A.M. ATL: Transit expansion optimism. No, really

Howdy, and welcome to a good news and bad news kinda Monday.

Good News: It’s basically sweatshirt weather, with temperatures reaching just the low 70s. It’s also Indigenous Peoples Day, so hopefully you are prepping your work-sanctioned day off with a pumpkin spice latte and a trip through history.

Bad News: Pandas Lun Lun, Yang Yang and their 8-year-old cubs Ya Lun and Xi Lun are officially gone, back to China.

Since we are just one day away from the start of early in-person voting, and 21 days from the election — and the center of the political universe — we also have politics news. Former President Donald Trump will take part in a Fox News town hall Tuesday in Forsyth County and Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a rally in Atlanta four days later. These come after visits in recent days from former President Bill Clinton and VP nominee JD Vance.

But there is plenty more than the national presidency at stake Nov. 5, as metro Atlanta voters will once again have a chance to say yes to transit.

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TRANSIT TIME?

Credit: Illustration by ArLuther Lee

Credit: Illustration by ArLuther Lee

Transit expansion has been repeatedly unpopular among Gwinnett and Cobb county voters. Yet backers think this year could be different — even though the proposals are the most far-reaching and costly plans yet.

Why? Because MARTA is not part of the plan.

Please read this excellent piece from Alia Pharr, Sara Gregory and Phoebe Quinton that looks at the nearly 60-year failed expansion push and what the future might look like. (Hint: pay attention to bus rapid transit and microtransit, basically, government-sponsored Uber). But here’s a cheat sheet:

Context: Atlanta’s suburbs have mounted stubborn opposition to transit ever since they were first asked to support MARTA in 1965. The objections are so well established that after old rail cars were dropped into the ocean to create reefs recently, one online commenter noted “Fish get MARTA before Cobb does.”
Why, you ask? Voters’ criticisms have run the gamut, from inflammatory sentiments about the race and class of riders to denouncements of MARTA’s spending and operations.
What’s changed: Georgia’s second and third most populous counties look different today than they did in 1965 when conservatism and white flight fueled growth. Both counties now lean Democratic, a party whose national platform calls for transit expansion.
The proposals: Proponents stress that Cobb and Gwinnett would keep running their own transit systems themselves, without MARTA. Both plans call for rapid bus routes, extending service hours and bus frequency and making on-demand rideshares available countywide. No heavy rail. Officials in Cobb included support for trails and road safety improvements.
Opposition: To the plans’ 30-year length and the costs — potentially more than $30 billion if both are approved.
Odds: Cobb supporters say Gwinnett may have a slight advantage because the recent attempts primed voters to think about transit.

Need more politics? Well, keep scrolling. But also find all the inside scoops by signing up for our Politically Georgia newsletter.

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THE WEEK AHEAD

Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC

🙏 Today: Apalachee High School returns to a full-time schedule for the first time since last month’s shooting. The Hawks host a preseason game against the 76ers (7:30 p.m. on Bally Sports Southeast).

✅ Tuesday: Early voting begins in November’s presidential election! Former Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies in a closed-door hearing with the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

🪧 Wednesday: The Georgia Historical Society dedicates a historical marker outside the building that housed W.E.B. DuBois’ office at Atlanta University (now on the campus of Morris Brown College). Actor, quirky raconteur and stand-up comic David Cross (who grew up in Roswell) performs at the Tabernacle.

🎶 Thursday: R&B superstar Usher brings his “Past Present Future” tour to State Farm Arena for a three-night run. (He postponed previous Atlanta shows due to injury.)

🪨 Friday: Festivities begin for the 52nd annual Stone Mountain Highland Games, where burly folks in kilts throw heavy stuff (that’s a rock emoji!) and dance to bagpipes.

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EXTENDED HEALTH PROBLEMS

As rents rise, low-income families may rely on extended-stay hotels for housing. But in the Atlanta area, inspections of extended-stay hotels have revealed ventilation issues, insect infestations, mold and other health threats. Children living there also can experience or witness crime and gun violence. This story from Andy Miller at KFF Health News is worth your time. Among the stats he cites:

Children living in hotels are considered homeless under federal law, and in some Atlanta-area counties about 40% of homeless students live in this kind of housing.

