Morning, y’all! Hope you enjoyed the tropical Christmas temps because things are about to get wintery for good. Or maybe not! Who knows what the new year will bring. For now, we can finally get some use out of our jackets.
Let’s get to it.
PEACE WALK PASSES THROUGH ATLANTA
About 20 Buddhist monks are on a 2,600-mile walk from Texas to Washington, D.C., to promote peace and kindness across America. They pass through the Atlanta metro area today, including a stop in Decatur.
- Thousands have visited them along their route, offering material donations, support or just witness. (Buddhist monks aren’t allowed to ask for help but can accept necessities from the generous public.)
- The monks have led prayers, fostered “peace talks” and generally provided a moment of, well, peace for people from all backgrounds.
- State Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville, was among the public officials in Peachtree City who welcomed the monks as they walked through town Monday.
- “It’s such a fascinating thing to have come to our community,” Bonner said. “They’re just humble folks trying to bring awareness to peace, and everybody can get on board with that.”
🔎 READ MORE: One bystander shares her spiritual experience watching the walk
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ANOTHER GA POLICE DEPT PARTNERS WITH ICE
The AJC has uncovered a second incidence of a local police department partnering closely with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
What the facts show:
- Records and body cameras show an officer from the Hoschton Police Department talking to an ICE agent just minutes after pulling over a work van.
- “I’ll bring ‘em to you,” the Hoschton officer told the ICE agent on the scene, who took the driver into custody.
- The driver had a license from Maryland, one of the states that allows noncitizens to obtain driver’s licenses. Georgia is not such a state.
Police head says it wasn’t the department’s idea:
Tal Parden, a captain with the Hoschton Police Department, said his agency did not initiate contact with ICE. Instead, he said ICE reached out and expressed interest in shadowing officers as they made traffic stops.
Cooperation is mandated in GA, but it’s not usually this close
Now, why is this a big deal when a 2024 Georgia immigration bill requires county sheriffs’ offices to cooperate with ICE? Surely, they’re just following orders. Here’s the difference:
- That bill mandates agencies to flag foreign-born people booked in local jails to ICE for possible pickup and deportation.
- Actually shadowing officers, and working in tandem during traffic stops, is outside the law’s scope. It’s not illegal per se, but it does raise lots of questions among immigration attorneys and advocates about the level of cooperation and how often it happens.
We reported on similar incidents this year near Savannah. You can read more about that here.
🔎 READ MORE: What makes people uneasy about these partnerships
A LAST-MINUTE STAY OF EXECUTION IN COBB
A Fulton County judge halted the execution of a Georgia inmate convicted of murdering two women in Cobb County. The move could also lead to a shake-up of the state’s parole board.
- Stacey Ian Humphreys, found guilty of shooting two real estate agents in 2003, was due to be executed before Christmas.
- However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney put that on hold when he considered Humphreys’ last-ditch effort to get clemency.
- Now, Humphreys and his lawyer will try to persuade McBurney that two of the five members of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles should be replaced for Humphreys’ clemency hearing because of alleged conflicts of interest.
🔎 READ MORE: The case underscores the slow legal slog of capital punishment
WELCOME, FEATHERED FRIENDS
A 77-acre green space between Decatur and Avondale Estates boasts wetlands, forest, historic buildings and now — an official metropolis for birds.
Legacy Park is popular with walkers and runners, especially after the completion of a new lighted track and field complex. But it’s the habitat Legacy provides for winged creatures that has made it a popular bird-watching destination — and helped Decatur earn the title of “Bird City,” Georgia’s first to receive the designation.
Birds Georgia, a statewide nonprofit that works on bird habitat restoration, education and other conservation efforts, announced Decatur’s certification this fall. Part of a larger international collaboration between the groups American Bird Conservancy and Environmental for the Americas, the Bird City initiative aims to foster safe corridors for birds across the Western Hemisphere.
Decatur joins dozens of other Bird Cities across the U.S and even Central and South America.
🔎 READ MORE: The major implications of Georgia’s first “Bird City”
NEWS BITES
How to buy wine like a pro when traveling the U.S.
Non-wine-pro tip: The wine from The Biltmore is delish. No, I don’t care to know if it’s actually good. I know very nothing about wine, and I’d like to keep it that way.
Peruvian shamans make annual ritual predictions for the new year
It’s bad news for world leaders and international conflicts. Do they have a newsletter or something? I’d definitely subscribe to the Peruvian Shaman’s Almanac.
Bill Torpy: ‘Being white means never having to say you’re sorry’
Our beloved columnist gets spicy about a growing trend in politics. Debate amongst yourselves.
Married Atlanta novelists are co-authoring a book
You know the relationship’s solid when you can write a whole book together and not hate each other.
ON THIS DATE
Dec. 30, 1935
Ice-beleaguered Atlantans shiver at home as trouble-shooters work. Nature, that jolly old prankster, dropped an icicle down Atlanta’s back yesterday. Then like all practical jokers, it sat around and enjoyed itself watching a tormented city struggle and twist and do its best to take all this good, clean fun in the spirit in which it was intended. Timid Atlantans, who hugged the fires and peered through the windows at the ghostly glaze outdoors, caught only a limited view of a scene of Georgia Power Company trouble-shooters tussling with broken wires, described as “the worst since 1905.”
As temps plummet this week, remember — it could be worse (not that comforting, I know).
ONE MORE THING
For a bit of real solace, check out this piece on a gentler approach to your January reset. As the AJC’s Avery Newmark notes, there’s something undeniably powerful about the calendar flipping, even when the changes themselves are small.
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.
