School misconduct probe; Daylight saving time; Ossoff fundraising

Summary

Georgia Today Podcast Summary – July 16, 2026

Overview

This episode of Georgia Today, hosted by Orlando Montoya, delivers an incisive round-up of significant news across Georgia. Key topics include a federal investigation into school misconduct reporting, the release of a college baseball player from ICE custody, developments around permanent Daylight Saving Time, a heated U.S. Senate fundraising race, reflections on 50 years since the Gregg v. Georgia death penalty ruling, a survey examining the financial health of Georgia's farmers, the Okefenokee Swamp’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage status, updated global airport rankings, and a civic center's search for social influencers.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. School Misconduct Reporting Investigation

[00:40]

• The Trump administration has begun investigating three Georgia school systems—Savannah, Chatham, Richmond, and DeKalb County—for possible mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations by teachers.
• The U.S. Department of Education cites “a disturbing pattern of credible reports of sexual abuse going uninvestigated” as the basis for the probe.

---

2. College Athlete Released from ICE Custody

[01:33]

• Savannah State University baseball player Johan Sandoval was released from ICE detention in New York after an administrative mix-up showed him as a non-student.
• President Jermaine Wuerl commended the community’s advocacy:

  “I want to thank each of you that have called, sent letters, reached out, communicated, advocated...We know he's going to get back home...finish his studies right here at Savannah State University.” (Jermaine Wuerl, 01:33)

---

3. Potential for Permanent Daylight Saving Time in Georgia

[02:14]

• The U.S. House passed a bill that could make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent.
• Georgia is poised to switch immediately if federal approval comes through, thanks to a 2021 trigger law.
• Proponent Senator Ben Watson highlighted health impacts:

  “It is well documented that there is an increase of heart attacks and strokes with the time change back and forth—not to mention the havoc that it wreaks on our sleep and just people don't like the change.” (Sen. Ben Watson, 02:29)

• Critics prefer standard time for its alignment with natural circadian rhythms. The bill must still clear the Senate; President Donald Trump supports the move.

---

4. Senate Fundraising: Ossoff vs Collins

[03:07]

• The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff and Rep. Mike Collins is seeing heavy fundraising.
  • Ossoff: $20 million raised from April–June, with $42 million cash on hand.
  • Collins: slightly over $2 million in the same period.

---

5. 50th Anniversary: Gregg v. Georgia and the Modern Death Penalty

[03:07 | 04:12]

• This month marks 50 years since Gregg v. Georgia, when the Supreme Court upheld Georgia’s death penalty law, ending a national ban on capital punishment.
• Maurice Shama (Marshall Project) critiques racial inequities:

  “We failed as a country to make the death penalty something that is handed out in a sort of equitable way when it comes to race, by which I mean Black people are still overrepresented on death row, significantly overrepresented.” (Maurice Shama, 00:28 / 04:12)

• Of 9,000+ death sentences since 1975, only about 20% have been carried out, often due to case complications.
• Georgia’s stats: 77 executions since the ruling; close parity in death sentences given to Black and white offenders.

---

6. Georgia Farm Profitability Survey

[05:08]

• UGA’s School of Public Health, Georgia Farm Bureau, and Georgia Farm Foundation launched the Farm Profitability Survey to assess farm margins, cash flow, and debt.
• Financial stress is a major concern. Researcher Stephanie Basie wonders:

  “If farms are struggling right now, do farmers even want to pass their farms off to their families?” (Gillian Magtoto quoting Stephanie Basie, 05:38)

• Focus is on the sustainability of family farming; responses due by July 31st.

---

7. Okefenokee Swamp: Bid for UNESCO World Heritage Site

[06:28–10:26]

• The Okefenokee Swamp is likely to join 26 U.S. sites as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Local voices share its uniqueness:

  • “Boating on a water trail into the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is like going back in time.” (Gillian Magtoto, 06:44)

  • “It's just a really dark, quiet spot. You're not going to hear trains or cars, just our boat.” (Josh Howard, 07:03)

  • “This is almost exactly how it was hundreds of years ago.” (Kim Bednarek, 07:58)

• Visiting rates have dropped since COVID, but the World Heritage process could boost tourism and conservation.

