Morning, y’all! Did you know there are flying squirrels in Georgia? The Southern flying squirrel is one of four squirrel species native to the state. New goal: see one of these charming creatures in the wild and try not to cry with joy.
Let’s get to it.
HOW TO BUILD A POLICE DEPARTMENT
Residents and business owners in Tucker, Georgia, are mulling whether the city needs its own police department. Tucker is currently served by the DeKalb County Police Department. Leaders say the notion isn’t an indictment of current police work — the city simply needs more dedicated resources.
- A feasibility study through the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police estimated a new department in Tucker would cost about $10.7 million.
- That covers salaries and benefits for 53 sworn officers and additional civilian staff, plus equipment, vehicles, report management and dispatch technologies.
- DeKalb County says that’s quite a lowball. They put the number at $47.6 million, accounting for retirement and pension costs and regular specialized training.
- However, Tucker residents are already paying more than $15 million in taxes a year for DeKalb County policing. Issues like 911 wait times and increased crime in Tucker business districts have increased talk about a city-based police force.
🔎 READ MORE: How the county and city are handling the possibility
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A BLACK CDC PIONEER REFLECTS ON RACE AND TRUST IN MEDICINE
During her 34 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Benita Harris didn’t just witness change — she was a part of it.
- In the 1990s, her research helped President Bill Clinton craft an apology for the Tuskegee Study, an infamous 40-year federal project that withheld medical treatment from Black men in Alabama beginning in 1932.
- Marginalized people often have a difficult relationship with medical institutions that ignore or dehumanize them. At the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity, Harris’ mission was to bridge those gaps. During the height of COVID-19, she helped the CDC refine vaccine outreach for Black communities.
- This Black History Month, Harris’ story shows how Black medical professionals have improved equity in medical practices and made life-saving connections with a sometimes wary public.
🔎 READ MORE: The community connection Harris made that changed everything
Where is Harris now? Last April, Harris’ department was officially disbanded as part of the Trump administration’s widespread CDC cuts. Harris was unceremoniously dismissed; her retirement and benefits were left blowing in the wind. She ended up on a “DEI watchlist” created by Trump supporters and suffered public harassment.
MAN ACCUSED IN WALMART KIDNAPPING CASE FILES SUIT
Last year, Mahendra Patel spent six weeks behind bars after being accused of trying to abduct a 2-year-old boy in an Acworth Walmart.
- The charges were eventually dropped after security footage contradicted the boy’s mother’s claims.
- Now, Patel is suing his accuser, the lead detective and the district attorney who pursued the case against him. In the complaint, he claims he was maliciously prosecuted and deprived of due process, suffering emotional damage, lost wages and reputational harm.
🔎 READ MORE: What Patel said ‘saved (his) life’ in the case
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
✏️ Georgia lawmakers are focused on early education this legislative session, and there’s a good reason why. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need for a more robust early education system — and more lenient regulations for parents.
⚖️ The affidavit used to justify a search warrant for the Fulton County ballots is expected to be unsealed today. The document will reveal what kind of evidence the Department of Justice relied upon, and could contain more information like interviews and cited documents.
COUPLES THAT REFLECT TOGETHER, STAY TOGETHER
What do the most successful couples in Georgia have in common? Mindfulness.
University of Georgia researcher and relationship expert Evin Richardson worked with 415 northeast Georgia couples for a study on how mindfulness affects relationship well-being. Long story short: the more, the better.
What is mindfulness?
- According to Richardson, mindfulness “reflects the person’s ability to be present, non-reactive and non-judgmental in how they process their experiences.”
- You can cultivate mindfulness through meditation, breathing exercises or just pausing during the day and taking stock of how you’re feeling.
- Richardson says couples can increase mindfulness by being present with each other, rather than falling into the old side-by-side scrolling routine or tuned-out TV watching.
- “Research shows that couples who are intentionally spending that time together — being present with each other without distractions — report higher satisfaction and higher well-being,” she says.
If you find meditation or deep breathing too frivolous, just wait for the next psyche-incinerating traumatic event that punches a hole through your life. It won’t seem so silly then, and you’ll be on your way to Mindful Town in no time!
🪷 READ MORE: Making time for mindfulness
NEWS BITES
Pitchers and catchers report today: What to watch for during Braves Spring Training
The long winter is almost over, baseball fans.
Olympic athletes’ medals are breaking during celebrations
Don’t bite them too hard!
Scenes from a joyous Bad Bunny Super Bowl show watch party in Decatur
The Super Bowl is actually two different events: a football game with a concert in the middle of it, or a concert with some football at either end.
Valentine’s Day gifts that are thoughtful, cool and actually useful
Weird, “Doll made out of your lover’s hair” didn’t make the list.
ON THIS DATE
Feb. 10, 1926
Evolution ban not voted; never taught in schools, board members assert. Contrary to published reports, the Atlanta board of education has taken no action proposing to outlaw the teaching of evolution in the public schools of Atlanta … Teaching of the theory of the evolution of man from lower forms of animal life, as embodied in the Darwinian theory, never has been permitted in the schools, and the word “evolution” is not even used in the teaching of biology …
One hundred years ago, there was no fight against teaching evolution in Georgia schools because evolution wasn’t taught in Georgia schools. In fact, public factions continued to fight against the teaching of evolution in Georgia schools for decades, right up into the 2000s.
ONE MORE THING
You know who’s really going to enjoy Braves Spring Training? Brian Snitker, official retiree. “It’s just going to be fun to bop around and not have duties,” the former Braves skipper said about his new role. We love that for him. Bop away.
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.
