Morning, y’all! I hope you had a lovely long weekend. I spent about an hour Saturday trying to coax a very angry Carolina wren out of my bedroom. It had quite a story to tell its little wren family once it flew the coop, so to speak. “Break out the brandy, Tom, you won’t believe the day I’ve had.”
Let’s get to it.
LITERALLY YEARS OF I-285 CLOSURES ARE AHEAD
Two weekends ago, Atlanta motorists put their best wheel forward and we all got through a weekend-long full closure of the southwest portion of I-285 with little incident.
Did everyone enjoy themselves? Feeling confident? Good, because we’ll have to do it many more times over the next few years.
- The Georgia Department of Transportation says there will be dozens of full closures over the next few years as GDOT replaces the nearly 60-year-old concrete on I-285 between College Park and Vinings, along the perimeter’s west side.
- “Gridlock Guy” Doug Turnbull suspects motorists getting two weeks to prepare, since the first weekend’s closure was postponed, helped keep things orderly.
- Hopefully, we’ll get a decent heads-up next time, but who knows? Since the closures will rely on outside factors like weather, GDOT hasn’t announced when the next one will be.
🔎 READ MORE: Turnbull on what worked and what didn’t during the last closure
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A HUGE FISH KILL ON THE CHATTAHOOCHEE
Multiple agencies are finishing up a weekend investigation of a mass event that killed thousands of fish along a 20-mile stretch of the Chattahoochee River.
- Experts say the fish kill was likely caused by heavy rains and flooding, which can release unexpected sewage and pollutants into the river.
- Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s executive director Jason Ulseth called it the worst fish kill he’s seen in his 20 years with the organization.
- Riverkeeper, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management conducted a joint investigation over the weekend. We should know more by midweek.
- Despite the scale of the event, tests Saturday indicated the water is not harmful to humans.
- If you were wondering, a “fish kill” is the term for a massive die-off of fish in a particular body of water.
🔎 READ MORE: Where the river was affected, why drought could be a culprit
SPORTS BETTING IS SCORING IN GEORGIA
Political committees largely funded by sports betting companies spent nearly $10 million on 34 legislative races heading into last week’s primary elections.
In all but two of the races, the industry’s favored candidates won.
- Obviously, there were myriad factors affecting each race. But it’s a reminder of the power of sports betting lobbyists in a state that has so far resisted the trend.
- The sports betting industry has supported candidates through two political committees. American Conservative Fund Action Georgia has spent nearly $7 million on GOP legislative races this year. American Future has spent about $2.5 million on Democratic races.
- A third political committee, Win for America, is funded by DraftKings, FanDuel and other sports betting platforms.
🔎 READ MORE: ‘I can’t be bought:’ One GA candidate on why she was targeted by the industry
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🐘 Republicans who resisted President Donald Trump’s false 2020 election claims were punished during Georgia’s primary elections, and candidates who continue to push election conspiracy theories are rising once more.
⚕️ The CDC expanded Ebola screening to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Don’t freak out, it’s a precaution for people traveling to or from affected areas.
NEWS BITES
A primer for watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Fun for some, but highly triggering for former spelling bee nerds.
Begin as you mean to go on, as they say.
Atlanta United heads into World Cup break on a sour note
Perhaps a little respite will help. A trip to the seaside, maybe? A meditation retreat?
Bleach blonde hair is the new high school playoffs hair trend
I had a convo with a neighborhood dad about how colorful and obnoxious youth sports uniforms are nowadays. Even though we were both in favor (self-expression and healthy masculinity!), we sounded like we were about 500 years old.
ON THIS DATE
May 26, 1986
Atlanta’s hands held high in Piedmont Park. For about 15 minutes Sunday, Atlantans put aside Frisbees, picnic lunches and skateboards to stand in a downpour, hands clasped, and sing the theme song of last year’s anti-hunger campaign, “We Are the World,” and the song for this year’s effort, “Hands Across America.” … Nine-year-old Malik Dabon, who won a footrace at the park Sunday, said he still thought the ceremony was the high point of the day. “Everybody was here because they’ll help the homeless of America,” the youngster said.
Happy slightly belated 40th birthday to Hands Across America, a nationwide fundraising event that raised money for local charities fighting hunger.
ONE MORE THING
Remember Hands Across America had a theme song?
Maybe you forgot. Maybe you were at peace. You remember it now, though, don’t you? It’s all rushing back. You can’t stop it.
I wasn’t even born when Hands Across America happened and the song’s still rattling around a rusty filing cabinet in the back of my mind.
Listen to it, and let it out. Let it out, and be free.
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.
