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Georgia Today
Kemp on Trump's workforce cuts; Delta keeps DEI; Protests against Elon Musk in ATL
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- [00:00]
Chase McGee
Foreign.
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Peter Biello
Welcome to the Georgia TODAY Podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, February 17th. I'm Peter Biello. This podcast has the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. Send feedback or story tips to georgia todaypb.org on today's episode, Governor Kemp says the federal government needs some right sizing. The NAACP praises Delta for keeping its DEI commitments and and demonstrators protest what they call President Trump's overreach.
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Chase McGee
And to watch all of a sudden now basically those that they committed to pay say we're not going to pay you for what the government committed to doing is just a travesty.
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Peter Biello
These stories and more are coming up on this edition of GEORGIA today. Hundreds gathered outside City hall in Athens to protest billionaire Elon Musk's role in President Donald Trump's administration and and massive cuts to federal funding. GPB's Chase McGee has more.
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Chase McGee
The protesters chanted, played bagpipes and held up signs calling for Musk to be removed from the federal government. The rally was organized with just a few days Notice by Indivisible Georgia 10, a local chapter of the nationwide Indivisible Action Committee. Iva King, one of the co leaders of the committee, says she was shocked by the turnout.
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Peter Biello
I'm just flabbergasted that we had this many people out here on such short notice. And I think this is the beginning.
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Angela Taylor
Of what could be a movement is a movement across the country that's only going to grow.
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Chase McGee
Several protesters said this was the first time they'd attended a demonstration and that they were motivated by personal issues like recent loss of a federally funded job or concerns over access to health care. For GPB news, I'm Chase McGee in Athens.
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Peter Biello
Meanwhile, an even larger crowd protested at the state Capitol in Atlanta for the same cause. Jay Bassett is an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency who was placed on leave because of the divestment from diversity, equity and inclusion programs. He came to the demonstration to protest changes across federal agencies and what he calls an overreach of power from Trump.
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Chase McGee
And to watch all of a sudden now basically those that they committed to pay say we're not going to pay you for what the government committed to do. It's just a travesty.
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Peter Biello
Protest was part of a grassroots movement called 50:51 that encourages protests in all 50 state capitals. Governor Brian Kemp says the federal government could stand a little right sizing. Speaking with Politico at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Kemp responded to a question about the Trump administration's recent decision to lay off about 10% of the Atlanta based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workforce. Other federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans affairs and usaid, are experiencing similar cuts. Kemp Kemp says Georgia has already done that at the state level because we.
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Angela Taylor
Got more efficient through technology. We're paying our people more. So instead of hiring more people at the same pay rate, we're paying people more, keeping the same numbers but doing more work because we're using technology. So why can't the federal government do that?
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Peter Biello
Kemp says when it comes to Trump's policies on tariffs, it's in nobody's interest to drive up costs. But it's important not to overreact than to wait and see how things play out. As we've mentioned, the CDC has taken a significant hit to its workforce. GPB's Sophie Gratis has more about the so called disease detectives affected by a round of layoffs over the past three days.
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Sophie Gratis
The Epidemic Intelligence Service, or eis, is a two year training program under the cdc. Patrick Sullivan of Emory University describes it as critical to the pipeline of public health workers. Sullivan is an EIS graduate and now teaches its officers.
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Chase McGee
We've been getting the best and the brightest in this program and so I think the long term ripples of sending home this particular group of highly trained.
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Sophie Gratis
Doctors touch many areas like the boots on the ground response to disease outbreaks across the country. Until this weekend, the terminated class had been monitoring ongoing outbreaks like flu, tuberculosis, measles and avian influenza, all present in Georgia. Over 1,000 CDC employees have been laid off since Friday. The Trump administration says it's part of a plan to save money.
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Peter Biello
Prevention is always cheaper than treatment.
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Sophie Gratis
Epidemiologist Jodi Guest, who also teaches EIS officers, denies long term savings.
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Angela Taylor
Our country is less safe today than.
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Chase McGee
It was on Friday when we had this class of EEIS officers and 10%.
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Angela Taylor
Of the CDC still in the workforce.
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Sophie Gratis
Because more disease outbreaks will happen, she says. We just might not be ready for it. For GPB News, I'm Sophie Gratis.
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Peter Biello
The NAACP is praising Atlanta based Delta Air Lines for standing by its DEI policies as they come under attack by the Trump administration. The NAACP is asking black Americans to steer their buying power toward companies that haven't pulled away from diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In its spending guide released Saturday, the organization praised Delta as well as Costco, Apple and Ben and Jerry's for standing by previous DEI commitments. The organization also said it's speaking with executives at companies that have reversed their DEI policies, including Meta, McDonald's and Walmart. DEI policies are a catch all term for programs meant to promote fair treatment, impartial hiring and cooperation between people from different backgrounds. Such policies vary widely, but often include anti discrimination mandates and training meant to inform people about how to promote inclusive values. Some institutions hire staff who focus on implementing DEI policies. Soon after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to end DEI programs. NAACP President Derek Johnson told the ap, quote, in a global economy, those who reject the multicultural nature of consumerism and business will be left in the past they are living in. Venezuelan political leader Marina Corina Machado has been awarded Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage. The prestigious award honors individuals who take a stand for justice despite great personal risk. Machado, a lifelong advocate for democracy and human rights in Venezuela, was barred from running for office and remains under threat from the Maduro government. Machado is a hardliner and former lawmaker who stayed in Venezuela and fought against Maduro even after many of her allies went into exile. Her daughter, Ana Carina Sosa Machado, accepted the award on her behalf at a ceremony Friday.
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Chase McGee
My mother has shown us the way and it takes courage to fight for your convictions and to stand for what is right. She has shown us the way. Not the easy one, but the honorable one.
