After undergoing layoffs earlier this year, hundreds of previously fired staff at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now being asked to return to work. Employees who worked for the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention; the National Center for Environmental Health; the Immediate Office of the Director; […]
Alyssa Johnson
Alyssa Johnson is Capital B Atlanta's enterprise reporter.
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice, Politics & Policy
New Tree Rules Bring Higher Removal Fees and Help for Seniors
The Atlanta City Council has approved revisions to the city’s long-standing tree protection rules, marking the most significant update in over two decades. The unanimous decision by the council introduces increased fees for tree removal and establishes a new senior citizen tree assistance program. Despite these changes, some council members and environmental advocates express concern […]
Posted inFood Access, Politics & Policy
Where to Find Free Food and Groceries in Atlanta Amid Proposed SNAP and EBT Cuts
Inside the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s facility in East Point Friday morning, dozens of volunteers hustled inside to organize piles of water bottles, juice cartons, peanut butter, and cans of soup. On the other side of the building, the beeps from the forklifts echoed throughout the corridors as food bank staff in blue and gray […]
Posted inHealth, LGBTQ, Politics & Policy
From HIV to Hormone Therapy, Medicaid Cuts Threaten Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ Residents
As lawmakers push for sweeping cuts to Medicaid, fear weighs heavily on Tori Cooper. Cooper, a trans woman who serves as the director of strategic outreach and training for the Human Rights Campaign, told Capital B Atlanta that for her and other Black trans residents, these cuts will have a detrimental impact on their lives. […]
Posted inHealth, Politics & Policy, Public Services
CDC Cuts HIV Communications, Leaving Vulnerable Black Georgians in the Dark
As infectious diseases like measles, salmonella, and hepatitis quietly spread across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has gone largely silent. Of particular concern for Atlanta residents is the CDC’s lack of communication about HIV. According to the CDC, Georgia had the second-highest HIV diagnosis rate and the second-highest rate of HIV […]
Posted inEducation, Food Access, Health, Politics & Policy, Social Welfare, State Politics
Georgia Skips Feeding Kids This Summer as GOP Pushes SNAP Cuts
As Atlanta Public Schools are set to close for summer break next week, one of the main questions on Kimberly Dukes’ mind is how she will feed her children. The mother of 10, and executive director of the education advocacy group Atlanta Thrive, is well aware of the hardships many APS families face when schools […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
After Toxic Fire and Public Outcry, BioLab to Shut Down
BioLab will not resume manufacturing at its Conyers facility, the company announced Thursday, following a massive chemical fire last September that sent toxic smoke across metro Atlanta. “After taking steps to meet customer needs through alternative production, and in considering our future business needs carefully, we have made the difficult decision to not restart manufacturing […]
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
She Is Medically Brain Dead. Georgia’s Abortion Law Is Keeping Her Body Alive.
In Georgia, a Black pregnant woman declared brain dead after a medical emergency is being kept on life support for three months so that her fetus can develop — a course of action over which her family says they have been given no choice because of the state’s strict anti-abortion law. According to the Associated […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
How Illegal Tire Dumps Are Harming Atlanta’s Black Neighborhoods
Chad Livsey has spent the past seven years removing improperly discarded furniture and other hard-to-recycle litter from Atlanta neighborhoods, but he says he has yet to encounter a dumping site as daunting as this one in southeast Atlanta. The Snellville native commemorated Earth Day by responding to a tip he received one year ago about […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Meet the Black Women Fighting for Clean Air and Water in Atlanta
Gwen Smith thinks lovingly of the three decades she spent living in Collier Heights, reflecting on a close-knit community filled with neighbors who knew one another’s names and were always eager to lend a helping hand when necessary. But she can’t help but to remember the stench. Smith recalls foul odors surrounding her community on […]