• “Through this designation, it's our opportunity to share why it's so special to us and tell our story.” (Kim Bednarek, 08:37)

• Patrick Simmons expects a doubling in visitation over the next 5–10 years.
• While community welcomes economic boosts (hotels, restaurants), UNESCO cautions:

  “The bottom line of the World Heritage Convention is it's not about attracting tourists, it's about protecting the heritage.” (Mike Robinson, 09:52)

• Locals don’t fear overdevelopment, seeing balance as possible.

---

8. Atlanta Airport Remains World’s Busiest

[10:26]

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport led global passenger traffic in 2025 with 106+ million, remaining #1.
• Chicago O’Hare topped for total aircraft movements, edging out Atlanta.

---

9. Columbus Civic Center Seeks Social Influencers

[10:26]

• The Columbus Civic Center is recruiting influencers (5,000+ followers) to attend events free for positive exposure, with applications closing soon.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We failed as a country to make the death penalty something that is handed out in a sort of equitable way when it comes to race…” (Maurice Shama, 00:28 / 04:12)
• “People don't like the change [in time].” (Sen. Ben Watson, 02:29)
• “Boating on a water trail into the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is like going back in time.” (Gillian Magtoto, 06:44)
• “It's just a really dark, quiet spot...just our boat.” (Josh Howard, 07:03)
• “The bottom line of the World Heritage Convention is it's not about attracting tourists, it's about protecting the heritage.” (Mike Robinson, 09:52)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• School Misconduct Investigation – 00:40
• Johan Sandoval ICE Release – 01:33
• Permanent Daylight Saving Time Debate – 02:14
• Senate Fundraising Numbers – 03:07
• Gregg v. Georgia Reflection/Death Penalty – 04:12
• Farm Profitability Survey – 05:08
• Okefenokee Swamp’s UNESCO Bid – 06:28–10:26
• Atlanta Airport Ranking – 10:26
• Civic Center Influencer Program – 10:26

---

Tone and Closing

Georgia Today's reporting remains succinct, fact-based, and community-oriented, balancing in-depth coverage with accessibility and frequent attribution to local voices and experts. The tone is informative, occasionally contemplative, allowing for direct community quotes and grounded analysis of stories significant to Georgians.

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 3 Georgia school systems are suspected of mishandling accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers. A college baseball player has been released from ICE custody and it's the 50th anniversary of a landmark death penalty ruling by the U.S. supreme Court.

[Maurice Shama]

We failed as a country to make the death penalty something that is handed out in a sort of equitable way when it comes to race, by which I mean black people are still over represented on death row, significantly overrepresented.

[Orlando Montoya]

Today is Thursday, July 16th. I'm Orlando Montoya and this is Georgia Today. The Trump administration has launched an investigation into three Georgia school systems suspected of mishandling accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers and the U.S. department of Education announced the crackdown last week. It focuses on what administration officials call a disturbing pattern of credible reports of sexual abuse going uninvestigated. Savannah, Chatham, Richmond and DeKalb County Schools are among 20 districts coming under federal scrutiny. A Savannah State University baseball player detained by immigration officials two weeks ago has been released from ICE custody in New York. University President Jermaine Wuerl says Johan Sandoval was reunited with his family Wednesday.

[Jermaine Wuerl]

I want to thank each of you that have called, sent letters, reached out, communicated, advocated via social media, in writing and in person on behalf of our tiger. We know he's going to get back home, he's going to be reunited and again he's going to have the ability to finish his studies right here at the Savannah State University.

[Orlando Montoya]

22 year old's attorney said an administrative error in his transfer from Bryant and Stratton College to Savannah State State left a federal database incorrectly showing he was no longer a student. The US House passed a bill this week that could make Daylight savings time permanent. GPB's Sarah Kalis reports on how that could impact Georgia.

