Today’s moderator: Tom Sabulis

A 20-year veteran of the AJC, Tom Sabulis has covered news, politics and the arts during a career that has taken him to newspapers across the country. Since 2008, he has coordinated many of the newspaper’s pro/con debates and first-person guest columns.

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Considering metro Atlanta’s big transportation issues, a stolen road grate seems like a minor nuisance — until you drive into the hole created by one’s disappearance, or more of your tax money goes to replace them. Today, the Georgia Department of Transportation writes about the escalating problem of thieves uprooting roadway grates and selling them as scrap metal. A statewide recyclers’ trade group responds.

Guest columnists:

Storm grate thefts cost GDOT, citizens | Recyclers work with authorities

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Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC