Georgia Today: Study shows above-average PFAS levels; CDC jobs reinstated; The Gathering arena OK'd

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, a new study shows residents of two Georgia cities have above average levels of forever chemicals in their blood. More than 400 CDC employees have their jobs reinstated and a new $3 billion development in Atlanta could mean the return of pro hockey.

Laura Semanson: There is a vibrant market for hockey and hockey fans. That's only grown in the years following the departure of the Thrashers.

Peter Biello: Today is Thursday, June 12. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: The U.S. Supreme Court is giving an Atlanta family whose home was wrongly raided by the FBI a new day in court. The unanimous opinion today comes after a pre-dawn raid in 2017 when agents smashed through a door, pointed guns at a couple, and terrified a 7-year-old boy before realizing they were in the wrong house. They sued over the ordeal, but lower courts tossed out the case. Public interest groups from across the political spectrum had urged the justices to overturn the ruling, saying its reasoning would severely limit legal remedies for people in law enforcement accountability cases.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Several residents in North Georgia's Rome and Calhoun have more than the American average levels of PFAS in their blood. Those are "forever chemicals," and that is according to a new study led by scientists at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.

Sofi Gratas: 177 adults had their blood drawn for the study. Emory researchers said Wednesday that almost half of them were found in the top 5% for exposure to some PFAS. Three-quarters have enough PFAS in their blood to warrant medical follow-up. The study also shows a link between time lived in the area and exposure. PFAS has been found in the drinking water that feeds into Rome and Calhoun, areas with a history of textile manufacturing. Lead scientist Dana Barr:

Dana Barr: The question is, is it the only source, is the major source? That we don't know.

Sofi Gratas: They need to do a larger study to answer that, she says, though funding could take years given a federal shift in public health priorities. A plan for tighter regulations on PFAS in drinking water has also been stalled. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas. 

Story 3:

Peter Biello: More than 460 laid-off employees at the nation's top public health agency received notices yesterday that they're being reinstated. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the reinstatements at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but provided few details.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: A new clinic in Atlanta is offering non-traditional treatments to address anxiety, depression and PTSD. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports.

Ellen Eldridge: Serenity Mental Health Center in Sandy Springs is offering patients transcranial magnetic stimulation, a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic fields to stimulate the brain. They'll also treat patients with ketamine to address treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Trisha Pease with Serenity says the drug helps by encouraging rapid growth of new and beneficial neural pathways.

Trisha Pease: Your neural pathways are failing, and your brain's defense is, for some unknown reason, to tell yourself you should die. Terrible defense, honestly. But that's what our brain does.

Ellen Eldridge: Pease says, in some people, growth can happen within hours, so ketamine can be an excellent tool in crisis intervention. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A plan to build a $10 million pedestrian sky bridge to connect the state Capitol to a new legislative office building is on hold for now. The Atlanta City Council's Transportation Committee voted yesterday to delay granting the state the easements needed to build the bridge. Project critics argue it would harm the historic capitol's façade. Councilmember Jason Dozier said it discourages foot traffic and downtown business.

Jason Dozier: There might be thousands of people in our downtown community, but they're not interacting with the street or spending money in our business or interacting in ways that that we want to see happen.

Peter Biello: David Mitchell of the Atlanta Preservation Center said the proposal would make the Capitol look like it has a, quote, paper towel roll sticking out of its side. He welcomes the city's pause on the state project.

David Mitchell: It really is kind of like our — our visual trophy that everyone in the state gets to claim. And so anything that happens to it or any way that it's used should go through a very rigorous examination.

Peter Biello: The Georgia Building Authority oversees state property and is leading the project as part of a larger capitol renovation. Authority officials say the sky bridge is aimed at improving the building's security and accessibility. The authority previously considered an underground tunnel to connect the buildings, but that $40 million project was deemed too expensive.

Caption

Solar panels

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Automaker Kia has begun installing 17,000 solar panels at its factory in West Point. The company said today the project is partly aimed at its clean energy goals, but also at vehicle protection. The panels will go over the factory's inventory. In 2023, severe hailstorms damaged 13,000 vehicles, resulting in millions of dollars in damage.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The FIFA Club World Cup begins this weekend, and throughout this month, Atlanta will play host to six of those games, and at least a third of those games will include club teams from England: Manchester City and Chelsea FC. And that is a big deal to Rachel Galloway, British Consul General in Atlanta, who's here in the studio with me. Rachel, thank you so much for speaking with me!

Rachel Galloway: It's a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me today.

Peter Biello: So what role does a consul have in bringing these teams here?

Rachel Galloway: What we're here to do is promote U.K.-U.S. relations, whether that's trade, helping U.S. businesses who want to work in the U.K., or U.K. businesses who want to come and settle here in the region. Or whether it's other areas of the relationship — and a really key part of the relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. is sport.

Peter Biello: Mm-hm.

Rachel Galloway: And I hadn't really realized until I moved to this region, how sport-mad people are here. And also the fact that, of all the sports people love, soccer is now a growing love for people in the United States. And therefore, it's a great opportunity for us to promote those relationships: to find people who already love English clubs, already watch the Premier League on TV every Saturday, or actually are just growing to know the game and want to take advantage of the opportunity to see world-class teams like Chelsea and Manchester City to see them play live, which is a really exciting opportunity for people.

