Morning, y’all. A special shoutout to parents still washing splotches of purple and pink from their child’s “KPop Demon Hunters” Halloween costumes. The bad guys never had a chance with so many little hunters running around.
Let’s get to it.
GEORGIA IS FULL OF OB-GYN DESERTS
Obviously, prenatal care for expectant mothers is not something to take lightly. In Georgia, a high number of women live without immediate access to such care and sometimes go without critical appointments.
A quick overview:
- Out of Georgia’s 159 counties, 80 do not have a full-time doctor certified in obstetrics and gynecology, according to data acquired by the AJC.
- Georgia has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, with 49 deaths per 100,000 live births annually.
- Nearly 16% of birthing-age Georgia women had no hospital with a labor unit within 30 minutes of their home. The national average is 9.7%.
What’s made it worse, and what could make it better:
- Hospital closings have contributed to the crisis. Nine rural hospitals have closed in Georgia since 2010. Others have cut services. This year, St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia cut its labor and delivery unit for financial reasons.
- State lawmakers have taken steps to address the crisis, particularly Georgia’s maternal mortality rate. The state extended the time low-income Georgia mothers can receive benefits under Medicaid. One expert called the change a “huge” help.
- Low-income women can also apply to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or welfare, while pregnant rather than waiting until a child is born.
🔎 READ MORE: A Georgia mother’s story far from OB-GYN care
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GET READY TO PAY MORE AT GA PARKS
This is not what we meant when we said we wanted more hikes.
- Starting in January, a standard daily parking pass for Georgia’s 48 state parks and 15 historic sites will increase from $5 per vehicle to $10. The cost of an annual parking pass will rise from $50 to $70.
- The Georgia Board of Natural Resources last week voted unanimously for the change.
- The increase addresses rising maintenance and repair costs at Georgia parks and historic sites.
- Parking fees are dedicated to park maintenance, after all, which soothes the sting of paying them.
🔎 READ MORE: The financial challenges our parks face
ATLANTA OWNS A TREASURY OF RAIL HISTORY
The Atlanta History Center has some serious bragging rights among ferroequinologists after a blockbuster swap with Savannah’s Georgia Historical Society.
- The History Center now has one of the nation’s largest research-level railroad archive collections.
- The research haul includes four truckloads of information about the former Central of Georgia Railroad.
- Norfolk Southern acquired the historic railroad in 1970. This year, the company donated $500,000 to the History Center for the cost of processing the new collection.
That's a history of the whole state. It's a history of Atlanta.
🚂 READ MORE: What this kind of stuff means for researchers and the history of Georgia
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
✍🏻 We’re entering the sixth week of the government shutdown. President Donald Trump wants Republicans to change Senate rules to end it. However, some Republicans warn altering filibuster rules threatens the integrity of the chamber and could hand Democrats a lot of power later.
♨️ The shutdown could prevent millions of low-income families from receiving timely home heating aid as colder days approach.
✈️ Oh, and flight delays are probably “only going to get worse,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says.
🗳️ A hard-earned vote to repeal Sapelo Island’s zoning law is set for January. Sapelo residents want a say in how much development is allowed on the coastal Georgia island.
FRIENDLY REMINDER: ELECTION DAY IS TOMORROW!
Municipal elections are Tuesday, as well as Atlanta’s mayoral election and the statewide contest for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission. We’ll talk about it all more then, but as a serial forgetter myself it’s my duty to reminder you a day in advance.
- Need a little inspiration? A former member of the Alpharetta City Council explains why local elections sometimes mean more than national ones.
- Here’s a look at the public safety scene as Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens approaches a likely second term. He says he wants to make Atlanta the “safest large city in America.”
🔎 READ MORE: What to know about Tuesday’s elections, along with some FAQs
NEWS BITES
Takeaways from the LA Dodgers’ wild World Series win over the Toronto Blue Jays
That wasn’t a baseball game, it was psychological torture.
Georgia Tech lost its first game of the year, and the Falcons lost their ... fifth
Only one of those losses was a surprise.
How to spot November’s supermoon, the closest of the year
Can’t say enough good things about the moon.
AI song generating platform frustrates users after legal settlement
Bedeviled.
ON THIS DATE
Nov 3, 1959
Given answers, admits anguished Van Doren; may face perjury case. Fallen TV idol Charles Van Doren confessed in shame and anguish Monday that he was deeply involved in rigging the defunct, scandal-tinged “Twenty-One” quiz show. Now Van Doren faces possible perjury charges in court, and perhaps an end to his $50,000-a-year television career. ... The tall, wavy-haired, 33-year-old English professor testified he had come at last to a tortured, soul-searing conclusion that the truth is the only thing “with which a man can live.”
It was very important readers knew Charles Van Doren was tall, wavy-haired and young as well as a fraud. Producer Nicole highly recommends the 1994 film “Quiz Show,” directed by Robert Redford.
ONE MORE THING
Where’s the best trivia night in the Atlanta area? I don’t want to go, I’m just curious. (My nervous system can’t distinguish between “chill night with friends” and “life-and-death battle of wills between tables full of strangers.”)
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.
