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Georgia Today
Runoff debates begin; Training to dispense PREP and PEP; New college accreditations
00:10:23
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Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Democratic candidates for Senate and governor campaign together while Republicans debate ahead of the runoff. A major manufacturer plans to expand to Macon, and two Georgia schools are expected to be among the first in the country to join a new accreditation agency for public colleges and universities.
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We think it will cut down on a lot of the busy work reports that seem to be there just to make time.
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Today is Monday, June 1st. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. U.S. senator Jon Ossoff and Democratic candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms held a campaign event in Atlanta yesterday. GPB's Sarah Kalis reports.
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Ossoff, who is seeking a second term in Bottoms, promoted their own policies and supported each other during their first joint rally. Bottom celebrated high primary participation from Democrats.
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People across Georgia have made it clear we want to elect leaders who will fight for us.
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Ossoff called out both of his potential opponents, Representative Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley, for supporting a corrupt administration.
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They're both Trump puppets and we'll beat either one of them in November.
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The two Democrats will be on the top of the ballot in November. Their Republican opponents will be decided on June 16 after a primary election runoff. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kalis in Atlanta.
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Republican candidates for Senate are sparring ahead of the primary runoff election two weeks from tomorrow at a debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club and gpb. Former football coach Derek Dooley questioned Congressman Mike Collins about the allegations that a former staffer put his girlfriend on the payroll for work she didn't do.
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How can hardworking Georgians trust you going forward?
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Collins dismissed the concerns.
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It is a nothing burger. It was filed by an anonymous complaint.
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Early voting for the runoff election begins on June 9. The winner of the runoff will face incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff on the ballot in November. Also debating today was lieutenant governor Burt Jones, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor. His opponent, Rick Jackson, declined the invitation to appear, leaving Jones on stage by himself with debate moderators. Arsalur Middle Building Solutions says it plans to set up its North American headquarters and a new manufacturing facility in Maconbib county. Governor Brian Kemp today announced that the initial investment will bring roughly $57 million and up to 70 new jobs to the community. Kemp says an additional $50 million in investment and as many as 70 more jobs are possible over the next several years. Arsalur Middle Building Solutions designs and manufactures panels that insulate and protect warehouses for factories, data centers and commercial buildings. Medication that prevents HIV will soon be available in Georgia pharmacies. GPB's Sophie Gradis has more on how stakeholders are gearing up the law.
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Clearing PrEP and PEP for distribution at pharmacies as of July 1st stipulates that pharmacists will have to complete training with the state before they can prescribe the medications. That training hasn't been released yet. Kayla Quimby Young is the HIV policy coordinator for Georgia Equality, which is hosting a series of workshops leading up to the start date. She says it's important to prepare more than just pharmacists for this expansion in access to be effective.
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It's going to take a village, a
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team of people to make this happen, whether that be housing, drug usage or anything like that. We all have intersectionality and how those things overlap.
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The law requires every prescription come with a referral to a primary care doctor for follow up. For GPB News, I'm Sophie Gradus.
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Pinnacle bank has announced new investment in its riverfront office in Columbus, known as Synovus Place. Pinnacle plans expand its first floor space with a 31,000 square foot addition that brings the company's total footprint at Synova's place to 220,000 square feet. A spokesperson for Pinnacle says the move reflects the company's long term commitment to downtown Columbus and the people who work here every day. Pinnacle employs about 1,000 people in the Columbus area. No start date for construction has been announced, but Move in day is planned for the first quarter of 2027 and a new study from WalletHub finds Augusta is number eight on a list of most affordable cities to buy a home in the United Topping the list was Flint, Michigan. Savannah landed at number 83 while Athens was at 125.
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Each story you hear on Planet Money starts with a 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 and start seeing how the economy really works.
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The U.S. department of Education wants to increase competition in the realm of college and university accreditation. This summer, a new agency called the Commission for Public Higher Education, or cphe, is getting closer to doing just that. Once it is up and running, many colleges and universities across the south could be answering questions from CPHE about what they teach, how they evaluate evaluate faculty, and a lot more. As GPB's Orlando Montoya reports, two Georgia schools are expected to be among the first to join.
