Sarah Kalis (2:20)

That'S just not going to work very well.

Chase McGee (2:22)

She says the effort would struggle under legal scrutiny. And this Congress doesn't even seem to have an appetite for that kind of legislation. Congress is considering a bill called the SAVE act, which would include a national requirement of proof of citizenship to vote. But Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that's as far as he wants to go.

Eric Kronberg (2:42)

There are other views probably when it comes to nationalizing or federalizing elections. But I think at least on that narrow issue, which is what the SAVE act gets act, that I think that's what the president was addressing.

Chase McGee (2:52)

Georgia Republicans aren't on board either. Georgia GOP chairman Josh McCune says he'd rather see the five members of the state Election board step in. I want a level playing field, and I don't feel like we get that in Fulton county at all under the current leadership.

Eric Kronberg (3:09)

And so I think that the state.

Chase McGee (3:11)

Elections board ought to make that finding and it ought to be placed under state management. But the State Election Board has so far said they aren't interested either. The president has previously tried to shape election policy through his use of executive orders. Those are still tied up in the courts. Andra Gillespie is a political scientist at Emory University. She says the president could use the repeatedly discredited claims of fraud in the 2020 ballots to justify declaring an electoral emergency and then try to intervene.

Andra Gillespie (3:44)

I expect that even if he does go down that route that he's going to get a lot of pushback, in part because states retain the power to control their own elections. And so I think it becomes a question of whether or not you would see secretaries of states and governors and state legislators who would go along with this particular gambit.

Chase McGee (4:01)

That seems unlikely in Georgia, for instance, while nearly a dozen states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, have turned over their voter rolls to the federal government and Georgia has not. That's because Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who President Trump asked to find 11,780 votes back in 2020, says he won't do it. For GPB news, I'm Chase McGee.

Peter Biello (4:25)

Meanwhile, some Republican state lawmakers are renewing their call for the state Election Board to take over Fulton County's elections. GPB Sarah Kalis reports.

Sarah Kalis (4:33)

State Senator Greg Dolezal says the unsealed affidavit, which lists complaints about alleged discrepancies in vote counts as a reason for the search, means that the state Election board needs to step in.

Eric Kronberg (4:45)

It's my personal opinion it's past time for the state to take over Fulton county elections.

Sarah Kalis (4:49)

Fulton County Commission Chairman Rob Pitts says a takeover won't happen.

Peter Biello (4:54)

So simply nonsense in Washington or here at the Capitol for anyone to try to gain some political ground by picking on Fulton County, Georgia the results of.

Sarah Kalis (5:04)

The 2020 election in Georgia have been litigated and found to be fair multiple times. The state Elections board previously declined to take over Fulton county elections, but they are set to meet Again this month. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kalis at the state Capitol.

Peter Biello (5:18)

Residents of the small city of social circle, about 45 miles east of Atlanta, learned last week that the Department of Homeland Security is buying a warehouse in the city to be used as an ICE detention facility. What will it take to transform a warehouse like the one that was just purchased into something that can house human beings? Eric Kronberg is founder and principal at Kronberg Urbanists and Architects in Atlanta. He's with me now to help shed some light on this question. Welcome to the program.

Eric Kronberg (5:43)

Thank you, Pierre. Thanks for having me.

Peter Biello (5:45)

We've seen estimates that this just over a million square foot warehouse could be transformed into a space that houses ICE detainees as soon as April. In your view, is that logistically possible given the changes that the warehouse might need to house human beings?

Eric Kronberg (5:59)

So I think the fundamental question of the logistics is what level of approvals or permissions are needed. Like, there's a lot of work to put in plumbing and walls, and I'm sure it's probably more of a prison than an apartment complex in terms of layout. All that's hard. But if the federal government is waiving all inspections, you can do a lot of things quickly, for better or worse.

Peter Biello (6:21)

Does the federal government have to abide by local inspection and zoning rules, or can it just steamroll through in the name of national security or some other pressing national priority?

Eric Kronberg (6:31)

Absolutely. I mean, the federal government has autonomy. I think other good examples I was thinking about is when we had a section of i85 collapse here in Atlanta, how the state prioritized that as a rebuild. And Pennsylvania recently had a section of elevated highway collapse. And if the government puts its mind to it, they can really waive inspections requirements and. Or have inspectors on site all 24 hours a day to get something done faster. So it's really, what parameters do you establish at the federal or state level?

Peter Biello (6:59)

And you say when the government puts his mind to it, do you mean both the federal and state government have to sort of work in concert? Or can the federal government say, we don't care what you think, Georgia.

Eric Kronberg (7:07)

We're doing this anyway, particularly with this administration. I think it's more of how you laid it out. But, you know, I'm not. We do more state and local work, but my expectations are the federal government wants to claim jurisdiction. They have the ability to do that. I mean, I think it's also fair that you could try to sue to slow them down. But, you know, that seems to be the game that this Government plays.

Peter Biello (7:27)

So under ordinary circumstances, how much would local opinion matter for a building like this? Would builders or developers have to sort of win over the hearts and minds of the people living nearby for it to actually go forward?

Eric Kronberg (7:39)

If it was simply a local project, there's zoning permissions and then building approval permissions. Really, land use and development is a highly political process, and there are all kinds of ways, if a local community does not like a project, for voices to be raised, to stop things happening. Without a doubt. You know, when it's a state project, the state has a lot more autonomy within the state boundaries to deploy things that are in the state interest. But also, just to be clear, cities do not have to abide by their own zoning laws. Right. If the city of Atlanta, as an example, felt it was in their interest just to go build something, they have that legal authority within their bounds. They typically choose not to do that and go through an engagement process, but they're legally permitted to not follow their own rules and their own boundaries.

Terry Gross (8:21)

Hmm.

