Morning, y’all! Temperatures are hovering in the upper 50s this morning (fall? Is that you?) and look to approach 80 degrees later on.
Today’s newsletter offers the latest on the escalating feud between Fulton County and the State Election Board, rising high school graduation rates and a UGA football player accused of “assaulting an unborn child.” Stick around for the results of yesterday’s poll on prep sports, too!
But first, the South hunkers down ahead of yet another hurricane.
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ESCAPING THE STORM
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Robert and Paula Williams fled Clermont, Florida, and headed north in their RV. They battled traffic on I-75, darn near ran out of gas and, frustrated in their search for a campsite or hotel, spent the night at a rest stop in Macon.
Hundreds more people slept in their nearby cars.
The Williamses finally landed at evacuee-friendly Atlanta Motor Speedway on Tuesday, their journey away from the path of Hurricane Milton complete.
“This one scared me,” Paula Williams told the AJC.
And rightfully so.
The storm is projected to make landfall on Florida’s western coast late tonight, likely in the Tampa Bay area. It’s expected to remain a major hurricane, with wind speeds well into the triple digits and potentially catastrophic storm surge.
A huge swath of the Sunshine State is under evacuation orders.
University of Tampa student Ella Skinner, a Johns Creek native, fled back to north Fulton this week.
- “They have no idea when we’ll be returning,” she said. “Who knows what’s going to happen to my dorm or anything else on campus?”
Meanwhile, in Georgia: The impact should pale in comparison to Helene.
But the coast remains under a tropical storm watch, and still-reeling areas near cities such as Brunswick, Savannah and Valdosta could see strong winds and a few inches of rain.
Gov. Brian Kemp issued a new state of emergency covering about three dozen counties potentially in harm’s way.
- “We just want to over-prepare and hope this storm will under-deliver for us,” he later told the AJC.
Stay tuned to AJC.com for all the latest on Milton and its aftermath. And if you know anyone in need, please pass along this list of available hurricane shelters in Georgia.
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FULTON VS. THE STATE
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The beef between Fulton County and the State Election Board reached new levels of litigiousness Tuesday.
- Fulton officials filed a lawsuit against the state body, saying it has no authority to appoint election deniers (or anyone else) to monitor county actions during next month’s presidential contest.
- The State Election Board’s three-member, Donald Trump-endorsed majority responded by subpoenaing county records from the 2020 election.
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ELSEWHERE IN FULTON ...
» Former special prosecutor Nathan Wade is set to testify next week before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating his relationship with District Attorney Fani Willis.
» A jailer stands accused of taking about $17,000 worth of bribes from the families of inmates, including relatives of Marquavius Huey — a co-defendant in the never-ending trial involving rapper Young Thug.
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MAKING THE GRADE
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Statewide high school graduation rates inched up again, hitting 85.4% for the class of 2024.
Check out the story for district-by-district numbers, but I’ll go ahead and give you one more nugget: DeKalb County saw the biggest year-over-year improvement.
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A WHOLE LOTTA H20
Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division cleared the way for Hyundai to dig wells capable of drawing more than 6 million gallons of water from the Florida aquifer — every single day.
The wells will serve the automaker’s recently opened electric vehicle plant in Bryan County.
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ANOTHER UGA ARREST
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Athens-Clarke County police arrested Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young on Tuesday, filing misdemeanor charges of assaulting an unborn child and battery. He’s accused of grabbing and squeezing a 20-year-old woman’s torso.
The arrest marks the seventh involving a Georgia football player since March. All but Young and now-former receiver Rara Thomas faced driving-related charges.
- Falcons: Looks like Atlanta will face veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, not struggling sophomore Bryce Young, when they take on the Panthers in Charlotte Sunday.
- Hawks: No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher looked pretty darn good in his preseason NBA debut, scoring 18 in Atlanta’s 131-130 win over the Pacers.
- Savannah Bananas: What’s next for the zany barnstorming baseball team? How about a whole league of competitors?
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MICHELIN, PART DEUX
Credit: Daniel Varnado for the AJC
Credit: Daniel Varnado for the AJC
The unveiling of Michelin’s second-ever guide to Atlanta restaurants is set for Oct. 28.
Who will get a coveted star this time around? Or the Bib Gourmand, an acknowledgment of affordable tastiness? And might things expand beyond the Perimeter (gasp!)?
- Also of culinary note: Tickets go on sale Friday for Alton Brown’s new book tour. The Atlanta food guru visits the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in February.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Georgia native Julia Roberts set to stump for Harris
» ‘Genius’: Atlanta poet Jericho Brown on winning MacArthur grant
» NTSB releases details of Delta taxiway collision at ATL
» Man pleads guilty to lesser charge in 2023 death of Clark Atlanta student
» GBI: Gwinnett jail shooter had guns, body armor — and his daughter
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
AJC photographer Natrice Miller recently captured Reinhardt University students touring the “Tools of the Trade” exhibit at the on-campus Funk Museum.
In the latest entry to our “Dispatch” series, reporter Jeremy Redmon takes us behind the scenes of the quirky collection in the tiny town of Waleska.
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