Morning, y’all! Thank you to all our subscribers who made the AJC’s first-ever Subscriber Week a huge success. Are AJC and A.M. ATL readers juuust a little bit cooler than everyone else? No, that would be unfair to say. So I won’t say it.
I’ll still think it, though.
Let’s get to it.
DATA CENTERS AND EMINENT DOMAIN
The thing about data centers is, they’re never just data centers. More computing power requires more electricity, and more infrastructure to get it.
Georgia Power is expanding its power grid to serve the state’s booming data center business, and residents say the company is coming for locally-owned land to do it.
- Residents in rural areas near data centers say Georgia Power has contacted them about buying parts of their land through which to route power lines.
- In some cases, residents have felt highly pressured to sell. If they don’t, some worry the company may turn to eminent domain to get its way.
What’s eminent domain? It’s when a government or utility forces a private property owner to sell some, or all, of their land for a specific project. A utility like Georgia Power could do that, provided it can convince the law that the project serves a “public use.”
- A spokesman said Georgia Power uses eminent domain as a “last resort” in less than 1% of its land transactions.
🔎 READ MORE: Some conservative politicians are concerned about the implications for property owners
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SOCIAL CIRCLE FILES SUIT OVER ICE PLANS
The city of Social Circle is strengthening its protest of the Trump administration’s plans to build an immigrant detention center in a local warehouse.
- The city filed a lawsuit saying the federal government failed to perform required reviews of how the project would affect the health and safety of residents and the environment.
- That would put the government in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and Georgia’s public nuisance law.
- Similar lawsuits have been filed in Arizona, Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey as towns push back on ICE warehouse plans.
🔎 READ MORE: Social Circle leaders say the city will be irreparably damaged
UPDATE ON BELTLINE STABBING
A suspect is in custody after a man attacked two people with a knife on the Beltline, killing one.
City officials have stressed the random attack on the popular trail doesn’t mean the trail is unsafe.
We have thousands of people on the Beltline every day, and very few incidents that occur. This is a shock. It's an outlier. And we're going to make sure that we arrest this individual.
🔎 READ MORE: Where the attack happened, how they found the suspect
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🏛️ What to expect during the special session on redistricting: Gov. Brian Kemp has called back lawmakers to take advantage of a recent Supreme Court ruling banning racial gerrymandering. It begins June 17.
🛁 Luxury bathtub giant Jacuzzi will shutter its plant in Valdosta, resulting in the loss of about 100 jobs. The facility primarily makes bathtubs, which a company spokesperson said have declined in popularity with consumers, prompting Jacuzzi to consolidate its manufacturing operations.
SPORTS BETTING COMPANIES? IN MY GEORGIA POLITICS?!
The Georgia Legislature roundly rejected a bill legalizing sports betting, but sports betting companies aren’t letting up.
- Sports betting platforms are donating $10 million to support incumbents and candidates from both parties who support legalizing the industry in the state.
- Georgia is one of the biggest states where sports wagering remains illegal.
🔎 READ MORE: Why some candidates, backed by this money, say they’re for it
For more on what happens when states legalize sports betting, how much the U.S. spends each year treating gambling addiction and what happens to the families of people with sports gambling addictions, here’s a health-centered perspective.
NEWS BITES
Here’s the Falcons 2026 schedule
Nooo stop, it’s too early in the year to get excited about football.
FIFA announces Super Bowl-style World Cup final halftime show featuring Madonna, Shakira and BTS
We’re really putting our American spin on things.
A major EDM festival is hitting Atlanta this weekend: More info, how to get tickets
There’s a group called Thunderpony, so I’m in.
ON THIS DATE
May 15, 1997
New labels to declare cigarettes are addictive. When you saunter into the convenience store next week to pick up that pack of L&Ms, you’ll get hit with a new warning: Smoking is addictive … The labels, “Warning: Smoking is addictive,” are part of a landmark settlement reached by the nation’s smallest tobacco company in March, settling lawsuits filed by 22 states that sought reimbursement for the cost of treating sick smokers.
Wild to think this was only 29 years ago.
ONE MORE THING
Have a great weekend! I’m headed up to Chattanooga to pet alpacas. I hope you find a similar joy.
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.
