Flint River lawsuit; 13th District runoff; Infertility legislation

Summary

Georgia Today Podcast – July 29, 2026

Main Theme:
This episode of Georgia Today covers several pressing news items from across the state, including an environmental lawsuit against Atlanta over pollution in the Flint River, a congressional runoff in metro Atlanta’s 13th district, the ongoing debate over infertility legislation in Georgia, and a conversation with Georgia Poet Laureate Chelsea Rathburn about her new poetry collection. The episode is anchored by host Peter Biello and includes timely reporting from the GPB News team.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Flint River Lawsuit: Environmental Groups vs. Atlanta

• Segment Start: [02:20]
• Details:
  • Environmental groups (Southern Environmental Law Center and Flint Riverkeeper) have sent a legal notice to Atlanta, alleging years of illegal pollution flowing from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport into the Flint River.
  • Pollutants cited include fuel, sewage, PFAS (“forever” chemicals), and more, with at least three petroleum spills into the river occurring this year alone.
  • A significant leak on Memorial Day was traced to a broken bolt in an underground fuel line.
  • The groups must wait 60 days before pursuing federal Clean Water Act claims.
  • The city of Atlanta has not provided comment yet.
• Quote:
  • “[The airport] has repeatedly discharged fuel, sewage, PFAS, or forever chemicals, and other pollutants into the river and nearby creeks.” – Pamela Kirkland ([02:31])

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2. 13th District Congressional Runoff

• Segment Start: [01:36]
• Details:
  • The special election in metro Atlanta’s 13th district advances to a runoff, as no candidate cleared the 50% threshold.
  • Marcy Scott (daughter of the late Rep. David Scott) and Everton Blair (former Gwinnett County School Board chair) are the Democratic candidates heading to the runoff on August 25.
  • The winner will serve only until January, filling the remainder of Rep. David Scott’s term.
  • Scott had announced her candidacy shortly after her father’s passing.
• Quote:
  • “Marcy Scott and Everton Blair, both Democrats, advanced to the runoff in the five-person race where no candidate cleared the 50% threshold to win outright.” – Sarah Kalis ([01:43])

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3. Infertility Legislation & Insurance Coverage for IVF

• Segment Start: [03:52]
• Details:
  • New advocacy push in Georgia for legislation mandating insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF).
  • Currently, a single round of IVF can cost up to $30,000.
  • Past legislative efforts to require both public and private insurance coverage for IVF have stalled.
  • Other states have seen positive outcomes from inclusive and comprehensive insurance mandates for infertility care.
  • Advocacy groups hope to renew legislative momentum in Georgia.
• Quotes:
  • “In Georgia, the ability to build a family often comes down to what you can afford and whether your insurance covers in vitro fertilization.” – Ellen Eldredge ([03:52])
  • “We've seen the benefit in other states where... insurance mandates are inclusive and comprehensive...” – Jorie Dugan, Human Rights Council ([04:13])

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4. Sentencing in School Shooting Case

• Segment Start: [00:30]
• Details:
  • Colin Gray, father of convicted school shooter Colt Gray, faces sentencing for providing the weapon used in the Apalachee High School shooting.
  • Gray was convicted on over two dozen charges, including multiple counts of murder and manslaughter, marking the first parental conviction of this kind in Georgia.
  • Penalty could range from time served to 180 years; Gray is expected to appeal post-sentencing.
• Quote:
  • “This case is one of a handful in the US where parents have faced convictions for their role in a child’s crimes using a weapon, and the first in the state of Georgia.” – Chase McGee ([00:54])

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5. Macon-Bibb County Breaks Ground on New Arena

• Segment Start: [04:34]
• Details:
  • Ceremonial groundbreaking for a $350 million arena to replace the iconic Macon Coliseum, which dates back to 1968 and has hosted legends like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
  • Mayor Lester Miller reminisced on the importance of the Coliseum to the community and his own educational milestones.
  • The new arena is expected to open in 2028 and continue the tradition of serving as a major cultural and sporting venue for the area.
• Quote:
  • “Your children, your grandchildren, deserve to make those same memories. They need to be made in a building that's built for them.” – Mayor Lester Miller ([04:57])

