A.M. ATL: Swamp people

Morning, y’all! Another thunderstorm-strewn summer weekend is behind us. That puts us one Saturday closer to football season. We’re now 40 days until Week 0, 45 days until toe meets leather for Georgia Tech and 47 days until the Dawgs go between the hedges in their opener. But then who’s counting? (Me. And you. And everyone else.)

Let’s get to it.

OKEY DOKEY, OKEFENOKEE

The Okefenokee Swamp's "prairies" are vast, watery expanses dotted with floating islands and stands of cypress and other trees. (Courtesy of Charles Seabrook)

Could the members of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee be the latest to recognize the hot, sticky, reptile-and-mosquito-infested environs of the Okefenokee Swamp as a global treasure? The answer is likely to come this week as the panel considers the world’s largest blackwater wetland, located in Georgia’s southeastern corner, as a World Heritage Site.

More than 1,000 natural and cultural wonders around the globe carry the UNESCO designation, from Yellowstone National Park to the Great Barrier Reef to the ruins of the Acropolis in Greece. But it is more status symbol than protective measure.

What the honor will and won’t mean for the swamp.

• Will: A boost in tourism. The increased visibility the UNESCO designation brings is expected to increase visitation from 800,000 a year to an estimated 1.4 million to 1.6 million by 2035.
• Won’t: Shield the swamp from development nearby, including mining. A plan to strip mine near its edge for a mineral used to whiten toothpaste failed only because opponents mounted an expensive legal and political challenge that culminated in philanthropists buying out the mining company.

🔎 More on the Okefenokee’s UNESCO World Heritage bid

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ALUMNI PRIDE

Perennial high school football power Clinch County has a new coach this season. (Jason Getz/AJC)

The fan affinity for the Georgia Bulldogs’ Kirby Smart and Georgia Tech’s Brent Key runs deeper than their success coaching the state’s leading college football programs. Many supporters recall watching Smart and Key play for those same teams three decades ago, and their “coming home” to coach makes the wins and championships that much sweeter.

Coaching at one’s alma mater is a growing trend in Georgia’s high school ranks as well. Of the nearly 100 new head coaches prepping for next month’s start of the 2026 season, 10 are doing so at schools where they once played.

• Rance Morgan becomes the sixth consecutive Clinch County alum to lead the perennial powerhouse program.
• Swainsboro’s Dwight Smith has served as team water boy, player, defensive coordinator and now head coach.
• Gabe Gay is the second generation of his family to lead the Montgomery County program. His grandfather, Mayes Dobbins, was the school’s first football coach.

🏈 Read more: Home, sweet home for coaches

But enough about the coaches. Today is the drop date for the first installment of the Georgia Power Top 100 player rankings. It’ll continue all week as the AJC Varsity “turns the faucet on” for high school football coverage.

🪫 Top 10 HS QBs to watch heading into 2026 season

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

⚽ Atlanta experienced a tourism bump from the World Cup. But will it carry over? Officials hope the event will fuel convention bookings for the next five years and reinvigorate international travel to town.

🏛️ Governor’s office hopeful Rick Jackson won the Republican nomination by pledging to be President Donald Trump’s “favorite governor.” Yet in his first general election campaign rally Thursday, he talked for 19 minutes without mentioning Trump’s name.

😦 Ugly behavior from close associates continues to plague U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in his U.S. Senate election bid. This time, it’s his son-in-law, whose antisemitic and pro-white nationalist social media posts include Nazi imagery.

🔥 Atlanta must do more to protect citizens from extreme heat, a consortium of doctors, homeless services organizations and grassroots groups told the Atlanta City Council last week. A heat safety plan is forthcoming.

BASSINET BONUS

Briana and Amos Faucette are grateful for restful sleep through the SNOO bassinet for their son, Asher, provided by the city of Atlanta as an employee benefit. (Courtesy of Betty J. Barnes)

A new city of Atlanta employee benefit is giving parents access to a high-tech bassinet designed to soothe babies and help families get more rest.

Atlanta is the first city to offer employees a free six-month rental of the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet. Since the program launched in January, 15 employees have participated, according to James Salmond, Atlanta’s city benefits director.

• The bassinet includes a specially designed sleep sack that allows parents to safely secure their newborns.
• Built-in technology detects when a baby becomes fussy or starts to wake and automatically increases gentle rocking and white noise to help soothe the infant back to sleep.
• If the baby continues crying after the bassinet reaches its highest soothing level, parents receive an alert through the mobile app.
• The notification indicates the infant may need to be fed, have a diaper changed or be checked for another source of discomfort.

In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the SNOO as a medical device, citing its ability to help keep sleeping infants safely positioned on their backs.

Do they make these for adults? Asking for a friend.

👶 Read more: How city officials say the bassinet complements other benefits for new parents

NEWS BITES

Spain wins the World Cup by beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time

Spain — which also won the title in 2010 — allowed only one goal in eight matches in this World Cup run.

Macon, Columbus newspapers sold to nonprofit