Hearing on marijuana; New Buford stadium; Columbus to host international kayak events

Summary

Georgia Today Podcast Summary

Release Date: July 30, 2025
Host: Orlando Montoya
Episode Topics:

1. Georgia House Committee Reevaluates Marijuana Regulation
2. New $62 Million Buford High School Football Stadium
3. Columbus to Host International Canoe and Kayak Events
4. Additional News Highlights

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1. Georgia House Committee Reevaluates Marijuana Regulation

A pivotal discussion centered on the Georgia House Committee's efforts to reassess the state’s marijuana policies. Sarah Kalis from GPB News provided in-depth coverage of the committee's agenda and the implications of potential policy changes.

• Current Program Assessment: The Study Committee on Marijuana Policy, chaired by Representative Mark Newton, is tasked with evaluating the efficacy of Georgia's existing medical marijuana program. "The goal is to improve... how we manage this in a safe way and ensure there's no inadvertent toxicity or poisoning," Representative Mark Newton stated at [02:49].

• Hemp Regulation: The committee is also examining the regulation of hemp products containing THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Hearings included testimonies from law enforcement, medical professionals, regulatory bodies, and public members, highlighting diverse perspectives on marijuana legalization and regulation.

• Future Steps: The committee plans to convene three more times before the January legislative session, culminating in comprehensive policy recommendations.

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2. New $62 Million Buford High School Football Stadium

A significant investment in education and athletics was highlighted with the introduction of Buford High School’s new football stadium, a $62 million state-of-the-art facility designed to accommodate the school’s growing student body and athletic program.

• Facility Features: Sarah Kalis reported that Philip Beard Stadium, owned by the city of Buford, boasts a capacity of 10,000 visitors and includes 15 premium suites. "The stands were designed to make fans feel close to the action," Tony Wolf, Director of Buford's Athletic Facilities, explained at [05:32].

• Growth Reflection: The stadium reflects Buford High School's expansion from 400 students and 28 football players in 1996 to over 2,000 students and approximately 140 football players today, transitioning into a 6A school with 13 state championship titles since 2001.

• Multi-Purpose Use: Beyond football, the stadium is set to host concerts and various city events, enhancing community engagement.

• Inaugural Event: The first game at the new stadium is scheduled against Mill Creek on August 14th, marking a new chapter for Buford High School's athletic legacy.

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3. Columbus to Host International Canoe and Kayak Events

Columbus is set to gain international recognition as the host city for the 2028 Canoe Freestyle World Cup and the 2029 Canoe Freestyle World Championship, as announced by the International Canoe Federation.

• Center of Excellence: Columbus has been designated as the first-ever Center of Excellence by the federation, promising enhanced training facilities and opportunities for both amateur and elite athletes.

• Community Impact: Mason Hargrove, Team USA Kayaker and Columbus resident, emphasized the local significance: "Being able to have the center of excellence open up and be able to go into the high schools and have these kids come out here and learn what kayaking is and fall in love with the sport... is going to be really amazing" ([10:21]).

• Unique Facilities: The Columbus site offers a year-round kayaking environment with a distinctive wave feature created by controlled dam releases, allowing for consistent training schedules regardless of weather conditions. Mason Hargrove highlighted, "It's a different style of freestyle. So imagine an ocean wave inside of the river... we can count on the schedule to be correct and it come on at a certain time so we can have training" ([08:51]).

• Athlete Development: The inclusive nature of Columbus's kayaking program has fostered both local talent and international athletes, creating a vibrant community around the sport.

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4. Additional News Highlights

• Confirmation of Susan Menarez as CDC Director: The U.S. Senate confirmed Susan Menarez as the Director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a 51 to 47 vote. Notably, both Georgia Senators, Jon Ossoff and Rafael Warn, opposed her confirmation. Menarez has been serving as the acting CDC director since January and was nominated in March following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of his initial choice.

• Marjorie Taylor Greene Opts Out of Gubernatorial Race: Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she will not run for Governor of Georgia. In her social media statement, she criticized the state's "good old boy system," suggesting it threatens Republican dominance in the state. Previously, Greene had declined a Senate bid under pressure from Republican leaders concerned about potential losses to Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.

• Obituary: Tom Cousins, Atlanta's Real Estate Visionary: The community mourns the passing of Tom Cousins, a 93-year-old real estate developer renowned for shaping Atlanta’s skyline. Cousins was instrumental in relocating the Atlanta Hawks from St. Louis in 1968 and constructing the Omni Coliseum. He also developed iconic structures such as the Bank of America Building and the CNN Center, significantly contributing to Atlanta's emergence as a major sports and business hub.

• Georgia Housing Shortage Report: A recent study by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation revealed that 94 Georgia counties are experiencing housing shortages, with Fulton County alone needing over 75,000 additional homes. The report attributes these shortages to factors like zoning restrictions, permitting delays, labor shortages, and rising construction costs. It urges policymakers to tackle these barriers and adopt diverse housing solutions to accommodate the state's population growth.