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6. Conversation: Georgia Poet Laureate Chelsea Rathburn on "Broken Houses"

• Segment Start: [05:34]
• Details:
  • Poet laureate Chelsea Rathburn discusses her new poetry collection, “Broken Houses,” reflecting on the meaning of home, childhood, family, and memory through the houses she’s lived in.
  • Shares personal anecdotes about her parents’ poverty, the significance of owning a home, and poignant moments with her mother.
  • Reads and discusses poems “In Miniature” and “The Flattened Crusts, the White Skins Seeping”, exploring themes of expectation, kindness, and familial love.
  • Expresses love for her role as Poet Laureate, especially judging the statewide high school poetry contest.
• Memorable Quotes & Moments:
  • “Our homes are more than just pieces of real estate. They shape who we are.” – Peter Biello ([05:28])
  • “Money was just always incredibly tight when I was small. We lived in a series of really dismal apartments... We were always worried that something was going to happen and we were going to lose the house.” – Chelsea Rathburn ([06:13])
  • “Our dreams and wishes and expectations, they don't always... the reality doesn't always live up to those, but that there's a kind of kindness we do for one another as family.” – Chelsea Rathburn ([08:59])
  • Reading from “The Flattened Crusts, the White Skins Seeping”:

    “Instead, my mother hugged me and sent me back to school with tuna fish.” ([11:39])

  • “So many of [the student poets] are just really incredible. It's always very hard to choose a winner, but it really just gives me a sense of just the incredible variety of voices and things that Georgian young people are interested in.” – Chelsea Rathburn ([13:51])

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7. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Music Director Natalie Schtutzmann

• Segment Start: [14:17]
• Details:
  • Schnutzmann discusses her busy summer, new album releases, and the ASO’s upcoming season focus on Brahms.
  • On the importance of presenting a full cycle of Brahms’ works:

    “I think it’s a composer which audiences of course know, but I have the feeling that playing a full cycle of his music will give a different perspective to people about the diversity of his music.” – Natalie Schnutzmann ([14:52])

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Additional Notable Segments

• Georgia Chamber Alerts Businesses to Possible US-Canada Tariffs ([03:20])
  • Chamber issues guidance to affected industries as new tariffs may impact Georgia’s construction, food processing, and beverage distribution sectors.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Macon’s New Arena:
  • “Your children, your grandchildren, deserve to make those same memories.” – Mayor Lester Miller ([04:57])
• On IVF Legislation:
  • “In Georgia, the ability to build a family often comes down to what you can afford and whether your insurance covers in vitro fertilization.” – Ellen Eldredge ([03:52])
• On the Meaning of Home:
  • “Our homes are more than just pieces of real estate. They shape who we are.” – Peter Biello ([05:28])
• Poet Laureate on Empathy:
  • “Our dreams and wishes and expectations, they don't always… the reality doesn't always live up to those, but… there's a kind of kindness that we do for one another as family.” – Chelsea Rathburn ([08:59])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Segment Start | Speakers/Source | |------------------------------------------------------|--------------|-------------------------------| | School Shooting Sentencing | 00:30 | Chase McGee | | 13th District Congressional Runoff | 01:36 | Sarah Kalis | | Flint River Lawsuit | 02:20 | Pamela Kirkland | | U.S.–Canada Tariffs / Georgia Chamber Guidance | 03:20 | Not specified | | Infertility Legislation | 03:52 | Ellen Eldredge, Jorie Dugan | | Macon Coliseum/Arena Groundbreaking | 04:34 | Mayor Lester Miller | | Interview: Chelsea Rathburn on "Broken Houses" | 05:28 | Peter Biello, Rathburn | | Atlanta Symphony Orchestra–Natalie Schtutzmann | 14:17 | Sarah Zaslaw, Schtutzmann |

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Overall Tone & Style

The episode maintains Georgia Today’s signature mix of concise, empathetic, and informative reporting, offering diverse voices and a sense of connection to community and culture. The interview with Chelsea Rathburn brings a personal, reflective, and poetic tone, while the hard news segments remain factual and balanced.

