Morning, y’all! Welcome back, and happy Earth Day. After this morning’s chilly start, expect Mother Nature to reward us with temperatures in the mid-60s.
- Today’s also the last day to register to vote in May 21 primary elections, which include a host of local races.
Otherwise, we’ll discuss one columnist’s take on the push for new Atlanta MARTA stations, the latest from Orange Crush festivities on the Georgia coast and predictions for this week’s NFL Draft. Plus: What to expect when you’re expecting opening statements to begin in the former president’s hush money trial.
Let’s get to it.
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SQUATTING SQUABBLE
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Squatting.
Not the bend-your-knees-and-lift kind, but the post-up-in-someone-else’s-house-and-pretend-it’s-yours-now kind. A real-life (and on-land) version of that dude in that movie telling Tom Hanks “I’m the captain now.”
It’s a hot topic of conversation these days, particularly on cable news. So with a hat-tip to the latest story from AJC housing reporter Matt Reynolds, how about we take a look at the local angle?
Is squatting common in Georgia? Most issues that arise do so at single-family rental homes. The National Rental Home Council says it’s tracked about 1,200 complaints in metro Atlanta. The group’s CEO called the issue particularly acute here.
- Betsy Bradfield of the Georgia Association of Realtors put it this way: “Squatters are currently illegally taking over our properties, destroying them, and causing havoc in our neighborhoods. A lot of times that also occurs with other criminal enterprises in the area.”
The other side: Brandon M. Weiss, a housing expert at American University Washington College of Law, said “a few high-profile cases” of squatting drive disproportionate media coverage. He called the discussion a “distraction” from the country’s affordable housing crisis.
A new law: Georgia, meanwhile, will join other states such as Florida, New York and South Carolina in attempting to crack down on squatters. Legislation that breezed through the General Assembly last month now awaits Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature.
The Georgia law aims to make squatting a misdemeanor offense, giving those cited three days to show proof of legal occupancy. That, supporters say, is a lot easier than having to go through something akin to the eviction process.
- “Right now, squatters are treated like tenants of a property and they’re not tenants — they’re criminals and they’re intruders,” said Marietta Republican Rep. Devan Seabaugh, the bill’s sponsor.
Kemp has until May 7 to sign or veto the new law.
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.
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TORPY’S TAKE
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
You’ve probably heard plenty about Atlanta’s plan to build four new “infill” MARTA rail stations. AJC columnist Bill Torpy has a feeling Mayor Andre Dickens might be freestyling to assuage those pushing for rail on the Beltline.
- In case you missed it: Those new MARTA stations (for which plenty of funding questions remain) are pitched in the Murphy Crossing, Krog Street/Hulsey Yard, Joseph E. Boone and Armour Yards areas.
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MORE TOP STORIES
» Nearly a third of metro Atlanta’s office space sat vacant last month, a record. Observers say leasing activity is actually starting to creep up — but businesses just don’t want as much space.
» A fraternity at Kennesaw State is hosting a week of fundraising events in honor of Harrison Olvey, a recent graduate killed while working as a valet in Buckhead.
» Years after philanthropists, investors and corporations pledged billions to address racial inequities, Atlanta’s Black entrepreneurs say they still struggle to find loans and other funding.
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CHAOS-FREE CRUSH
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
After plenty of hand-wringing, the annual Orange Crush party on Tybee Island went off without much of a hitch over the weekend. One official even described the event, which brought tens of thousands of HBCU students and others to the area, as “orderly.” More photos here.
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TRUMP ON TRIAL
With the final jurors seated, opening statements are set to begin this morning in former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial. Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
» Trump’s immunity argument could scuttle or delay Georgia case
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CAMPUS TENSION
Students at New York’s Columbia University can attend classes virtually today as tensions over pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations continue ahead of Passover, the Jewish holiday set to begin tonight.
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DRAFT WEEK
Credit: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times
Credit: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times
This year’s NFL Draft starts with Thursday night’s first round. And after spending lavishly on offense in the offseason, the Falcons appear poised to add plenty on defense.
The final mock draft from the AJC’s D. Orlando Ledbetter’s has the home team picking UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu.
- Stay tuned to AJC.com and follow @DOrlandoLedbetter for all the latest draft news throughout the week.
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STREAK STOPPED
Marcell Ozuna’s league-leading ninth home run staked the Braves to an early lead but they couldn’t quite finish the drill, ending their six-game winning streak with a 6-4 loss to the Rangers.
- The Braves start a home series with the Marlins tonight (7:20 p.m., Bally Sports South). Wednesday’s game includes a Ronald Acuña Jr. bobblehead giveaway.
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RESTAURANT ROUND-UP
Highlighting this week’s compilation of metro Atlanta dining news: Poach Social reopened in Summerhill nearly two years after a devastating kitchen fire.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Mary J. Blige, Cher, A Tribe Called Quest get into Rock Hall
» Former AJC music reporter remembers Rico Wade
» Opinion: More colleges say yes to the test
» DeKalb jailer arrested after inappropriate contact with inmate
» 2nd suspect arrested days after wild gas station shootout
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ON THIS DATE
April 22, 1974
A group of industrious bank burglars rented out the basement of an office building across the street from Marietta’s Cobb Exchange Bank. They took their time digging out a tunnel under the road, two-feet square and complete with wooden support beams.
Early one morning, they finally surfaced in one of the bank’s vaults. But it wasn’t the one with all the money.
“Hardly worth all the effort they expended,” a bank spokesman told The Atlanta Journal.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Steve Schaefer / AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer / AJC
AJC photographer Steve Schaefer captured 15-year-old student pilot Kelsey Griffin (left) beginning her final approach at Atlanta’s Brown Field. Her instructor at Aviation Career Enrichment Academy, Ashley Moss, looks on from the Cessna 175′s other seat.
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ONE MORE THING
Before we go: Check out this story about Pope High School grad Hampton Morris, his journey to compete for the U.S. weightlifting team in this summer’s Olympics, and his relationship with his dad.
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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