A.M. ATL: Going up

Morning, y’all! Or, as American bard Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote:

“A fine morning, nothing’s the matter that I know of. I have seen better, and I have seen worse.”

Let’s get to it.

THREE ARRESTED OVER SCHOOL SHOOTING PLOT

A 21-year-old, a 17-year-old and a juvenile were arrested yesterday after allegedly plotting to carry out a shooting at Cherokee High School in metro Atlanta.

• The FBI flagged “threatening social media posts” to the school district that included a floor plan of the school and lists of items to wear during the planned shooting.
• Warrants obtained by the AJC allege two of the suspects picked a date for the attack, obtained a floor plan of the school, pledged to provide weapons and made a list of items to get, including body armor, video cameras and combat boots.
• Canton police urged parents to “teach their children the importance of reporting threats” and asked anyone with information on the case to come forward.

We have the latest on this story here and will be sticking with it as new information becomes available.

THE PERFECT ELEVATOR PITCH

If you don’t know what the alarmingly tall edifice is that pokes into the sky near Truist Park and the Cobb Cloverleaf, I have amazing news. It’s the North American headquarters of TKE … an elevator company. Naturally.

Last week, a group of Kennesaw State University sales students put the lifts at the TK Elevator building to the test during an elevator pitch contest.

• TKE slowed down one of their elevators to allow students about 60 seconds to deliver their elevator pitch to two judges during a roughly 400-foot trip.
• An elevator pitch, you recall, is a short, impactful statement of professional purpose one could theoretically deliver to a captive audience in an enclosed space.
• The pressure, though, is part of it.

Jessica Paden, a marketing student at KSU, won first place. Fittingly, she shared some wisdom that doubles as an elevator pitch for elevator pitches:

“Learning how to sell yourself, knowing what you are best at, and how to get that across — I think that’s good for anything, not just the competition.”

🔎 READ MORE: The future of TKE in Atlanta, and why KSU professors are still fans of the elevator pitch

Fun fact: The TKE building is the tallest tower in Cobb County.

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GEORGIA DEMS APPEAL TO EPA OVER DATA CENTERS

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson want the Environmental Protection Agency to do something about the diesel generators many data centers use for backup power.

• In a recent letter, the two leaders criticized the EPA for failing to oversee the generators and called for the group to regulate generator emissions.
• Warnock and Johnson said the pollution from diesel generators poses immediate harm to surrounding communities.
• The Trump administration has weakened provisions of the federal Clean Air Act to speed the construction of data centers.
• Because of this, there’s concern data center developers can more easily get around diesel emissions limits by claiming “emergency” uses.

🔎 READ MORE: Why diesel is a specific concern, plus what else Warnock and Johnson want to see

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🗳️ More than 2 million ballots have been cast in Georgia during early midterm voting. One of the biggest takeaways? At least 360,000 of the people who voted early this year did not cast a ballot in the 2022 midterm. That’s almost one in five votes.

⚖️ A Republican candidate for the Georgia House has been charged with child molestation. Andre Stafford says he’s innocent.

📝 A Democratic Georgia House candidate says a ballot cast in his name during a Nevada election was forged, and has a signed affidavit to prove it. David Dillie is facing disqualification in his House race after being investigated by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

DOCK ENVY

Some intense dock discourse is going down on the Georgia coast.

The board of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources was considering whether to adopt regulations allowing private docks to extend to 1,500 feet in length — about the length of five football fields. (Or just longer than the Tybee Beach Pier.)

• Unsurprisingly, the idea of comically long private paths snaking through fragile wetlands so a lucky few can get to their boats wasn’t popular with the public.
• As a result, the DNR voted yesterday to stick with current regulations: a puny 1,000 feet. Instead, they’re now allowing the width to double.
• There’s more drama simmering under the surface: Emails obtained under the Georgia Open Records Act earlier this year showed former and current DNR officials appealing to a DNR board member for longer walkways to benefit specific property owners.

🚤 READ MORE: What happens next

NEWS BITES

A ‘Nanotyrannus’ fossil, like a mini T. rex, just sold for $47 million

By “mini” they mean nine feet tall, so don’t get any ideas.

In Victorian era, a prolific grave robber haunted communities across Atlanta

Back then, there was a whole different meaning to “body shop.”

Coca-Cola reports revenue growth in third quarter despite ‘uneven’ global environment

“Uneven global environment” is my new favorite euphemism to describe … all of this.

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 28, 1904

People fought for first ride. “City hall to Harlem in fifteen minutes” became a reality today when the main artery of Manhattan’s great subway system was opened to the public. … Thousands of persons fought with one another for the privilege of purchasing the first ticket. Flying wedges, center rushes and almost every means of progress known in football tactics were adopted by those ambitious to ride upon the first train.