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For more details and continuing updates, listeners are encouraged to visit gpb.org/news.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Georgia Today Podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, environmentalist groups plan to sue Atlanta over pollution in the Flint river. Metro Atlanta's 13th congressional district is headed to a runoff and Macon Bibb county has broken ground on a new arena.

[B]

Your children guess, your grandchildren deserve to make those same memories we made. They need to be made in a building that's built for people.

[A]

Today is Wednesday, July 29th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. Tomorrow morning, Colin Gray, the father of convicted school shooter Colt Gray, will appear in court to be sentenced for providing the rifle his son used in a school shooting at apalachee high school. GPB's Chase McGee has more.

[C]

In March, Colin Gray was convicted on more than two dozen charges, including two counts of second degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of two teachers and two students. This case is one of a handful in the US where parents have faced convictions for their role in a child's crimes using a weapon, and the first in the state of Georgia. In a press conference after Sun Colt Gray sentencing on Tuesday, Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said Colin could face as little as time served or a maximum of 180 years. After the sentencing, Gray could appeal, which would be heard before the Supreme Court of Georgia. Barrow county students return to school starting this Friday. For GPB news, I'm Chase McGee.

[A]

Tuesday's special election in metro Atlanta's 13th congressional district is headed to a runoff. GPB's Sarah Kalis reports.

[D]

Marcy Scott and Everton Blair, both Democrats, advanced to the runoff in the five person race where no candidate cleared the 50% threshold to win outright. Scott is the late Congressman David Scott's daughter. She announced she was running to fill the remainder of her father's term shortly after his death. Blair is a former Gwinnett County School Board chair who also ran in the Democratic primary for a full term in the 13th district but lost to State Representative Jasmine Clark. The runoff will be held Aug. 25, and the winner will only hold office until the beginning of January. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kalis.

[A]

Environmental groups are preparing to sue the city of Atlanta over what they call years of legal pollution, from Hartsfield, Jackson Atlanta International Airport to the Flint River. GPB's Pamela Kirkland has the details.

[E]

In a notice sent Wednesday, the Southern Environmental Law center and Flint Riverkeeper alleged the airport has repeatedly discharged fuel, sewage, pfas or forever chemicals and other pollutants into the river and nearby creeks. The notice follows GPB's reporting documenting three petroleum spills that reached the Flint river this year, including a Memorial Day leak caused by a broken bolt on an underground fuel line. The groups must wait at least 60 days before fire filing their federal Clean Water act claims. The city of Atlanta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. For GPB News, I'm Pamela Kirkland.

[A]

The Georgia Chamber wants Georgia businesses to be ready for possible US Tariffs on products from Canada. The Chambers foundation yesterday released guidance ahead of new Trump administration duties set to come into effect on Aug. 19. The report says Canada is the state's fourth largest trading partner, with construction, food processing and beverage distribution among industries that could be affected. The center for Reproductive Rights and other advocacy groups are raising awareness this week about legislation impacting infertility care options for families. GPB's Ellen Eldredge reports.

[F]

In Georgia, the ability to build a family often comes down to what you can afford and whether your insurance covers in vitro fertilization. A single round of IVF can cost $30,000. That's according to Jorie Dugan with the Human Rights Council. She says bills introduced over the state's last two legislative sessions mandating public and private insurance coverage for IVF did not move forward.

[G]

And we've seen the benefit in other states where we've had the opportunity to make sure that the insurance mandates are inclusive and comprehensive, really ensure that people can build their families, families can flourish, dugan says.

[F]

Advocates hope lawmakers will soon support IVF legislation that mandates insurance coverage for care. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldredge.

[A]

Officials in Macon Bibb county have broken ground on a new arena on the city's east side. The current Macon Coliseum, which opened in 1968, saw concerts by artists like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Willie Nelson and has also long been host to most of the state's high school basketball tournaments. At the groundbreaking ceremony today, Macon Bibb Mayor Lester Miller said it was where he graduated from high school, college and law school.