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Although it's a big deal in the academic world, accreditation isn't something most people pay attention to, except in rare cases when it's revoked.
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We are very mysterious in industry to those that are less familiar with the work.
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That's Heather Perfetti, president of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Her agency reviews more than 500 academic institutions across the country for things like graduation rates, financial stability, curriculum and more.
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We are data driven. We expect our institutions to be data driven.
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If the data doesn't show a school is educating students well, then it can lose accreditation, which has consequences like leaving students unable to receive federal student aid. The U.S. department of Education recognizes about three dozen institutional accrediting agencies nationwide. But in many regions, public higher education tends to be dominated by one accreditor.
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Oh, please be seated. Thanks so much.
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Last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took aim at the South's accreditation giant, the Southern association of Colleges and Schools Commission on colleges, or SAC CoC. At a news conference, he accused the agency of being more interested in liberal ideology than student achievement and said Florida and five other conservative led states would be forming their own agency, cphe.
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This endeavor will introduce a new accreditor into the marketplace. It'll upend the monopoly of the woke accreditation cartels.
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Two Georgia institutions, Columbus State University and Georgia Southern University, are expected to be among the first in Georgia and in the nation to be accredited by cphe. But Georgia announced its participation less in terms of ideology and more in terms of bureaucracy. Sonny Perdue is the outgoing chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
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We think it will cut down on a lot of the busy work reports that seem to be there just to make time.
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Some in higher education have complained over the years about the rules and delays of accreditation. They say it bogs down their work. Georgia professor Matthew Bodde sees something more in this shift. Boddy leads the state's chapter of the American association of University Professors, and he points out that CPHE comes with a focus on intellectual diversity.
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That particular phrase has come from conservatives who attack higher education who don't like accreditation.
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Many vocal right wing critics of higher education, like the slain political activist Charlie Kirk Long, have argued that colleges and universities have become indoctrination factories for liberal ideas. The new agency already has caused changes in the South's more established system of university accreditation. Steven Pruitt took over as SAC CoC's president less than a year ago and says his agency is addressing its members concerns.
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I called for our standards to be revised immediately.
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PRUITT says. That's by reducing paperwork and response times, but not educational quality, because at the
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end of the day, we're not going to be involved in a race to the bottom.
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The Commission for Public Higher Education could make its first accreditation decisions this fall. The U.S. department of Education could recognize the new accreditor as soon as next year. For GPB News, I'm Orlando Montoya.
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The University of Georgia's Extension Family and Consumer Sciences program in Madison county says it helped 30 residents receive nearly $50,000 this year through its volunteer income tax assistance program. The VITA program provides IRS certified preparers who can prepare federal and state tax returns free of charge. Emily Williams is UGA's fax agent for Madison and Oglethorpe counties. She says there aren't many options for tax preparation in smaller communities.
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It's really nice to have this resource that allows people in the community to keep the money to themselves and not have to spend it on a service like that.
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The program helped participants save about $400 per tax return. The program serves residents in the northeast Georgia counties of Madison, Jackson, Clark, Elbert, Franklin. In sports, the Braves have the day off today as they head home for a three game homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow. The Braves took two of three games against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, taking the loss yesterday. Ronald Acuna Jr. Hit his franchise best 39th career leadoff home run on the first pitch of the game yesterday. He's now hit five homers in four games and has prompted talk about a return to form. Braves starter Spencer Strider allowed three earned runs on seven hits and five innings yesterday. He struck out eight. Bryce Elder is scheduled to get the start tomorrow. And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit gpb.org news and if you haven't subscribed to this podcast yet, please take a moment. Do it now because we will be back in your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon. And of course your feedback is welcome. Story ideas too. If you have any, let us know by email. The address is georgia todaypb.org we love hearing from from our listening community. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.