News

WABE’s Week In Review: The Atlanta mayoral race gets heated, Georgia could lose funding and professors cry foul over tenure rules

October 16th, 2021

Mighty Law, a tech law startup specializing in personal injury law, has sparked recent controversy among larger practices after claiming that their competitors overcharge and lack transparency towards their clients.
WABE

Early voting is now underway across the state for November’s municipal elections. There are a number of significant races in metro Atlanta, highlighted by the race for Atlanta mayor.

And get more coverage from WABE, including one-on-one interviews with the candidates.

A gnarly (alleged) shred…

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a press conference in Atlanta. Raffensperger has opened an investigation into Fulton Country election workers allegedly shredding over 300 voter registrations. PHOTO CREDIT: JOHN BAZEMORE/AP

Fulton County fired two election workers for allegedly shredding 300 voter registration forms.

“We believe that these employees checked out batches for processing [and] instead those employees shredded some of the forms,” said Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says his office is investigating the allegations. Raffensperger also issued a statement calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to open its own investigation, citing repeated mismanagement issues with Fulton County elections.

The county’s response was “proactive,” according to Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts, who also said any criticism from Raffensperger is political.

It’s still unclear why the employees shredded the forms, said Pitts.

Professors are protesting tenure changes…

The Georgia Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s public college and university system, approved changes to its tenure process and post-tenure review Wednesday.

More than a thousand professors signed a petition urging the board to delay or cancel the vote, in large part out of concern it will hurt the state’s ability to attract and keep talent.

Georgia could lose federal funds because the state isn’t spending them…

Georgia was allocated $550 million in federal money to be used for rental assistance, but the state has only spent 7% of the money. Because of this, the state's rental assistance program is at risk of losing funding. https://t.co/5pEGoKeER9

— WABE News (@wabenews) October 15, 2021

How to get women back in the workforce…

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms hosted a roundtable to hear the concerns of women in the workforce. CREDIT EMIL MOFFATT/WABE NEWS

As companies in metro Atlanta and across the country struggle to find workers, community organizers say the federal government should do more to help women rejoin the workforce.

Several groups had an opportunity Wednesday to share their concerns with Atlanta’s mayor and the head of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Also in this episode:

–Molly Samuel reported on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking a Cobb County company, Sterigenics, to report when it releases carcinogens into the air. The medical sterilization facility has been under intense scrutiny the past couple years.

–And nearly two years after a federal court approved a $380 million settlement, consumers affected by the 2017 Equifax hack are seeing checks in their mailboxes. Most folks will get around $20.