The GPR Digest - October 11, 2023
ACC Commission approves homelessness & affordable housing plans, conflict breaks out in Israel and Palestine, and more
GEORGIA
ADDA submits plans for permanent pedestrian plaza at College Square
The Athens Downtown Development Authority (ADDA) presented (Flagpole) a plan to the Athens-Clarke County government for $8.5 million in improvements to College Square, the block of College Avenue between Broad Street and Clayton Street that was converted to a pedestrian plaza in 2020.
The ACC Commission voted in 2021 to make the plaza permanently car-free, but as of now, the square still features asphalt and painted road markings. The ADDA’s proposal seeks to replace the asphalt with brick and cobble, plant more greenery, install new benches, and improve ADA accessibility.
Kalki Yalamanchili announces candidacy for District Attorney
Kalki Yalamanchili, an Athens attorney and an adjunct professor at the UGA School of Law, announced (WGAU) his nonpartisan candidacy for Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney. The position is currently held by Deborah Gonzalez, a Democrat elected in 2020. The Western Circuit includes Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. The election for the Western Circuit District Attorney will take place in Nov. 2024.
According to Yalamanchili’s UGA bio, he previously served as an assistant solicitor general for the Cobb Circuit in 2012, and as an assistant district attorney for six years in the Western Circuit. He currently is the owner and lead attorney of the Athens firm Y’Chili Law.
ACC Commission passes homelessness and affordable housing plans
The Athens-Clarke County Commission voted unanimously (Athens Politics Nerd) 9-0 to adopt a plan to prevent and reduce homelessness, and nearly unanimously 9-1 to approve a strategy for investment in affordable housing.
The homelessness plan carries $4.8 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan that will be allocated to policy strategies (Flagpole) including hiring full-time staff for the Athens Homelessness Coalition, improving data collection on homelessness in the county, and increasing the supply of shelter units.
The affordable housing investment strategy recommends the creation and repair of more affordable rental units and the establishment of a Local Housing Fund. Commissioner Dexter Fisher (District 5) was the lone “no” vote on the measure. He stated that “affordable housing and homelessness are two separate issues,” disagreeing with Commissioner Jesse Houle’s proposal that the plan consider investment in “permanent supportive housing” (housing aimed at stabilizing those who may have recently been homeless).
Georgia Senate to investigate Fulton County Jail
The Georgia Senate has launched an investigation (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) into Fulton County Jail, where 10 inmates have died so far in 2023. The new subcommittee, which will be chaired by Sens. John Albers, who leads the Public Safety Committee, and Randy Robertson, a former law enforcement official, will hold hearings in early November.
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat has called the jail a “humanitarian crisis” and has described inmates making makeshift weapons out of the jail’s crumbling walls. Several of the inmates that died this year were not yet convicted of any crimes and instead were awaiting court dates.
Albers assures that the focus of the subcommittee will be the conditions and deaths at the jail, assuaging concerns that the investigation may target Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Willis has recently come under fire from some Republicans in the Georgia Senate for her role in the indictments of President Donald Trump and 18 others for allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
NATIONAL
Rep. Kevin McCarthy removed from as Speaker of the House
In a historic move, the House of Representatives voted (AP) 216-210 to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a far-right conservative, close ally of President Donald Trump, and vocal critic of McCarthy, put forth a “motion to vacate” that resulted in the vote to remove McCarthy. Gaetz expressed disapproval (CBS) toward McCarthy for working with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown and allegedly reneging on a deal he made to conservative Republicans in January of this year.
Eight Republicans, along with all 208 Democrats present at the vote, voted to remove McCarthy. These Republicans included members of the conservative Freedom Caucus such as Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), as well as moderate Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who criticized McCarthy (Wall Street Journal) for not upholding a promise to vote on legislation to increase access to birth control.
So far, the Republican delegation has not yet united behind one candidate for Speaker of the House. Two leading candidates (AP) are House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), both vocal supporters of Trump. However, McCarthy has not ruled out (New York Times) running for the position again.
The House hopes to hold an election for a new Speaker today, October 11.
Rep. George Santos faces new indictments
A new unsealed indictment filed (New York Times) in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday evening added 10 new charges to Rep. George Santos’s (R-NY) legal troubles, including wire fraud, identity theft, and giving false statements to the Federal Election Commission.
