A.M. ATL: Pay up

Morning, y’all! Happy Veterans Day to our A.M. ATL family members who serve, have served or love someone that has. Veterans Day is observed on November 11 because it’s the anniversary of the 1918 World War I armistice. It’s said fighting ceased in the 11th hour, making repeated “11s″ not just a sign of luck, but one of peace, too.

Let’s get to it.

LANDLORD PAYS OUT FOR ALLEGEDLY MISLEADING PRICES

A prominent out-of-state company that owns thousands of rental homes in metro Atlanta will pay $50 million to settle allegations it misled renters with deceptive pricing practices.

The Federal Trade Commission claimed Arizona-based Progress Residential and its owner, private equity firm Premium Partners, engaged in several dodgy dealings, including:

• false rental prices
• hidden fees
• not inspecting homes before move-ins
• improper security deposit deductions
• restricting customers from making negative reviews

Since the case was brought by other states, it’s not clear right now if Georgia renters will be eligible for a portion of the settlement. Attorney General Chris Carr says it’s a possibility.

Why Georgia is a hotbed for private equity landlords

• Metro Atlanta leads the country in Wall Street-owned single-family rental homes, with about 72,000 in the region.
• It happened during the Great Recession, when investors swooped in to buy up foreclosed homes and flip them for a profit.
• The practice has contributed to a rising housing crisis in Georgia, with fewer houses on the market and less transparency over who owns what.

🔎 READ MORE: When we’ll know more about Georgia’s role

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AFTER WAR, THE FIGHT FOR PEACE

This Veterans Day, we’re spotlighting Georgia veterans who fought for their country and now bring peace and healing to others.

Dominique Williamson and Tranquility Gardens

• Williamson retired after 20 years in the Army, where he worked as a Black Hawk helicopter crew chief.
• He oversees the Veterans and Family Assistance Center in Columbus, which helps veterans obtain disability benefits and counsels those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
• The organization also arranges deep-sea-fishing trips and owns a lakeside retreat, Tranquility Gardens near Buena Vista, that is a getaway for former service members.

“PTSD is not just one scenario,” he told the AJC. “It builds and builds and all of a sudden you find yourself being the Incredible Hulk. Before you know it, you’re that angry person.”

Jon Jackson and Comfort Farms

• Jackson, 50, was in the Army for 11 years and received a Bronze Star. He founded Comfort Farms a decade ago, naming it after a fallen comrade.
• His injuries, both physical and psychological, led him to seek a new beginning in farming or, in his words, “working the land.”
• Now, scores of veterans come to Comfort Farms for a weekend or a longer stay to sow, and reap, a little bit of peace.

“When a vet comes in, they think that they’re learning how to farm. And that’s what we use as kind of the veil or the cloak,” Jackson said. “But, in actuality, we’re helping vets understand how to become human again.”

🪖 FREE TO READ: More Georgia heroes helping each other through PTSD

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🗳️ A seven-term Republican lost to a 24-year-old Democrat with beer cans on his campaign signs. A GOP incumbent who outraised his opponent by nearly 29-to-1 was ousted in a deep-red county. Here are some of the surprising election upsets that flipped Georgia’s House blue.

🚌 The DeKalb County School District agreed to pay the state more than $1 million for unpaid employee benefits that trace back to a computing issue in 2019. The district has paid more than $40 million this year to settle past financial problems.

✈️ First class seats are coming soon to Frontier Airlines, as the ultra-low-cost carrier asserts itself as a major aviation player in Atlanta. The Denver-based airline recently rose to become the No. 2 carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Buckhead Theatre and Lakewood Amphitheatre, two famous Atlanta-area music establishments, have new names after partnering with Georgia-based natural gas company Scana Energy.

Please welcome: Scana Energy Amphitheatre at Lakewood and Buckhead Theatre by Scana Energy!

They may not exactly roll off the tongue, but big-name partnerships are one way performing arts venues stay alive (or even, gasp, profitable) in a difficult age. We do what we gotta do.

Both of these venues, and many more in the area, have cycled through different names in the past. It’s pretty interesting!

Buckhead Theatre (by Scana Energy) has also been called:

• Buckhead Theatre
• Buckhead Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse
• Capri Theatre
• Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre (confusingly, now its own thing in The Battery Atlanta)

Scana Energy Amphitheatre at Lakewood has also been called:

• Lakewood Amphitheatre
• Coca-Cola Lakewood Amphitheatre
• HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
• Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
• Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood

🔎 READ MORE: How these name changes happen, and what other venues have been called in the past

NEWS BITES

15 things to do in metro Atlanta this weekend

Cookie crawls? Holiday lights? Ice skating? It’s officially festive szn.

Newly elected members are learning their way around in Washington

Most stressful “new hire” situation ever.

SEC fines Ole Miss $250,000 after fans threw beer cans, trash on field during Georgia game

The AJC’s Dawgnation called it “an unclassy scene.” I do declare!

Honda reports robust results on the back of healthy motorcycle sales

Lots of people having midlife crises, I see. (Please don’t get mad at me, motorcycle people.)

ON THIS DATE

Nov. 11, 1986

Hundreds march through the rain in Atlanta’s fourth annual salute. Georgia’s women who are veterans of the country’s armed forces marched proudly down Peachtree Street today in a steady rain. The city’s fourth annual Veterans Day Parade paid special tribute to these women, many of whom, like Sarah Hill Caldwell, were veterans of World War II. “I was in New Guinea and the Philippines,” said former Sgt. Caldwell. “I was there when the war ended. War is a horrible thing, but it was wonderful to feel like you were doing something.”