Morning, y’all! Overly responsible and forward-thinking people are already planning for daylight saving time to begin this coming Sunday. The rest of us will remember, forget, and then remember again on Sunday afternoon when we see the clock on the microwave is wrong.
By the way, the whole losing an hour thing can really do a number on your body. Probably best to sleep a little extra, just in case.
Let’s get to it.
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, LIGHTNING IN THE AIR
Oh, wildfires. That’s definitely what we need right now. More than 100 wildfires raged across Georgia over the weekend, tearing through roughly 2,390 acres. The Carolinas had it even worse: More than 175 blazes have prompted evacuations in the area, including near Myrtle Beach. Thousands of acres have been burned in Alabama, too.
What gives?
- Well, it’s fire season. Georgia typically sees most of its fire activity between February and May.
- It’s dry. The region’s had a decrease in rainfall since December.
- Blame La Niña. This cyclical weather pattern over the Pacific Ocean leads to warmer, drier winters in our neck of the woods.
We should get some respite in the form of rain soon, but recent weather analyses show more frequent and intense fires in our future. That could be an even bigger problem in south Georgia, where the bulk of the state’s commercial timberlands are.
❓ Trivia: What are firefighters in Georgia using to beat back the blazes?
a. water
b. foam
c. powder
I put the answer at the bottom of the newsletter, and I hope you’re ready for some interesting firefighting facts along with it.
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.
HUNGRY HUNGRY DATA CENTERS
We’ve talked about Georgia’s data centers before; those massive warehouses that store and compute data and put a serious strain on the power grid.
Turns out, Atlanta isn’t just a big data center hub. It’s the data center hub.
The Atlanta region eclipsed Northern Virginia as the country’s top data center market for leasing activity in 2024, and there’s even more growth on the way.
- Amazon announced $11 billion in new data center capacity in metro Atlanta this January.
- Microsoft has secured hundreds of acres in south Fulton County to expand its operations, including a $1.8 billion campus in Union City.
- Plans for a $5B data center about an hour east of Atlanta called the Newton County Technology Park were revealed in January.
- From 2023 to 2024, data center construction activity nearly tripled in the area, and projects continue to be shoved into the development pipeline.
These centers are presenting big challenges for lawmakers, utility companies and people who don’t like behemoth buildings sucking up all of the power and water. A bill is moving through the Georgia Legislature that would require Georgia Power to charge data centers more for the power they use.
Also, data centers don’t provide that many jobs relative to the space they take up.
⚡ Why Georgia? Affordable land, available electricity, tax incentives and existing fiber optic cables that transmit data make Georgia an attractive place to build.
A VERY WORTHY USE FOR DRUGS
Emory University may soon expand research on how a psychedelic drug could help patients with PTSD.
Yes, we’re talking MDMA. Molly. Ecstasy.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Defense Department recommended a $4.9 million federal grant for the proposed study, which will feature an Atlanta-based clinical trial involving 100 active-duty troops, National Guard troops and reservists.
Such therapy has shown great promise when coupled with psychotherapy and other support. (Can’t just give people MDMA and call it a day, after all.) Experts say part of it has to do with how the drug enhances neuroplasticity; essentially, the way our brains can rewire and create new connections. That can be a huge relief to people besieged by trauma.
🔎 Read more about the study here, and why medical professionals are excited about it.
FLORIDA NOT AMUSED BY SPRING BREAK ANTICS
Spring break season is here, but partiers headed down to Florida beware: Popular destinations like Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Panama City Beach will be enforcing early curfews, watching for alcohol and drug use on the beaches, setting up DUI checkpoints and prohibiting items like coolers and tents to curb the foolery.
Each destination has its own set of regulations, but it can all be neatly summed up by this remark from Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner at a recent news conference:
“We broke up with spring break. Some people ask, ‘Are you getting back together?’ No, we’re done. We are done.”
Yikes. Be safe, kids. Your lives and Meiner’s mental wellbeing depend on it.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🪖 Georgia’s Fort Moore is Fort Benning again. The Pentagon announced the change Monday. The military base’s name was changed in 2023 because it honored Confederate general Henry Benning. However, the U.S. Defense Department claims it’s not that Benning the site honors anymore, but Cpl. Fred Benning who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service during World War I.
✍️ An anti-DEI bill has passed a key Georgia committee and is headed for a fight in the Senate. The bill would withhold public funding from any public school, college or university that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion.
💎 President Donald Trump announced a “Crypto Strategic Reserve” that would see the U.S. government purchase and hold a variety of digital assets. The news sent a brief surge through crypto markets.
🎙️ TONIGHT: Trump delivers a speech to Congress All eyes will be on Capitol Hill when Trump delivers the first joint congressional address of his second term. It’s going to be interesting no matter how you slice it, as Trump continues to executive order his way around other branches of government to the pleasure of his allies and the dismay of his critics. Here’s how to watch.
NEWS BITES
March Madness: How to watch the women’s NCAA tournament this year | March Madness: How to watch the men’s NCAA tournament this year
I just hope everybody has fun.
The latest buzz from the NFL combine
“Wow, did you see how fast that guy ran in his underwear? Hey why do we make them do that ...”
13 Southern food products to try this month
I keep a list of blessings and curses in my notes app. They’re just random phrases I come across that sound especially pleasant or awful. “Crab boil potato chips” is definitely going under blessings.
Together nearly 60 years, married in Ringgold, Georgia. Our thoughts are with you, queen.
ON THIS DATE
March 4, 1986
From the front page of the Atlanta Constitution: Madison in uproar over plan for Hardee’s. The idea of four Victorian homes being leveled to make room for a Hardee’s restaurant has caused an uproar ... “We don’t want anyone else finishing off what Sherman didn’t do,” said local attorney James E. Carter.
WELL. When you put it that way!
ONE MORE THING
It’s a: water! Here’s the interesting fire stuff. The Georgia Forestry Commission is only using water to avoid a potentially toxic form of firefighting compound called aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF. That kind of foam contains PFAs, also known as forever chemicals, and can contaminate water supplies.
In fact, more than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed against makers of AFFF products over several years.
The GFC says it does use firefighting foam at times, but not the kind that has PFAs. The Department of Defense is also phasing out the use of AFFF products.
You’ve probably also seen photos of the wildfires out in California that show blankets of a red-colored dust. That’s also fire retardant, specifically a powder called Phos-Chek.
Hey, if you can’t fight fires (or forever chemicals), you might as well learn about them.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
