Morning, y’all! Happy December, happy last month of the year, happy “blink and it will be January” season. I trust everyone’s holiday weekends were, at the very least, survived.
Let’s get to it.
GA HOME SELLERS SAY ‘NEVERMIND’
Remember a while ago when the housing market was so hot people got into six-figure bidding wars? Those days are solidly behind us.
- The number of metro Atlanta delistings this September grew 41% over the same time last year, according to a new report from real estate company Redfin.
- That’s 2,450 homes pulled off the market.
- September delistings were up 28% nationwide, to the tune of about 85,000 homes.
Why? Economic uncertainty and high mortgage rates.
Plus, some sellers are still mentally in those halcyon days of open house fist fights, and may have unrealistic ideas about their home’s value.
“Many sellers are coming in with old price expectations, while buyers are pulling back due to high mortgage rates,” Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said.
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.
A SOLUTION FOR OUR SMELLY WATER
Every autumn, our Atlanta tap water gets funky because of algae activity in Lake Lanier, the main source of potable water for the city. It’s apparently harmless, and to maintain our mental health we should probably take the water people at their word.
- Luckily, a new $2.5 million project greenlit at the end of the government shutdown aims to end our skunky water woes by finding ways to reduce the flow of the nutrients that feed algae blooms in Lake Lanier.
- Sorry if you’re drinking or eating something, but the particulars are ... unappetizing.
- An area water expert said the grant will focus on small solutions to keep fertilizers and other nutrients from flowing into the water, like fencing to keep livestock out of streams, buffer zones around waterways and plans to manage waste from poultry.
By the way, the area upstream of Lanier is home to 194 million chickens and about 105,000 cattle. (In case you need a clearer mental picture of what, exactly, feeds that algae.)
🔎 READ MORE: More fun facts about Lake Lanier’s water situation
HOW SUPER SOAKERS COULD SAVE THE WORLD
Did you know Lonnie Johnson, the man who invented the Super Soaker, is a longtime Atlanta resident, Tuskegee University graduate and aerospace engineer who worked with NASA and the U.S. Air Force?
Obviously, he can’t get any more legendary. Oh, wait ...
- The prolific inventor is refining a new device in his Atlanta labs called the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter, or JTEC.
- The new kind of energy source would convert “waste heat” into clean electricity. At scale, that could help slow climate change and quench our species’ insatiable thirst for computing juice.
The best part is, the spark that fueled Johnson’s new project is the same one that led him to creating the Super Soaker. The AJC’s Drew Kann explains:
“Energy issues have been a driving force behind Johnson’s innovations for years. In fact, an ‘aha’ moment working on a more efficient heat pump — a type of home heating and cooling system — is what led to the Super Soaker.”
🔎 TODAY’S MUST-READ: How the JTEC device works, and more Lonnie Johnson lore
AN UPDATE FOR FOOTBALL AGNOSTICS
Hello, people who don’t care about sports. It’s the end of the regular season for college football, and you’re due for your occasional update on how Teams In Your Area did.
- 🐶 University of Georgia: The Bulldogs are headed to the SEC championship game against Alabama. Then, the playoffs beckon. They went an excellent 11-1 and finished the season at No. 3.
- 🐝 Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets started the season with seven straight wins, but after a rough back half Tech won’t even make the ACC championship. They also lost a tough one to Georgia in this weekend’s rivalry game. That 9-3 record is great, though!
- 🐈⬛ Georgia State: The Panthers won one game this year. Best not to talk about it.
- 🦉 Kennesaw State: The Owls are headed to the Conference USA championship game against Jacksonville State. They also closed out their last regular-season game with a thrilling double overtime victory.
NEWS BITES
Oh, to be a football agnostic right now.
Christmas trees 101: How to pick and take care of them
One of my career-favorite interviews was with a person from the National Christmas Tree Foundation. Do you know how complex the U.S. Christmas tree industry is? It was riveting.
AI country hit ‘Walk My Walk’ built on Blanco Brown’s sound sparks big questions
Questions like, “Why does AI music sound like something that washes down from the farms into Lake Lanier?”
New survey shows how much teens dislike the news media
:(
❓Trivia question: Which state produces the most Christmas trees? Answer at the bottom.
ON THIS DATE
Dec. 1, 1954
Meteor visible in Atlanta hurts woman in Alabama. A nine-pound black rock identified as a sulphide meteorite, visible Tuesday afternoon from Atlanta and points in Alabama and Mississippi, crashed through the roof of a house at Sylacauga, Ala., slightly injuring Mrs. Hewlett Hodges, 32, a housewife ... Thomas D. Nicholson, associate astronomer at the Hayden-Planetarium in New York City, said the fragment … was a piece of one of the eight billion meteors which bombard the earth’s atmosphere every day.
Fun fact: This was the first recorded instance in modern history of a meteorite striking a human. I hope she didn’t take it personally.
ONE MORE THING
The state that produces the most Christmas trees is: Oregon! North Carolina is No. 2, followed by Michigan.
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.
