Morning, y’all! Hope you enjoyed the gorgeous weather this week because it’s about to get frigid. An arctic blast will bring the cold to metro Atlanta next week, and the Georgia mountains may even see flurries. Isn’t it a little early for the devil’s dandruff? Yes, it is.
Let’s get to it.
WHY’S THE WATER WEIRD?
Well, I wish I had known this before making my husband change our water filters. If your tap water has been tasting a little mineral-y, like it was filtered through a moldy log, don’t worry. It’s still safe to drink — it just has some seasonal flavor.
- The earthy taste is because of the slow autumn churning of Lake Lanier, the region’s most important source of water.
- Two compounds build up in the water that humans are extremely sensitive to. They likely come from algae growing near a lake’s surface or bacteria in the sediment deep below.
- In cooler weather, the top of the lake cools, and the fragrant compounds chilling on the surface sink, mixing with the rest of the water.
Again, it’s still safe to drink. But now we know what they were singing about in “Blue Yodel No. 1”:
I’m going where the water tastes like cherry wine
Because this Georgia water tastes like turpentine.
🔎 READ MORE: The chemical and physical processes that funk up the flavor
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FULTON COUNTY JAIL PLANS LONG OVERDUE
Last year, a federal investigation found conditions at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail “abhorrent” and unconstitutional, leading to a three-way agreement this January among the U.S. Department of Justice, Fulton County and Sheriff Patrick Labat. The legally binding agreement required the county and sheriff’s office to create an “implementation plan” within 30 days to set a schedule for policy changes and trainings.
Nine months later, that “implementation plan” is still in the works.
- No one from the county or the sheriff’s office responded to the AJC’s questions about the missed deadline or any future plans.
- Per the agreement, officials have to develop new policies and procedures for medical and mental health care, environmental health and nutrition, and other areas of concern.
- The county and sheriff’s office also faced deadlines to complete a classification and housing plan, staffing analysis, contraband plan and gang violence prevention plan.
- The County Commission recently approved a $1.2 billion jail maintenance plan, but criminal justice advocates say it doesn’t address the issues specifically laid out in the consent decree.
🔎 READ MORE: Monitors for the agreement say things need to speed up
EXPERTS MULL BIG LEGAL AID CHANGES
Unlike criminal cases, people facing civil cases are not constitutionally entitled to legal representation. This creates what is known as the “civil justice gap,” when low-income people or those who live in remote areas can’t hire a lawyer.
It’s a big problem in Georgia, but a committee of judges, lawyers and court staff put together ideas that could overhaul the state’s legal aid structure. Here are some current and proposed solutions:
- Currently, court staff sometimes hold legal clinics where residents can consult with volunteer attorneys.
- Some states allow specially trained nonlawyers to perform limited legal services for self-represented litigants. The committee thinks it could work here, too.
- The committee proposed Georgia’s 34,500 active attorneys should receive credit toward mandatory legal education when they do volunteer work, increasing incentives for pro bono efforts.
Did you know? Nearly 30,000 Georgians live in counties without an attorney, according to data from the State Bar of Georgia.
🔎 READ MORE: How legal minds want to make these ideas a reality
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
✈️ Air travel is going to be a bear this weekend as the FAA slashes flights because of understaffing and other shutdown woes. Here’s what you need to know if you’re braving the flight.
🫏 Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won’t seek reelection, concluding nearly 40 years as a powerful Democratic figurehead in the chamber.
🗳️ Several local elections in Georgia are heading to runoffs. Here’s a list.
🏗️ A developer is planning a 1.7 million-square-foot industrial park in South Fulton. With that footprint, it would have more floor space than Buckhead’s Lenox Square mall.
🍎 With SNAP still off the table, Georgia food banks, charities, places of worship and other groups are pitching in to feed their neighbors. You can get involved, too.
WEEKEND PLANS
We only have a few weekends until the holiday season overwhelms everyone’s social calendars. Will you spend it going out or vegging out? Equally valid paths.
🇺🇸 The 44th Annual Georgia Veterans Day Parade: Led by the 116th Army Band, this year’s parade theme is “Honoring Women in Uniform.”
🌶️ Chomp & Stomp: This Cabbagetown favorite has chili cook-off samples and a 5K. Hopefully not in that order.
🔮 Bellpoint Gem Show: If you see me there, don’t bother me. I’ll be trying to connect with a new crystal orb.
🏍️ Suwanee Classic Car & Bike Show: Proceeds from the looky-loo benefit Happyfeat, a nonprofit that supports individuals with disabilities.
🎉 More weekend ideas: Plenty of great Veterans Day gatherings, plus early Christmas events.
NEWS BITES
Football predictions: The Falcons and Tech play away. Only one will return with a win
Ominous, or reasonable? Maybe both.
Slime, Battleship and Trivial Pursuit join the Toy Hall of Fame
Only one of them has ruined countless couch upholsteries over the years.
Modern cars are spying on you. Here’s what you can do about it
Sadly, “never drive again, retreat forever into the wild” isn’t a feasible option.
Slice me open and see what colors I bleed.
Didn’t know you were an emo fan, Brent! As always, he had a lot of interesting things to say.
ON THIS DATE
Nov. 7, 1919
Burned to Death in Great Hotel Blaze. Old Stag Hotel Gutted By Fire Early Friday. A few minutes after the blaze broke out the windows of the hotel were crowded with frightened guests, the majority of them young and good-looking women.
Well, thank goodness for that detail! No uggos at this hotel. I shudder to think what this reporter would write about the Triangle Shirtwaist Disaster.
ONE MORE THING
When I lived in Syracuse, we’d get occasional notices about “high turbidity” in our water, which meant it came out of the tap like diluted milk. That was also safe to drink, apparently. I’m still here, so it must have been. At some point, I guess we all stop being persnickety about such things and accept our daily ingested cocktail of microplastics, airborne feces particles, algal water, potentially toxic food additives and tiny bugs. L’Chaim!
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.
