Morning, y’all! Can you eat ornamental kale you grew yourself? Research suggests you can, though it may not taste great. That’s giving too much credit to regular kale. I’m going to give it a try because our ornamental kale is loving this angry greenhouse weather.
Let’s get to it.
A TRAGEDY IN HALL COUNTY
“A terrible tragedy.” That’s how Jason Hughes’ family described his death, and there’s really no other way to put it.
Hughes, a teacher at North Hall High School, was killed over the weekend during a student prank gone wrong. Five students are facing charges in his death, but Hall’s family wants prosecutors to drop them.
What happened:
- Late Friday night, five students in two vehicles toilet-papered the front lawn of Hughes’ Gainesville house. Hughes came out of the house as they were leaving. In his pursuit, he tripped and fell into the road and was struck by one of the drivers. He died of his injuries.
What the students are facing:
- Authorities charged the student driving the vehicle with first-degree vehicular homicide, a felony that could carry up to 15 years in prison. The other four were charged with misdemeanor counts.
What the family and community have said:
- Hughes’ grieving family says no one is at fault. “Jason loved these students and they loved him too,” Hughes’ family said in a statement. “...ruining the lives of these students” would be “counter to Jason’s lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children.”
- Hughes’ neighbor said the TP prank was common at the school, and Hughes even knew about it. The school and community are honoring Hughes, who they described as a man of faith beloved by his students.
The big conversation:
- From a legal standpoint, the ordeal is nuanced and heart-rending. Ultimately, the local district attorney has the power to drop the charges, legal experts told the AJC. In fact, they say such cases show how critical that type of discretion is.
🔎 TODAY’S MUST-READ: Details from the case and commentary from legal experts
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.
DEVELOPMENTS IN TWO TOP POLITICAL STORIES
It seems there’s never a boring day in Georgia politics recently. That’s probably not a good thing. Big plot moves in two ongoing stories:
Rick Jackson sues Burt Jones
- Billionaire Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rick Jackson filed a defamation suit against rival Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, saying recent statements from Jones are “defamatory” and “knowingly false.”
- The filing minces no words: “Rather than standing on his record, fighting like an honest man, and earning the trust and support of Georgians, Burt Jones is resorting to what he knows best: cheap and dirty politics.”
- Jones’ campaign responded in kind, saying, “Rick Jackson’s thin skin is showing.”
Honest legal battle or a move to drum up campaign support? You decide.
Fani Willis can’t fight $17 million request
- Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office was slapped with a $17 million bill for legal fees from President Donald Trump and others involved in the dissolved 2020 election interference case.
- Willis called out some questionable charges on the list and asked to temporarily be reassigned to the case to fight the demand for reimbursements.
- Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued his decision on her request this week: “Nope.”
🔎 READ MORE: Willis says she won’t stop fighting
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🗳️ Democrat Shawn Harris will face Republican Clayton Fuller in an April 7 runoff to succeed U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, setting up a matchup the White House and many state GOP leaders had hoped would emerge from a crowded Republican field.
📚 Literacy coaches in every elementary school: That’s part of a $60 million literacy plan in the Georgia House’s proposed $38.5 billion budget. However, the budget trims spending on Promise Scholarships.
🏛️ Federal buildings need $50B in repairs across the country, including many in Atlanta. The city has one of the largest footprints of workspace owned by the federal government outside of Washington, D.C.
🏍️ Motorsports and boating giant Yamaha Motor Co. will relocate its U.S. headquarters from California to beautiful Kennesaw.
MILLIONS OF PECHES, PECHES FOR ME
Some of the best landmarks don’t set out to be landmarks. It happens by fate.
So it was with an iconic peach stand alongside U.S. 441 between the cities of Madison and Eatonton.
“PECHES,” it reads, and has for 30 years. The delightful misspelling, along with its whole aesthetic, has made Anthony and Cindy Jenkins’ fruit stand a popular stop.
- However, highway construction to transform U.S. 441 from a two‑lane into a four‑lane route shuttered the business for a year and a half.
- The Peches Fruit Stand plans to reopen soon, and they hope their place in local lore will help keep the stand going strong.
🍑 READ MORE: The owners explain its origin and warn of copycats
NEWS BITES
Most kids don’t get enough sleep. Here’s why parents can miss the signs
Just a guess, but that probably means parents don’t get enough sleep, either.
Will ‘Sinners’ make Oscars history?
Black cast, Black director, Black legend; just Black excellence all around.
Fun things to do for St. Patrick’s Day that don’t involve green beer
Have you ever seen Irish dancing in person? Way more impressive than green beer.
Timothee — as if you could … Ballet has survived: Empires, wars, revolutions, technological shifts, and every ‘new entertainment trend' that followed. Over 400 years and counting.
Get ’em, Atlanta Ballet! Actor Timothee Chalamet dismissed opera and ballet as unpopular art forms in a recent interview, and you bet ballet and opera companies around the world had something to say.
Anyway, check out the Atlanta Ballet here. They’re doing Snow White at the end of the month.
ON THIS DATE
March 11, 1974
March looking scanty for Georgia gasoline. Georgia motorists may find March the worst month yet for buying sufficient supplies of gasoline, according to State Energy Office officials. To underscore the fact, the office was forced to dip into its reserve supply last Friday to relieve shortages in depressed areas of the state.
Oil shortages and problems at the pump? Must be conflict in the Middle East. Here, it was the U.S.’ support of Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, which led to an embargo from oil-producing Arab countries and triggered a long-term national fuel crisis.
ONE MORE THING
Earlier this week, we talked about the greening of Savannah’s Forsyth Park fountain, which led me to fret about how they clean the mostly-iron-and-white-gloss behemoth.
The AJC’s Man on the Coast Adam Van Brimmer rang up Savannah’s city manager for answers.
“Standard pool chemicals. Drain. Pressure wash. Soap and water.”
Thanks, Adam! Now we know.
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.
