Morning, y’all! It’s a beautiful day to vote.
Let’s get to it.
IT’S ELECTION DAY AGAIN
If you liked exercising your American right in last month’s primary elections, you’ll love Primary Election 2: The Runoff Edition.
The biggest contests in today’s runoff are on the GOP side.
Governor nom: Rick Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones
This has been one of the most dramatic and expensive campaigns in recent state memory, complete with a few 11th-hour surprises. Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed Jones on Sunday, while U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz joined Jackson on the last days of the campaign trail.
U.S. Senate nom: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley
Dooley scored a Kemp endorsement, while Collins pulled a late endorsement from President Donald Trump. Collins’ campaign has been dogged with controversy, while Dooley has evolved from complete political newbie to ... a complete political newbie in a consequential, anything-could-happen runoff.
Lieutenant governor nom:
- For the Democrats, State Sen. Josh McLaurin faces former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes.
- For Republicans, State Sen. Greg Dolezal is running against former state Sen. John F. Kennedy.
Secretary of state nom:
- It’s Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett vs. former Fulton County State Court judge and reality TV host Penny Brown Reynolds for the Democrats.
- State Rep. Tim Fleming is up against former DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones on the Republican side.
Other races include school superintendent, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner, a public service commission seat and several House races.
🔎 READ MORE: Voter guide for today’s elections
🗳️ FOLLOW ALONG: Get the latest updates and details from the AJC’s Politics team
Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.
ATLANTA MAYOR’S NEIGHBORHOOD REINVESTMENT PLAN IS A GO
The Atlanta City Council approved Mayor Andre Dickens’ Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, a key part of his ambitious second-term agenda.
- Dickens plans to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure and address the wealth gap he says makes Atlanta “a tale of two cities.”
- The plan’s major fundraising mechanism extends six of the city’s tax allocation districts (TADs).
- The initiative has been fiercely debated every step of the way.
- Last week, several legislative tweaks made the plan more palatable to City Council members. One new rule requires the buy-in of Atlanta’s school board, the Fulton County Commission or both if Atlanta is to bond against 30 years of future property tax increment through the TADs.
- Another gives council members more oversight into which projects get approved and how those funds are ultimately spent.
🔎 READ MORE: What’s next for the controversial plan
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🚓 Cobb County and the city of Mableton finalized an agreement for Cobb County Police to continue providing law enforcement services within the city of Mableton for one year. A previous disagreement over the accord left Mableton with restricted access to Cobb County Police services.
🎓 Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera will leave the school to join the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit that describes its mission as “driv(ing) change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the greatest challenges of our time.” Cabrera has been praised for boosting Tech’s enrollment and federal funding.
📺 What will the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger mean for Atlanta’s media scene? Nothing good, say two local media experts. They’re urging Georgia to join an impending lawsuit challenging the merger.
YAY, ATLANTA!
So, Atlanta, how’d we do for our first World Cup game? Well, it was one for the history books. Literally.
World Cup newcomers Cape Verde kept pace with tournament favorites Spain for the most intense 0-0 draw you’ll ever see. That meant Atlanta was front-and-center in the day’s biggest (and coolest) soccer news.
Scroll through some photos and tell me you don’t feel at least a little city pride:
Real talk? I think Atlanta Stadium, nee Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is a hulking jump scare of a building. No sense of scale. Like a Decepticon from “Transformers” was cursed by a witch to live forever as a bundt cake.
However, I live here, and the sentiment isn’t without affection. Locals are allowed to feel however they want about their architecture.
So you best believe when the World Cup broadcasters repeatedly called the stadium “beautiful,” I preened like I had given birth to that metal monstrosity myself. Of course it’s beautiful, it’s ours! And we’re the only ones who can say otherwise.
Tell us about it
If you see something cool, questionable or otherwise noteworthy at any Atlanta-area World Cup celebrations or matches, let us know! It’s tough to pinpoint what’s working and what’s not for the city so far, but with the A.M. ATL hivemind, we can get a better overall picture.
NEWS BITES
Brendan Sorsby won’t play for Texas Tech after legal fight over his eligibility for gambling
The announcement comes one week before the deadline for Sorsby to apply for the NFL supplemental draft.
Meet Merlin the duck, Mexico’s cutest World Cup fan
We would commit crimes for you, Merlin.
A rare first edition of ‘Wuthering Heights’ complete with spelling mistakes is up for auction
What, did a copy editor write this?
Stone spear tip unearthed in Georgia narrowed scope of human arrival here
“It changed the entire narrative of North American archaeology,” said Robin Barker, lead interpretive ranger at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.
ON THIS DATE
June 16, 1898
A history of this paper published on the day of its 30th anniversary
The Daily Constitution: Is essentially a newspaper, a perfect mirror of each days’ doings. It gives, in detail, the important events told by a most complete telegraphic service and by a legion of live correspondents from every town, village and hamlet in Georgia and the adjoining states.
The Sunday Constitution: Besides carrying in detail all its news, is brimming with the important Society, Religious, Political and Literary events of the week. Its pages teem with brilliant sketches, accurate reviews, carefully prepared correspondence ...
The Weekly Constitution goes into more homes in every Southern State than any other newspaper published in any Southern State. … It covers the South like genial sunshine. It brings light and news as clear and bright as the noonday. … The whole sweep of each week’s events gives a full picture of what has happened within the period that is satisfactory.
Happy 158th birthday to our ancestor, The Atlanta Constitution. And thank you to reader Ron, a descendant of one of the paper’s founders, for the reminder of such an auspicious occasion (and Producer Nicole, a front page-finding magician). The AJC’s still here, baby!
ONE MORE THING
I hope you hear your favorite song today.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.