Morning, y’all! It happens every year, but I’m still shocked — nay, offended — the first few days the sun starts disappearing at 5 p.m. This isn’t the Arctic Circle, we’re not built for this!
Shorter days and darker afternoons can put a real damper on your mental health. The first step to feeling better? Knowing what you’re up against.
Let’s get to it.
*But first, check out this week’s episode of “Flagship”!*
LATEST ELECTION DEVELOPMENTS
A clearer picture of Tuesday’s historic night in Georgia is starting to come into focus.
Democrats take control of Georgia House, Republicans hold the Senate
- For the first time in 22 years, Democrats will control the Georgia House of Representatives.
- Dems defeated at least 12 incumbent Republicans across the state for a net gain of 10 seats, pushing them past the 91 seat threshold they needed for a majority.
What it could mean: Georgia Democrats could make inroads on policies that have long been stalled, including making more people eligible for Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance program.
🔎 READ MORE: A full picture of the new Georgia Assembly
Kemp signals a struggle-free transfer of power
The voters of our state have spoken. As long as I'm governor, we will always respect the results of secure, accessible, and fair elections, and also abide by the laws and constitution of our state. I will not be calling a special session of the Georgia General Assembly in order to curtail executive branch powers or debate redistricting changes.
A major party switch under the Gold Dome could have triggered a bitter partisan struggle to curb the powers of incoming Democratic leaders, but Kemp nixed the possibility in a statement to the AJC.
Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms previously warned such a move by Republicans would undermine state leadership.
“We are a state that has gotten things done in moderation,” she told the “Politically Georgia” podcast earlier this year. “And it would be really unfortunate for them to do that on their way out of the door.”
🔎 READ MORE: Lawmakers could still be called back, but not for that
A look at local races
- Democrats also swept competitive races for county commissioners in metro Atlanta, appearing to unseat Republican incumbents in Fulton, Cobb and Gwinnett.
- They also flipped the majority on the Cobb school board, one of the few remaining GOP strongholds in the county. The Cobb County school board has seen several sharp political controversies in recent years.
🔎 READ MORE: Info on the commissioners-elect and Cobb school board fights
Trivia time: In what year were the first female U.S. governors elected? Answer in “On This Date.”
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SMALL-TOWN MOM WHO MADE HEADLINES FOR ARREST IS SUING
Brittany Patterson made national headlines in 2024 when deputies arrested her after her 10-year-old son walked less than a mile from home near Mineral Bluff.
Now, she’s filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the local sheriff, Fannin County government and the deputies who arrested her.
What happened:
- Patterson’s son, who was homeschooled at the time, often wandered about the area.
- A woman called 911 when she saw the boy walking alone in Mineral Bluff’s small downtown.
- Deputies escorted the boy home and entered the house, eventually handcuffing and arresting Patterson for reckless conduct.
- The incident sparked a wave of parenting discourse.
- Patterson said the experience was traumatic for her family, and they eventually left Fannin County because of it.
🔎 FREE TO READ: What happens next, plus more details about the incident
NEW COALITION WILL ADDRESS ECONOMIC MOBILITY
The Atlanta Regional Commission announced a new task force aimed at helping Atlantans rise out of poverty.
- Opportunity Rising will evaluate the region’s economic inequality, identify structural barriers preventing upward mobility and coordinate solutions.
- “Think about it as a group project, just even bigger,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.
Un-fun Fact: Atlanta was ranked dead last for economic mobility among the country’s largest 50 metro areas in a recent study by Harvard. Ouch.
🔎 READ MORE: What the task force will do
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
⚖️ Walmart won a big personal injury lawsuit appeal under a new rule passed last year as part of Gov. Kemp’s overhaul of litigation rules in favor of businesses. Kemp says the law helps keep insurance costs down.
🗳️ Now that the midterm elections are over, the 2028 election season is here. Aah!
LET’S TALK BLUE JEANS
It’s Thursday, which means a new episode of “Flagship,” the AJC podcast that lets you hear directly from AJC journalists (and me, if that’s a selling point).
This week, I talk to AJC video producer Jordan Pettiford about Georgia’s fascinating denim history. Textile snobs, this one’s for you.
- Cotton and indigo, two key ingredients that make denim denim, are both grown in the South.
- In Georgia, we also have one of the last old-fashioned textile mills that makes denim the slow way, with lovingly refurbished machines.
- Now, we could be seeing a resurgence, since the pricey type of denim made there has become trendy on the international fashion scene.
Also this week: A dispatch from Macon bureau chief Joe Kovac Jr. and some fun facts about sweet tea. We love a fun fact.
🎧 Listen to “Flagship” on the AJC site, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search “AJC Flagship.”
NEWS BITES
Here we see the Southern American Sports Reporter in his natural environment: Jet-lagged, slightly disoriented and hovering over a laptop.
Ted Turner under consideration for National Baseball Hall of Fame
Hard to think about Braves baseball without thinking of Ted.
Holiday food showdown: Which dish are you picking?
Expect a long pause at the “brussels vs. green bean casserole” decision.
Before you rake leaves this fall, go over these safety tips so you don’t ruin your back
We all know someone who needs to read this. Do I mean my husband? Yes, I do.
ON THIS DATE
Nov. 5, 1924
Mrs. Ferguson claims election. Mrs. Miriam A. Ferguson, of Temple, who, on the face of early returns in today’s general election, has been named governor of Texas, issued a statement … “Texas is still loyal to the ideals of true democracy, despite the mouthings of political preachers and some school teachers seeking to lure democrats into betrayal of their honor. … Hate has been the slogan of the opposition. Venom is its pass word and slander, falsehood and misrepresentation its platform.”
Woman may win Wyoming race for governorship. Mrs. Nellie Taylor Ross swept into the lead in the Wyoming gubernatorial race this morning with a majority of 1,000 over her republican opponent, Eugene J. Sullivan. … “I am confident of victory,” she told newspapermen.
Trivia answer: The first female U.S. governors were elected more than 100 years ago, in 1924! Wow, women wasted no time after they got the vote. Both ran in partial service to their husbands. Ferguson ran after her husband was impeached. Ross won the election to succeed her husband after he died in office.
ONE MORE THING
Fun fact: Green bean casserole was created by a Campbell’s employee named Dorcas Reilly in 1955 as a way to sell more cream of mushroom soup. Ahh, it always seemed like a dish with an angle.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.