ajc logo

Torpy At Large

Edwin C. Atkins (left) points out the grave of an anonymous prisoner buried about 90 years ago near where the Georgia State Prison Farm once stood in Milledgeville. With him are state Rep. Rick Williams and Mary Esther Lord Smith. Photo by Bill Torpy
OPINION: The ‘sin’ of forgetting Georgia’s graveyard of the executed
A Cobb County SWAT team took a man into custody on Monday morning, July 19, 2021, following an hourslong standoff, police said. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)
OPINION: Atlanta crime-control pendulum swings toward hard line. Again
Muhammad Ali lights the torch to launch the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. (AJC file photo)
OPINION: For every fuzzy feeling about ‘96 Games, there was a tug of war
More from Bill Torpy
A margherita pizza from Ken's Artisan Bakery & Pizza in Portland, Oregon. (Courtesy of Ken's Artisan Bakery & Pizza's Instagram)
OPINION: In pizza wars, everybody’s favorite new villain is Portland
A presentation is made to board members of the Development Authority of Fulton County during a meeting in August 2019 at the Fulton County Government Center in Atlanta. (Photo by Phil Skinner / AJC file)
OPINION: Fulton development board’s twisted tactics a stomach turner
Newly elected sheriff Keybo Taylor speaks at a press conference at the Gwinnett County Jail on January 1, 2021. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
OPINION: Gwinnett sheriff’s ‘book bags’? Claim holds only empty words
Then-Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed speaks during his final workday at Atlanta City Hall. Bonuses given out in 2017 during the final days of his administration were determined to be illegal, according to a pair of city investigations. ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM
OPINION: Hey, feds! Put up or shut up on Kasim Reed before election
Newly elected sheriff Keybo Taylor speaks at a press conference at the Gwinnett County Jail on January 1, 2021. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
OPINION: When a sheriff tries to bail out of a nasty bonding dispute
Then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue speaks at an event at the Spring Hollow Farm in Claxton, Georgia, on Jan. 7, 2021, about bringing high-speed internet to two rural Georgia counties. (AJC Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
OPINION | Georgia universities’ chancellor job: Please don’t Perdue it
After an altercation while in line, upcoming sixth-grader Alex Judge III, center, is comforted by his mother, Laura Judge, while they talk with Gregory Farino, left, and Carolyn Elliott-Farino before a Cobb County of Education board meeting begins. Teachers, parents and local residents gathered on June 10, 2021, to voice their opinions on critical race theory. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal Constitution)
OPINION | Critical race theory column, Round 2: Readers hit back
Before a Cobb County of Education board meeting begins, Sandra Davis, a Cobb County media specialist, from left, and Janet Arnold Savage, center, debate with Leroy Emkin, right, a Cobb resident who has three children who went through the Georgia public education system. Teachers, parents and local residents gathered to voice their opinions on critical race theory and what Cobb County teaching and the reviews initiated by the school board on June 10, 2021. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal Constitution)
OPINION: Why I, a white guy, am no big critic of critical race theory
Security enhancement including metal detectors added at Lenox Square on December 29, 2020. Lenox Square, in the heart of Buckhead, has been the site of numerous shooting incidents in the past two years. The Atlanta Police Department has a mini-precinct inside the mall, which has increased security. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
Poor parts of Atlanta can’t leave like Buckhead. Not a crime?