[B]

Your children guess your grandchildren deserve to make those same memories. They need to be made in a building that's built for them.

[A]

A $350 million Macon Coliseum is expected to be open in 2028. Our homes are more than just pieces of real estate. They shape who we are.

[H]

They reflect our hopes and our personalities. And when we leave a home behind, it can become a significant place in

[A]

our memories, a place we want to return to both physically and in our imaginations. Such is the case for Georgia poet laureate Chelsea Rathburn whose new collection of poetry looks back on moments in her life through the various places she's lived. It's called Broken Houses, and she's with

[H]

me in the studio to talk about it.

[A]

Welcome to the program.

[I]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

So tell us about the origins of Broken Houses. Did you set out to write on

[H]

this theme, or were you writing poems?

[A]

And did the theme kind of emerge both in neither.

[H]

Both in neither.

[I]

Okay. Anyway, it's complicated. My last book was about motherhood and childhood.

[J]

And at the very end of that book, I had written a poem about

[I]

my father's terrible childhood, which normally he would tell this story that would begin, oh, you think your childhood was bad? Well, your parents never did. And he had this awful story about going away to summer camp, and his parents moved away while he was at camp and he was dropped off to an empty house. And I was thinking about that story, my dad's childhood, and the ways that real estate and houses loomed really large when I was growing up. My. My family, both my parents grew up extremely poor. And then money was just always incredibly tight when I was small. We lived in a series of really dismal apartments. And then my parents, through the help of a VA loan, they kind of squeak squeaked their way into a house in Miami. And we were always worried that something was going to happen and we're going to lose the house.

[H]

You write about your mother here as well in some of these poems. One of them I liked. I mean, I liked a lot of them, but one that I really found moving was in miniature. That's the one where she orders a dollhouse for you, and it doesn't come assembled like the pretty dollhouse you saw in the advertisement or in the store window, I can't remember which. And the finished product has glue dripping down because you tried to put this thing together. And it's a moment where you're looking back and appreciating what your mother has done for you. Can you talk a little bit about that poem?

[I]

Yeah, I gave a reading recently. I was teaching in Krakow, Poland, doing a study abroad. My mother happened to come and visit when I was giving a poetry reading. And I read that poem and just said, I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry. But, yeah, I. I spent. My mother was a preschool teacher, so we spent a lot of time in craft stores and, you know, teacher school supply stores and things. And we would go to this arts and craft store, and I just coveted this one dollhouse that was on display. You know, it was so Beautiful. And I had these visions of, you know, what it would look like in my room and. Yeah. Never, never made the connection, that it would come unassembled. And my. My poor mother, I think I said in the. In the poem, you know, who didn't ask for this. She didn't ask for this. This wasn't her dream. Right. But she was the one who, you know, would organize all of those little pieces of birch wood and hot glue. Everything we painted, we wallpapered. It was hours and hours and hours. And. Yeah, the poem, I'm thinking about just the ways that, you know, our dreams and wishes and expectations, they don't always. The reality doesn't always live up to those, but that there's a kind of kindness that we do for one another as family. You know, my. I never, never complained that the dollhouse wasn't exactly. Didn't match up to my dreams, but I think my mother probably knew that.

[H]

Yeah, you're both there. You're both aware of it, but you're not saying it. And you're both, I think, trying to enjoy the moment to the extent that you can.

[I]

Exactly.

[H]

Yeah. And I think that sentiment that you both brought to the moment I think made it sweet. Right. And there's another poem that you mentioned, your mother. I'd like to have you read it for us. It's the one that's called the Flattened the White Skins seeping.

[I]

That is such an ordinate, ornate title for very.

[H]

There's a balance here.

[I]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[H]

So this is.

[I]

I still don't understand my impulse, but this is a true story, which is that there was a period of time in elementary school. I think I was in maybe second grade. Yeah, second grade, according to the poem. Sometimes my poems remember more than I do, but in second grade, I just decided that I hated eating these peanut butter sandwiches and I didn't want to tell anyone. And so I kept bringing them to school for weeks.

