A.M. ATL: Put rumors to rest

Morning, y’all! I forgot to welcome us into Libra season, which began Sept. 23. Libra is all about balance and harmony, which we could all use more of. Happy Birthday, Libra babies. Teach us your judicious ways.

Let’s get to it.

NO, ATLANTA DOESN’T HAVE AN HIV OUTBREAK

Testing, education and awareness are three keys to combating HIV. The disease is a problem in many cities across the U.S. and in Atlanta, but not nearly to the extent online rumors claim.

Don’t believe social media rumors, folks. Facebook and TikTok videos saying Atlanta is overridden with thousands of HIV cases — 20,000 in one erroneous claim — are completely false. Here are the facts:

• The latest data, from 2023, shows 2,442 new HIV diagnoses in the whole state of Georgia. That’s a slight decrease from 2022.
• Rumors love to make you prove a negative. We don’t have numbers from this year, but think of it rationally. IF there were suddenly 10 times the number of HIV cases, public health officials, agencies and even local health advocates would have sounded the alarm long ago.
• Such falsehoods are often accompanied by other long-disproven lies, like the idea you can get HIV from simply touching someone or eating at a restaurant.
• In an AJC opinion piece, two public health policy experts say these urban legends are often tangled up with racism and homophobia and detract from actual HIV awareness and sex education advocacy.

While we’re talking about communicable diseases, an old enemy has reared its head in Georgia. An unvaccinated Georgia State University student passed measles on to two other people, bringing the total measles cases in the state to 10.

Vaccination rates in Georgia have dropped over the years, while measles cases, though still rare, have risen.

LOOSENING THE BELT(LINE)

The Beltline has changed Atlanta, and now its leaders want to keep the area affordable.

The Atlanta Beltline has gotten fancier, and so have nearby rent prices. That makes it tough for small businesses to set up shop along the popular 22-mile corridor.

To defray rising costs, the Beltline just launched a new Local Developer Incentive Fund.

• The $2 million fund will supply grants from $150,000 to $500,000 and monitor affordability metrics.
• If it’s successful, proponents say it could be a model for other Atlanta enterprises.
• New real estate developments and businesses have flourished along the trail, and the Beltline already employs several housing affordability programs to keep costs down.

GA SENATORS WANT EXPLANATION FOR ICE DEATHS

Two Georgia immigrants have died in ICE custody since May, and Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock want answers.

• The two Senators wrote a letter to top immigration officials inquiring about conditions inside detention facilities in Georgia and how the agency plans to prevent further fatalities.
• At least 14 immigrants have died in ICE custody since January, with most between January and June. In the letter, Warnock and Ossoff claim this is “the highest number of deaths in the first six months of any year listed in ICE’s public records.”
• Last month, Ossoff’s office released dire results of an investigation into ICE facility conditions. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the findings “garbage.”

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

A HISTORIC CONVENTION COMES TO ATLANTA

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History — an organization founded more than 100 years ago by Carter G. Woodson — brought its annual convention to Atlanta this week.

Organizers say the conference’s theme, “African Americans and Labor,” will explore the ways work — whether free or unfree, skilled or unskilled, vocational or voluntary — has shaped Black life across centuries.

That reflection comes at a pivotal time for Black Americans, the AJC’s Ernie Suggs reports. According to seasonally adjusted data released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Black workers rose to 7.5% in August, the highest since October 2021. By comparison, the overall unemployment rate stands at 4.3% and, for white Americans, 3.7%.

PEOPLE AREN’T PLEASED ABOUT ATHENS HOTEL PLANS

The University of Georgia's President's House on Prince Avenue as photographed Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003.

A developer wants to build a new luxury hotel on a five-acre property near a University of Georgia icon, and community members aren’t having it.

The hotel would abut the President’s House, a historic 169-year-old mansion that used to house UGA leaders.

Residents, preservationists and even R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, a close neighbor, say the plan is, in Stipe’s words, a “money grab” that would upend the area.

NEWS BITES

Ranking some of the best players who could appear in Atlanta in the World Cup

It’s not too early to start your obsession.

Behind the scenes of the Atlanta 50, AJC Food and Dining’s list of the best metro-area restaurants

Spoiler: They ate a lot of good food and made a lot of difficult choices.

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ co-director calls movie’s success ‘a little trippy’

Spare a thought for our A.M. ATL friend Tyler Estep, whose children have reportedly watched it about 40 times.

Wellness products to keep you feeling your best this fall

In this case, “feeling your best” is polite speak for “not sick as a dog.”

ON THIS DATE

Sept. 25, 1954

ONE MORE THING

I got to write “a historic” twice today, and if a single one of you sends me an email saying it’s “an historic,” I will scream. That’s not really a threat, since no one would hear me, but it would vex me all the same.

Do you say ‘istoric? No? Then you wouldn’t write “an historic.” Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.