9/11 remembrances; UGA Flock camera misuse; Atlanta evictions

0:00Welcome to the Georgia Today Podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB Newsroom. On today's episode, remembrances of the September 11th attacks are taking place today and throughout the weekend. The UGA Police Department suspends one of its own for allegedly misusing flock cameras, and Atlanta has a high rate of evictions, even when some say late payments could help avoid them. If Rent is due on the 5th, and it doesn't get paid on the 5th, but the tenant is going to get paid on the 10th and be able to pay their landlord, why are we creating a civil court case out of something that could be a simple transaction a few days later? Today is Friday, September 11th. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. The University of Georgia Police Department has suspended and demoted an IT employee for allegedly misusing flock cameras. A statement from the University says his actions were, quote, not criminal in nature, but allegedly used license plate readers for what the statement calls, quote, two separate

1:02events in which he had a personal interest. The University says the employee had access to the flock database, but did not have permission to use it. More than three dozen members of law enforcement in Georgia have been fired or indicted for misuse of flock camera systems since the company's audit tool was introduced earlier this year. The tags on Georgia's government buildings have been lowered to half staff today in remembrance of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Governor Brian Kemp also ordered a moment of silence for this morning that the exact time a plane was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City on this day 25 years ago. Remembrances of the September 11th attacks are planned for later today and throughout the weekend. The Metro Atlanta City of Swany will host a small ceremony this afternoon at 6 o'clock at Remembrance Plaza, where a permanent monument includes a steel remnant from one of the former World Trade Center towers. The Atlanta Braves will honor local first responders on the field at Truis Park tonight ahead of the Braves Phillies game. And tomorrow the 9-11 Heroes Run 5K race in Atlanta begins a Grand Park at 9-11am and

2:07the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton will host Carry the Loads National Day of Service and Remembrance. $218 million. That's what Georgia has to work with in its first year of the Federal Government's Royal Health Transformation Program. President Trump's grant funding effort to bolster rural health capacity. GPB's Sophie Grottas has more. Georgia has five priority areas for the new Federal World Health Funds, those guide commitments of money to projects like those that expand telehealth physician training, emergency transportation and cyber security. With all the money now obligated, though not yet spent, James Peoples with the Department of Community Health says, The focus increasingly now shifts to putting those awards into action. The money is only going to rural counties and none of it will be spent on new construction. Most of it will fund training for 87 Georgia hospitals trying out a new payment system for patients with government-funded insurance.

3:07Georgia already expects notices of funding for year two to go out in late October, though it doesn't know yet how much the Federal Government will award. For GPB News, I'm Sophie Grottas. A nonprofit group studying eviction filings reports the Atlanta area has more cases than larger cities like New York. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports. The eviction lab says the five county Atlanta metro areas saw over 140,000 evictions filed in the last year. That's a higher rate than in New York, Boston, Houston and even some entire states. Eviction lab researcher Peter Hepburn says something like a seven-day rent grace period could help. If rent is due on the fifth and it doesn't get paid on the fifth, but the tenant is going to get paid on the tenth and be able to pay their landlord, why are we creating a civil court case out of something that could be a simple transaction a few days later? Hepburn shared his findings at an invitation only session at the Atlanta History Center. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

4:08A new initiative in Atlanta is seeking men to serve as mentors. Big brothers, big sisters of Metro Atlanta is partnering with Morehouse Football and the Morehouse Alumni Football Association. They're looking for more than 100 men to serve as mentors for boys on its waitlist. The new initiative called Brother I Got Your Back is kicking off a monthly mentoring experience event series tomorrow, which will connect boys on the waitlist with Morehouse student athletes and alumni. Pierre Gather is the chief operating officer of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta. We know most little boys like sports, and so we're using this just to kind of capture their interests, but also get them to the right mentor. The new group mentoring initiative is expected to take place on one day each month during the academic year and is limited to boys currently on the waitlist. The family of David Drake is asking museums and individuals to return to the family any Drake pieces in their collections. That includes the High Museum in Atlanta.

5:09David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter, was an enslaved man who was forced to handcraft more than 40,000 stoneware jars at a ceramics plantation in Edgefield, South Carolina. Georgia museums such as the Telfer Museum in Savannah and the Georgia Museum of Art and Athens are among those institutions that have restored ownership of their Dave the Potter pieces to his family. More than 240 of his highly valued works sit in museum and private collections across the country. The High Museum, one of more than two dozen museums in possession of a Drake piece, confirms they've been in touch with the Drake family but had no further comments. Georgia collected nearly two and a half billion dollars in net tax revenue in August that is three and a half percent more than the same month last year. Governor Brian Kemp's office released the figures this week. The Atlanta Braves kick off a three game homestand tonight against their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies, Chris Sale is expected to get the start for the Braves.

6:17And that is it for this edition of Georgia today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit gpb.org slash news. And remember to subscribe to this podcast because we will be back on Monday with all the latest news. And your feedback is welcome, send it by email to Georgia today at gpb.org. I'm Peter B. L.O. thanks again for listening and have a great weekend.