[Sarah Kalis]

If the federal government allows it, Georgia will switch to Daylight Saving Time, which we are currently in permanently. That's thanks to a trigger law passed in 2021 and signed by Governor Brian Kemp. Senator Ben Watson, who is also a doctor, sponsored the bill.

[Senator Ben Watson]

It is well documented that there is an increase of heart attacks and strokes with the time change back and forth, not to mention the havoc that it wreaks on our sleep and just people don't like the change.

[Sarah Kalis]

Critics of a permanent move to Daylight Saving time say standard time better aligns with our natural circadian rhythm. Watson says despite this, many people prefer the extra sunlight in the evenings. The federal bill still needs to clear the Senate, and President Donald Trump has indicated that he supports the cause. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

[Orlando Montoya]

The Georgia US Senate race between incumbent Democratic US Senator Jon Ossoff and US Representative Mike Collins is proving to be an expensive one, as both released fundraising numbers yesterday. Ossoff says his campaign has raised $20 million from April through June, ending the period with $42 million on hand. Collins says he's raised a little over $2 million in the same period. This month marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. supreme Court case Gregg v. Georgia. The ruling upheld the state's death penalty law, ending a four year national ban on capital punishment and ushering in the modern era of state sanctioned execution in the US for the anniversary, faith leaders including the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta held programs spotlighting the death penalty's impact, and a non profit news organization focused on criminal justice issues released a new set of data highlighting what it calls a broken system. Maurice Shama is a staff writer for the news outlet the Marshall Project.

[Maurice Shama]

We failed as a country to make the death penalty something that is handed out in a sort of equitable way when it comes to race, by which I mean and black people are still overrepresented on death row, significantly overrepresented, he Sundays.

[Orlando Montoya]

Only about 20% of the 9,000 or so death sentences handed out in the US since 1975 have been carried out in large part because of various problems with the cases. Project data shows Georgia has executed 77 people since the ruling, and that about an equal number of death sentences were given to black and white offenders. The Gregg case involved a 1973 murder in metro Atlanta's Gwinnett county and the court's attempt to make capital punishment less arbitrary and less racially discriminatory. Georgia researchers are hoping to learn more about the financial well being of the state's farmers who drive Georgia's largest economic sector, GPB's Sophie Gradas reports.

[Sophie Gradas]

The Farm Profitability Survey from UGA's School of Public Health, the Georgia Farm Bureau and the Georgia Farm foundation includes questions about margins, cash flow and debt, among others. Because Georgia farmers have reported financial stress as a top concern, says researcher Stephanie Basie, who's done previous farmer well being studies, input costs for crops and commodities have risen sharply, and with the vast majority over 80% of Georgia farms run by individuals and families. One question Basie has is if farms

[Gillian Magtoto]

are struggling right now, do farmers even want to pass their farms off to their families?

[Sophie Gradas]

Is family farming in Georgia sustainable Farmers and producers statewide have until July 31st to take the online anonymous survey. For GPP News, I'm Sophie Graudis.

[NPR Planet Money Host]

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.

[Orlando Montoya]

There are 26 places in the US so precious that the United nations lists them as their UNESCO World heritage sites. As GPB's Gillian Magtoto reports, Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp soon might join the list.

[Gillian Magtoto]

Boating on a water trail into the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is like going back in time.

[Josh Howard]

Not gonna have cell phone service. You don't even see the glow of the city.

[Gillian Magtoto]

Josh Howard was raised in nearby Charlton county, one of four Georgia and Florida counties where the refuge sits. It's peaceful here, and he likes it that way.

[Josh Howard]

It's just a really dark, quiet spot. You're not going to hear trains or

[Gillian Magtoto]

cars, just our boat. Which causes alligators to slink away and frightens a green heron.

[Josh Howard (continued)]

When they get nervous, a green Mohawk comes up on top of their head.

