The Parent Press: Bars & Nightclubs to Re-open, and Session to Resume
This week, I’ve been thinking qabout faith, fear, and grief. Growing up in a family where faith was important helped lead me to a path of public service. Faith is important to many during these uncertain and anxiety-producing times. But faith alone won't protect us and our neighbors against this virus -- which is why I am imploring all Georgians to think of others and wear a mask in public. This act shows care and concern for your neighbors, and we could use more of that right now.
I’ve also been thinking about how we must have more faith and regard for other people, in order to overcome fear of the other and the racism that is still so prevalent in our society. We've all seen the recent stories about Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Christian Cooper. It seems as though we have had a spate of incidents of racially biased violence recently. The gut reaction of far too many people to dehumanize or call the cops on people of color is something our society, and especially the white majority, needs to do a lot of soul-searching about. Instead of pulling together during the pandemic, I’m seeing partisanship, division, and racist acts. Perhaps it’s the anxiety we are all feeling during the pandemic, but it needs to stop.
Our own community is certainly not immune. I stand with Decatur Superintendent Dr. Dude in denouncing the latest racist incident involving a student from Decatur High School. As a white woman, I was horrified by the racism and white privilege Amy Cooper casually wielded toward black Harvard-educated birder Christian Cooper in Central Park. I also stand with the NAACP, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, advocates, and constituents in support of HB 426 creating a hate crimes statute for Georgia and anticipate future legislative debates about the wisdom of Georgia’s citizen’s arrest and stand-your-ground laws.
These incidents have caused us grief, and so has the fact that our country has surpassed 100,000 deaths due to COVID-19. Our nation has not properly grieved these deaths. We need leadership who will honor and mourn those who have died. We sure don’t have that type of leadership right now. Instead, our president fights with Twitter for marking his lies and casually accuses a TV host of murder. Until we have the proper leadership to shepherd Americans through the crisis and honor those that have died, the New York Times is stepping up to help fill the gap through obituaries and stories about those we’ve lost.
The State’s Latest Reopenings
Bars, Nightclubs & Amusement Parks:
On Monday, June 1st, bars and nightclubs may reopen if they meet 33 requirements and limit occupancy. Amusement parks, carnivals, and circuses may open with restrictions beginning June 12th. Live-performance venues are to remain closed, but gatherings of up to 25 people are now allowed.
Overnight Summer Camps:
In Governor Kemp’s press release from yesterday, he said “Starting May 31,2020, overnight summer camps are permitted in Georgia if they meet thirty-three specific criteria for reopening in addition to the requirements for operating a non-critical infrastructure business.” The AJC and NPR have highlighted some of the measures, including beds in bunks to be six feet apart and testing campers and workers before arriving. You can read more about the rules and regulations and what they will look like in the articles or the executive order itself.
Schools:
Yesterday we also learned that schools can hold in-person summer school for students if they comply with eleven mandatory criteria. Some of the specific criteria includes increased sanitation and screening workers and students for illness.
Through local control, school districts can set their own start date for the 2020-2021 school year. However, on Monday, June 1st , the Georgia Department of Education will release reopening guidelines to school districts. These will be recommendations, not regulations, and have been crafted with the help of the Georgia Department of Public Health. Additionally, the working groups regarding reopening which were appointed by Governor Kemp and Superintendent Woods and announced last week have begun to organize.
Sports Leagues:
Additionally, the Governor announced“the return of amateur and professional sports” on June 1st. There are specific guidelines to follow for both professional and amateur teams. Specifically, professional teams must “operate by the rules or guidelines of their respective sports league” and amateur sports “must follow the guidelines for non-critical infrastructure organizations.”
You may have also heard that Governor Kemp has offered up Georgia to host the Republican National Convention in August if North Carolina decides not to do so.
Legislative Session to Resume Next Month
Most staff members of the Georgia State Senate staff are set to return to Capitol Hill on Monday. The majority of staffers have been working from home since March 13th when we suspended the legislative session. Although we have not received a specific date when the session will resume, it seems likely to be June 15th.
The President Pro Tempore and the Secretary of the Senate have sent senators and staff information regarding new safety protocols put in place, including but not limited to using thermal scanners, wearing face masks, limiting the number of senators and staff on the Senate floor, allowing senators to participate in committee meetings via livestream, and suspending pages and special presentations.
Next week I’ll be announcing a virtual town hall so be on the lookout for those details in your inbox. In the meantime, my office would like to hear from you:
What are your top three issues you’d like to see addressed as we resume the legislative session?
What budget concerns do you have?
What is your opinion on the state’s coronavirus response? What do you think the state government should be doing?