Peter Biello: So, connect those two things for me, international relations and soccer (or football) promotion. How does that work? How does the fact that two English teams will be playing here in Atlanta this month strengthen the bond between the two countries?

Rachel Galloway: OK, so first of all, fans will come. So last year, Chelsea came here. We did an event working with a local charity, Soccer in the Streets. Chelsea were playing Club América, the Mexican club. So we worked with the Mexican consulates. We put on British and Mexican food trucks, and we had local kids from across Atlanta come and do soccer skills with Soccer In the Streets, and Chelsea players came and played with them. And some of the Chelsea fans who had traveled with the team came to the event, so I got the opportunity to talk to them. And, you know, they'd never been to Atlanta before. They'd never thought of coming here. But because Chelsea were coming here, they'd taken it as an opportunity. So they'd come to see Chelsea play in Atlanta, and then they were spending time on vacation here. That's the sort of people-to-people connection that we really care about, but it's also a business opportunity. Because we had a business breakfast. We're doing that this year again with the Atlanta Chamber with really high-class sports organizations who are based in this region. Companies from the U.K. who want to be in the U.S. have now set up their headquarters for North America out of Atlanta. And it's in part because they've had the opportunity to come and see some of these sporting events and see what's on offer here. And they're really wowed when they come.

Peter Biello: I see. So it's more than just generally developing goodwill between the two countries. It's an economic issue.

Rachel Galloway: Yeah, it's a fantastic economic opportunity. You talk to people here about what they're looking forward to next year, when you have the countries' World Cup and, you know, the Atlanta Metro Chamber thinks this is worth about $500 million.

Peter Biello: $500 million?

Rachel Galloway: That's their assessment of what this World Cup can bring into Atlanta. So what we want is to work with businesses here and U.K. businesses to make that opportunity to be something that everyone can take advantage of and grow as a result.

Peter Biello: President Trump's travel ban is limiting citizens from a dozen countries in their efforts to come here. That, however, exempted players and coaches. So the players and coaches will definitely get here. But fans of these two teams might have some questions about whether or not it's safe to come. What are people asking you about the travel ban and what are you able to tell them?

Rachel Galloway: So, what we do is we work with tourist agencies in the U.K., airlines and others to make sure that people traveling here have the access to what is the current rules to make sure that people who do buy tickets or buy flights to come here will get in the country, have the right papers and understand some of the complexities. For example, the fact that next year there will be games in Mexico and in Canada that they may need to cross the border if they want to go to those games — well, they WILL need to cross the border if they want to go to these games. What does that mean? And so really, for us, it's just about making sure that people have everything in the right place so that they have a really positive experience.

Peter Biello: For you, Manchester City, Chelsea FC, do you have a preference, a favorite team among the two?

Rachel Galloway: So I'm from Manchester.

Peter Biello: Well, there you go. Manchester City.

Rachel Galloway: So — so, I grew up in a slightly strange household, which was that my dad is a Manchester United fan and my mum is a Manchester City fan. But it was my mum's dad who looked after us when we little. So my brother and I are both Manchester City fans. To our horror, my son has felt bad for Grandpa. So he's a United fan. So we're continuing the split loyalties in the household.

Peter Biello: Well, sometimes the rivalry can be fun though, right? Makes it fun watching the game together.

Rachel Galloway: Yes, so it's a little bit sad for my son, because since he decided to be a Manchester United fan is about the time they started not being very good anymore.

Peter Biello:  Well, Rachel Galloway, British Consul General in Atlanta, thank you so much for coming into the studio and speaking with me about this.

Rachel Galloway: Thank you.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Commissioners in Metro Atlanta's Forsyth County yesterday approved key documents for a $3 billion development that could pave the way for the National Hockey League to return to Georgia. The project, called The Gathering at South Forsyth, includes an NHL-ready arena. County Commissioner Laura Semanson says she believes the league under Commissioner Gary Bettman eventually will expand into Georgia.

Laura Semanson: There is a vibrant market for hockey and hockey fans. That's only grown in the years following the departure of the Thrashers. And Mr. Bettman has actually acknowledged that they do want to be back in the Atlanta market.

Peter Biello: The project also includes retail, residential and hospitality space on 100 acres. It's led by developer and car dealership chain owner Vernon Krause.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: A new public soccer park is coming to Atlanta as part of a national effort to connect communities through sport. Visa, Street Soccer USA, and Bank of America are teaming up to build parks in Atlanta and five other cities. Each site will include pro-level fields, evening lighting, digital scoreboards, and space for community events. Organizers say the Atlanta Park is projected to open this winter ahead of one of the biggest landmark years for soccer in U.S. history.

 And that's a wrap on Georgia Today, but more news is coming your way tomorrow, so make sure you subscribe to this podcast and check gpb.org/news for any updates to the stories you heard today, as well as new stories that our reporters are posting all the time. If you've got feedback for this podcast, send us an email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. Your note will go to the whole team when you do. Again, the email: GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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