Former Mayor Kasim Reed, pictured Thursday after an interview at Colony Square, said rampant crime has caused him to come out of political retirement and run for his old office. Photo by Bill Torpy
OPINION: Can Hizzoner save Atlanta? Ex (and next?) mayor says he can
Atlanta police investigate the shooting scene Monday, May 17, 2021, at the Azule Restaurant and Lounge located at 2625 Piedmont Road NE in the Lindbergh area of Buckhead, where a 43-year-old man was found dead in a bathroom. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)
OPINION: Fear is the greatest motivator in Buckhead cityhood movement
An old battery factory on Allene Avenue in Southwest Atlanta will be the site of 323 new Beltline apartments with a little help from a $2.5 million tax break from the Fulton Development Authority. Photo by Bill Torpy
OPINION: Hot Beltline projects sizzle with tax breaks that burn folks
Danny Darby, curriculum director at the Georgia State University Child Development Center, will retire on Tuesday, June 1, after 40 years of teaching preschoolers. A man in the field is rare. And as a Black man, Darby is somewhat of a unicorn. (Photo by Bill Torpy)
OPINION: A Black male preschool teacher is rare. He wishes it wasn’t
Foster Godfrey, 6, looks at his older brother Rett, 8, as they are getting ready for surgery following a mauling by two Rottweilers in Alpharetta this month. (Credit: Photo courtesy of Scott Godfrey)
OPINION: So glad for heroes in dog attack that shouldn’t have happened
A new documentary of the Hindenburg disaster features rare footage shot in 1937 by an amateur cameraman, Harold Schenck. (Photo courtesy of Dan Grossman)
OPINION: Oh, the humanity! Atlanta lawyer is a Hindenburg savant
The eastbound lanes of I-20 were closed for more than three hours on Feb. 25, 2021, after a man was found shot inside his vehicle in downtown Atlanta. (JOHN SPINK / John.Spink@ajc.com)
OPINION: Atlanta’s roads were already dangerous. Now add bullets
Circa 2011, nearing the University of Georgia arch on Broad Street in Athens. Big sister Emma Torpy, then a sophomore at UGA, with her brother, Liam, left, his twin Fred, and youngest Michael (right) jumping in. (Credit: Torpy family photo)
OPINION: At UGA, life/death and the varying degrees of graduation
Homeless people in Atlanta gather along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and some sleep on the steps of the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in January of this year. In 2020, as the pandemic spread, city agencies that fight homelessness rented space in two hotels in an effort to shelter those infected with COVID-19, or deemed susceptible to the disease. Now, those decisions are being questioned by neighbors who say that they were never informed. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
OPINION: Homeless hotel not a hit with the neighbors. Naturally
Homeless people in Atlanta gather along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and some sleep on the steps of the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in January of this year. In 2020, as the pandemic spread, city agencies that fight homelessness rented space in two hotels in an effort to shelter those infected with COVID-19, or deemed susceptible to the disease. Now, those decisions are being questioned by neighbors who say that they were never informed. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
OPINION: Homeless hotel not a hit with the neighbors. Naturally
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms speaks at a press conference Friday morning, May 7, 2021, at Atlanta City Hall regarding her decision not to run for a second term. In her first public appearance since announcing her decision to supporters Thursday night, Bottoms said her decision was guided by faith. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)
OPINION: Atlanta mayoral job in a spin as Bottoms bows out
Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill leaves the scene in northwest Atlanta where a man sought by law enforcement officers killed himself on July 10, 2019. (Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC)
OPINION: Teflon might be wearing thin on Sheriff Victor Hill
A crew from the group HEY! pulls down the rotten wooden ramp leading to the home of Kathryn Johnston, who was killed there by police in 2006. Photo by Bill Torpy
OPINION: Home where Kathryn Johnston died gets a rebirth
Reporters crank out copy in 1950 in the Atlanta Constitution newsroom. Longtime reporter/columnist Celestine Sibley composes something, mid-right of photo. (credit: AJC archives)
OPINION: Not gonna Stop the Presses! But sure gonna shrink the newsroom
Protesters march around Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta during a rally on April 14, 2021, in solidarity with Minnesota - Justice for Daunte Wright. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
OPINION | Killjoy after Chauvin verdict: 1,000 dead by cops each year
© 2021 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
All Rights Reserved.
By using this website, you accept the terms of our
Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices.
Learn about Careers at Cox Enterprises.
Back to Top