Morning, y’all! Trivia time, right out of the gate: The first woman to play in one of the major American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS) made her debut 34 years ago. What sport did she play? Sate your curiosity in today’s “On This Date.”
Let’s get to it.
HUNDREDS OF FEDERAL INMATES MOVED ACROSS THE STATE
A “terrible idea.” A potential “catastrophe.”
That’s how a chief U.S. district judge described the U.S. Marshals Service’s plan to move about 400 pretrial detainees from a facility in Clayton County to a detention center 190 miles away in Irwin County.
That means most of the detainees’ cases will also have to be heard there, creating a significant distance-based legal obstacle.
Why is this happening?
- The Marshals Service hasn’t specified why.
- However, the agency notified the company that operates the Clayton County facility that it is canceling its contract with them, effective at the end of October.
Why people are pushing back
- The judge isn’t alone. Federal judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys have all chimed in, saying the transfer, which is underway, will waste taxpayer dollars, create massive backlogs and complications in court proceedings, and endanger inmates’ constitutional rights.
- The move adds significant distance between detainees and legal counsel based in Atlanta.
- Attorneys say it will be much more difficult to meet with detainees and prepare proper defenses.
🔎 READ MORE: Voices from around the legal community speak out
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MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🎤 Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson have both agreed to participate in an Oct. 6 modified town hall hosted by Atlanta News First. This is the only debate-type appearance Jackson has accepted. Bottoms says she’s accepted five others. Dems are using the disparity to press Jackson on his debate reticence.
💰 Republicans in Georgia and beyond are openly wondering whether to keep pouring money into U.S. Rep. Mike Collins’ campaign against U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. Gov. Brian Kemp and Senate Majority Leader John Thune will headline a Collins fundraiser tonight.
NEW FLOCK GUIDELINES FOR ATLANTA
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has proposed several new guidelines for Flock Safety cameras after an Atlanta Police Department audit found nearly 80 questionable uses of the technology.
The proposed legislation:
- creates a specialized seven-member panel to review policies for use of the technology
- requires ongoing audits of use
- creates procedures for handling allegations of misuse
- bars vendors from selling camera data
Law enforcement agencies across Georgia have uncovered police misuse of license plate reader systems, firing dozens of officers and bringing criminal charges for allegedly accessing Flock Safety’s sprawling network of tag readers for personal use, the AJC previously reported.
🔎 READ MORE: Where Dickens got his ideas
In related news, it’s “Flagship” day!
A new episode of the AJC podcast “Flagship” drops today, and what a coincidence: This week, I talked to video producer Fraser Jones, who’s been researching Flock Safety cameras for almost as long as they’ve been around.
If you think license plate readers are the only way Flock keeps its eye on you, you’re in for a surprise.
Also in this week’s episode:
- The glory of high school football, featuring AJC Varsity reporter Jack Leo
- A dispatch from Dragon Con, where I got people to answer a very important question
Listen to “Flagship” on the AJC site or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search “AJC Flagship.” Enjoy!
HE’S READY
Since I was a kid, I've been loving this sport, so I'm never going to sit out if I'm healthy ... I knew I wasn't where I needed to be the first two weeks and now I feel like I'm where I want to be. So, that's why you see me up this week.
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will start tonight when Atlanta takes on the Green Bay Packers. This is the first time we’ll see the first-string QB play since he tore his ACL last November.
A few weeks ago I talked to our Falcons reporter Daniel Flick, and he said a lot of Penix’s later recovery has been mental. Makes sense! If I had a debilitating noodle knee, I would certainly want to make sure I was 100% emotionally recovered before I resumed my full-time job of [checks notes] getting chased around and hit really hard.
🏈 READ MORE: How Penix knew he was finally ready to go
NEWS BITES
Hand-breaded chicken and new tech part of McDonald’s $8.5 billion modernization strategy
Hopefully the new tech won’t be what’s hand-breading the chicken.
Can a common cholesterol drug reduce forever chemicals in human blood?
What a win that would be!
Oxford English Dictionary adds several words long used in the Caribbean and Bermuda
Oh, they’re so good. Two examples:
bimpert: a Bermudian word used to describe a stupid or foolish person
vex money: money kept in a safe place by a woman, for use in an emergency (The girls that get it, get it.)
ON THIS DATE
Sept. 24, 1992
Making sports history: Woman goalie breaks the gender barrier. Goalie Manon Rheaume makes her pro hockey debut Wednesday playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the St. Louis Blues at the Tampa Fairgrounds. Rheaume, 20, is the first woman to play in one of the four major pro sports leagues. She’ll be assigned to the Lightning’s minor league affiliate, the new Atlanta Knights.
In case your mental math isn’t checking out, Major League Soccer didn’t come on the scene until 1996.
ONE MORE THING
Sisterly homage must be paid as well to Toni Stone, the first woman to play at the top professional level of any American sport. She joined the Negro leagues’ Indianapolis Black Crackers in 1953.
We’ve covered a lot of sports this week, and a lot of women in sports! I regret nothing.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.