A.M. ATL: Atlanta on ice

Morning, y’all! Did you know it’s Teacher Appreciation Week? Go appreciate those teachers. I know we have a few that read A.M. ATL, too. Hi!

Teaching seems like a raw deal sometimes, but I bet nearly everyone fondly remembers a favorite teacher, no matter how many years have passed. Then again, it’s probably difficult for teachers to reflect on their multifaceted legacy of knowledge when students won’t stop doing TikTok dances and saying “glizzy” or whatever. Ah, the minds of tomorrow.

Let’s get to it.

IS HOCKEY COMING BACK TO ATLANTA?

Credit: Jessica McGowan/AJC

Credit: Jessica McGowan/AJC

It’s been almost 15 years since the Atlanta Thrashers left the nest to become the Winnipeg Jets, and there’s been an NHL-shaped hole in the Atlanta sports scene ever since.

But ... could it be? Could Atlanta be in the early stages of wooing back a professional hockey team? Investor groups in Alpharetta and Forsyth County are pursuing separate plans to do just that.

Alpharetta: The city of Alpharetta just gave the go-ahead for a $150,000 feasibility study to see if the collapsing North Point Mall could be the site of a future NHL arena. Former NHL player Anson Carter and his organization, Alpharetta Sports and Entertainment Group, pitched the possible project.
Forsyth: The CEO of Krause Auto Group’s competing concept is a few miles north of the mall called The Gathering at South Forsyth. The development would feature a $2 billion mixed-use campus and an 18,500-seat arena just begging for a new hockey team to use it.

At this point, nothing is solid. The NHL hasn’t made any plans to return to Atlanta, and there’s a million things to consider regarding the economic impact of a new pro sports team, the cost of construction and development, and how many people would be willing to schlep an hour north of the city to watch grown men pour beer on each other. (At least, that’s my personal hockey experience.)

🏒 Also: Atlanta’s tried the NHL thing twice before. The Atlanta Thrashers survived from 1999 to 2011, and the Atlanta Flames from 1972 to 1980 before that.

In the meantime, the Atlanta Gladiators, a minor league hockey team with an excellent logo, are right here in Duluth. Season starts in October!

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A CURIOUS ALLEGED KIDNAPPING CASE COMES TO A CLOSE

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

A man accused of trying to snatch a 2-year-old child from his mother at a Cobb County Walmart is free after spending 45 days in jail.

Mahendra Patel was arrested after a mother told Acworth Police he had approached her in the store and tried to take her child.
Police charged the 56-year-old with attempted kidnapping, simple battery and simple assault.
Patel and his lawyer contended he was trying to keep the woman, who was in a motorized shopping cart, from dropping her child.
The case got international attention when surveillance video of the incident was released, seemingly showing a much more placid encounter and backing Patel’s version of events.
Georgia leaders on both sides of the aisle criticized the speed of the legal proceedings against Patel and called for his release. He’s now out on bond.

A TOUGH TRANSITION FOR UNHOUSED ATLANTANS

Atlanta began dismantling homeless encampments this week following a 45-day pause enacted after Cornelius Taylor, an unhoused man, was killed during a clearing operation in January. Activists and advocates say the operations are inhumane and don’t do anything to help people in need.

The city provided low-cost housing for dozens of people displaced by a large encampment demolition earlier this year. While advocates say there’s a high rate of success for this kind of arrangement, it’s not always so. The transition can also be painful.

‘Survivor’s guilt’ and helping others: The AJC’s Reed Williams talked to a man living in an encampment who received housing from the city after Taylor’s death. He says he may lose it now because he offers shelter to unhoused friends and loved ones. That violates his lease agreement, which mandates a $250 fee for overnight guests.

Loneliness: Encampments, like any other place humans gather by choice or circumstance, often become communities. People watch out for each other. While living in an apartment may be safer, it’s also lonelier. The situation can also exacerbate dangerous addiction or mental health issues.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

💰 Atlanta City Council members voiced concerns about Mayor Andre Dickens’ 2026 budget during their first budget hearing Tuesday. The $975 million budget represents a 14% increase over last fiscal year’s, even though the city faces a projected $33 million deficit this year. The mayor’s office has been quietly trying to reduce that deficit through unannounced cuts, including 150 full-time city jobs.

🐘 Republicans are nervous about a possible U.S. Senate run from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Now that Gov. Brian Kemp isn’t running, the field to challenge Sen. John Ossoff is wide open. That could include Greene, a highly divisive figure with less mainstream appeal than Kemp.

MAD AT TREES

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

The Atlanta Department of City Planning says it’s ready to begin an overhaul of Atlanta’s tree protection rules.

The new version would increase tree removal fees and implement new preservation standards in an attempt to grow back some of the city’s famous tree canopy.
It’s good news for environmentalists, but bad news for developers. Some low-cost housing developers also say the new rules don’t balance the need for trees with the need for affordable housing.
The finer distinctions are not lost on City Council members, who will have to approve the plan.

“This is going to be — and I think my colleagues will agree with me — the most difficult, complex piece of legislation we will vote on this term,” said City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari.

NEWS BITES

A Kentucky boy used his mom’s phone to buy 70,000 lollipops

His parents are hereby allowed to tell this story at every birthday party and life event until the end of time. When he grows up and gets married, he’ll still be the 70K sucker kid.

What customers can expect as Rite Aid closes or sells all its drug stores

Because getting prescriptions filled isn’t stressful enough already.

What your net worth statement is telling you

These days? Probably something like “AAAAAAAAHHH.”

Congrats to the new pope, a 7-year-old Georgia Catholic school student named David who won his class’ mock conclave

I was waffling on the balance of adorable vs. sacrilegious in this story until I got to the photos of him kissing a baby doll and riding around in a pope mobile. Dominus vobiscum, Your Little Holiness.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

ON THIS DATE

May 8, 1902

Credit: AJC

From the front page of The Atlanta Constitution: FROLIC BEARS YOUNG PEOPLE TO ETERNITY.

Wow, what a disturbing way to announce seven teenagers died in a boating accident. (The vessel’s name was Frolic. A bad time for puns, newspaper writer.)

ONE MORE THING

Atlanta has 17 sister cities, including Lagos, Nigeria; Nuremberg, Germany; Toulouse, France; Montego Bay, Jamaica and Fukuoka, Japan.

That reminds me of when I was in Munich, Germany, years ago and happened upon an entire bar of locals watching and cheering for ... the Atlanta Falcons. Blew my mind.

Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.

Until next time.

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