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Conclusion

This episode of Georgia Today provided a comprehensive overview of significant developments affecting Georgia's policy landscape, educational infrastructure, sports community, and economic challenges. From legislative reviews and high-profile appointments to community advancements and infrastructural investments, the podcast delivered insightful reporting essential for understanding the evolving dynamics within the state.

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For more detailed reports and updates, visit gpb.org/news. Subscribe to the Georgia Today podcast to stay informed on the latest stories shaping Georgia.

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.

[Orlando Montoya]

Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today Podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, a Georgia House committee is re evaluating the state's approach to marijuana regulation. A high school in Georgia is opening a $62 million football stadium and Columbus will host important international events in kayak and canoe. Athletes hope to recruit tomorrow's competitors.

[Mason Hargrove]

Being able to have the center of Excellence open up and be able to go into the high schools and happy come out here and learn what kayaking is and fall in love with the sport that I fell in love with at a young age. It's going to be really amazing.

[Orlando Montoya]

Today is Wednesday, July 30th. I'm Orlando Montoya and this is Georgia Today. The U.S. senate has confirmed Susan Menarez to be President Donald Trump's director of the Atlanta based Centers for Disease Control and prevention. The 51 to 47 vote yesterday came with both Georgia senators, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rafael Warn, voting against her confirmation. Menarez has been serving as acting CDC director since January. She was tapped as the nominee in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice. David Weldon Rome Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she won't run for governor. The staunch ally of President Donald Trump made her announcement yesterday in a long social media post, saying she is turned off by Georgia's good old boy system and alleging that it's endangering Republican control of the state. Greene chose earlier not to run for Senate under pressure from Republican leaders who feared she would lose to Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. A Georgia House committee is considering changes to an area of state law that's as complicated as it is divisive. GPB's Sarah Kalis reports the Blue Ribbon.

[Sarah Kalis]

Study Committee on Marijuana Policy will look into the effectiveness of the current medical marijuana program in Georgia and consider changes. It will also look at how the state regulates hemp products that may contain thc, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Representative Mark Newton is the chairman of the committee. He says the goal is to improve.

[Tony Wolf]

Current policy many states have been trying to deal with. How do we manage this in a safe way and in a way that makes sure there's not inadvertent toxicity or poisoning.

[Sarah Kalis]

Representatives on the committee heard from law enforcement, doctors, regulatory officials and members of the public. The committee will meet three more times before the start of January's legislative session and issue policy recommendations. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kalis.

[Orlando Montoya]

A real estate developer who helped shape Atlanta's skyline and identity has died. Tom Cousins died on Tuesday. He is perhaps best known for moving the Atlanta Hawks basketball team to the city from St. Louis in 1968 and building the Omni Coliseum, establishing Atlanta as a major sports hub. Cousins started his career selling houses with his father in the 1960s. A University of Georgia alum, Cousens, talked about why he decided to get into real estate. Speaking to business school graduates in 2011.

[Tony Wolf]

Lords of London had predicted that Atlanta was going to be the biggest city in the world by the year 2000. Wow. At that time, Atlanta was smaller than Birmingham. It was really not a large town. And I thought, well, being brilliant, if it's going to be the largest city in the world, there's going to be a lot of real estate change hands. I better look into that.

[Orlando Montoya]

He developed the state's tallest building, the bank of America building, along with the CNN center and other iconic properties. Tom Cousins was 93 years old. Georgia has a new $62 million football stadium, and it's for a high school, Buford High, northeast of Atlanta. GPB's Amanda Andrews was among reporters who got a tour of it today.

[Sarah Kalis]

The Philip Beard Stadium is owned by the city of Buford. It holds 10,000 visitors and features 15 suites. This will be the fourth place Buford High School has used for football games since the 1930s. Tony Wolf is the director of Buford's athletic facilities. He says the stadium's size matches the school's growth over the last few decades.

[Tony Wolf]

My first year in 96, we had 400 students. We were a Class A school and we had 28 football players. Today we're over 2,000 students and there's about 140 football players. To give you an idea about the.

[Sarah Kalis]

Growth, Buford is now a 6A school and has won 13 state championship titles since 2001. The new stadium will also host concerts and other events run by the city. Wolf says the stands were designed to make fans feel close to the action.

[Tony Wolf]

From hearing the field, you know, the impact of the collisions, the you should be able to hear the calls the quarterbacks are making or the defense and things like that.

[Sarah Kalis]

Buford will play their first game at the stadium against mill Creek on August 14th. For GPB news, I'm Amanda Andrews.

[Orlando Montoya]

A new study shows that 94 Georgia counties have housing shortages. The report, released yesterday by the Georgia Public Policy foundation details county, county by county needs as the state adds new residents. While housing construction hasn't kept pace, metro Atlanta counties lead the list, with Fulton county needing over 75,000 more homes. But even fast growing rural counties are falling behind. The report identifies barriers, including zoning and permitting delays, labor shortages and rising costs. It suggests policymakers address those barriers and and embrace a variety of housing options.

