Community Tea for June 13, 2021

Following the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in southwestern England, President Joe Biden sipped tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. During her nearly 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth has met every American president since Dwight Eisenhower except for Lyndon Johnson, who did not visit Britain while he was in office.

As part of a nationwide tour to encourage more Americans to receive coronavirus vaccinations, Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Atlanta next Friday to mobilize education efforts to target Georgians who have yet to be inoculated. Harris is supporting President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of U.S. adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4.

Millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccinations allocated to Georgia by the federal government has been turned down following the drop in demand for it in the state. Georgia is reportedly telling public health agencies to distribute the life-saving vaccines elsewhere.

The White House is sounding the alarm about what is now referred to as the delta variant and Georgia should take heed. The highly contagious coronavirus variant – first seen in India – has been detected in the Peach State. This could threaten the progress made in getting the pandemic under control in Georgia, health officials warned.

According to the CDC, 52% of Georgia adults – and 41% of all Georgians – have had at least one shot, compared to 64% nationwide. The vaccines work against new variant, said Dr. David Kessler, the White House’s Chief Science Officer on COVID-19. He and Dr. Anthony Fauci are publicly urging people to get vaccinated ahead of the spread.

Just over a year ago, mass protest and social unrest found its way to the Atlanta area following the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man found asleep in his car at his neighborhood Wendy’s in Atlanta. The coroner said 27-year-old Brooks suffered organ damage and blood loss and died from gunshot wounds of the back. The officer who shot brooks was arrested and is awaiting trial.

The Justice Department the launch of an investigation into federal prosecutors’ use of secret subpoenas to obtain records from Apple concerning two Democratic California lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee, Reps. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. In addition to themselves, their staff and family members were also targeted. Democratic senators called on the Justice Department’s inspector general to launch such a probe and for former President Donald Trump’s attorneys general to testify before Congress about why prosecutors took such an aggressive investigative step. The Democrats allege that the subpoenas of records related to were further evidence that the Trump administration engaged in abuses of power when targeting its political foes.

I am calling this girls gone wild as former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin took a shot at the person who proceed her as Mayor. Franklin posted a not-so cryptic message on her Instagram page targeting Kasim Reed’s announcement that he is running for his old seat. Said Shirley, “Atlanta has gone crazy if we are considering going backwards politically speaking,” she wrote. “Time to go forward. Honesty and transparency are essential for good government. I cannot compromise on integrity. Dump bullies. Dump those who lie. Dump those who are self-indulgent. Integrity matters.” Franklin, who served two terms before Reed, declined to comment on his candidacy, but then added: “The last I heard, there was a federal investigation of his administration. That’s all I know.” Not to be outdone, current mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also took her own shot at Reed when she referenced the investigation of him and his former administration.

U.S. Rep. Val Demings launched a bid for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, raising hope among Democrats of ousting Republican Sen. Marco Rubio from the evenly divided chamber. With the Senate now split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, the Florida race will undoubtedly be among the most high profile and expensive battles next year.

The cozy relationship state Republicans enjoyed previously with the business community seems to be thawing as top GOP leaders were missing during the Georgia Chamber of Commerce annual government affairs conference. Absent were House Speaker David Ralston and other top Republicans who were offended after the business community made statements that did not support the Republican led new voting law, Senate Bill 202. Ralston and company are said to be looking for an apology for calling them out on their attempts to lessen voting abilities in Georgia.

Former Gov. Sonny Perdue is touting his resume and beating his chest as an experienced public leader who could bring stability to the state’s higher education system in an interview last week. If the 19-member Board of Regents selects him to lead the state’s 26 public colleges and universities, one of the most powerful and high-paying jobs in government, Perdue told a local paper that he would help burnish the University System of Georgia’s reputation as an economic engine. Critics of Perdue as a candidate are concerned about the conservative stances, he took during his two terms in office and later as one of Trump’s highest profile supporters.

The Kennesaw City Council unanimously approved an art mural for NFL quarterback Justin Fields. A Kennesaw native, fields quarterbacked at Harrison High before starting his collegiate career at the University of Georgia. He spent his final two college seasons at Ohio State University. Fields was on the bidding block during the NFL draft, but the Atlanta Falcons turned up their noses and turned their heads as Fields got picked up by the Chicago Bears as the 11th overall pick.

The Atlanta Braves will celebrate their annual pride night June 15 as they host the Boston Red Sox at Truist Park. A pregame party will start at 5:30 p.m. inside the Coca-Cola Roxy adjacent to the stadium, featuring a welcome from Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller. DJ Kimber from Nonsense ATL and a fashion show will also be part of the event available to approximately 2,000 fans. A pride night ticket package is available for purchase and includes access to the pregame party, a specially designed Braves Pride cooler bag, a game ticket and a $3 donation to Lost-N-Found, an organization established to end homelessness for LGBTQ youth. Fans interested in purchasing the Pride Night ticket package can visit braves.com/pride.

Tyler Perry cannot quite quit Madea. Madea is back as Tyler Perry announced a Netflix film coming in 2022 called “A Madea Homecoming.” Madea is modeled after Perry’s late mother and his aunt. In retiring the character a few years ago, Perry said he wanted to do things differently.

Beauty retailers ULTA and Sephora are rethinking their market strategies for people of color as they ramp up their products from Black-owned companies. Sephora also announced that it would devote at least 15% of its store shelves to Black-owned brands, which is a major shift from them previous marketing practices.

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon announced that the first seat on the scheduled July 20 maiden voyage of the Blue Origin spacecraft has been sold for $28 million. Bezos and his brother Mark will fly on New Shepard’s first human flight and the lucky ticket holder will join them on New Shepard, named in honor of the late astronaut Alan Shepard, is Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket system designed to take astronauts and research payloads into space.

Starbucks’s new line to thirsty customers is “sorry we are out of that” as they experience a shortage of over 25 ingredients like lemonade, hazelnut syrup, toffee nut syrup, chai tea bags, green iced tea, and more. Customers on Twitter have also reported shortages of lemonade, caramel and oat milk. Said one clever observer, Starbucks is having a venti-sized supply chain issue. The company found itself apologizing after supply shortages forced them to take many drinks off the menu, to the displeasure of Starbucks nation.

81% of Americans who have been working from home do not want to go return to the office to perform their jobs. They prefer to continue working from home which includes a hybrid life where they have the flexibility to work where and when they want up.

74% of Americans say they are planning to vacation this summer – most popular places are Orlando, Las Vegas and Miami. Best travel dates are second half of august or early September.

Have an enjoyable week…