Happy Monday morning ATL. Leon Stafford here and I’m back!! (I hope that’s a good thing.) Today is going to be another scorcher with lots of sunshine and highs in the upper 90s, but there is a chance of isolated storms in the morning.
The new work week begins with answers to a mystery in Savannah that has had tongues wagging, UPS unloading a logistics company at a loss and Caitlin Clark dashing our dreams over the weekend.
Now, let’s get to it.
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THIS IS A CELLPHONE-FREE CLASS
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Who you gonna call?
Or, more accurately, text?
If you’re in metro Atlanta classrooms next year, it won’t be area students. Individual schools, such as Midtown High in Atlanta, and entire school districts, such as Marietta City Schools, plan to greatly curtail cellphone use in the coming school year. Joining them will be Decatur High School, the Cherokee County School District and private school Pace Academy in Buckhead.
The restrictions come as increasing numbers of school systems and parents agree that cellphone use is a big distraction in education. Students aren’t talking to each other after class or during free periods; they are burying their heads in phones. They aren’t listening to teacher lessons, preferring instead to scroll TikTok or Instagram.
Education Week reported in April that according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 66% of U.S. schools prohibited non-academic use of cellphones during school hours in 2015. By 2020, that percentage had jumped to 77%.
Even switching to a tablet offers little reprieve (though districts have not yet pushed any universal efforts to curb their use). Marietta parent Cynthia DuBose tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jillian Price and Martha Dalton that her 12-year-old daughter, who doesn’t yet have a cellphone, sometimes gets 100 texts a day on her tablet. (Full disclosure: DuBose is a former AJCer.)
Will the new restrictions work? Past stabs at cellphone restrictions would suggest this is a tall order. Midtown High senior Piper Boatwright said the effort could make students who follow the rules feel as if they are being punished.
“I personally think the policy is maybe overstepping a little bit,” she said. “I understand why they’re doing (it) because it makes sense to just have a blanket policy for all students.”
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A GEORGIA BRIDGE AND A MYSTERY
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
The person behind a campaign challenging the Georgia Department of Transportation’s plan to replace the iconic Talmadge Bridge in Savannah has been unmasked. And if you had your money on influential Savannah industrialist Reed Dulany, you’re a winner winner chicken dinner.
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Savannah Democrat Carl Gilliard has agreed to pay $47,000 in fines and reimbursements as a result of a State Ethics Commission case. It’s one of the costliest cases involving a lawmaker in the commission’s history.
MORE TOP STORIES
» Sandy Springs-based UPS is selling its Coyote Logistics freight brokerage unit for more than $1.025 billion. The sale will come at a loss, though: UPS bought Coyote nine years ago for $1.8 billion.
» Home affordability could play a major role in the nation’s upcoming election as more and more Americans feel shut out from the dream of home ownership.
» DeKalb County is considering a 19% hike in the annual fee charged residents for garbage and recycling pickup. If approved, the increase — the first in 20 years — could raise the annual charge to $315 from $265.
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LENDING A HELPING HAND
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Top Fulton officials have toured what will be the county’s first publicly funded behavioral health crisis center when it opens in August. Fulton commissioners pledged $15 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project, the only county government to commit “that type of investment,” said Pamela Roshell, the county’s chief operating officer.
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NATIONAL
Government roadblocks may be holding back the nation’s ability to test for bird flu, despite the availability of a million testing kits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some are comparing the red tape to that which squandered early attempts to address COVID-19 .
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Developers broke ground Sunday on a new multi-function complex to replace the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the site of the nation’s deadliest act of antisemitism. Eleven people from three separate congregations — Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life — were killed in the 2018 attack.
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A CAITLIN-CRUSHED DREAM
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Caitlin Clark came to Atlanta. She brought with her record crowds. And she and her Indiana Fever teammates crushed our Atlanta Dream 91-79. Sigh. ‘Nuff said.
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Jay Fortune paid big dividends with his performance in Saturday’s Atlanta United draw with St. Louis City SC. He helped extend Atlanta United’s unbeaten streak to three matches under interim manager Rob Valentino, writes the AJC’s Doug Roberson.
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LIVING AND ARTS
Living in Georgia and regretting your year-old face tattoo? You’re not alone. Among states whose residents regretted their body art, Georgia ranked sixth, according to a study by tattoo removal experts.
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“Inside Out 2″ continued to reign at the box office over the weekend. The Disney/Pixar film held on to the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive weekend with a record-breaking $100 million haul.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Metro Atlanta communities open cooling centers as the heat persists
» Travelers Championship golf tournament marred Sunday by intruders storming the 18th green
» Vice President Harris steps up push to make reproductive rights a central election issue
» 1 dead, 1 injured after afternoon shooting in southwest Atlanta on Sunday
» Death toll at Hajj pilgrimage rises to more than 1,300 as temperatures soar
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ON THIS DATE
June 24, 1998
An E. coli scare stemming from the waterpark now known as Six Flags White Water came to an unofficial end.
The toll: At least a dozen kids sickened, presumably after being exposed to waste in one of the park’s kiddie areas.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
AJC photographer Miguel Martinez captures Atlanta Dream forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus trying to muscle New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich out of the way in a game Sunday at the Gateway Center Arena.
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ONE MORE THING
Those who’ve been scared out of their wits when encountering a deer on one of Georgia’s forested roads, take heed. It could be worse.
A frightened horse damaged several cars last week on I-20 westbound near the intersection with I-75/85 downtown. The creature got away from the family of its owner and somehow made its way to the thoroughfare, terrified and confused by the traffic around it.
The incident, which happened after 10 p.m. Thursday, left several people with minor injuries after the horse struck or was struck by a Mazda Miata, Nissan Rogue and Chevy Equinox. The fate of the horse was unclear, but Atlanta Police said it may have suffered life-threatening injuries.
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at Leon.stafford@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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