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Peter Biello
The Prize includes a $100,000 stipend and recognizes Machado's fight for free and fair elections. Governor Brian Kemp has ordered flags to be flown at half staff today in honor of Staff Sergeant Ryan O'Hara, who who died in the collision last month between the American Airlines jet and an army helicopter. O'Hara was in the army helicopter and is from Lilburn, northeast of Atlanta. So far, the cause of the collision hasn't been released, but the crash has raised concerns about staffing at the faa. But as the FAA recruits air traffic controllers, one Georgia university trains them. Middle Georgia State University's School of Aviation in Eastman is one of only 31 FAA approved college training programs in the country. Air traffic control instructor Angela Taylor recently spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya about the school's program, how it came to be its future and what she likes about working in air traffic.
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Angela Taylor
The FAA started the Air Traffic Control Collegiate Training Initiative program back in early 2005 maybe, and then at one point they kind of canceled the CTI program. So when they canceled the CTI program, our enrollment went down for air traffic and then maybe a few years back they actually restarted the CTI program. So our enrollment has started to go back up. So right now we're about 40 to 45 students, I believe we have 13 to 14 maybe graduating here in the spring May.
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Peter Biello
Do they go directly from graduating your programming to air traffic controlling? I suppose there's probably a test involved and things of that nature. Maybe a certificate or a license.
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Angela Taylor
Right. So what happens with the program is once they have completed the program, they can apply to the FAA under the AT CTI program which is the air traffic control CTI program. If they are selected, they'll go through the psychological testing, they'll go through drug testing and all of those types of testings and then they will end up going to the FAA academy which is in Oklahoma City. They'll go through the training there and then the FAA will place them at facilities where they are need manning. Now they, I guess a year and a half ago they created the enhanced CTI program which allows the student now to. Once they complete the enhanced CTI program they can, when they are finished, they can apply and if they're picked up, they go directly to their facility. The difference between the two is the enhanced is a lot more. We're teaching a lot more information. There are a lot more guidelines that we have to adhere to in order to be a part of the enhanced program. Right now we are offering the CTI program. We are a part of the enhanced cti. So we are at the very end stages of meeting those requirements. We have one more step and where they will come here and do an on site evaluation of the school to make sure that we have the right instructors, we have the right lesson plans, we have the right equipment.
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Peter Biello
Let's talk a little bit about the training itself and what you guys teach. It's very rigorous.
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Angela Taylor
Isn't is very, very important that they understand the magnitude of a mistake that they make. So the training here is very. We do put them in a stressful environment to make it difficult for them to function, to teach them how to. Even though you're stressed out, even though you, you may be overwhelmed, you still have a job that you have to complete and you have to complete it accurately every single time. So you know, there might be a little bit of raising the voice just to put them in a situation to where they feel stressed or they feel overwhelmed and watch how they react to that and whether or not they can continue to perform their job while being stressed out or overwhelmed. You know, because you're not dealing with, you know, a computer, you're dealing with real people.
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Peter Biello
What do you like about the job?
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Angela Taylor
It's challenging. It's a different scene every day. You come to work, you're not going to see the same scenario that you saw yesterday. It is, it is a challenge, and I don't want to say it's a rush, but it is, it's very exciting. And when you, you know, whenever you have traffic and you, and you work out the traffic situation and, and everybody lands safely, you're like, okay, I did my job today. In air traffic, there is no good job. It's like, you did your job today because no one died, you know, so it is a very rewarding job just because it is so challenging. And the fact that, like, oh, wow, I just did that, you know, and I wouldn't want to do any other job.
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Peter Biello
All right. Well, I appreciate your time in talking about this.
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Angela Taylor
Okay. Thank you so much.
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Peter Biello
That was air traffic control instructor Angela Taylor speaking with GPB's Orlando Montoya. A federal jury in Columbus has ordered ford to pay 2.5 billion doll punitive damages in a lawsuit over a fatal truck rollover. The case stemmed from the 2022 deaths of Herman and Debra Mills after their Ford F250 Super Duty truck overturned and its roof collapsed in Decatur County. Attorneys for the family argued Ford ignored safety concerns about weak roofs in its 1999 through 2016 Super Duty models. The verdict follows a more than $30 million compensatory award in the case. Ford has not yet commented on the ruling. A data center has been proposed for an unincorporated part of Bartow county northwest of Atlanta in forms filed with the Department of Community Affairs. The project, titled Project Spring bank, would consist of six buildings totaling more than 2.2 million square feet. Developer Atlas Development says the project will use closed loop technology to reduce water and sewer demand. It's expected to be completed in 2031. In sports, Atlanta Brave Ronald Acuna Jr. Says he has almost completely recovered from his acl injury. The 2023 National League MVP estimated his knee at 90 to 95%. Acuna injured his left knee last May and had surgery in June. This is the second time he's come back from ACL surgery. He tore the right 1 in 2021. Spring training games for the Braves begin on Saturday, and that is a wrap on this edition of Georgia today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check gpb.org news coming up later this week. I hope you'll join me for an event I'm really excited about. Historian David Levering Lewis won the Pulitzer Prize for his biographies of W.E.B. du Bois, and now he is turning his powers of historical excavation on his own family. His new book the Stained Glass Window explores explores his Georgia ancestors intersection with slavery, Jim Crow and the civil rights movement. Join me for a conversation with David Levering Lewis at the Atlanta History center on Thursday, February 20th at 7:00. More information is available at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening to Georgia Today. We'll see you tomorrow.
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Sophie Gratis
Each morning it's a new opportunity, a chance to start fresh. Up first from NPR makes each morning an opportunity to learn and to understand. Choose to join the world every morning with Up First, a podcast that hands you everything going on across the globe and down the street, all in 15 minutes or less. Start your day informed and anew with up first by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.