A.M. ATL: Moving too fast

Morning, y’all! Do you ever think about how many beloved mascots are buck-toothed woodland creatures? Rabbits, mice, beavers, chipmunks. We’re suckers for a toothy grin, I guess. Yes, we have Buc-ee’s news today — how did you guess?

Let’s get to it.

FOR IMMIGRANTS, DRIVING IS BIGGEST ICE RISK

The Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga. (David Goldman/AP)

Unlicensed driving is the most common offense that leads to arrest and ICE detention in Georgia.

• This information comes from quarterly reports prepared by county sheriffs’ offices as required by a 2024 Georgia immigration law.
• In Gwinnett, Hall and Whitfield counties, all home to sizable immigrant hubs, driving without a license was the most-named offense for immigrant inmates.
• Immigrants without legal status can’t get licenses in Georgia. Since we’re such a car-reliant state, that poses particular problems.

What communities are doing

• In Whitfield County, local advocates operate a hotline so people can request free rides for attorney appointments, medical visits and other necessary outings.
• In Hall County, dozens of taxi companies with Spanish-language names ease the burden of transport and sometimes offer special fares to places like local poultry processing plants, where immigrant labor is in demand.

🔎 READ MORE: How law enforcement works to increase such arrests

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BRYAN COUNTY IS BOOMING

Bryan County is seeing a lot of development, but residents say it's at a cost. (Ben Gray/AJC)

Bryan County, near Savannah, is having a moment. It’s the home of Hyundai’s huge EV factory, it boasts the fastest-growing population in the state, and manufacturers are lined up to pose even more projects.

The people of Bryan County, however, want things to ease up.

While more business means more jobs, it also comes with rising home prices, bad traffic and strained public infrastructure.

• Elected leaders are now opposed to a nickel refiner’s plans for a vacant manufacturing site after citizens packed Development Authority board meetings to push back on the safety and viability of the project.
• Local authorities also blocked a proposed airport and stripped the development authority of its annual funding. The authority still has millions in funds, but the scale-back allowed the county to lower property tax rates for the ninth straight year.
• The AJC’s Adam Van Brimmer talked to local residents who say they’d rather see more amenities, infrastructure and everyday improvements to communities than more massive constructions.

What does this teach us? If you don’t like what’s going on in your community, make public meetings the hottest ticket in town.

🔎 READ MORE: In Bryan County, when does growth start to detract?

THANKS FOR NOT SHARING

The Department of Justice demanded the personal information of thousands of Fulton County’s paid and volunteer election workers as part of their ongoing probe into President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss.

• Fulton County says it didn’t hand over the data and won’t until a judge insists. The county filed a brief to block the subpoena, calling it politically motivated.
• The information requested included names, duties, addresses, email addresses and personal phone numbers.
• Dan Bishop, the U.S. attorney tapped by the DOJ to head up the investigation into the 2020 election, said such info was for an ongoing investigation that could later be used in trial.

Some experts worry the Trump administration doesn’t actually care about disproving the already-repeatedly-proven results of the 2020 election. Rather, their actions could be in pursuit of other goals like instilling fear in poll workers, reducing voter turnout and intimidating local officials.

🔎 READ MORE: Fulton attorneys call it a ‘chilling escalation’

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🍻 Cheers! Atlanta officially expanded open container areas around downtown ahead of the World Cup this summer. The Atlanta City Council also passed a law to make historic South Downtown the city’s first open container neighborhood.

🏢 Atlanta’s 5th-tallest tower is close to opening. Take a look at new renderings of fancy office spaces in the 60-story skyscraper at 1072 West Peachtree St. in Midtown.

❓ Trivia time! What is the tallest building in Atlanta? Answer at the bottom, along with runners-up because your guess will likely be a good one.

SOMEONE DARES CHALLENGE THE MIGHTY BEAVER?!

Cousin, is that you? (Ben Hendren/AJC, Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Millennia from now, when the aliens study the ways of ancient Earthlings, they will devote entire bodies of work to the cultural largesse of Buc-ee’s convenience stores.

Some of them may quit the field altogether when they get to the part where Buc-ee’s sues a koala.

• The Texas-based Buc-ee’s filed a lawsuit against a Georgia competitor over its “confusingly similar” brand and “anthropomorphic animal mascot.”
• Teddy’s Market has two Georgia locations, and Buc-ee’s says it’s unfairly luring away customers who may confuse the two.
• Important clarification: Buc-ee’s’ “anthropomorphic animal mascot” is a beaver. Teddy’s’ is a koala.

Buc-ee’s filed a similar complaint against the Mickey’s convenience store chain in Ohio. The Mickey’s mascot is a moose, which brings us to this excellent quote from the chain’s response to the lawsuit:

“Ohio consumers can readily distinguish a moose from a beaver.”

We will take your word for it.

🦫 READ MORE: The details of Buc-ee’s legal claims

NEWS BITES

The Presidential Physical Fitness Test is back thanks to Trump revival

Fire up your childhood trauma, folks, we’re going back in time!

Snooker gets new Olympic inclusion push from China

Did you know “snooker” was pejorative British slang for a brand-new military cadet?

Rich brown is the new red-hot color in interior design

The earthworms are gonna love this.

Delta to end snack, drink service on shorter flights