Morning, y’all! I’m off to bum around Florida for a bit. Be nice to the A.M. ATL pinch hitters while I’m gone. I’ll say hi to the Live Baby Gator billboards along I-75 for you.
Let’s get to it.
BIG CONTROVERSY AT THE HIGH MUSEUM
The chief operating officer of the High Museum of Art resigned this week amid allegations he stole about $600,000 from the organization over the last few years.
- Brady Lum was hired by the High, the largest museum for visual art in the Southeast, in February 2019. Before that, he held various positions with Coca-Cola.
- The Woodruff Arts Center launched an investigation after museum leaders found bookkeeping irregularities late last year.
- Woodruff’s governing board brought on Atlanta legal giant King & Spalding, which has referred the matter to federal prosecutors for possible criminal charges.
Leadership stressed they’re confident Lum allegedly worked alone.
“We want to be completely transparent with the public,” Woodruff CEO and President Hala Moddelmog told the AJC. “We have nothing to hide. This was one person and a unique opportunity at that executive level, and nothing has changed.”
🔎 READ MORE: Not very artistic of him if true
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THAT’S BILLIONS WITH A ‘B’
U.S. Department of Energy awarded $26.5 billion to Georgia Power and Alabama Power, two subsidiaries of Atlanta-based Southern Co.
That’s the largest federal energy loan package ever.
- The loans will support new power generation and transmission grid upgrades to power the growing horde of data centers in Georgia.
- Georgians have been rightfully concerned that expensive power grid expansions and watt-hungry data centers will balloon customer costs, among other ill effects.
- However, DOE officials said the utilities must pass the savings to customers as a condition of the loan.
🔎 READ MORE: What they’re going to do with all of that money
❓ Did you know the largest nuclear plant in the country is in Georgia? Plant Vogtle sits near Waynesboro and has four reactors — two are newly built. Watch and learn how the facility delivers carbon-free electricity, a growing demand in the Southeast.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🧊 ICE finalized its $68 million purchase of a Hall County warehouse it plans to convert into an immigrant detention center. This is the second massive real estate buy by immigration officials in Georgia after a $129 million warehouse purchase in Social Circle earlier this year.
⚖️ Nathaniel Darnell, leader of the far-right Georgia Republican Assembly, was fined $500,000 and may be referred for criminal prosecution for his ties to the family behind First Liberty Building & Loan. The Georgia secretary of state’s office claims Darnell used religious and political rhetoric to steer clients toward First Liberty.
ENDANGERED HISTORY
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation released its 20th edition of its “Places in Peril” list, which highlights 10 historic properties at risk of demolition, decay or redevelopment.
Odds are high no matter where you live in Georgia, you’ve seen at least one of these places in person. They include, among others:
- Egleston Hall at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in midtown Atlanta
- Legion Pool at UGA’s campus in Athens
- Thomas L. Bell Memorial Ballpark in Americus
- Wayne County Courthouse in Jesup
Before you get too sad, some places previously on the list credit their inclusion with a renewed interest in their preservation. There’s still hope.
🔎 READ MORE: Get the full list here
BLACK AMERICA, VISUALIZED
In 1900, renowned scholar, journalist, sociologist and activist W.E.B. Du Bois presented a collection of art, photography and data visualizations at the Exposition Universelle in Paris.
- The “Exhibit of American Negroes” showed the truth of life as a Black person in the U.S. At the time, the myth that Black people were inferior still pervaded European narratives, as it was a convenient justification for slavery.
- The photographs and charts Du Bois displayed showed how much African Americans had accomplished. They showed families, students, scholars, and synthesized statistics in a way that feels excitingly modern even today.
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reimagined the exhibit for the 2026 viewer, down to exact photography styles and new charts and graphs in that prescient 1900 style.
See it for yourself: Clark Atlanta University will unveil “W.E.B. Du Bois Revisited: Re-imagining Du Bois’ work from ‘The Exhibit of American Negroes,’” at the university’s museum beginning this Friday. Learn more here.
NEWS BITES
Don’t worry, it hasn’t made it to the kitchen stove — yet.
Rockefeller unveils details for the tallest residential building in Atlanta
Did you know really tall buildings sometimes moan and creak in the wind, like ships? Something to think about for all of you millionaires contemplating a move.
Are expensive shampoos worth it? Here’s what experts say
For anyone who’s ever had a mini crisis in the hair-care aisle.
The surprising complexity behind the squeak of shoes on a basketball court
One of the Worst Sounds Ever, up there with leaf blowers and train brakes.
ON THIS DATE
Feb. 26, 1926
Greb to have 1 pound advantage in his bout with Tiger Flowers. Harry Greb, world’s middleweight champion, will have a one-pound advantage over his challenger, Tiger Flowers, in their fifteen-round title match at Madison Square Garden Friday night. At the official weighing in Friday Greb scaled 159 1-2, Flowers 158 1-2.
Flowers, a Savannah native, would go on to become the first Black middleweight champion, defeating Greb in front of a crowd of more than 16,000 and defending the title in a rematch months later.
ONE MORE THING
Today’s newsletter features the only word root (or lexeme, for you pedants) in the English language with three double letters back-to-back. Did you spot it? I’ll do some cartwheels and then give you a hint.
🤸🏼♀️
⤵️
🤸🏼♀️
⤵️
🤸🏼♀️
It’s in the High Museum section.
Au revoir!
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
Correction
This newsletter was updated to correct Brady Lum's position at the High Museum of Art before his resignation.
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.