The document, which replaces an indictment against Santos filed in May of this year, alleges (AP) that he reported a fake personal loan of $500,000 to his own campaign and used one donor’s credit card to transfer $12,000 into his personal bank account. Santos, who was arrested in May but is out on bail while he awaits trial, has so far resisted calls to resign and states that he intends to run for reelection next year.
INTERNATIONAL
Conflict erupts in Israel and Palestine
On Saturday morning, militants from the Palestinian political and military organization Hamas launched an assault (New York Times) from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The attack was one of the largest incursions into Israeli territory in the past half century. Hamas fighters took control of Israeli towns and military bases, fired thousands of rockets to targets as far away as Jerusalem, captured civilian hostages, and killed many others, including 260 people who were attending a music festival (BBC) not far from the border with Gaza.
Muhammad Deif, the leader of Hamas’s military arm, cited the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and recent police raids on the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (regarded as the third-holiest site in Islam) as reasons for Hamas’s attack. Hamas has also promised to kill civilian captives if Israel retaliates with airstrikes into Gaza.
The Israeli government has responded by officially declaring war (Financial Times) on Hamas and sending fighter jets to attack the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered (CNN) a “complete siege” of Gaza, which is already blockaded by Israel and Egypt, halting the supply of electricity, food, water, and fuel to Gaza. Israel currently supplies two-thirds of Gaza’s electricity. Israel’s military states that it has already retaken all communities and bases that were seized by Hamas, and that there is currently no ongoing fighting within Israel.
So far, at least 900 Israelis have died and 2,300 have been injured (ABC), while Palestinian authorities say that at least 830 Palestinians have died and 4,250 have been injured. At least 14 American citizens died, and it is suspected that some American citizens are being held hostage by Hamas. Gaza’s main hospital, already struggling with the lack of electricity, has been damaged and is out of service.
President Biden has pledged the U.S.’s full support for Israel, declaring Hamas’s attack an act of “pure, unadulterated evil.” At the same time, Biden has pressed (NBC) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent civilian casualties and open humanitarian corridors so Palestinian civilians can escape the area.
President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet in November
President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have begun to make plans to meet (Washington Post) at this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, which will be held in San Francisco in November. While the meeting is not yet confirmed, sources close with the matter say that the meeting is likely, marking the first time that the two leaders will have met since the 2022 G20 meeting nearly one year ago.
This meeting would mark the fifth occasion of high ranking Biden administration officials meeting with their Chinese counterparts, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and climate envoy John Kerry.
The main topics of discussion will likely be economic relations, specifically in an attempt to ease export controls on technologies such as semiconductors, as well as the opioid crisis, as most fentanyl made in Mexico is made with Chinese precursor.
Both China and the United States are optimistic about this meeting, but it is possible that the plans could fall through or change.
CULTURE
The Diplomatic Dish: Ciabatta, baguettes, and French-Italian competition
GPR writer Joshua Walker details how postwar cultural competition between France and Italy led to the creation of the beloved ciabatta loaf.
UNESCO begins its fifth World Heritage Marine Managers Conference
The fifth World Heritage Marine Managers Conference took place (UNESCO) from October 5th to October 9th. The conference happens every three years to discuss management of the 50 marine sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Concerns examined include the preservation of sites such as the Wadden Sea, a territory managed jointly by Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany that boasts one of the highest biomass productivity levels in the world, as well as climate change, marine pollution, sustainable coastal development, illegal marine business, and pollution. Aside from these issues, the managers attempted to expand upon the previous conferences in Hawaii, France, Ecuador, and Montana, each of which set the stage for UNESCO’s marine conservation practices.
The Conference itself was held in the Danish area of the Wadden Sea. Over the four days, managers of 50 UNESCO sites discussed threats to the world’s oceans. Specific news from the conference managers about any changes to international marine standards has not been released.
Nobel Committee announces Nobel Prize winners
Last week, the Nobel Committee announced (New York Times) the 2023 Nobel Laureates, awarding prizes for economics, literature, chemistry, physics, medicine, and the Peace Prize.
Laureates this year include Claudia Goldin, a Harvard economist studying women in the workforce who is the first woman to be awarded the prize for economics by herself, Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian activist for women’s rights, and Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, whose research led to the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of the 11 laureates, six are Americans.