Morning, y’all! I get that “pumpkin spice everything” is a common gimmick these days, but who in the name of Jimmy Carter’s ghost is buying pumpkin spice dish detergent? It’s a real thing — I saw it at Publix. It looks like pancake syrup. It’s not. I fear it.
Let’s get to it.
EEK, ELECTIONS ARE HERE
Time to check your voter registration, because early voting begins today for city elections across Georgia. Don’t be scared! Here are some highlights:
- Atlanta mayor: Mayor Andre Dickens is running for reelection against three political newcomers: Helmut Love Domagalski, Kalema Jackson and Eddie Andrew Meredith.
🔎 READ MORE: Meet the candidates challenging Mayor Dickens
- Atlanta City Council: This is a big one. All 15 city council seats are on the ballot this year, and Atlanta is facing big questions about policing, transit and how to deal with contentious federal politics.
- Atlanta City Council president: The city council president doesn’t have a lot of powerful presidential duties, so to speak, but they do cast tie breaking votes, assign committee chairs, facilitate meetings and serve as a liaison to the mayor.
This year’s race is hotly contested, with two-term Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet facing off against progressive political newcomer Rohit Malhotra. One big contention between the two: the politics of Atlanta policing.
- Other City Council elections: About half of Georgia cities will be holding city council elections, so be sure to look up your city and see what’s on the ballot.
- Other mayoral races: Those municipal elections could include mayoral elections. Mayoral races in Chattahoochee Hills, South Fulton and Stone Mountain have recently generated controversy. East Point, Conyers, Woodstock and many other cities are also choosing leaders.
Don’t forget about the Georgia Public Service Commission
Two seats are also up for grabs on the Georgia Public Service Commission in a statewide special election. Yes, that’s correct. No matter where you live in Georgia, you can vote in the PSC elections.
This is one of those elections that sounds very boring but is very important if you enjoy things like not paying an arm and a leg in utility bills.
🔎 READ MORE: Meet the PSC candidates
The Georgia Public Service Commission has approved several rate hikes over the last few years, and PSC members have enriched themselves through business relationships while on the board. So this is your chance to weigh in on all of that.
Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.
PARENTS SPEAK OUT ABOUT PAULDING TRAGEDY
Last week, a young Paulding County school student died during a field trip to Carlton Farms in Polk County. The farm quickly expressed its devastation, but the parents of 6-year-old Victoria King say they haven’t heard from anyone at their daughter’s school, McGarity Elementary.
- The girl was found unresponsive in a pool on the farm’s property after a school staff member noticed she was unaccounted for, a Polk government spokesperson said.
- Paulding County and McGarity Elementary released statements about the tragedy, but the King family says they haven’t gotten any personal communications.
- “The family is still in deep grief and struggling with unanswered questions,” the family said in a statement. “They have not been told how school staff lost track of her, how she got to the pool, or how long she was there. The pool was not part of the trip, and the family still does not know how it was accessible or whether it had been properly secured or supervised as an adult pool.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting Polk officials with the investigation. Since it’s an active investigation, getting those answers may be difficult for now.
🔎 READ MORE: Funeral held, communities in grieving
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
⚕️ The Trump administration fired hundreds of top-level scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday only to have federal health officials race to reverse the layoffs over the weekend.
🚫 Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicts the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history. Some officials are eyeing the end of the month as the next potential deadline to reopen the government.
💸 The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced a $50 million donation to Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities on Monday, aiming to close financial aid gaps that could otherwise keep students from completing their degrees.
HAUNTED HOUSEWARMING
Here’s some 100% serious, honest advice that has changed my life: Curiosity is the antidote to fear. Yes, that can even apply to haunted houses. (You will not catch me in one anyway, even clad in the full armor of God.)
The AJC’s Danielle Charbonneau went behind the scenes at two of the Atlanta area’s most elaborate haunted attractions: Netherworld and Fright Fest at Six Flags over Georgia.
- The heads of Netherworld go on adventures to secure major props and set pieces, and one recent acquisition came from a recently-shot movie.
- About 20 makeup artists are on hand per night, along with mask makers, hair stylists and costumers. (Seeing pans of freshly made prosthetics drying like so many raw chicken breasts will certainly tame some fear.)
- At Fright Fest, one costume designer learned to mold latex maggots to attach to a performer’s costume.
- One Fright Fest director searched for inspiration by bingeing cult documentaries and horror films.
👹 TODAY’S MUST READ: Inside Atlanta’s iconic fright factories
NEWS BITES
It was a good one, especially since we won.
Why some Atlantans are saying “hello” to landlines again
A simpler time. Age check: Remember when phone numbers were only seven digits?
Super exciting! Real heroes wear tutus.
I-85’s landmark piano in the sky to come down ahead of music shop’s move
I’m always sad when weird signs and sky-high sculptures come down. They really play with the fabric of reality. “Did I just see a flying piano? Am I OK?” Keeps you on your toes.
ON THIS DATE
Oct. 14, 1992
Can Smoltz do it again? Finally, the Atlanta Braves have the Pittsburgh Pirates right where they want them. The biggest pressure game of the year. The entire season and a trip to the World Series on the line. And, John Smoltz will be on the mound.
Oh, and what a game it was. Smoltz nabbed the NLCS MVP, but the real star of this thrilling Game 7 was Francisco Cabrera’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth that scored David Justice and Sid “Not the best baserunner” Bream, who pulled a miraculous slide home just under the tag and punched the Braves’ ticket to the World Series. Final score: 3-2, with all three runs coming in the ninth. It was the kind of game baseball was invented for.
Obviously, the Braves didn’t get a ring that year. (They lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, if you’re into premonitions gleaned from an old newspaper story.) But the best was yet to come three years later.
ONE MORE THING
Producer Nicole picks our “On This Date” articles (and does the AM edit — good morning, dearest!). Some discerning readers saw yesterday’s front page had an interesting story I didn’t highlight. Nicole suggested it, but I was very boring and picked something else. My mistake. Now we’ll share it anyway:
Two women tug over bike: Two determined young mothers battling over an English-made bicycle ... for a second day of their “tug-of-war.” Mrs. Roger Edwards and Mrs. Merwyn Pasco, who both like to ride, held onto the bright blue racer for 12 hours Monday and declared they would do the same Tuesday, if necessary, “as a matter of principle.” … store manager Melvin Smith made them comfortable in lawn chairs … and supplied newspapers and coffee. Mrs. Pasco propped her legs on the rear wheel, and Mrs. Edwards put her feet on the front wheel. “We feel he (Smith) should be man enough to give us each one, in view of the publicity,” Mrs. Pasco told a reporter. “I never interfere with two women shoppers,” Smith said, grinning.
Beautiful. Tune in tomorrow to see if I can find out who won it.
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.
