Morning y’all! With all of the uncertainty and stress federal employees are feeling right now, it makes me realize even more what a privilege it is to like — or even love, or frankly be able to tolerate — your job. (And to even have a job at all!) If you are one of the lucky ones who loves where you work, drop a nomination for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 2025 Atlanta Top Workplaces Awards.
Now, on to much less pleasant job talk.
OFFICE SWEET OFFICE
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Today’s the day many federal departments and agencies will begin their mandated return-to-office in accordance with President Donald Trump’s ongoing executive order blitz.
- It’s going to do wonders for Atlanta traffic, so if you work near downtown pack an extra dose of patience before you head out.
- Three major federal work sites are downtown, all a short way from the Five Points MARTA Station. Sam Nunn, Richard B. Russell and the Martin Luther King Jr. federal buildings are clustered around Ted Turner Drive and Forsyth Street, so you may see elevated foot traffic in the area.
- A reminder that more than 62,000 federal civilian employees are based in metro Atlanta.
And there’s even more drama ahead for federal workers:
➡️ Elon Musk has told all federal workers — that’s hundreds of thousands of people — they need to explain everything they did last week by 11:59 p.m. Monday night or expect consequences. I’m sure he will be kind enough to share his own itinerary in exchange.
➡️ The Trump Administration is firing 2,000 U.S.-based employees at USAID and putting the rest of the department’s workforce around the world on leave.
➡️ Trump appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend and said how great he thinks it is that lots of federal workers are being fired, and that his administration so far has been like the opening few holes of a good round of golf.
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MILES IN MEMORY
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
What a strange and sad coincidence that two people whose deaths changed their Georgia communities were killed on nearly the same date — though four years apart.
Sunday was the fifth anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder, which added another chorus of voices to the cries for racial justice that resonated throughout 2020.
Saturday was also the one year anniversary of the death of Laken Riley. The nursing student’s murder on the University of Georgia campus prompted a federal bill that recently became law.
Their memories were honored in separate events over the weekend.
Hundreds of people took to the Beltline on Sunday to run 2.23 miles to signify the date Arbery was shot and killed by a trio of men while running near Brunswick. Local running groups including South Fulton Running Partners, Movers and Pacers and Black Men Run participated in the event.
In Athens, a large group of people gathered near Laken Riley’s sorority house to participate in Laken’s Miles, also known as the 22 for 22 Memorial.
ABOUT THAT BIOLAB EXPLOSION ...
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
Remember the giant BioLab explosion last September that sent huge plumes of smoke into the air around Conyers and made everyone a little nervous to breathe for a few days? Researchers are going to look into how, exactly, that incident could affect people’s long-term health. (The aftermath of the explosion has understandably been a huge source of concern for area residents.)
More details about The Post-Fire Public Health Recovery Project will be revealed this evening at a “Shut Down BioLab” community forum in Conyers.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
📱 State Democrats are backing a bill that would require social media platforms to terminate the accounts of anyone under 14 years old. They say it’s in response to constantly emerging information about how social media harms young people’s health. (We’ll get more into what this would actually look like in practice later this week.)
♿ Republican attorneys general in Georgia are making it clear they support a landmark federal disability rights law after parents expressed fears of losing services for their disabled children because of a GOP lawsuit opposing transgender rights. It’s complicated but fascinating to see how the two issues are tied together.
📜 Mayor Andre Dickens’ administration released an “Employee Bill of Rights” following the city inspector general’s resignation earlier this month.
🚪 Caleb Vitello, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been reassigned following frustrations in the Trump administration that mass deportations aren’t moving fast enough.
✍🏻 Gov. Brian Kemp’s tort reform-esque bill, which would limit certain kinds of lawsuits, has advanced to the state House after Kemp made some concessions to fellow Republicans.
THE LATEST ON THE POPE
Pope Francis is still in critical condition as he battles pneumonia, a complex lung infection and early kidney failure. As head of the Roman Catholic Church, the 88-year-old pontiff is a beloved figurehead to millions, and prayers for his health are being heard from every corner of the globe.
🔎 Believe it or not, the Vatican guidelines on what happens when a pope is incapacitated aren’t super specific. But this dive into what rules the Vatican does have around such circumstances is fascinating.
NEWS BITES
Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez makes a half-court shot to win $10,000 for a Bucknell student
Man, some guys get all the talent.
Atlanta United’s home opener drew one of the weekend’s largest sports crowds in the world
See, Europe? We have throngs of unhinged soccer fans, too!
Beyonce is coming to Atlanta. One of our coworkers spent days trying to get tickets
Kyleah admits she cried a little when she finally got them, which is so real.
The New York Yankees drop a ban on beards after 49 years
I want to see some real funky stuff. Like, singing baritone with the Oak Ridge Boys/balling for the LA Clippers/studying finches in the Galapagos stuff. I need everyone looking like Byzantine emperors. Give us some flavor, gentlemen!
Some Canadians are canceling trips to the US because of Trumps threats
B-b-but we have Waffle House ... :(
ON THIS DATE
February 24, 1940
From the front page of the Atlanta Constitution: Georgia editors and their wives donned everything from cowboy hats to hoop skirts of the sixties here tonight in the first costume party ever held as a part of the annual Press Institute.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Two thoughts: Regional gatherings of newspaper professionals should always require costumes. Also, in order to make up for the whole “and their wives” part, I like to imagine the editors were the ones wearing hoop skirts.
ONE MORE THING
I went down a bit of a beard rabbit hole, so to speak, and have learned more than I intended to.
So, as we part, a list of beard style names that sound made up but apparently aren’t: Garibaldi, friendly mutton chops, old Dutch, French fork, goat patch, chin curtain.
I hope this information enriches your day.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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