A.M. ATL: Sun spots

Morning, y’all! Happy Halloween, please spook responsibly. Did you know some of the earliest jack-o’-lanterns were carved out of turnips? Way creepier looking that way. If you think about it, the possibilities are endless. Surely there’s a jack-o’-pineapple out there somewhere.

Let’s get to it.

DICKENS ORDERS SHUTDOWN SUPPORT

Volunteers packed food at the Hunger Action Center at the Atlanta Community Food Bank Distribution Center this week.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has halted city housing evictions and late payment water disconnections as we approach one month of the federal government shutdown.

• “These measures ensure that Atlanta’s most vulnerable residents have a safety net, no matter what happens at the federal level,” Dickens said.
• The moratorium will run through the end of January 2026. By that time, hopefully we’ll have a functioning government back.
• In the meantime, anxieties about the end of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program persist. More than 17,000 Atlanta public schools students rely on SNAP benefits.

🔎 READ MORE: City leaders talk about shutdown support plans

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GEORGIA’S A SOLAR POWER

Views of the new battery energy storage system that Georgia Power is constructing and bringing online in Columbus, Georgia.

The state of Georgia, along with the entire South, is leading the charge in solar energy production. That’s especially important when you think about the massive power needs of the state’s ever-increasing number of data centers.

• Southern Co. (the owner of Georgia Power) and other major electric companies across the Southeast generated a total of 28 gigawatts of solar in 2024.

Watt’s a gigawatt? That’s one billion watts. One gigawatt of electricity can power between 800,000 and 1 million homes.

• These companies are on track to double that capacity within the next five years. That projection earned praise from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
• Solar power is a clean energy source that doesn’t contribute to greenhouse gases. While it’s true solar power doesn’t “work” at night or when it’s cloudy, battery technology allows solar energy to be stored.
• Creating bigger batteries is another priority for utilities like Georgia Power.

🔎 READ MORE: Solar goals around the South

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🌏 Four Republicans backed a Senate resolution to undo President Donald Trump’s tariffs around the globe, saying price increases are hurting average Americans. Meanwhile, Trump told Chinese leader Xi Jinping he’d cut tariffs to the country if China agrees to buy millions of soybeans from the U.S. over the next three years.

💵 ICE is recruiting with $50k bonuses, which is a problem for local police departments that already face shortages and don’t have nearly as much money to play with.

🚫 Gov. Brian Kemp defended his decision to not use some of the nearly $15 billion sitting in state coffers to fund SNAP and prevent some 1.3 million Georgians from losing a critical food resource during the shutdown. He said it’s not Georgia’s job to “bail out” Washington.

WEEKEND PLANS

DreamHack gaming convention brings three days of esports, cosplay, artists, creators and more to the Georgia World Congress Center this weekend.

When Halloween falls on a Friday, it basically lasts all weekend. Fill up your schedule like it’s a trick-or-treat bag:

Halloween on the Roof: Do trick-or-treat with a view at this family friendly event high atop Ponce City Market.

DreamHack Atlanta: You want some really good Halloween costumes? This esports-slash-video game-slash-cosplay-slash-general nerdery fest will deliver.

Rescue Dog Games: Billed as Atlanta’s Howl-O-Ween Festival, you can deck our your dogs and watch them compete in fun games. (Or watch other people and their dogs do the same).

More fun weekend ideas here, including a Native American festival and Charlie Brown concert.

What’s on TV:

Is it rivalry or a romance? The University of Georgia takes on the University of Florida Saturday, marking the last storied meeting in Jacksonville’s current EverBank Stadium. (The stadium’s getting a two-year renovation.) Expect a lot of talk about tradition and the changing times of college football. Oh, Florida just fired their head coach, too. Read more

Maybe not a documentary for the kids: Netflix’s new documentary “Nightmares of Nature” was shot in Alapaha, Georgia, and shows the ugly side of wildlife survival. As Cat Kerr writes for the AJC, it’s “a lesson that life in the wild is not the idyllic scene we see in most media, but rather, it is terrifying and full of suffering.” Very seasonally appropriate. Read more

YAY, DOGWOOD! BOO, PAID TICKETS

Until recently, Atlanta’s beloved Dogwood Festival was facing severe funding shortages and was in danger of shuttering. That will not happen, but now you’ll have to pay. Well, needs must.

• The annual three-day event will return in April after the organization got the city to change its permit from a free event to a paid one.
• The event’s organizers raised about $72,000 from the public this year to keep the festival afloat.

🔎 READ MORE: Dogwood deets

WHEN THERE’S SOMETHING STRANGE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Paranormal investigator Phillip Wyatt with some paranormal-seeking devices that he uses to investigate strange activities.

What if the ghosts don’t want to be busted? What if they just want to be understood?

Georgia Paranormal Investigations doesn’t do ghost hunts or ghost tours. Instead, they investigate hauntings around the state on behalf of concerned citizens.

• They take a scientific approach, gathering measurements, recording video and sound, logging data and adding any historical context they can.
• GPI is run by Philip Wyatt, a Buckhead hairdresser and medium who can talk to spirits. Their team also includes a local paranormal romance author.
• Wyatt says he wants to educate the public and bring some manner of peace to both the living and the dead.
• For one client, GPI was able to uncover some history and specific locations related to a disturbance in her house. The woman took some respectful measures, and says the energy in her house is much improved.

🔎 READ MORE: How Georgia Paranormal Investigations gets in touch with ghosties

NEWS BITES

Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year is ‘6-7,’ which is not a word

You don’t need to know what it means. It’s not exciting or cool. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

Bewitching culinary creations abound on ‘Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking’

They nailed a very specific demographic with this one.

Banks and retailers run short on pennies after U.S. Mint retires coin

“Is that a penny? Ooh, how vintage!”

The most famous haunted places in Georgia

It’s not on the list, but the most haunted-feeling place I’ve visited in Atlanta is the Attic Bar at Old Vinings Inn. It felt like walking into a wall of spirits, and not the drinkable kind.

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 31, 1938