Rising gas prices; High Museum embezzlement; Corporate landlord bill

Summary

Georgia Today Podcast Summary

Date: July 13, 2026
Host: Orlando Montoya (Georgia Public Broadcasting)
Episode Focus: Rising gas prices, High Museum embezzlement, and new legislation targeting corporate landlords.

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Episode Overview

This episode of Georgia Today covers major updates in Georgia’s news: a new federal bill limiting corporate home ownership, rising gas prices, a significant embezzlement case at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, the fallout from a recent jet fuel spill, and innovative research at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta on peanut allergy treatment.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Legislation Limiting Corporate Landlords

• Background: The 21st Century Road to Housing Act became law without President Trump's signature. Georgia U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock played a key role.
• Impact:
  • Restricts corporate landlords from owning more than 350 single-family homes.
  • About 25% of Atlanta metro homes are owned by corporations, the highest in the nation.
  • New violations incur fines of at least $1 million per excess unit.
• Purpose: Aims to level the playing field for families seeking homeownership.
• Quote:

  "If you're a single mom, if you're the married father of two trying to buy a home, owning a small barbershop, you cannot compete with Wall Street. They will outbid you every time. And so this is about fairness."
  — Senator Raphael Warnock (as cited by Amanda Andrews, [01:48])

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2. High Museum Embezzlement Case

• Event:
  • Brady Lum, former COO of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, pleaded guilty to felony theft.
  • Lum was accused of stealing over $600,000 by falsifying invoices.
• Legal Proceedings:
  • Lum pleaded guilty to a single charge; full details of sentencing are pending.
• Context:
  • Embezzlement raises concerns over oversight at cultural institutions.

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3. Jet Fuel Spill at Atlanta Airport

• Incident:
  • Memorial Day weekend saw a major jet fuel spill at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
  • Cause: Broken bolt on an underground fuel line.
  • Estimated 9,000-13,000 gallons released over two days before detection.
  • This is the third petroleum contamination incident from the airport in 2026.
• Aftermath:
  • Cleanup lasted at least a month; investigation continues.
• Quote:

  "It reinforces my perception that there's a lot that they don't know about their own infrastructure and operations."
  — Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers ([04:04])

• Significance: Ongoing scrutiny of airport environmental safeguards.

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4. Preventing Peanut Allergies with New Clinical Trial

• Research Update:
  • Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is conducting the first clinical trial of a microneedle stamp for peanut allergies.
  • This method aims to be less painful than injections and more effective than a patch.
• Clinical Lead: Dr. Brian Vickery, Chief of Allergy and Immunology.
• Quote:

  "Our hope is that that will be safe and well tolerated and with repeated administration lead to immune changes that could protect patients from accidental reactions to peanut."
  — Dr. Brian Vickery ([05:04])

• Potential Impact:
  • Success in adults could lead to trials in children; 30,000 metro Atlanta children live with peanut allergies.

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5. Rising Gas Prices in Georgia

• Update:
  • After a period of decline, gas prices climb to $3.57/gallon, up $0.04 from last week.
  • AAA attributes rise to higher crude oil prices and robust summer travel demand.
• Public Safety Campaign:
  • "Operation Southern Slowdown" targets speeding and aggressive driving across five southern states.
  • Last year in this initiative, 53,000 citations/warnings and 1,400 DUI arrests were reported.

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6. Other Noteworthy Updates

• Libertarian Ballot Access:
  • Libertarians won’t appear on Georgia’s statewide ballots for the November elections, failing to meet signature thresholds. Likely reduces chance of election runoffs in key races.
• Zaxby’s Expands to NYC:
  • Georgia-based chicken chain opens its first New York City locations (Bronx and soon Manhattan).
• Jaden Adams’ Passing:
  • South African soccer player Jaden Adams (age 25), who played in the recent World Cup, has died. The cause has not been disclosed.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Corporate Home Ownership

  "If you're a single mom ... you cannot compete with Wall Street. They will outbid you every time. And so this is about fairness."
  — Senator Raphael Warnock ([01:48])

• On Jet Fuel Spills

  "It reinforces my perception that there's a lot that they don't know about their own infrastructure and operations."
  — Gordon Rogers, Flint Riverkeeper ([04:04])

• On Peanut Allergy Trials

  "Our hope is that that will be safe and well tolerated..."
  — Dr. Brian Vickery ([05:04])

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Segment Timestamps

• [01:29] Corporate landlord bill discussion and analysis
• [02:14] Libertarian ballot access update
• [02:45] High Museum embezzlement case
• [03:27] Atlanta Airport jet fuel spill details
• [04:45] Peanut allergy microneedle trial at Children’s Healthcare
• [06:06] Rising gas prices and highway safety campaign

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Conclusion

This episode provides listeners with concise, in-depth coverage of critical developments across government, public safety, environmental protection, healthcare, and local business in Georgia. The inclusion of direct expert and leader commentary makes it especially informative for anyone interested in Georgia’s current affairs and policy changes.

Transcript

[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, Georgia voters won't see Libertarians on November ballots this year, gas prices are going up again, and doctors are trying to find a new way to curb peanut allergies.