[Pamela Kirkland]

When a massive chemical fire erupted at the Biolab facility in Conyers, thick smoke filled the air, forcing evacuations. But for many, it wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. I'm Pamela Kirkland. In GPB's new podcast, Manufacturing the Biolab Story, I investigate what causes caused the fire, the response and what it means for Conyers residents today. [e-mail] podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Orlando Montoya]

The world governing body for canoe and kayak sports has selected Columbus as the Host for the 2028 Canoe Freestyle World cup and 2029 Canoe Freestyle World Championship. The Switzerland based International Canoe Federation today also designated the city as its first ever center of Excellence, promising new opportunities for amateur and elite competitors. Columbus has emerged as a leader in whitewater sports over the last 12 years, beginning with the multi million dollar restoration and transformation of the Chattahoochee River. I asked a top athlete in the sport to talk about today's announcement and he is Team USA Kayaker Junior World Champion, vice World cup champion and Columbus area resident Mason Hargrove.

[Mason Hargrove]

I am from Phoenix City, Alabama in Columbus, Georgia. So I've grown up in this hometown my entire life and to see this whitewater course grow from nothing to being the center of whitewater kayaking and whitewater freestyle for North America is absolutely amazing.

[Orlando Montoya]

How would you describe kayaking in Columbus?

[Mason Hargrove]

The kayaking in Columbus is actually really inclusive. It is where I learned is where I've taught a lot of people how to kayak and how to whitewater. So it has a really good progression from absolutely beginner to holding international competitions and having the best athletes from all over the world come here just to train and compete internationally.

[Orlando Montoya]

You know you've kayaked all over the world. How does the Columbus site compare?

[Mason Hargrove]

The thing that's different between Columbus and everywhere else in the world is that it runs year round. So 365 days a year you're going to have freestyle and kayaking to do, no matter the weather, no matter what's going on. So that's really special. But also having a wave here is not like a lot of other places the world. It's a different style of freestyle. So imagine an ocean wave inside of a river instead of like a small hydraulic hole. That's what's really special, is to have a wave that is dam released and we can count on the schedule to be correct and it come on at a certain time so we can have training.

[Orlando Montoya]

Tell me, what is freestyle kayaking? How would I describe that to people?

[Mason Hargrove]

Yeah. So freestyle kayaking is basically gymnastics. In a kayak, you're surfing an ocean wave inside of the river and you have 45 seconds to do a bunch of different tricks. Each of these tricks have a predetermined point value and a definition you have to meet to score those tricks. There's three judges sitting up on the panel and they're watching for different angles, watching for height. So it's a really exciting, fast paced sport that is all risk and reward depending on how big you want to go.

[Orlando Montoya]

Now, today I understand there was two announcements. The international group declaring Columbus to be a kayaking capital. And the other announcement was the Kayaking World cup in 28 and 29 coming to the city. What will this attention bring to Columbus?

[Mason Hargrove]

I think it's going to bring a lot of positive attention. Being able to have the center of excellence open up and be able to go into the high schools and have these kids come out here and learn what kayaking is and fall in love with the sport that I fell in love with at a young age is going to be really amazing. And then to be able to have the World Cups and World Championship back in my hometown honestly means a lot. I get to bring all of my international friends back to my hometown, show them the waves, show them where I've grown up, but also compete in front of my hometown crowd, which is a dream come true again.

[Orlando Montoya]

What has kayaking done for you?

[Mason Hargrove]

For me, kayaking has shaped my entire life. I played travel soccer before I actually started kayaking. And then once I started kayaking, I said, I just want to go on the river and just travel all over the world. So I've been to 11 countries already this year for whitewater kayaking. Just being able to go to different places that no one else can go besides paddlers is amazing. It's definitely shaped who I am as a person. It's given me lifelong friends and it's taught me so many lessons. On and off the water.

[Orlando Montoya]

Appreciate it, sir. Have a great day. And thanks for talking. Good luck.

[Mason Hargrove]

Thank you so much.

[Orlando Montoya]

That was Olympic kayaker Mason Hargrove. And that's it for today's edition of GEORGIA today. We remind you that many of the stories that you hear on GEORGIA TODAY are also on our webpage, gpb.org news in greater detail. If you haven't yet hit subscribe on this podcast. Take a moment to do that now. That helps you to stay current with us in your feed. We welcome feedback. Send us story ideas and suggestions@georgia todaypb.org I'm Orlando Montoya. I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

[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.

[Pamela Kirkland]

When a massive chemical fire erupted at the Biolab facility in Conyers, thick smoke filled the air, forcing evacuations. But for many, it wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. I'm Pamela Kirkland. In GPB's new podcast, Manufacturing the Biolab Story, I investigate what caused caused the fire, the response and what it means for Conyers residents today. [e-mail] podcast or wherever you get your podcast.