Morning, y’all! Do you try to clean your pollen-y surfaces a few times during The Yellowing, or do you let it all collect until it’s over? I see merit in both strategies.
Let’s get to it.
TRAVELERS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES STANDING AROUND AT THE AIRPORT
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Monday, questions abounded. How, exactly, would ICE agents help with the outrageous security wait situation?
Turns out, they’re not sure, either.
- About 64 ICE agents were reportedly deployed to the Atlanta airport.
- AJC reporters at the airport have observed them milling about, but not actually doing much of anything.
- “They can’t do anything. They’re not trained,” said George Borek, an American Federation of Government Employees union steward representing Atlanta TSA employees.
- Borek said immigration agents he’s spoken to said they weren’t sure why they were there or what they were supposed to be doing.
- Important to note: ICE agents are getting paid. TSA agents are not.
🔎 READ MORE: Details on ICE movements at the airport
More from Hartsfield-Jackson:
Why is it so hard to predict long wait times right now? The airport isn’t posting security wait time estimates like they usually do. It’s another way the system is fraying in the crisis.
Some good news: President Donald Trump says he will support a U.S. Senate plan to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, including TSA workers.
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.
BILL WOULD EXPAND SCHOOL WEAPONS DETECTION STATEWIDE
A new bill just passed out of a Georgia Senate committee that would require weapons detection systems in every public school in the state.
- If it passes, Georgia would become the first state with such a wide-ranging law.
- The bill, backed by state House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, is a response to 2024’s deadly shooting at Apalachee High School.
- Some have doubts about the particulars of Efstration’s bill. New weapons detection systems would cost a pretty penny, and require in-school staffing. The bill also calls for systems in elementary schools, which some see as unnecessary.
🔎 READ MORE: What can and can’t be accomplished by such systems
GEORGIA’S PORTS ARE EXPANDING DESPITE TRADE ISSUES
The Trump Administration’s tariffs have poked huge holes in Georgia’s busiest ports. But, port leaders are confident things will pick back up. So confident, they’re increasing a billion-dollar expansion project.
- Container traffic has stagnated, and tracked cargo saw a double-digit decline for the fiscal year through February.
- Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch says he expects difficulties to continue through June. Though, amid unpredictable events like the ongoing Iran war, things could drag on.
- Despite these challenges, the Ports Authority is adding on to its $4.5 billion infrastructure improvement plan.
- The board recently authorized the $55 million purchase of a 60-acre site to expand the Savannah container terminal.
🔎 READ MORE: Why they think investing is the right call
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
✈️ Where’s Mayor Andre Dickens during this airport chaos? He’s on a long-planned trip to Fukuoka, Japan; Atlanta’s sister city. Dickens’ office says he remains in constant contact with law enforcement and federal officials. A 12-person team from City Hall has been deployed to the airport to help manage the crisis.
🔧 Home Depot’s buying big to win business from professional contractors. Its latest acquisition: a Peachtree City-based wholesale distributor of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.
🧪 A $2 billion biopharmaceutical facility may be coming to Gwinnett County. UCB Inc. plans to build a medical science manufacturing facility on a sprawling, newly-built life sciences campus in the area.
NEWS BITES
Really? We’re caught in an eternal security line vortex and y’all get to make cheesesteaks?
Braves to induct Brian Snitker into team Hall of Fame on April 25
Viva Snit!
Here’s how to recycle those old laptops, iPhones and earbuds lying around
This is your sign to stop hoarding your old tech “just in case.” How is that 10-year-old BlackBerry going to serve you in the future?
Behold with your mortal eyes the “Baffle,” a burger-panini-empanada pocket thing filled with brisket. What a miracle of invention.
ON THIS DATE
March 25, 1992
‘Smart car’ steers driver clear of hassles. This would be a test drive of the future or a chance to get lost by trusting a computer with a Scandinavian accent. I (the AJC’s David Beasley) was one of 18 reporters allowed to spend most of Monday driving a “smart car” with built-in compasses and on-board computerized mapping systems ... “Start by driving southeast on Triple A Drive,” said the voice synthesizer after I chose the first option ... Away we go, I thought as I headed out the parking lot, only to be quickly but tactfully reprimanded when I took a wrong turn on the way out.
David, if you’re out there, we gotta hear your thoughts on Waymos.
ONE MORE THING
In my first apartment in Atlanta, the bed was under a nice-sized window. Since I was on the second floor and loved sleeping with a breeze blowing in, I kept it open as much as possible. Yes, you see where this is going. One beautiful spring morning I woke up to find everything — bed, pillow, windowsill, self — covered in a full coat of pollen. (As some added Atlanta, said window was about five yards from train tracks.)
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.
