Morning, y’all! People who commit to real Christmas trees are built different. Most Americans prefer the fake stuff, even if fake trees aren’t usually made in the U.S. and get more expensive every year. On the plus side: No surprise pine needles between your toes all winter.
Let’s get to it.
CHECKING ON MARTA INFILL PLANS
Two years ago, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced a plan for four new MARTA infill stations. Four! It would be the largest expansion to MARTA’s rail network in decades. In April, the city announced the planned locations:
- Murphy Crossing
- Krog Street/Hulsey Yard
- Joseph E. Boone
- Armour Yards
Wow, that would be so exciting. Notice I keep saying “would?” Those infill projects are still in early, early development, and the city isn’t sure how the stations would be funded.
- A recent project estimate from the city shows the quartet of projects would cost $1.3 billion.
- Originally, that money was supposed to come from the $2.7 billion More MARTA bond program, funded by sales taxes. Now leaders are also considering earmarking money from Tax Allocation Districts.
- The More MARTA program includes a long list of MARTA development and improvement projects. Funding the stations from that source would likely crowd out other important projects like rapid transit routes.
🔎 READ MORE: What MARTA’s interim CEO said about the uncertainty
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STATE FARM IS THERE AND EVERYWHERE
It’s been a banner year for our own State Farm Arena. The home of the Atlanta Hawks had one of the busiest calendars of any event arena across the globe, according to a new Billboard report.
- State Farm Arena hosted 94 ticketed non-Hawks events, ranking fifth in the U.S. and seventh worldwide for large non-stadium venues.
- All that success is no accident. After all, the arena is sandwiched between the mammoth metal belly button of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Georgia World Congress Center, which may not even have a bottom. It’s escalators all the way down.
- Trey Feazell, executive vice president of arena programming, said it took “long hours, creative thinking, strong partnerships” and focus to consistently fill State Farm Arena.
- The future looks promising, too. The nearby Gulch, currently a purgatorial parking lot, is undergoing a $5 billion redevelopment plan.
🔎 READ MORE: How State Farm Arena stays booked and busy
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
💵 Georgia Democrats want House Republicans to roll back President Donald Trump’s tariffs, saying they’re driving up prices during the holiday season.
⚡ In a painful reflection of Georgia’s struggling film industry and booming data center development, the owner of an Athens film studio wants to convert the space into another computer warehouse to keep things profitable.
🎙️ The Bert Show has reportedly settled a lawsuit against former morning host Moe Mitchell for breach of contract. The iconic radio program ended in October.
WE SPEAK FOR THE TREES
Conservation groups and their state and federal partners celebrated the completion of a deal Monday to protect more than 10,000 acres of endangered forests straddling the Alabama-Georgia border.
The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit specializing in acquiring at-risk lands, finalized the Stateline Forest project to safeguard habitats for bats, rare plants and aquatic species in both states.
The protected land spans Georgia’s Haralson and Polk counties and Alabama’s Cleburne County, part of the wildlife-rich Dugdown Mountain Corridor, which stretches from the western edge of metro Atlanta to Alabama’s Talladega National Forest.
On Monday, The Conservation Fund said it transferred 10,035 acres and 45 miles of waterways to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Alabama Forestry Commission. Putting the land in state hands “guarantees permanent public ownership and long-term stewardship,” the group said.
🔎 READ MORE: What local leaders had to say about the project
NEWS BITES
Atlanta’s New Year’s Eve Peach Drop replaced by fireworks, drone display
Don’t worry, there will still be a Digital Drone Peach in the Sky, which sounds like a psychedelic-era Beatles song.
Atlanta’s allergy season helped actress Allison Williams nail an emotional scene
Our pollen count’s glad to be of service.
We asked nutritionists what they eat during the winter to boost their health
It’s all about the citrus. No scurvy in these households!
Here’s how to find out how much you’ve spent on Amazon
I dunno, sometimes ignorance really is bliss.
ON THIS DATE
Dec. 16, 1939
‘Gone With Wind’ acclaimed after historic premiere. The glorious adventure over, the movie stars speeding back to Hollywood by plane and train, Atlanta settled back Saturday to view in retrospect the breath-taking happenings of her most memorable two days of celebration. The “Gone With the Wind” premiere and grand ball, given an Arabian Nights touch by the presence of Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Claudette Colbert and a dozen other Hollywood greats, sketched on memory’s scroll an indelible record. No one in Atlanta will or can forget it.
It’s a little jarring to remember “Gone With the Wind” had only been in print three years before the film.
ONE MORE THING
Is there a definitive difference between a stadium and an arena? Common thought says stadiums are outdoors and arenas are enclosed, but there are definitely enclosed stadiums (e.g. U.S. Bank Stadium). Will be pondering this for a while.
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.
