Morning, y’all! Happy Thursday from beautiful Tybee Island, where the oysters are fresh and the weather is perfect. A big shout-out to our new A.M. ATL pinch-hitter Cassidy Alexander, who crushed it this week. We have such a talented crew.
Let’s get to it.
FULTON APPROVES $1.3B JAIL PLAN
The controversial Fulton County jail will get a $1.3 billion upgrade over the next nine years after the Fulton County Commission unanimously approved the project Wednesday.
- The plan includes a new 1,800-bed “special purpose facility” for inmates with mental health problems and other special needs. Total cost: $734 million. Estimated completion: 2031.
- Renovations to the existing Rice Street facility will eat up the rest of the hefty chunk of change, and should be completed by 2035.
What about now?
While city leaders agree the expensive jail project needs to happen, it doesn’t solve current problems that are already out of hand.
- After all, things are so bad the U.S. Department of Justice has called conditions at the jail “unconstitutional.”
- Plus, a lease agreement with the city of Atlanta to use beds in its detention center is up at the end of this year, meaning Fulton will have to find another way to house hundreds of inmates amid capacity issues.
🔎 READ MORE: Leaders float solutions, from private agreements to temporary buildings
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.
PERDUE BIDS ADIEU
Sonny Perdue, the former Georgia governor/former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and all-around Georgia multi-hyphenate, is retiring from his role as chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
- Perdue has held the role since 2022. He’ll stay aboard until Jan. 1 to allow for a search for his successor.
- During his time in one of the most powerful positions in state government, Perdue focused on value and affordability for Georgia’s higher education centers.
🔎 READ MORE: Perdue tells the AJC what he’s accomplished
“I've had a great life, some wonderful, cool jobs, but I do think this may be the most impactful job I've ever had."
CONFRONTING GA’S MATERNAL HEALTH FAILURES
Did you know that the March of Dimes gives Georgia an “F” for maternal health issues?
- Georgia’s maternal mortality rate is among the nation’s highest, with 37.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.
- Of those cases, 87% are deemed preventable.
- The statistic is far grimmer for women of color: The nationwide maternal mortality rate for Black women is more than triple the rate for white women, according to the CDC.
A mother who lost her daughter, a public health expert herself, to postpartum complications discusses what needs to change.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🏠 The spring home-buying season, when inventory and buyer demand typically surge, is off to a slow start in metro Atlanta. At the end of March, 4,897 homes were under contract, down about 21% from the same month a year ago, according to data from the Georgia Multiple Listing Service for the 12-county metro Atlanta region.
🗳️ Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is ramping up pressure in Georgia’s elections standoff. In a letter to the State Election Board, Jones blamed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — his rival in the GOP race for governor — for what he called a failure to prepare for the July 1 deadline that bars the use of QR codes in vote tabulation.
HAWKS HAWKS HAWKS HAWKS!
Woohoo, the Atlanta Hawks are in the NBA playoffs!
- This is their first playoff appearance in three years.
- As the No. 6 seed, they’ll face the third-seeded Knicks in a few days. That means some playoff basketball at State Farm Arena for the first time since 2023. Check the schedule here.
- The Hawks beat the odds to make the postseason this year. At the All-Star break, one expert put their chances of making the playoffs at 40%. What’s that line about never telling us the odds?
🔎 READ MORE: How the Hawks saved their season
NEWS BITES
MLB celebrated Jackie Robinson Day Wednesday with No. 42 on everything
Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, breaking baseball’s color barrier and changing the sport for the better.
Christopher Nolan brings first looks of his film ‘The Odyssey’ to CinemaCon
Filed under “Movies that would physically injure a historian.”
Mount Holyoke’s corpse flower blooms, drawing crowds to its ‘rotting’ stench
Stand in line to smell a flower known for its compost pile-slash-dirty diaper aroma? Yes, 100%. A perfect first date or girls’ night out.
“Don’t fear the dead and don’t fear me,” says AI rendering of the late Val Kilmer in new movie
Too late, very full of fear.
ON THIS DATE
April 16, 1980
State raises college tuition. The state Board of Regents … approved tuition increases ranging from 16.1 percent to 40 percent for students in all of its 33 colleges and universities … “This is not a pleasant day for the students in the university system,” said Hal Irwin, president of the Student Advisory Council to the board of regents. “I would hope students realize the board and chancellor are not to blame for the increases,” he said.
Time is a flat circle. Earlier this week, the same Board of Regents elected to increase tuition at all of its schools.
USG funding is based on a decades-old formula. “We recommend a holistic and comprehensive review of this 40-year-old formula,” Tracey Cook, the board’s chief fiscal officer, said. “As we all know, much has changed since the 1980s.”
Well, students are still paying more, so some things stay the same.
ONE MORE THING
The oysters in Tybee really are hitting the spot. My favorite way to eat oysters? A big squeeze of lemon and a splash of gin.
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.
