Savannah Mayor Van Johnson won reelection to a second term last night, defeating Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter by a wide 57-point margin. Public health leaders are working to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes in Black and Brown communities across the state. Georgia’s state taxes on gas and diesel have again been suspended.
Four million dollars from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help agencies in Georgia tackle racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes in Atlanta, coastal and central Georgia cities. The number of teenagers using tobacco products is going down and the Food and Drug Administration is calling it a win. Most of the declines are among e-cigarette users. Environmentalists are preparing to push back against a request to state regulators from Georgia Power for a massive, mostly fossil fuel powered increase in electricity generation.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump has joined the legal team for the family of a man killed by a Camden County deputy. Georgia craft brewers have launched a petition urging state lawmakers to support changes to the state's beer distribution laws. The Georgia Department of Corrections has chosen a site for a state of the art prison aimed at addressing recurring safety issues.
After 26 years in Georgia prisons, a convicted murderer who became the face of 1990s tough-on-crime policies is now living outside prison walls. GPB's Orlando Montoya recently spoke with the man who once was the 13-year-old boy behind a notorious case.