Morning, y’all!
It’s me, Tyler, pulling double duty and filling in for AJ once again. If you like sports (or me?), you should sign up for The Win Column newsletter. It’s fun and comes out every Wednesday.
In the meantime … let’s get to it.
AN EMOTIONAL ANNIVERSARY
Today is Oct. 7, the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel and the start of a devastating war.
And with the latest round of talks surrounding a potential ceasefire underway in Egypt, it’s worth revisiting how folks right here at home have been impacted.
Fittingly, the AJC published a pair of op-eds this morning.
📝 Dov Wilker is the Atlanta regional director of the American Jewish Committee. He writes of antisemitism and fear, but also hope.
- “I am hopeful because I have seen our community’s resilience as well as solidarity from our neighbors. We have developed new interfaith and intergroup coalitions, have seen countless allies speaking up and speaking out against hate. Young leaders are stepping forward with courage and creativity, determined to shape a future rooted in their Jewish identity and understanding. Even in the darkest times, light persists.”
- “Still, Oct. 7, 2023, is never far from our hearts and minds — physically in the yellow ribbons we wear on our lapels and the dog tags hanging from necks, symbols of the 48 hostages still captive in Gaza, and in the prayers we just recited this Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur as we began another year with them still not home and so many families with empty chairs around the dinner table.”
📝 Nidal Ibrahim lives in Alpharetta. He’s the former director of the Arab American Institute. He writes that the first step toward peace is to stop the killing in Gaza.
- “Oct. 7 was a tragedy, with hundreds of Israelis killed by Hamas. But every day since has been its own tragedy — one endured primarily by Palestinian civilians. Women and children have borne the brunt of Israel’s indiscriminate bombings, with entire families — as Khaled Joudeh bitterly learned — erased in moments."
- “My wife hails from Gaza, and Khaled and his family are relatives. We have lost more than 150 relatives in Gaza — among them 3-year-old Malak Sakani, her father and pregnant mother, who were all sheltering in an Israeli-designated ‘safe zone’ when their building was struck by Israeli missiles.”
Read Michelle Baruchman’s dispatch for more on the political ramifications here in Georgia.
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ONE PEACH OF A KID
Kids get obsessed with all kinds of weird things. My daughter may never stop listening to “KPop Demon Hunters” songs. My son would marry a chicken nugget if he could.
But both of those infatuations are (ahem) peanuts compared to how much 5-year-old Ryan loves Jimmy Carter.
- The youngster from New Jersey recently had a whole birthday party themed around the late former president.
- It involved a life-size cardboard cutout and a cake with Carter’s face on it.
- He got a gift from the Carter family, too.
“He just loved how much he helped people. He loved that he built houses for Habitat for Humanity,” Ryan’s mom, Lauren Ramos, said. “He wants to build houses when he grows up.”
THAT’S A BIG TARGET
Attention shoppers: Target is building a new store over in Covington — and it’s set to become the biggest built in metro Atlanta in more than a decade.
Why is that interesting? Well …
- Target has spent years focusing on building smaller stores, i.e., ones around 50,000 square feet. Presumably because of online shopping and such.
- This one figures to be nearly 129,300 square feet.
- The idea is that larger locations can also serve as fulfillment centers for online orders.
That last part makes a lot of sense. But it’s still a bold move amid ongoing boycotts and stock prices that have dropped about 30% this year.
🔎 READ MORE: Well-known developer touts Target project
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
Chattahoochee Hills mayoral candidate accused of threatening contractor
A four-term city councilman running for mayor of a local city allegedly told a city contractor he would “tear her feet off.” Among other things.
Atlanta offers free parking, meals to TSA workers during shutdown
Lots of folks stand to miss upcoming paychecks. Help a neighbor if they need it!
The EPA killed $7B for solar. Now groups in Georgia, other states are suing.
EPA leader Lee Zeldin called already-awarded grants under the “Solar for All” program a “grift.”
BELTLINE RAIL, WITH A TWIST?
Lots of folks have clamored for a long time about rail along the Beltline, and they may eventually get their wish.
But Mayor Andre Dickens now proposes a slightly different angle.
- As our friend Riley Bunch reports, nearly $2 billion of the funds that could be collected by extending the city’s tax allocation districts (more on that here) would go to transit projects.
- Some of that would go toward installing rail along the Beltline … but on the southside, not the eastside, as has often been proposed.
“If we’re going to provide a benefit such as rail, we’re going to start in … the areas that have been disinvested and an area (where) people are more transit-dependent,” the mayor said.
Juicy!
NEWS BITES
At the Georgia National Fair, a teen wins a corndog showdown
As teens are wont to do.
Metro Atlanta will be expansion hub for New York bagel chain
Do bagels “meant to be ripped up and dipped into containers of cream cheese and butter” feel a little blasphemous? Maybe. But I’m ready to dance with the devil. (More here on new restaurants that are already open.)
GHSA makes bold move to change playoff seeding in all sports
High school sports are moving toward points systems and other stuff — rather than in-region performance — to determine postseason seeding. This is a big deal.
ON THIS DATE
Oct. 7, 1918
Schools and theaters closed because of flu: “Places of public gatherings in Atlanta were closed Monday by the city board of health to guard against the spread of the Spanish influenza. The board … adopted the following resolution: ‘Resolved, by the board of health, that all schools, libraries, theaters, motion picture shows, dance halls, churches and all places of public amusement where people congregate be ordered closed and that street cars be operated with open windows except in case of rain.’”
This all sounds very familiar ...
ONE MORE THING
You ever have a bit of a cold, reach for the DayQuil and accidentally swallow one of those big ol’ gel caps sideways?
Phew buddy. Rough morning for Tyler. But things can only go up from here!
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
Tyler Estep hosts the AJC Win Column, Atlanta's new weekly destination for all things sports. He also shepherds the Sports Daily and Braves Report newsletters to your inbox.