[Dr. Brian Vickery]

Our hope is that that will be safe and well tolerated and with repeated administration, lead to immune changes that could protect patients from accidental reactions to peanut

[Orlando Montoya]

Today is Monday, July 13th. I'm Orlando Montoya and this is Georgia Today. A teenager who pleaded not guilty to killing four people in the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School is set to change his plea. A court document filed Friday shows a plea and sentencing hearing has been set for colt gray for July 24. The document indicates the prosecution and defense have not made a deal, but will present their recommendations and let the judge decide. A bipartisan federal housing bill became law without President Trump's signature early Saturday. Georgia U.S. senator Raphael Warnock championed the bill targeting corporate landlords and GPB's. Amanda Andrews has more.

[Amanda Andrews]

About one in four homes in the Atlanta metro area are owned by corporations. That's higher than anywhere else in the country. Under the 21st century road to Housing act, corporate landlords cannot own more than 350 single family homes. Senator Warnock says he negotiated this bill to support Georgia families looking to buy a home.

[Dr. Brian Vickery]

Let's be clear. If you're a single mom, if you're the married father of two trying to buy a home, owning a small barbershop, you cannot compete with Wall Street. They will outbid you every time. And so this is about fairness.

[Amanda Andrews]

Companies will not be forced to sell excess homes, but new violations will result in fines of at least $1 million per unit. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

[Orlando Montoya]

Libertarians will not appear on statewide ballots in this year's November elections. The Libertarian Party of Georgia said on Friday that they did not meet signature thresholds for ballot access this year. The announcement means Georgia voters will not have a third party choice on the ballot in high profile races for governor and U.S. senate, although write in votes are possible. But it also means those races are likely to be settled on election night instead of being forced into runoffs when Republicans and Democrats don't get more than 50% of the vote. A former executive at Atlanta's High Museum of Art has pleaded guilty to embezzlement. The U.S. justice Department said today that former high chief operating officer Brady Lum pleaded guilty to a single charge of felony theft. Priority Prosecutors accused him of stealing more than $600,000 from the museum by doctoring invoices. A broken bolt on an underground fuel line caused the Memorial Day weekend jet fuel spill at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Newly released airport records estimate 9 to 13,000 gallons of jet fuel were released before a cruise found the source and shut off the line. It's the first public estimate of the spill. Records say the leak wasn't located until two days later, when crews spotted fuel bubbling from the ground. Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers told GPB last month this latest spill validates concerns he's had for months.

[Dr. Brian Vickery]

It reinforces my perception that there's a lot that they don't know about their

[Orlando Montoya]

own infrastructure and operations. The records show. Cleanup continued for at least a month. Georgia's Environmental Protection Division says the incident is still under investigation. The airport has not responded to GPB's requests for comment. The May spill is the third petroleum contamination incident from the airport this year. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is leading the first clinical trial looking at a new way to prevent reactions in people with peanut allergies. GPB's Ellen Eldredge reports.

[Ellen Eldredge]

The study is testing whether a microneedle stamp would be less painful than injection and more effective than a patch at improving immune response to peanut allergy in adults. Dr. Brian Vickery is the chief of allergy and immunology at Children's and principal investigator of the multi site trial.

[Dr. Brian Vickery]

Our hope is that that will be safe and well tolerated and with repeated administration lead to immune changes that could protect patients from accidental reactions to peanut.

[Ellen Eldredge]

If the trial is successful, they hope to replicate it in children. Vickery says 30,000 children in the metro Atlanta area live with peanut allergies. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldredge.

[Planet Money Narrator]

Each story you hear on Planet Money starts with a question. What happens if we refund tariffs? Why are groceries so expensive? At npr, we stand for your right to be curious because the forces shaping our world can be hard to see. Follow NPR's Planet Money wherever you get your podcasts and start seeing how the economy really works.

[Orlando Montoya]

After several weeks of falling gas prices, Georgia drivers are seeing an increase at the Pump Auto Club. AAA says the state average for a gallon of regular is $3.57, up 4 cents from a week ago. AAA attributes the recent rise to higher crude oil costs and strong summer travel demand. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety is participating in a speed enforcement and awareness campaign this week called Operation Southern Slowdown. State and local law enforcement officers in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee will be targeting speeding and aggressive driving on interstates and major highways. Last year, during this week, more than 490 law enforcement agencies in the five states issued nearly 53,000 citations and warnings for speeding, as well as 1,400 DUI arrests. Georgia born chicken chain Zaxby's is opening its first locations in New York City. The Atlanta based company said today that a Bronx location opened softly in late June and a Manhattan location will open later this summer. Founded in 1990 in Statesboro, the fingers focused chain now has more than a thousand locations in 24 states. Jaden Adams, the South African soccer player who represented his country in the World cup just weeks ago, has died. His death was confirmed by Gayton McKenzie, South Africa's Minister of sport, arts and Culture, in a statement on Sunday. In a statement on X, McKenzie posted, It is with profound shock and a heavy heart that I have learned of the passing of Jaden Adams, midfielder for Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana. At the age of 25, Adams helped South Africa reach the World cup knockout stage for the first time. Further details about his death were not given. All right, that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. We have more on many of the stories that you hear on this podcast at our webpage gpb.org news we encourage you to hit subscribe on this podcast that helps you and helps us by keeping you current with us in your feed. If you have feedback for us, please send that our way. We welcome comments@georgia todaypb.org I'm Orlando Montoya. I'll be back again with you tomorrow for another edition of Georgia Today.