COMMUNITY TEA

President Joe Biden recently announced that he intends to end both the national emergency and the public health emergency declarations related to COVID-19 on May 11, 2023. His announcement came on the same day that the World Health Organization said it still considers the COVID-19 pandemic to be a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, a status that is reassessed every three months. The WHO’s advisory committee noted that although the pandemic is at a turning point, “COVID-19 remains a dangerous infectious disease with the capacity to cause substantial damage to health and health systems.” Ending the federal emergency reflects both a scientific and political judgment that the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has ended and that special federal resources are no longer needed to prevent disease transmission across borders.

The massive white balloon that drifted across U.S. airspace this week and was shot down Saturday by the Air Force over the Atlantic ocean. China insists the balloon was just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds and had only limited “self-steering” capabilities. The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. this week dealt a severe blow to the already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions. The Pentagon and other U.S. officials say it was a Chinese spy balloon — about the size of three school buses — that moved east over America at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. The balloon was carrying sensors and surveillance equipment and showed it could change course as it loitered over areas of Montana where nuclear warheads are siloed, leading the military to take actions officials said would prevent it from collecting intelligence. 

Former President Donald Trump has kicked off his 2024 White House bid with stops in the early-voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. These are his first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

A new $35 cap on monthly insulin costs for Medicare enrollees would save Georgians more than $21 million, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates. Two Georgia Democrats, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Marietta, helped secure the cap as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. An estimated 11% of the U.S. population has diabetes.

Microsoft dealt a blow to the hopes of the community when it confirmed Friday it has stopped work on its gigantic campus in Atlanta’s Westside that was poised to bring thousands of jobs, act as a new hub for the technology giant and become a defining cornerstone of the area. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company “has decided to pause the planning process” on the 90-acre campus within the Grove Park neighborhood that it purchased nearly three years ago for about $150 million. Microsoft’s purchase of the site made Atlanta the center of the tech giant’s growth plans, laying the groundwork for Microsoft to become one of the metro area’s top employers. The development was also expected to bring much-desired affordable housing, retail, and a grocery store to a long-depressed and overlooked area. 

Actor-filmmaker and author Tyler Perry is unhappy about the FDA lab planned near his TV and movie studios at Fort McPherson in Atlanta. Perry is concerned that the former Forces Command headquarters will be home to offices and laboratories for the Food and Drug Administration. The movie mogul says building such a lab in a Black neighborhood is environmental racism in southwest Atlanta. He says he’s concerned about potential environmental risks to the neighborhood. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration lab has been planned for the former Army Forces Command building since 2018. Perry calls the plans “shortsighted” and said the lab could hinder future development in the area.

Following the November general election and two months before leaving office, then-Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Georgia Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller led a state delegation on a taxpayer-funded economic development trip to Europe. Taxpayers are unable to gain information on the cost of the weeklong trip to Germany and the United Kingdom because Legislative lawyers have rejected requests to disclose how much state money was spent on the trip. The delegation included two state-funded security staffers and other taxpayer-funded employees. They made the trip from Nov. 12 to 19 to Munich, Stuttgart and London as part of a Senate Study Committee on Economic Development and International Relations.

Following the release of the video beating the death of Tyre Nichols where at least five Memphis Police officers are seen pepper spraying and beating Nichols who died a few days later, Morehouse College is helping students deal with any mental health issues associated with seeing the shocking video. On seeing the video, many students said they were traumatized and felt very sad as black young men. Staff members are providing safe spaces for students to talk about feelings of anxiety and fear.

Former Supreme Court of Georgia Justice Harold Melton was hired by the Metro Atlanta Chamber to review the legal issues associated with legalizing sports betting in Georgia and produce an opinion about them. Melton recently authored a memo now being circulated among lawmakers that outlines how the General Assembly could legalize sports betting without amending the state Constitution, which prohibits gaming. Melton wrote that sports betting could operate as a part of the Georgia Lottery. That minor change in state law could pass with a simple majority vote in the General Assembly, instead of a two-thirds vote required for a constitutional amendment, followed by a statewide ballot initiative for Georgia voters to decide. “It is my opinion that it is possible to legalize sports gambling through standard legislation by changing the definition of lotteries … to include sports betting,” he wrote. The Metro Chamber has made sports betting a priority for this legislative session.

Tom Brady is hanging up his cleats again, and this time it is “for good.” The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback posted a video announcing his retirement from the NFL last week, noting that he was keeping it much simpler this time after a big process last offseason when he retired and then eventually came back.

A controversial high school championship game has produced a new bill in the 2023 General Assembly to require an instant replay. The idea has support at DeKalb County’s Cedar Grove High School. The school lost the championship last month in a game that appeared to score a touchdown in the third quarter. The referee ruled it came up short. The rules did not allow the referees to give the play a second look. Many are supporting a bill that would require any high school, funded by the state, to use instant replay in a high school championship game. The bill is sponsored by a former NFL player, State Representative Demetrius Douglas (D-Stockbridge) said.

Auto insurance giants State Farm and Progressive are now refusing to provide coverage for Hyundai and Kia vehicles over major concerns that certain automobiles are easily targeted by car thieves. Over the past year, thefts of vehicles produced by the two Korean automakers have seen a sharp increase. It was found that certain automobiles from the two brands that use physical ignition keys can be easily fired up and driven away while only using a USB cable. The theft is so easy to do, that there is even a YouTube channel hosting popular videos showing how the theft is done. With the theft cases still on the rise, both insurance companies have begun refusing insurance coverage for Hyundai and Kia cars – particularly in cities where the problem is at its worst, such as Columbus, OH and Denver, CO. Driving news website. 

Fear is spreading as Coyote sights and sounds — yipping and howling at night, can be heard through many metro Atlanta communities. It’s coyote mating season, and some are turning up in residential communities to establish territory before going into their dens for the birth of new pups around mid-March. Coyotes, while dangerous, tend to be cautious of humans, wildlife experts say. “During the winter, vegetation that they’re used to eating goes away and their food sources change. 

Have a wonderful week!