Morning, y’all! I am not prone to whimsy, nor am I particularly fun and festive. Yet, when the autumnal wind blows, something feral inside me awakens. Pumpkin patches hate to see me coming. Yes, I will have that fancy seasonal latte and sip it pensively with both hands clasped around the cup. My favorite seasonal accessory? Giant blanket. You can hide so many secrets in there. Join me, fellow crisp air lovers, and find a fun fall festival to sate your cozy cravings.
Let’s get to it.
HBCUS ON ALERT
Historically Black colleges and universities across the country went into temporary lockdown yesterday, including Atlanta’s. The precautionary measures were a response to unspecified threats.
- Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown, Morehouse and Spelman colleges each issued shelter-in-place orders after a late-morning threat to Clark Atlanta.
- Alabama State University, Virginia State University, Hampton University in Virginia and Southern University in Louisiana were among other schools to issue alerts or closures.
- The threats came a day after the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus and dovetail with larger concerns about campus safety. We’ll get to that in the next section.
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KIRK’S DEATH PROMPTS SECURITY CONCERNS
- Charlie Kirk’s murder at an outdoor venue on the Utah Valley University campus has raised complex concerns about security at politically sensitive events.
- The shooter, who is still at large and has not been identified, likely shot Kirk from a nearby rooftop, an uneasy echo of the assassination attempt last summer against President Donald Trump.
- Investigators are trying to determine the security procedures of the university, local law enforcement officers and Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA.
🔎 READ MORE: What TPUSA’s typical security detail looked like
- In Georgia, the organizers of prominent local conservative events say they’re upping security after Kirk’s death.
- The Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual “Victory Dinner” will still take place on Monday, but with a reduced lineup and more precautions.
The latest on the investigation: The FBI released photos of a person of interest. Authorities say they’ve recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle they believe was used in the attack. Not many details on a motive, though.
ATL IS #1 ... FOR BANK FEES
For some reason, withdrawal fees always feel personal. It’s like the ATM is holding your money hostage. Metro Atlanta is the worst offender in the country, too.
The average withdrawal fee for ATMs outside of a customer’s bank network in the region?
💸 $5.37 💸
Metro Atlanta has topped the annual survey by Bankrate for five years in a row.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🔋 The opening of the Georgia Hyundai EV battery plant will be delayed following last week’s ICE raid that fomented international tensions. (Oh, but the detained South Korean nationals caught up in a flight cancellation in Atlanta did get off the ground.)
📺 Paramount Skydance is reportedly interested in acquiring CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal would combine two huge entertainment brands encompassing all kinds of iconic franchises, names and networks.
🏛️ Senate Republicans defeated Democrats’ effort to force the release of the Epstein files. The vote was 51-49, with two Republicans joining the Democrats’ opposition.
🚇 It’s time for MARTA to rebuild public trust, the agency’s interim general manager and CEO, Jonathan Hunt, said during a news conference Thursday.
I want to see MARTA win. When MARTA wins, Atlanta wins.
WEEKEND PLANS
“How was your weekend?” Make sure you have an answer with 15 family-friendly things to do around Atlanta, like ...
🎡 Gwinnett County Fair: Yes, it’s fair season! Time to eat something fried that definitely shouldn’t be fried.
🫶🏽 Hispanic Heritage Month festivities: The celebration runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. In town, you can enjoy The Estamos Aquí Fiesta, Noche Mexicano and other cultural fetes.
🍷 The Atlanta Food and Wine Festival: The 14th annual wobble n’ gobble runs through Sept. 14 and has a new location at the Home Depot Backyard, near that big ol’ metal pineapple upside-down cake, Mercedes-Benz Stadium. More info here.
💡 A MARTA creative writing program: Get your write on with a weekly creative writing prompt from a creative MARTA initiative called “Write Down the Line.” More info here.
🏀 See the Dream: Our very own Atlanta Dream are playoff bound! The team was on an absolute tear at the end of the season, and Game 1 of the first round of playoffs is Sunday against the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever (she is injured) at the Gateway Center Arena.
LONGER-TERM PLANS
One of the hottest reservations in Atlanta is open for the first time in 145 years: the historic Oakland Cemetery.
- A new columbarium will provide spaces for 270 lucky future dead people to join the hallowed likes of Margaret Mitchell, Maynard Jackson, Bobby Jones and about 70,000 other permanent Oakland residents.
- It’ll cost you dearly, though. Prices will range from $6,000 to $40,000. Well, can’t take it with you when you go!
NEWS BITES
Save us, Georgia State!
Miguel Almirón fulfills dream of helping Paraguay qualify for World Cup
A win for Miggy is a win for all of us.
Two Atlanta Ballet dancers share what they learned from their summer in Alaskan nature
This should be the plot of an aesthetic, feel-good Netflix movie.
I hope they’re better than the peach cocktail from a can I had at Truist Park during the World Series in 2021, because that was a negative core memory.
ON THIS DATE
Sept. 12, 1946
From the front page of The Atlanta Constitution: Constitution to be first in South to gather news via radio-phone. The Constitution, ever alert to bring its readers news by the quickest means, has contracted for the first radio-telephone-equipped automobile in the South to gather news on the scene of action ... The Constitution will be able to use the equipment to give its readers news reported directly from the scene of the event to the newsroom.
I had to look up what a radiophone was to make sure. I guess it’s a souped-up walkie-talkie, like a cousin of the CB radio.
ONE MORE THING
Oh, another important part of fall: crocheting constantly. What should I crochet next? Give me an object, food or animal or something. Any other crafters in the AM ATL fam?
Have a great, creative weekend!
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
