Crow | “We’re looking at all natural and man-made disasters for that matter.” | | 04:17 | Kyle Wade | “As a community, we’ve got to come together and increase access for our neighbors.” | | 07:35 | Daniel Van Odegam | “We’re still trying to raise money via the GoFundMe… at the end of our three years here…” | | 08:33 | Brian Hill | “We’ve been around longer than ‘Gone with the Wind’… it looked so successful…” |

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Conclusion

This episode offers a concise yet rich update on urgent policy debates (drug pricing, disaster prep), crucial community responses (food security, arts recovery), and ongoing local stories that reflect resilience and adaptation amid economic and social challenges. It balances essential reporting with firsthand voices, reinforcing the real-world impact on Georgia’s communities.

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For more details or to follow up on any stories, visit gpb.org/news.

Transcript

[NPR Host]

These days there's so much news it can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family and your community. The Consider this Podcast from NPR features our award winning journalism. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news. We get behind the headlines. We get to the truth. Listen to the Consider this podcast from npr.

[Peter Biello]

Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, U.S. representative Buddy Carter visits an Atlanta pharmacy to learn about rising drug costs. Athens hosts a conference of experts from around the country focused on mitigating natural disasters. And a new community food center opens in Atlanta.

[Kyle Wade]

As a community, we've got to come together. We have too many kids and families and seniors who need more access. It's on us to make sure that all of our neighbors have what they need.

[Peter Biello]

Today is Tuesday, August 26th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. U.S. representative and Senate candidate Buddy Carter visited a pharmacy in Atlanta today to learn more about how pharmacists are coping with rising drug costs. GPB's Sara Kalis reports.

[Sara Kalis]

Jonathan Marquess, the owner of Briarcliff Pharmacy, told Carter he regularly has to take losses. Insurance companies don't fully cover the cost of prescriptions. He used the example of a prescription they recently filled for an asthma inhaler.

[Peter Biello]

Our pharmacy, we paid $12 and the.

[Kyle Wade]

Insurance came back and said we'll pay you $7.41.

[Peter Biello]

And this man or woman standing there having trouble breathing, it's hard to say no to that.

[Sara Kalis]

Marquest says those losses threaten the livelihood of independent pharmacies. Carter says rising costs can be partially attributed to pharmacy benefit managers, also known as PBMs. He touted his recent bipartisan bill that aims to place more on PBMs, which negotiate prices between pharmaceutical manufacturers and insurance companies. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

[Peter Biello]

President Donald Trump's attempt to fire one of the seven Federal Reserve governors, one with deep roots in Georgia, will likely end up in court. Trump's claim that he can fire Lisa Cook is legally dubious. Legal experts say Trump's announced firing of Cook has rattled financial markets. The Republican president said yesterday he was removing Cook because of allegations she committed mortgage fraud. Cook was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022 and says she won't step down. Her lawyer says Trump has no authority to remove her. She hails from Milledgeville in middle Georgia and she has strong family connections to Baldwin county and Georgia College and State University. A Georgia State representative who spearheaded a study committee on recovery from natural disasters met with mitigation experts from around the country today. WUGA's Emma Auer has more from the conference in Athens.

[Emma Auer]

Representative Clint Crow, a Republican from Jackson, led the Disaster Mitigation and Resilience study committee in 2024. The group found that Georgia needs a statewide office to coordinate disaster mitigation efforts. Crow spoke with, quote, resiliency planners from across the US to learn about best practices for disaster response.

[Clint Crow]

We have opportunity or occasion for storms to come from either side from the Gulf or the Atlantic. We're not just looking at hurricanes. We're looking at all natural and man made disasters for that matter. Anything we can be prepared for for any kind of a large scale emergency response.

[Emma Auer]

The event was sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust, which convened disaster mitigation specialists from 20 US states. For GPB News, I'm Emma Auer in Athens.

[Peter Biello]

As prices rise, more families are turning to food banks. A new community food center opened in Atlanta yesterday to meet the need. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more from the grand opening.

[Amanda Andrews]

This is Atlanta Community Food Bank's fourth food center, this time in the Adamsville neighborhood. It's stocked with fresh and frozen food and even baby food. Funding for the center came from Fulton County, Atlanta City Council and Invest Atlanta. Kyle Wade is the president of the food bank. He says they've been seeing higher demand.

[Kyle Wade]

As a community, we've got to come together and increase access for our neighbors. We have too many kids and families and seniors who need more access. So it's on us to make sure that all of our neighbors, all the families in metro Atlanta and North Georgia have what they need.

[Amanda Andrews]

The new food center already has 700 families signed up to receive food and plans to expand to 1000. For GPB news, I'm Amanda Andrews.

