A.M. ATL: JK, but not really

Let’s get to it.

CALIFORNIA UPS THE ANTE FOR GEORGIA’S FILM INDUSTRY

Familiar sights in metro Atlanta.

California politician Dee Dee Myers was just kidding when she put Georgia’s film industry on notice recently, but there’s some truth to her jest. As film and TV production pipelines get smaller, competition between states gets tighter.

• One reason Georgia has become the Hollywood of the South is because of plum tax incentives for production companies.
• This summer, California increased the cap of its film tax incentive from $350 million to $750 million. The state saw a 400% surge in project applications the next month.
• Georgia’s tinkered with its incentives, too, but not in the flashy way Cali has.

HOW AI COULD UPGRADE FARMING

A major agriculture company hopes retrofitting tractors with AI technology may make farming more efficient.

Georgia-based agriculture giant AGCO invested billions into new AI-based technologies that they hope will transform commercial farming.

• PTx provides agriculture precision projects under two brands: Precision Planting for planting, spraying and harvest retrofit technology and PTx Trimble for steering, water management and autonomy solutions.
• This isn’t your ChatGPT garble. The AI part would strive to improve the precision and efficiency of key farming tasks, like figuring out when to harvest and planting seeds an appropriate distance apart.
• Agriculture is Georgia’s top industry, employing about 400,000 people.

FIRE SUPPORT

A recent Atlanta City Council proposal could boost firefighting response in the city.

• The possible legislation would require at least four firefighters per apparatus to respond to emergencies.
• Four firefighters is the amount recommended by the National Fire Protection Association, but it’s not a mandate.
• Firefighter shortages have clipped Atlanta operations, but Atlanta Fire Rescue says neighborhoods are properly covered even if teams are cut to three.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

MORE BANANAS, MORE BALL

And they were all yellow.

The Savannah Bananas, Georgia’s other favorite baseball team, is expanding their empire. A lot. If you haven’t heard of Banana Ball, you will soon. Or you have now. Either way.

• The New Savannah Bananas season will feature six teams, including the OG Bananas and an even more OG lineup: The Indianapolis Clowns, the longest-playing Black professional baseball team.
• The Bananas will come to 45 states and 75 stadiums. Those include 14 MLB stadiums as well as Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field and the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium, two of the most capacious stadiums in college football.

A few years ago I talked to Banana Ball founder Jesse Cole and some players for a story, and the pure baseball enthusiasm they exuded should be bottled and sold. It was infectious.

NEWS BITES

The Falcons take on the Bills tonight at Mercedes-Benz and the Hawks have their preseason opener at State Farm Arena

In other words, don’t come downtown if you don’t have to. (Also be nice to the Bills fans. People who willingly live in Buffalo are built different.)

Diane Keaton’s must-watch films to honor the actress who passed away at 79

Your own personal very sad film festival.

The undefeated Georgia Tech Yellowjackets are #12 in the AP Poll

In other Georgia sports news, UGA’s Kirby Smart has fired his clapping coach.

Scrapple sculpture contest winner depicted the Philadelphia Eagles’ signature play, the tush push

The most Pennsylvania sentence ever written.

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 13, 1964

Do you think they liked each other? Did they stay friends? Can you spend 24 hours in space with someone and then act casual about it afterward?