Morning, y’all! Lots to catch up on today. Long weekends are fun until they’re over.
Let’s get to it.
ONE YEAR LATER, 500 GEORGIA TROOPS ARE STILL IN DC
On Sept. 5, 2025, Gov. Brian Kemp signed an order deploying hundreds of Georgia Army and Air National Guard members to Washington, D.C., to tackle what President Donald Trump called a “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital.
A year later, 531 soldiers from Georgia are among the 3,142 still deployed from various states. That’s the largest contingent of any state.
Trump extended the deployment through January 2029, meaning it could be years before some members are back home for good.
An issue for the next governor
- Kemp has shown no signs of recalling the troops, meaning their fate will likely fall to his successor, either Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms or Republican Rick Jackson.
- Both said that if elected, they would conduct a review of the deployment. Their statements below:
Bottoms: “As governor, I will make sure our National Guard members are focused on protecting and serving the people of Georgia and supporting Americans during genuine emergencies — not theatrical, extended tours of duty that use our service members as political props.”
Jackson: “Rick is grateful to the members of Georgia’s National Guard who have spent the past year serving in our nation’s capital. As governor, he would support these volunteers who keep our communities safe because they deserve a governor who backs them, not one who second-guesses them from a distance.”
🔎 READ MORE: What troops have been up to over the past year
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WAFFLE WITH A SIDE OF UNIONIZING
Waffle House has been a major figure in the labor debate sizzling in the South. Now, the company is speaking out about employee efforts to organize — an unusual move for a company that usually lets the food do the talking.
Some background:
- Waffle House is based in Norcross and has about 47,000 employees nationwide.
- Since 2023, the Union of Southern Service Workers has enacted a campaign to improve pay and working conditions for Waffle House employees.
- Unions, which are designed to protect workers’ interests and prevent corporate exploitation, have very low participation rates in the South.
🧇 Did you know? About 95% of Waffle House locations are company-owned, which gives the company more control over its operations and employees.
What Waffle House says
- The company says it’s spending an additional $200 million per year on compensation and benefits for employees and has gradually increased pay and bonuses.
- It says the strategy is working: Turnover of hourly employees decreased 22% in the past two years.
🔎 READ MORE: Why labor activists are paying specific attention to Waffle House
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Hopefully you had better things to do this Labor Day weekend than stay glued to the news, so here’s a quick catch-up:
Apalachee lawsuits
Family members of students and teachers killed and injured in 2024’s Apalachee High School shooting have filed upward of seven lawsuits as the window for legal action narrows. The suits include claims against the high school’s principal and the county school system, alleging a failure to protect students and staff. Read more
New Beltline study
Light rail along the Atlanta Beltline loop could generate 4.2 million trips annually, according to a multiyear transit study. The Beltline light rail project ground to a halt last year when Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pulled his support, but it remains a hot-button topic for locals and public transit advocates. The price tag? An estimated $3.5 billion or more. Read more
ICE arrests
About 2,250 people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Georgia during the month of July. That’s a 50% increase relative to the over 1,500 monthly arrests registered in May and June, and a new high for states under the Trump administration. Overall, July saw 50,208 ICE arrests across the country. Read more
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
💰 Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has agreed to sell the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County for $68 million, ending a contentious yearslong negotiation between the city and the county and giving the county more options while it refurbishes the infamous Rice Street jail.
🐘 President Trump will host a unique Republican midterm convention in Dallas today and Thursday. Two Georgians will be speaking: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is running for Senate, and U.S. Rep. Brian Jack.
DISPATCHES FROM DRAGON CON
Dragon Con, the jewel of Southern nerdery, celebrated its 40th anniversary this past weekend.
It always fills me with a strong sense of Atlanta pride, and not just because we have fabulous weirdos who will, say, dress up bare-chested as MARTA-n warriors or sweat through their wigs in the “It may be September, but this is Georgia, baby!” heat.
By some incredible luck, I ran into our own AJC Editor-in-Chief, Leroy Chapman Jr., who was minding his own business and likely wanted nothing less than to be accosted by an employee in a biblically accurate angel outfit. (Full picture of the fit in “One More Thing”)
But he put into words one of the many, many reasons Dragon Con rules:
“At Dragon Con, I saw young children, I saw adult children with their parents, and I saw grandparents with their grandchildren. As much as Dragon Con convenes much of the South, a big part of it seems to be families gathering around their shared loves of comics, gaming and fantasy. I loved seeing families engaged.”
It’s so true! I expect to see all of you there next year. Oh, and buy one of those little portable fans. They were all the rage. Hell may be hot, but it has nothing on a Dragon Con hotel bathroom.
🐉 PHOTOS: Cool Dragon Con parade pics
NEWS BITES
It’s only Week 1, and we’ve already had a generational refereeing controversy and a game played half in the dark. I love college football mess.
Can you avoid Flock Safety cameras? We put a ‘DeFlock’ map to the test
Sorry to all of us with Flock cameras right outside our neighborhoods.
Your 2026 Georgia state and county fair guide
Gimme a fried Oreo and one of those sculptures they make with chainsaws, and I’ll call it heaven.
ON THIS DATE
Sept. 4, 1979
Carter advised on how to deal with hare brush Its collective tongue firmly planted in its cheek, the Defenders of Wildlife have told President Carter that if he encounters another rabbit trying to swim aboard his fishing canoe, he ought to “stand up, wave (his) arms and yell ‘shoo.’” ... The environmental group made its suggestions in the wake of reports ... that Carter swung a paddle “for his life” against a menacing rabbit.
This one’s from last week, but who can resist a “menacing rabbit?”
ONE MORE THING
👁️👁️👁️ Be not afraid 👁️👁️👁️
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Until next time.