Peter Biello (8:21)

So what does that mean for a place like Social Circle?

Eric Kronberg (8:24)

It would be interesting to watch the federal government force the city to connect utilities. And if you're a small city like Social Circle, you may not have much choice. But if you have an existing warehouse, you know, that connection between the public realm of the city and the private building is already in place. It may not be adequate, honestly, for taking a warehouse to house humans. So there's interesting, like, where does the purview of the federal government stop? Where does the purview of the city stop? You know, intermixed. There is a joining of some point, and I don't know how much power Social Circle will have practically at that kind of intersection or not.

Peter Biello (8:56)

The warehouse could hold up to 10,000 people, and that would effectively triple the population of Social Circle. What do you think that would mean for the city when it comes to available water treatment and wastewater management? I mean, it's likely that the water has to be processed going in and coming out somehow.

Eric Kronberg (9:12)

Yeah, absolutely. In a warehouse, you talk about occupant loads and how many people would be in the building and the facility. And a warehouse might have, you know, maybe a warehouse, maybe that's 50 or 100 people. Is the occupancy designed for a structure like that? It's a fraction of the people that we're putting in. And the number of human occupants, that's the driver of water usage. Right. For toilets, for showers, for cooking, cleaning. That's a massive increase in facilities. I do not have knowledge of the sewer capacity of Social Circle. But that could be a massive strain on that. I mean, things we're seeing shifting a little bit to warehouses for AI. A lot of these are providing their own power generation with gas turbines in Texas and other places because there's not local capacity of the infrastructure to provide what they're doing. But that's just power for bits and, you know, electrons flying around that is not actually housing humans. And so it's entirely possible that there is just no water available, not nearly enough water available to serve this facility or would amazingly stress the infrastructure. Social Circle. I'd be shocked to imagine that it wouldn't. No city that we know has massive excess capacity of water sewer just about anywhere in the country.

Peter Biello (10:19)

Well, Eric Kronberg, thank you so much for sharing your insights on this. We really do appreciate it.

Eric Kronberg (10:24)

Thank you.

Peter Biello (10:28)

The Northeast Georgia city of Oakwood is detailing its objections to plans for an ICE detention center in its community. A statement yesterday from the mayor and council says Oakwood supports the agency's public safety mission but wants it to pause any further action on the facility. It cites concerns over standards for human habitation, loss of tax revenue, improper review and, quote, economic disruption to Hall County's large Hispanic community. City officials and Social Circle have voiced similar concerns. Georgia consistently ranks higher than national averages for its maternal and infant mortality rates this year. Those working to improve maternal health are trying a new approach to address what many call a maternal health crisis. GPB's Sophie Gradas has more.

Alison Kaufman (11:10)

The Maternal Health Vitality Think Tank brings healthcare providers, researchers and policymakers together to address Georgia's poor matern outcomes. Partners include the Morehouse School of Medicine and Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. Alison Kaufman with the Georgia Health Initiative says the think tank aims to fund work that goes beyond the worst case scenario. We have heard and we have seen a lot of coverage, very importantly on maternal mortality, maternal death, and we deserve so much more than just not dying during childbirth. Kaufman says they'll leverage philanthropy as well as state and federal dollars by working with state departments of public health. The think tank plans to prioritize projects in postpartum health, birth support and workforce development in areas without OBGYNs or other maternal health providers. For GPB news, I'm Sophie Gradas.

Peter Biello (11:57)

Columbus is partnering with a private company to turn methane from a landfill into natural gas, the Columbus government said yesterday. The facility at its Pine Grove landfill already is under construction and is set to be complete this spring. The landfill group is the city's private partner, promising renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction from a local source.

Terry Gross (12:16)

Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of FRESH AIR. Hey, take a break from the 24 hour news cycle with us and listen to long form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians and musicians. The people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times. So listen to the FRESH AIR podcast from NPR and whyy.

Peter Biello (12:38)

The French government has awarded the president of the Savannah College of Art and Design one of the nation's premier cultural awards. SCAD founder Paula Wallace became a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters as it translates into English at a ceremony in New York yesterday. The college, for more than 25 years, has maintained a campus that has transformed the village of La Coste in southeastern France. Georgia lawmakers are considering a boost to the minimum speed on the state's highways. The minimum would go from 40 to 50 miles an hour under a bill discussed in a House committee yesterday. The bill's sponsor, Marietta Republican John Carson, says the goal is to reduce the number of collisions caused by disparities in speed. Members of the House Motor Vehicles Committee didn't vote on the bill, but will gather more information about collisions and the cost of replacing speed limit signs before bringing it back for a vote. Longtime Braves in game host Mark Owens is returning to Truist park in 2026. The announcement was made on the latest episode of the behind the Braves podcast. Owens spent 16 seasons as the Atlanta Braves in game host before stepping away three years ago. During the podcast interview, Owens addressed what he missed while he was away.

Mark Owens (13:49)

And people often say what, you know, what do you miss? Since I've been away, I was like, I missed those moments. There's always this buzz before the game gets started. Every single game day before the gates open, there's just you walk around the concourse, you're kind of starting to get ready and you know it's a game day's coming up, but there's always this buzz and everyone's pretty excited. You're like, we're about to watch some Braves baseball. And for me, that's what I'm really excited about, is to be a part of that, that, that buzz again. That is Braves baseball for the fans.

Peter Biello (14:17)

The Atlanta Braves will open this year's MLB season at home against the Kansas City Royals at Truist park on Friday, March 27. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm that's all we've got for Georgia today, but more is coming your way tomorrow. So make sure you subscribe to this podcast and check gpb.org news for updates to any of the stories you heard today. If you have feedback or story idea, send it to us by email. That is the best way to reach us. The address is Georgia todaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

Eric Kronberg (15:01)

Sam.