[Peter Biello]

If you've ever had your car booted, you may sympathize with the recent proposal before the Sandy Springs City Council. City Attorney Dan Lee is proposing to change the size of the sign warning people about being booted to four by three feet. The idea is that the bigger sign would be a more prominent warning to drivers that cars improperly parked would have their tires placed in a locked clamp. The city ordinance already requires a contract with the property owner where cars would be booted. Lee proposed having those contracts delivered to the city so that booting sites could be listed publicly. Lee was told to bring the ordinance back to a regular meeting of the City Council earlier this year. Out Atlanta artist Freddie Styles suffered an unimaginable tragedy. Styles, who's 81, lost his home, along with all of his own artwork and the art he had collected, to a fire. Now some of his friends and colleagues are helping him raise money to get back on his feet. Tomorrow night, out on Film will host a fundraising screening of the documentary Making Sweet Tea at the landmark Midtown Arts Cinema in Atlanta. The film is based on E. Patrick Johnson's book Sweet Black Gay Men of the south, which features more than 60 life stories from black gay men who were born, raised and continue to live in the South. Stiles is one of the subjects. The film premiered at out on film in 2019. Stiles, Johnson and some of the other subjects will be present for the screening. All money raised will go to Stiles. A GoFundMe page has already raised almost $40,000 for Stiles, and an auction at Hammond's house netted more than $30,000. The economic impact of trade through Georgia's ports is rising. The Georgia Ports Authority said Today it supported 650,000 jobs across the state in the fiscal year that ended in June. The numbers come from the Selig center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. The Brookhaven Arts and Culture Commission has taken on the task of what to do with the colorful tiles originally meant for the new City center dome. In June, the city said the tiles would be removed after installation because they were brighter than expected. The city would like to return the tiles for a refund, but there's a chance that won't come through. Some early ideas for repurposing the tiles include a community art project with the police department or schools and creating an art installation at a city owned building. A game shop in Albany reopened yesterday in a new, less expensive location. The Nerd Store sells trading cards, hosts tabletop gaming events and serves as a safe space for the LGBTQ community in southwest Georgia. It announced the need to move earlier this month, citing high rent costs, and began a search for a new location. Co owner Daniel Van Odegam says the new space, just two miles away from its first location, cuts more than two thirds of their overhead costs.

[Daniel Van Odegam]

We're still trying to raise money via the GoFundMe to work on paying down some of the expenses from the move and work on accumulating money for a down payment on a mortgage. Because at the end of our three years here in this space, we do want to have the option to buy, van Odigam Sundays.

[Peter Biello]

With only three weeks without a home. The gaming community kept in touch via discord with the occasional game night at private homes and on one occasion a Waffle House. Rising costs and fewer sponsorships are threatening one of Georgia's longest running arts and music festivals. Officials with the 90 year old Atlanta Dogwood Festival said today they need to raise a quarter million dollars by November or there won't be another festival. The director of the annual three day spring event, Brian Hill, is appealing to city officials, corporations and some of the 200,000 people estimated to attend each year.

[Brian Hill]

We've been around longer than Gone with the Wind and it looks so successful. Everything looks great at the Dogwood Festival, so people probably felt, and I'm sure they felt that it was successful, it didn't need help, he says.

[Peter Biello]

Financial troubles started with the pandemic and they haven't fully recovered. The festival started in 1936, aiming to make Atlanta internationally known for its blooming dogwood trees. The Braves will host the season opener next year at Truest Park. Major League Baseball release schedules for the 2026 season, which will begin on Thursday, March 26 next year as the Braves face the Kansas City Royals at home. The Braves will follow that three game series with another against the Athletics. It is the first time the Braves have had a season opener at home since 2022. Other notable home dates include a three game series versus the Washington Nationals over Memorial Day weekend, a Father's Day matchup against the Milwaukee brewers on June 21 and an Independence Day game against the Mets. The Braves will play one three game series against each American League team except the Boston Red Sox. They'll play two three game series against the Sox, one at home and one in Boston. And this is a preliminary schedule. It is subject to change. And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. And that is it for me hosting this podcast. For the next six weeks, I'm going to take some parental leave to be with my son, who I am happy to say is happy and healthy and who I hope will enjoy having dad around the house a bit more often. Georgia Today will be in the capable hands of a few different members of the GPB News Team. Subscribe now and hear their lovely voices through your podcast app of choice every weekday afternoon. If you want to learn more about any of the stories you heard Today, go to gpb.org news and remember, your feedback is always welcome. Send it to us by email. The address is Georgia todaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.