Episode Details

Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, Sept. 23. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, Appalachee High School students return to class three weeks after the shooting that claimed four lives. A Black voting rights group leads registration drives at three Georgia HBCUs. And some of Georgia's coastal communities get grants to help build more housing. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Caption

Community members and students gather around a flagpole on the Apalachee High School campus near Winder, Georgia, on Sept. 8, leaving flowers and messages to memorialize the four people killed in the Sept. 4 shooting there.

Credit: Andy Miller for KFF Health News

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Students in Northeast Georgia's Winder return to Apalachee High School this morning, nearly three weeks after a gunman killed two students and two teachers there. GPB's Chase McGee has more.

Chase McGee: Rows of busses pulled into the school parking lot on Monday. Some of them painted with messages saying "Chee strong," a slogan repeated on billboards and posters around the county. Students weren't expected to open books. Instead, they had to familiarize themselves with the changed campus. J-Hall, the scene of this month's shooting, is now completely blocked off. The classes that met there will now meet in a county-owned building 4 miles away. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith says the community has shown strength and resiliency.

Jud Smith: The love that we give our kids and the love that we give our parents and our staff and teachers, it will always prevail over what happened.

Chase McGee: Students will get back to their classes on Tuesday. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: With just over a month before Election Day, presidential candidates continue to court Georgia voters. GPB's Sarah Kallis has the latest.

Sarah Kallis: Vice President Kamala Harris pitched her stance on abortion to a crowd in Cobb County Friday. The speech came days after a ProPublica story found a woman in Georgia died after delayed abortion care. Harris stood in front of signs that said "Trust Women" and slammed Trump's stances on abortion.

Kamala Harris: We're saying that we're going to create public policy that says that a doctor — a health care provider — will only kick in to give the care that somebody needs if they're about to die?

Sarah Kallis: Former President Trump is also reaching out to Georgia voters. He will hold a rally in Savannah on Tuesday. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A nonpartisan Black voting rights group held registration drives at three historically Black colleges and universities in South Georgia last week. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: Black Voters Matter took its bus tour to Albany State, Fort Valley State and Georgia's oldest public HBCU, Savannah State. That's where junior and Vidalia native Mya Bird registered to vote for what will be her first presidential election.

Mya Bird: As I've gotten older, I've started realizing like, okay, the presidential election involves our future, our lives and especially as college students, our funding and college.

Benjamin Payne: Melinee Calhoun is an organizer with Black Voters Matter.

Melinee Calhoun: When you're on campus, a lot of times students feel like, Well, I'm only here for school, but for those four years you're living i