Budget Writers Seek 14% Cuts
In planning budget cuts, some Republican Senators have mentioned cutting pre-K teacher salaries instead of furloughs. This is unacceptable. Requiring teachers to work the same hours for less money, especially when many of them are already underpaid, is both unfair to hardworking educators and bad policy for our young ones. It appears my Republican colleagues would rather cut funding for public health departments, teacher salaries and law enforcement in the middle of a pandemic than look for ways to close our budgetary gap, which could include measures like closing tax loopholes, looking at tax exemptions, and raising our lowest-in-the-nation tobacco tax. This would not spare all the pain, but the 14% across-the-board cuts are going to be draconian and widely felt.
Spike in Georgia’s COVID-19 Cases
If you’re watching the Georgia DPH data closely like many public health experts and legislators are, you may have noticed an uptick in cases the weeks of May 11th and 18th. Governor Kemp and Georgia DPH claim the increase could be due to more testing and a “data dump” from a private lab for cases from late April. Dr. Carlos del Rio of Emory says it’s likely due to a combination of the virus spreading and more testing. I’m not buying Kemp’s excuse about the “data dump” because they would not have distributed the cases to dates in mid-May if the tests were done in late April. I think the Governor likely is nervous about this data because of course he doesn’t want to see an increase in cases after Georgia's early reopening.
May 18th is particularly concerning because it’s about a week after Mother’s Day and as it stands now, is Georgia’s worst day in terms of cases. I also noticed that yesterday morning the case count for May 18th was at 965, but this afternoon it’s down to 957. I imagine the Governor’s Office and DPH would attribute that decrease to the “backfilling method” and perhaps small errors along the way. Hopefully, we’ll see fewer errors when they switch the updating once a day next Tuesday. Like many of you, I still have questions about the numbers and not as many answers I’d like.
Governor Kemp Extends State of Emergency
At Thursday’s press conference, Governor Kemp announced that he has signed an executive order extending Georgia’s “State of Emergency” through July 12th, 2020. He also reiterated that the shelter-in-place order for the elderly and “medically fragile” continues through June 12th. There are exceptions to allow for work, travel, and exercise.
COVID-19 Cases in Georgia & DeKalb
As of Friday, May 29th at 1 PM, there have been 45,670 cases in Georgia. Georgia DPH, the CDC, and the AJC are providing continuous updates on the number of cases and documenting cases by county. Out of the 45,670 cases currently, 3662 cases are from DeKalb County as are 112 deaths. DPH is currently updating its Daily Status Report three times per day - at 9 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM, but on Tuesday, June 2nd, DPH will switch to once a day reporting at 3 PM.
Testing Site Reminders
As a reminder, anyone in the state whether you have symptoms or not can be tested for COVID-19. Testing through the DeKalb Board of Health can be scheduled online or by calling 404-294-3700 and selecting Option 1. Additionally, Augusta University has two testing sites in DeKalb at the Decatur Armory, 3736 Durham Park Road, Decatur, 30032 and at House of Hope Atlanta, 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway, Decatur, GA 30034. CVS has also opened up 23 new testing sites, including one at the CVS Pharmacy located at 2738 North Decatur Road, Decatur, GA 30003.
Early Voting & Absentee Ballots
Early voting began last week. Your DeKalb early voting sites can be found here. Early voting ends on June 5th, and if you vote on June 9th, you must go to your assigned polling location. If you’re not comfortable going to the polls, I hope absentee ballots have made it safer and easier for you to vote in the June 9th primary election. However, you may have seen that there have been some complications, including many voters still not receiving their absentee ballots. On Thursday, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that while 600,000 ballots have been completed and returned, some absentee ballots are still in the mail. Specifically for Fulton County, 39,000 voters’ absentee ballots have not yet been received. This is why the Secretary of State and boards of elections should allow ballots to be postmarked by election day rather than having to be returned by 7 PM on June 9th. It’s why I will continue to fight for more voter protection and access. My goal is that every Georgian is able to vote in the safest way possible. Please see the advice and resources below if you have any questions or issues with your absentee ballot.
Remember to Turn in Your Absentee Ballot ASAP!
If you have received your absentee ballot and haven’t yet turned it in, please be sure to fill it and return it as soon as possible. Ballots must be received by June 9th at 7 PM in order to be counted. Remember to place your completed ballot in the white folded piece of paper (this is in place of the inner envelope despite the instructions), sign your ballot, and use two first-class stamps if you’re putting it in the mail. The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) has some great resources about voting by mail. If you have ANY issues with casting your vote, I encourage you to contact the email below, or call DPG’s voter protection hotline number: 1-888-730-5816.
Email: voterreg@dekalbcounty.ga.gov
Fax: 404-298-4038
Mailing Address & Drop Box:
DeKalb County Registration & Elections
4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 300
Decatur, GA 30032
NPR, The Washington Post, and the Atlantic have helpful articles about the risk or lack thereof when engaging in various summertime activities. We know most people can’t stay home forever so we hope these articles help you find ways to get out safely.
Remember to stay tuned for an announcement for a virtual town hall in early June!
Stay safe, wear a mask, stay home when you can.