WABE’s Week In Review: A ‘Preventable’ Tragedy, Delta Variant Cases Increasing, and Summerhill 25 Years Later

Federal workplace safety officials are proposing nearly $1 million in fines against four companies following a January liquid nitrogen leak that killed six workers at a Georgia poultry processing plant.

U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh announced citations and fines by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday.

“Make no mistake, this was a very preventable tragedy,” said Walsh.

The child tax credit and overall better health:

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 14: Children and teachers from the KU Kids Deanwood Childcare Center complete a mural in celebration of the launch of the Child Tax Credit on July 14, 2021 at the KU Kids Deanwood Childcare Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Community Change)

On this week’s episode of “Did You Wash Your Hands?” we hear from Christopher Wimer, co-director of the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. Wimer says the expanded child tax credit payments going out to families in July could dramatically reduce child poverty in the country.

Mayor’s race in Atlanta is heating up:

The Works-Upper West Side Mayoral Forum hosted by WABE’s Lisa Rayam isn’t in the audio version of this Week in Review, but we wanted to highlight it in case you missed it. 

Summerhill neighborhood 25 years after Olympics:

Construction is a near constant in the Summerhill neighborhood, one of the main sites of the 1996 Summer Olympics. (Photo by Emil Moffatt/ WABE)

Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood goes back to the 1860s. More recently, though, it’s been known for hosting some of world’s biggest sporting events, including Hank Aaron’s home run chase,  the World Series and in 1996, the Summer Olympics.

Now Summerhill residents are focused on what the neighborhood’s future looks like and whether they will be part of it.

Also in this episode: 

–Emma Hurt breaks down the court case of the three men charged with murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the request to keep the media and public out of the courtroom.

–Christopher Alston tells us how the delta variant is becoming the dominant strain of coronavirus infection in the U.S.

–Lily Oppenheimer reports on the record year for the Georgia film industry.

–Mark Lannaman has more on how much longer the Golden Ray cargo ship that is capsized off the Georgia coast will be there.

–Aaron Tremper reports on how waters off the Georgia coast designed to protect endangered whales are seeing an increase of boats speeding through.

For a deeper exploration of Ahmaud Arbery’s story, listen to WABE’s podcast, “Buried Truths.” Hosted by journalist, professor, and Pulitzer-prize-winning author Hank Klibanoff, season three of “Buried Truths” explores the Arbery murder and its direct ties to racially motivated murders of the past in Georgia.