A.M. ATL: Moving downriver

Morning, y’all! Happy Star Wars Day to all who observe. You know, “May the 4th be with you?” That cracks ‘em up down at the Mos Eisley Cantina.

Let’s get to it.

WHILE POISON FLOWED, GROUPS PASSED THE BLAME

Calhoun resident Stormy Bost, who has elevated PFAS levels in her bloodstream and fluctuations in her health.

In 2008, tests from the University of Georgia alerted North Georgia’s multibillion-dollar carpet industry that dangerous PFAs, or “forever chemicals” found in stain-proofing treatments were polluting the area’s drinking water. Statewide tests in 2012 and 2016 confirmed this.

Still, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division did little to confront the problem.

• They didn’t issue fish advisories or do-not-drink orders to the public even as concerns grew, and deflected efforts by both Alabama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to track the chemicals more closely.
• In fact, Georgia is still not regulating PFAS, even as other states invest tens of millions of dollars in cleanups and seek to hold polluters accountable.
• Oh, one more critical detail: PFAs are called forever chemicals for a reason. Even though Georgia’s carpet industry stopped using such chemicals in 2019, the chemicals will remain in the water and soil of the region for generations unless someone invests in extensive cleanup.

These are just some of the findings from the latest investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Associated Press and FRONTLINE (PBS) into Georgia’s carpet industry.

AJC investigative reporter Dylan Jackson talked to residents in Calhoun who have high PFA levels in their blood and health problems typically linked to PFAs.

“I’m still surprised by generosity and openness of our sources, many of whom share deeply personal stories about their health and struggle,” he told me. “To me, this reflects the deep frustration many feel throughout the region, and only further underscores why we need to tell these stories.”

🔎 READ MORE: The lengths regulators went through to avoid the problem

The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution and FRONTLINE are hosting a special screening of Contaminated: The Carpet Industry’s Toxic Legacy tonight at the historic DeSoto Theatre in Rome, Ga. The documentary is part of a months-long investigative effort from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Post and Courier in South Carolina, AL.com in Alabama, FRONTLINE (PBS) and The Associated Press.

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ONE YEAR OF ATLANTA’S POLICE TRAINING CENTER

The controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center located on the east side of downtown.

After years of protests, unrest, backlash and controversy, Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center is observing its first year of operation.

• The $117 million center has trained some 650 police and fire recruits since its opening. Atlanta police have held nine graduation ceremonies there, and the fire department has held three.
• Police leaders say the state-of-the-art facility has driven up recruitment and retention.
• Activists who resisted the project, which required the razing of historic forest areas and raised serious safety concerns for nearby residents, say they still have the same criticisms — paired with anger at how little they say the city cares.

🔎 READ MORE: What Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said about the center

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🗳️ The State Election Board nixed a measure to ditch touchscreen voting for the “backup” hand-marked paper ballot system. A reminder: Lawmakers have to make some sort of decision by July 1, the self-imposed deadline to replace counting votes using QR codes and switch to another method.

⚡ Tech giants have an unlikely ally in their push for more data centers: Building trades unions. After all, the more big buildings being built, the more builders on the bill.

🙏🏿 “Dear brother, you finally made it home.” U.S. Rep. David Scott was memorialized this weekend at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Atlanta. Sen. Raphael Warnock did the eulogy.

WELL, THAT’S DEPRESSING

During severe drought, alligators like this one in the Okefenokee Swamp dig deep holes to hold water. “Gator holes” mean survival not only for the alligator, but for many other plants and animals as well.

Georgia’s recent droughts and wildfires haven’t just destroyed buildings and endangered lives. It may take years for wildlife and local flora to recover. Fires destroy nesting sites, cause damage and long-term stress to trees, and create huge ripples of consequence across delicate ecosystems.

However, the Georgia Gardener Charles Seabrook leaves us with a forehead kiss of a thought before we get too sad about it:

Droughts and wildfires have for eons been part of nature’s cycles. While many individual plants and animals perish during droughts, their species as a whole survive and produce new generations. The creatures have endured numerous droughts over the millennia, and they’ll rebound when the rains come back.

Thank you, Mr. Seabrook. I feel a little better now.

NEWS BITES

Job ad in middle Georgia: ‘paranormal affairs chief,’ ‘purveyor of ghosts’

It’s all fun and games until you purvey right into a ghost who doesn’t want to be messed with.

Golden Tempo takes the Kentucky Derby in last-to-first win

Golden Tempo, indeed!

Did you find an animal nesting near your house? Here’s what to do

Spoiler: The very first advisement is “Leave it alone.”

These $25 (or less!) wines taste like they cost much more

I find having one or two slightly developed opinions about wine goes a really long way, even if it’s two opinions more than you really care to form on the subject.