[Gillian Magtoto]

Though the swamp doesn't go completely quiet,

[Josh Howard]

the swamp has its own music that it plays going to bed. And when you're waking up, you may hear wild turkeys in the mornings. Then at night you got barred owls and pig frog.

[Gillian Magtoto]

After we cut the engine about two miles in, we for gliding on dark water reflecting pine trees like black glass.

[Josh Howard]

The canal we're on right now is the Suwannee Canal. Yeah, there's a turtle there.

[Gillian Magtoto]

Cue the swamp music. This is the sound of a swamp so big it doubles all five boroughs of New York. It's the largest subtropical freshwater wetland left in the entire Northern Hemisphere.

[Kim Bednarek]

This is almost exactly how how it was hundreds of years ago.

[Gillian Magtoto]

Hunter Barber's family has been here for seven generations. He works for Okefenokee Swamp park, which offers tours on boats like this one. The park sees about half a million visitors each year, but Barber says business has been slower.

[Kim Bednarek]

Folks from all different nationalities come out when Covid hit. That's never really bounced back.

[Gillian Magtoto]

But that could soon be changing. Later this month, a United nations committee will likely convene to officially inscribe the swamp as a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the ruins at Pompeii.

[Kim Bednarek]

Through this designation, it's our opportunity to share why it's so special to us and tell our story.

[Gillian Magtoto]

The decision would mark the end of a process that began in 1982.

[Patrick Simmons]

So what is that, 44 years ago? So a long time, a very long journey for the refuge.

[Gillian Magtoto]

Okefenokee Swamp Park Executive director Kim Bednarek says it was recent efforts from her organization that helped raise $800,000 to put together a team of scientists and application for the nomination to go forward.

[Patrick Simmons]

That money is 100% dedicated to ensuring the inscription is successful, and that money,

[Gillian Magtoto]

she says, is largely to bring more people to the site.

[Patrick Simmons]

Doubling of visitation over the the next five to 10 years is what we expect to see.

[Gillian Magtoto]

A new Okefenokee Development Authority formed last year across three towns where you can enter the swamp. Waycross tourism manager Patrick Simmons says a few new hotels and a handful of chain restaurants are already popping up.

[Kim Bednarek]

The year before last we had a

[Orlando Montoya]

Fairfield Inns open, got two new wawas

[Kim Bednarek]

in town, which is, you know, pretty significant. I gotta feel like some of that

[Orlando Montoya]

is driven by the designation.

[Gillian Magtoto]

But UNESCO Vice Chair and Director of Culture Mike Robinson says that the development has to be balanced against the real purpose of the designation.

[Mike Robinson]

But you know, the bottom line of the World Heritage Convention is it's not about attracting tourists, it's about protecting the heritage.

[Gillian Magtoto]

My Swamp Guide and Okefenokee Local Josh Howard doesn't think this will be an issue.

[Josh Howard]

I don't think we're going to be an Orlando or anything.

[Gillian Magtoto]

But he does want to see more people. And he says if the UNESCO listing gets more people to see this quiet, dark, last of its kind, watery corner of the world, that's good. For GBB News, I'm Gillian Magtoto in South Georgia,

[Orlando Montoya]

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the world's busiest airport for passenger traffic. New rankings from Airports Council International Show More than 106 million passengers traveled through ATL in 2025, keeping it in the top spot globally. Dubai International Airport ranked second, followed by Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Chicago o' Hare topped Atlanta for aircraft movements that records the number of takeoffs and landings. Chicago had the most number of aircraft movements anywhere in the world. And finally today, the Columbus Civic center is looking for online influencers to attend events for free in exchange for positive exposure on social media. An online application closing tomorrow seeks influencers with at least 5,000 followers. And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit gpb.org news we'd like you to hit subscribe on this podcast that helps you to keep us current in your feed and send us feedback. We welcome story ideas and suggestions at Georgia Today at gpb. Org, I'm Orlando Montoya. I'll be with you again tomorrow for another edition of Georgia Today.