[J]

So this is called the flattened crusts, the white skins seeping. I'd like to think it was a stomach flu, something I could not help that turned me against my mother's peanut butter sandwiches. But after months of identical bagged lunches, I renounced them at once. And absolutely, I knew it was wrong to throw good food away. So I made a project out of ruining them, sliding the sandwiches beneath one leg, then the other, until they thinned and fissured. Such quiet violence and I could return to my second grade classroom, my stomach growling. This went on for weeks, until the guilt became too much to bear. When I confessed weeping, my mother did not remind me how she walked to school hungry, how she whispered free lunch to the cashier so no one else would know. How she said it so quietly the cashier could not hear her or pretended not to hear her, making her repeat free lunch. Free lunch. Louder. Louder. Louder. Instead, my mother hugged me and sent me back to school with tuna fish.

[H]

That was such a sweet moment. She could have been outraged, right? She could have been thinking back to her own childhood and been mad about it, but she wasn't. She approached it with love.

[I]

Exactly.

[H]

Yeah.

[I]

Yeah. My mom's really great.

[H]

One of the poems in this book made my skin crawl. I won't make you read it, but I will read the title. And the title is poem.

[A]

I wish to title with the species

[H]

name of my least favorite, Paul Metalbug, but can't because there are so many candidates or another invasion. I will say, you know, we live in the south here, below the palmettobug line, which I learned recently was a thing.

[A]

And I will never put shoes on

[H]

in the exact same way. That's all I'll say about that poem. But, man, you really know how to get under someone's skin in a poem. I'll say.

[I]

I'm sorry. That's a tough one. I really. I love that poem. And often I think I probably shouldn't read this out loud if I'm at a reading, just because it does have that ick factor.

[H]

Well, let me ask you. You've been poet laureate since 2019. What's the most recent official duty as Poet laureate that you've carried out?

[I]

The most recent, something that I do every year that I really, absolutely love is I judge a statewide high school poetry contest, and it was founded by my. By my predecessor, Judson Mitchum. And basically, we just. We invite students, 9th through 12th grade, public school, private school, homeschool. You know, it's open to anybody. And the poems can be any theme. We have length requirements, but we choose a winner. I choose a winner and four finalists. And schedule permitting, the governor's scheduled permitting, we have a celebration at the Capitol, and the students get to meet the governor, and it's. It's really special.

[H]

Yeah, that sounds. That sounds really nice.

[I]

Yeah, I love it. It's.

[A]

Is that your favorite part of being Poet Laureate?

[I]

Yeah. Yeah, I think so.

[H]

Working with the kids.

[I]

Yeah, working with the kids. So many of them are just really incredible. It's always very hard to choose a winner, but it really just gives me a sense of just the incredible variety of voices and things that Georgian young people are interested in.

[J]

It's great.

[H]

Well, Georgia Poet Laureate Chelsea Rathburn, thank

[A]

you so much for speaking with me.

[I]

Thanks for having me.

[A]

And we will be discussing Broken Houses On Narrative Edge, GPB's podcast about books with Georgia connections. Find and subscribe to Narrative Edge Edge wherever you get your podcasts and watch it on YouTube. Summer is anything but downtime for Atlanta Symphony Orchestra music director Natalie Schtutzmann. Last week she and they released a new album featuring a Bruckner symphony. She's conducting a high profile Wagner opera in Germany and taking the reins as music director of the Monte Carlo Philharmonic. And as she gears up for her fifth season with the ASO, she spoke with GPB's Sarah Zaslaw about the ASO's focus on Brahms this season.

[G]

I think it's a composer which audience of course know, but I have the feeling that playing a full cycle of his music will give a different perspective to people about the diversity of his music.

[A]

Schnussman also talked about her relationship with the ASO and chorus arts funding models and the stamina that an in demand conductor's life requires. You can hear that entire interview right [e-mail] news that is it for this edition of GEORGIA Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. We hope you'll come back tomorrow. Make sure to subscribe this make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you remember to do that. And visit gpb.orgnews for any updates to the stories you heard today. Now if there's something happening in your community that we should know about, or if you have feedback on this podcast, send it to us by email. The address is Georgia today. P.B. i'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.