Happy Independence Day, America. To underscore the many things that make our country great, we offer columns today that emphasize the importance of voting, and the push to ensure all citizens have easy access to cast ballots for the candidates and initiatives of their choice. In our third column, a Georgia nonprofit executive writes about ways to overcome the problems plaguing our VA medical services: Local communities need to step up for our veterans.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com