Morning, y’all! Fireflies, lightning bugs — whatever you call ‘em, June is the beginning of their brief, twinkly season. Did you know there are more than 170 firefly species across the country, and about 50 in Georgia? The things you learn from a Charles Seabrook column.
Let’s get to it.
NEW AUTONOMOUS SHUTTLES ON THE BELTLINE AREN’T WITHOUT CONTROVERSY
Atlanta launched a new autonomous public transit shuttle service, the first of its kind in the city and the first Beltline transit project to go into operation.
- The shuttle route connects the West End MARTA Station with the Beltline’s Southwest Trail and destinations in the Lee + White district.
- ATL Spoke is a 12-month pilot program offering free rides along a 2-mile route seven days a week.
- While some residents call it convenient, it’s also seen as a stopgap for larger public transit issues in the city and on the Beltline specifically.
🔎 READ MORE: Details of the program
Allegations of bias, business dealings
There are some allegedly ugly dealings underpinning the new project. Let’s break it down:
- The shuttle program is powered by Beep, a Florida-based autonomous public transit service provider.
- A complaint recently filed to the Atlanta City Council alleges a study used by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to pull support for an Eastside Beltline rail project represented a conflict of interest between city government and transit company.
- The then-CEO of Beep recommended the consultants who drafted the study, which ultimately found autonomous buses were “the preferred solution” for Beltline transit. Autonomous buses, you know, like the ones Beep uses.
- This has all sat poorly with residents still resentful that the Eastside Beltline rail project was dismantled sub rosa and apparently in favor of the shuttle program.
- Early this year, the AJC found a group of officials with the city of Atlanta, the Beltline and MARTA halted work on the rail project last year without informing the public.
🔎 READ MORE: What the AJC found in records of city leaders and Beep execs
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FISH KILL INVESTIGATION
Investigators are still piecing together what caused a mass fish die-off in the Chattahoochee River last month.
- Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management is zeroing in on a network of tunnels that lie beneath the city of Atlanta.
- One going theory is, the tunnels filled up rapidly with water during a heavy downpour just before the fish kill. As a result, a mix of sewage and stormwater spilled out of the tunnel straight into Peachtree Creek, which leads to the river.
If you were a fan of the parts of “Les Misérables” where Victor Hugo goes on and on about the Paris sewer system or you just like knowing more about how things happen around you, you’ll enjoy the details in this write-up about how Atlanta’s infrastructure history likely played into this ecological disaster.
JONES AND JACKSON ARE FIGHTING AGAIN
Just when you think it can’t get uglier between Georgia GOP gubernatorial rivals Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire Rick Jackson, something else gasp-worthy happens.
- Jones Petroleum, a company run by Jones and his family, filed a $100 million libel lawsuit against Jackson over the latter’s campaign materials.
- The company says Jackson’s political ads make it seem like Jones Petroleum’s subcompany Convenience Stores Inc., which operates coin-operated amusement machines, is involved in an illegal casino.
This isn’t the first litigation between these two
- In March, Jackson sued Jones and his campaign for defamation and libel, claiming they falsely accused him of making his fortune by recruiting for Planned Parenthood and helping doctors perform transgender procedures on minors.
- The lead counsel for Jackson’s campaign responded to Jones’ recent suit with the conciliatory tone we’ve all come to expect from the two rivals.
- “It is sad that Burt Jones apparently still needs his daddy to fight his battles for him,” they said.
Oy. That’s a lot for our mushy morning brains to take in. Read details of the complaint here.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🎓 Spelman announced a robotics and AI expert as the college’s next president. Ayanna Howard, a college dean of engineering and former NASA employee, will lead the Atlanta women’s HBCU.
🏢 The Atlanta Beltline acquired a $16.5 million office building along the Eastside Trail in a move it says will preserve affordable commercial space in “one of Atlanta’s most competitive and rapidly evolving corridors.”
HEY, THE BRAVES CAN’T HAVE ALL THE FUN
Woo! The Georgia Bulldogs are headed to the College World Series!
- The team punched their ticket to the Series in Omaha with a wild extra-innings win over Mississippi State on Sunday.
- They’re returning to college baseball’s biggest stage for the first time since 2008.
- They won the whole shebang back in 1990.
🔎 READ MORE: Great pics and quotes from a historic win
NEWS BITES
Your hottest summer concert accessories: earplugs
Life changing and sanity saving. If I could enter into a civil partnership with my Loop earplugs, I would.
What are the chances the U.S. men’s national team plays a World Cup match in Atlanta?
Not good, but not zero!
Judge orders retrial detention for ex-CIA official accused of stashing $40M in gold bars at home
That would make for a really awkward house tour.
FIFA cancels World Cup tickets to about 60 fans who got them for free due to error
Aw man :(
ON THIS DATE
June 8, 1964
House eyes court in vote code toil. With nervous attention diverted to the U.S. Supreme Court and a possible decision affecting its own apportionment, the Georgia House of Representatives moved Monday toward creating a State Election Board with power to crack down on vote frauds in primaries and general elections. … The proposed state election board would be empowered to intervene as a party in any court to compel compliance with election laws in any election or primary. This would include the power to seek relief for an anticipated irregularity.
The chief author of the State Election Board plan was George Busbee, who would go on to serve as Georgia governor from 1975 to 1983.
ONE MORE THING
Someone needs to produce a play called “Reverse Les Misérables,” that’s all the parts of the novel that weren’t deemed stage-worthy for the original iconic production. So basically, a musical about convents and sewers.
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.
