Morning, y’all! The Orionids meteor shower peaks tonight into Thursday morning. With clear skies and patient eyes, you may see some flashes of otherworldly light. More info here.
Let’s get to it.
MORE POLL-ITICS
Yesterday, the AJC released a poll showing a dead heat in the Georgia governor’s race. Today, we have new AJC poll numbers that shed light on the high-stakes U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff and GOP challenger U.S. Rep. Mike Collins.
Here’s what the numbers show:
- 47.7% of voters surveyed said they would vote to re-elect Ossoff
- 40.3% said they support Collins for the seat
Margins matter: That’s a 7.4% spread, which is well above the poll’s 3.1% margin of error. That’s a sign Ossoff is firmly in the lead.
The method matters, too: The poll was conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs from Oct. 7 through 15.
🔎 READ MORE: More insights from the latest AJC Senate poll
The AJC has been crunching critical midterm election numbers, and they’re all here in our Georgia poll archive.
If you missed yesterday’s insights from the governor’s poll, I’ve made the article free to read here even if you’re not a subscriber. Cheers.
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.
HOW STATE FARM’S TACKLING ITS PACKED SKED
Four concerts, two WNBA Finals games and an Atlanta Hawks home opener, all in the same week? State Farm Arena can handle that.
One of the busiest venues in the country is especially busy this week. Here’s how it happens.
Conversion stats:
- Along with staffing and planning logistics that begin months in advance, the crux of a successful event lies in the “conversion,” or the process of transforming the venue from one event setup to another.
- Converting the arena floor from a concert configuration to the basketball court typically takes about five to six hours.
- Oh, and don’t forget making sure crucial teams like housekeeping and security are properly staffed.
A Dream complication
- Things got even busier when the Atlanta Dream made the WNBA Finals and were faced with accommodating outsized playoff crowds in their small-capacity home arena.
- Amanda Mann, the arena’s executive vice president and chief facilities officer, said they immediately saw an opportunity.
- “Us planners and operators were like, there’s no way these games aren’t happening here, so let’s start thinking about the scenarios that this might entail.”
It’s a lot, but it’s not unprecedented. State Farm Arena was ranked the second-busiest NBA venue in the U.S. last year. Nearly 1 million people attended non-sporting events at the arena between November 2024 and 2025.
“It’s what we do,” Mann said. “We’re very used to weeks like this.”
🔎 READ MORE: The full scope of arena logistics will make your head spin
ATL’S ‘URBAN COWBOY’ STARS IN HIGH-STAKES PROPERTY RIGHTS CASE
Brandon Fulton, a Black horseman known in Atlanta as the “Urban Cowboy,” is locked in a long legal battle with Fulton County that could have wider implications for property owners.
Background: An arrest and a demand for recompense
- In 2016, Fulton bought a 30-acre property to house and raise horses. Months later, he was arrested in 2016 and charged with animal cruelty.
- As part of the operation, seven horses belonging to Fulton were seized.
- Fulton County eventually dropped the charges against Fulton. However, the horses were never returned.
- Fulton sued the county in 2020, saying he wanted his property back or proper compensation for their loss.
What’s at stake now
- The case could set a precedent in not only Georgia but also Florida and Alabama. It’s been dismissed and revived and debated among several judges.
- Now, the case could have new life under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It says private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
- The case has a long way to go, but if it’s successful, it could make it easier for property owners to get compensation from jurisdictions.
🔎 READ MORE: Fulton’s lawyers say the problem is simple. County lawyers say it’s complicated
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🗳️ More than 1 million ballots have already been cast in Georgia during early voting. Obviously we don’t know who’s voted for whom, but the AJC Politics team made some informed generalizations on what the numbers mean for both sides, based on turnout in heavily Democratic and heavily Republican areas.
🎡 At the Georgia National Fair, which closed Sunday, politics was on full display — but with decidedly less partisan rancor (and much more nuance) than you may assume.
LIL JON ON GRIEF
When I slowed down, I let it hit me, and I broke down. I was pushing it away so I could do what I had to do, but it finally came over me, and I felt a nice release. I felt more at ease and at peace after that happened. I didn't even realize how I was tucking it away. Every day is another day, and it's hard. It comes and goes. But we have to keep living for our loved ones.
Whew. Anyone who’s known grief can see the truth in Lil Jon’s words.
The Atlanta rapper opened up about the death of his 27-year-old son last year, how making music keeps him going and the importance of health in his new memoir, “I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.” The AJC’s DeAsia Paige connected with him for a poignant interview.
NEWS BITES
Suffering from allergies? An Atlanta allergist explains histamines and how they affect you
The allergy sufferers puzzle: Is it a communicable respiratory disease that will endanger everyone around me, or ragweed pollen?
Where to celebrate Halloween in metro Atlanta
A bar crawl is just adult trick-or-treating, after all.
A look at Angel Reese’s historic night in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals
Can I say what a treat it is to support a team called the Dream, with a star player named Angel? The headlines write themselves.
ON THIS DATE
Oct. 21, 1994
Don’t know much about geography? Can your fourth-grader name all the continents and oceans of the world? Can your eighth-grader map the locations of the countries trading with the United States to understand trading patterns? Can your 12th-grader explain the increasing population of the Laurentian Shield in northern Ontario and Quebec as a consequence of the area’s mining and hydroelectric power potential? If no is the answer to any of those questions, your child wouldn’t measure up to the new national standards proposed by geography educators.
Trivia time! Can you name the four commonly recognized geographic oceans? Answer (and reason for the weirdly phrased question) below.
ONE MORE THING
Regarding oceans: Do you need a wave while you think?
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OK. The four oceans are the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic. More recently, some groups have begun to recognize the Southern or Antarctic Ocean as a fifth division.
However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration makes a very definitive clarification: “There is only one global ocean.”
Wonder if that would have flown with geography educators in 1994.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.