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IN MEMORIUM

Atlanta radio host Wanda Smith, who brought a bubbly, comedic side to V-103′s morning shows for more than 20 years, has died. Smith, 59, worked with host Frank Ski at V-103 for two stints, first from 1998 to 2013, then again in 2018. She also worked with Ryan Cameron from 2013 to 2017. The show was No. 1 in Atlanta for much of that time.

Gospel great Cissy Houston, an often unknown voice behind many hits — including Glady Knight & the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia.

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YOU ASKED ...

As part of the AJC’s Know Your Stuff election guide, we asked for the questions most important to you. Today we tackle: Trump and Harris’ stances on immigration. The AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan writes that this issue might be the area where the candidates stand furthest apart.

One question on the topic came from Bob George: “It seems the Democrats are in favor of the large number of undocumented immigrants crossing the border and the Republicans not so much. What is in it for the Democrats and their supporters for allowing millions per year to cross our border? Who benefits from this, it can’t be we are going to save the whole world?”

Grinspan: “I am going to push back on this. Has the Democratic party been traditionally more friendly to immigrant rights? Yes. But an interesting facet of this political moment in 2024 is that Democrats have joined Republicans in calling for tighter restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border to clamp down on illegal immigration. That’s a shift that has rankled immigrant rights advocates. And despite the GOP ticket doubling down on extreme anti-immigrant rhetoric (see: the Haitian pet-eating conspiracy), it was Republican opposition that tanked the bipartisan border bill earlier this year.”

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FIRST-PLACE FALCONS

Make it three wins in a row for the Falcons, which held on for a 38-20 win over the Panthers on Sunday. Running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, as well as cornerback A.J. Terrell, starred for the now 4-2 Falcons that sit atop the NFC South with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Post-game comments | $81 million well spent

College football: Georgia Tech stunned North Carolina with a last minute TD, and the Bulldogs held on to beat Mississippi State.
High School: Check out UGA commit Ousmane Kromah’s 59-yard touchdown run that went viral

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RYAN, I’D LIKE TO SOLVE

Ryan Seacrest, Dunwoody native new host of “Wheel of Fortune,” bestowed Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta a special radio studio at the new Arthur M. Blank Hospital.

“It’s the best studio we’ve ever had,” Seacrest told the AJC. “It’s the most high tech equipment we’ve ever had. It’s the biggest screen we’ve ever had. It’s audio. It’s video. It’s a content studio. We want to provide escapism and fun for kids going through tough things.”

Meanwhile, Post Malone brought his sold out F-1 Trillion Tour to Lakewood Amphitheatre on Friday, kicking off a star-studded weekend that included Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane going orchestral with a symphonic performance of trap music hits at Atlanta Symphony Hall.

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MORE TO EXPLORE

» Fulton DA Fani Willis tells Young Thug prosecutor to ‘ignore the haters’

» After stunning courtroom twist, road-rage murder case ends in acquittal

» Woman arrested after 90-year-old stabbed to death at Buckhead apartments

» Gridlock Guy: Rockdale County chemical plant fire and traffic jams - 20 years ago and now

» How Atlanta’s top business leaders are using AI in the workplace

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ON THIS DATE

Oct. 14, 1998

Federal authorities announced charges against Eric Robert Rudolph, the man accused of bombings at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and elsewhere.

Rudolph remained on the lam until 2003, when authorities found him rummaging through the trash behind a North Carolina grocery store.

Meanwhile, angered by the ambush killing of an Israeli Jew, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wouldn’t sign a peace deal at a U.S.-sponsored Middle East summit. Seems familiar.

Credit: File photo

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

AJC photographer Miguel Martinez captured a Warner Bros. Discovery dancer signaling a heart to the camera during the annual Pride Parade in Atlanta on Sunday. Check out more of the photos and meet some faces in the crowd.

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ONE MORE THING

Better warm up those running shoes. The Polar Opposite Peachtree Road Race will make its debut Jan. 4. The weather won’t be the only thing that’s different about this one. The race (which could see as many as 6,000 people) will be in reverse. Instead of starting at Lenox Square, the race will start at Piedmont Park and end at Lenox. Runners will also race down Cardiac Hill instead of climbing it. Participants in the inaugural event will receive entry into the long-running annual race in July.

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You did it! Your work here is done. Now go enjoy the holiday. But if you have an questions, comments or ideas, please reach out: eric.mandel@ajc.com.

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