Morning, y’all! The city of Atlanta will begin fining people for dumping yard waste on private property. At first, I was a little worried, because there’s a corner of my property that is exclusively yard waste. Then I remembered I don’t actually live in the city. And, the ordinance is much more understandable once you read through it. Basically, it’s to keep people from junking up vacant properties or letting leaves rot near the sidewalk for 100 years.
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WHICH GEORGIA SCHOOLS NEED HELP?
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
How are Georgia’s public schools doing? Two recently released lists from the Georgia Department of Education show 70 schools that need more classroom support, and 52 that are making strong academic progress.
Schools on the Targeted Support & Improvement list will receive professional learning and targeted technical assistance from the state.
“The identification of Targeted Support & Improvement Schools allows us to ensure we’re working with school districts to provide resources and support where they are needed,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said.
Atlanta Public Schools had 10 schools on the list, more than any other school district in Georgia. The Clayton and DeKalb school systems each had nine schools on the list.
In related news, the Fulton County Board of Education took steps last week to potentially close two elementary schools: Parklane Elementary in East Point, and Spalding Drive Elementary in Sandy Springs. District officials have said enrollment in the schools is too low, and the cost of keeping them open is too high.
Here's the truth: the cost of ‘doing school' is going up significantly. It just is. Everything is more expensive. Paying teachers, health insurance benefits, retirement, the cost of buying fuel, the cost of building buildings, the cost of paying the electric bill, everything has gone up.
Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.
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THE DELICIOUS, OILY TRUTH
Credit: Marjolein Parijs/Dreamstime/TNS
Credit: Marjolein Parijs/Dreamstime/TNS
Americans love olive oil. Like, really, really love olive oil. We now account for 15% of global olive oil consumption, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, making us the third-largest consumer of the stuff. (The top consumers are Italy and Spain, and something tells me they can’t be beat, olive oil-wise.)
Good thing Georgia’s olive oil industry is growing. Only 2% of olive oil sold in the US is grown domestically, but more and more, Georgia farmers have been trying their hand at producing flavorful, award-winning small-batch varieties. Some European olive oil companies also have holdings in the state, and they say growing in Georgia helps them prepare for changing climates across the Atlantic.
Even olive oil has its limits ... I love the flavor of olive oil, or really anything that tastes like plants, dirt or the color green. I also love weird beverages. What I cannot personally recommend is olive oil in your coffee. A few years ago I had an olive oil-spiked cold brew in L.A. (because … L.A.) and couldn’t make it more than a few sips in. But if you like the idea of oily coffee vinaigrette and alarmingly chartreuse-tinged cold foam, knock yourself out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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A HARD LOOK AT GEORGIA’S PRISONS
Credit: U.S. District Court filing
Credit: U.S. District Court filing
Gangs, violence, crumbling facilities and severe understaffing are plaguing Georgia’s prisons, according to consultants hired by Gov. Brian Kemp to evaluate the state’s Department of Corrections.
An AJC investigation, led by reporters Carrie Teegardin and Danny Robbins, reveals the problems are complex, widespread and impossible to completely address on a foreseeable timeline, even with Kemp’s recent request of $600 million in funding to fix the system.
What it revealed:
Pay for Georgia correctional officers is lower than regional averages, consultants found. It’s also a vicious cycle: Less staffing on, say, overnight shifts can lead to more altercations among prisoners, which leads to both issues in reporting these altercations and fewer people wanting to take those positions.
Gangs are “effectively running the facilities” at some prisons, consultants said. Gang members make up a third of the state’s prison population.
Violence is a constant, deadly problem that’s gotten worse. The AJC identified 62 people who died from suspected homicides in state prisons last year. The Georgia Department of Corrections said it investigated 66 cases in that time. The tallies far surpass 2023′s record of at least 38 killings.
Of Georgia’s 34 prisons, 29 were found to need critical upgrades. In some places, the buildings are so unkempt prisoners can pull off pieces to use as weapons or easily gain access to restricted areas.
🔎 Read the entire investigation here.
What happens next: Kemp recently announced he wants to add $600 million to the prison system’s budget. He wants some of the money to go to targeted marketing to hire more people, and $90 million would go to upgrading facilities. Still, the AJC found it may not be enough to fix all the problems.
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THE WEEK AHEAD
Credit: Miguel Martinez / AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez / AJC
Monday, Jan. 27: Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and this year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
There are precious few Holocaust survivors left to tell us their stories firsthand. The AJC’s Jeremy Redmon spoke to Roberta Lynn Wechsler, whose late father Murray Lynn spent years courageously sharing his account of survival with others, despite the pain in every retelling. She is encouraging other family members of Holocaust survivors to continue to speak out and share, so these urgently important stories are never forgotten.
How Auschwitz survivors’ descendants keep memories alive
⚓ Tuesday, Jan. 28: Happy 110th birthday to the Coast Guard. Thank you for all you do.
🏀 The Hawks play the Rockets on Tuesday night after the game was postponed because of weather last week. They’re facing a tough schedule heading into the All-Star break in mid-February.
🧧 Wednesday, Jan. 29: Happy Lunar New Year! This new year, marked by calendars based on the phases of the moon, is celebrated by many cultures in the Middle East and Asia. Of course, it’s celebrated here, too! Lunar New Year celebrations will light up the night from Stone Mountain to Johns Creek.
Today’s trivia: Each lunar new year brings a new animal in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac cycle. Do you know what animal this coming lunar year celebrates? No Googling! The answer will be at the end, as usual.
🕳️ Sunday, Feb. 2: It’s Groundhog Day, otherwise known as the day everyone remembers how to spell “Punxsutawney.” Remember, we want him NOT to see his shadow, which means an early spring, which hopefully means less of the gross weather we’ve been getting.
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NEWS BITES
The Chiefs will have Mahomes, Swift, a Super Bowl streak and 800 Allstate commercials, but Philadelphia fans will have pure vengeance on their minds. That’s way scarier.
The good and the bad from Atlanta’s preseason opener
The bad: They lost. The good? It doesn’t matter yet.
Burglars hit Falcons player’s home on his birthday, but he got the break-in on camera
C’mon, don’t do Antonio Hamilton like that.
Revelers bid goodbye to MJQ ahead of Underground Atlanta revival
So many memories, and not a single one fit for print.
Peach Pass online services will be temporarily unavailable until Jan. 29 due to a system upgrade
Don’t worry, you’ll still be charged for lane usage of course :) :)
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ON THIS DATE
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
From the front page of the Jan 27, 1959, edition of the Atlanta Constitution: Gold leaf is Laid on Capitol Top. The long-awaited spectacle, seeing Georgia’s capitol dome turn to gold, began unfolding for upward-looking Atlantans Monday … The job will cost $12,000, including the worth of gold dust brought down last summer by wagon train from the hills of Lumpkin County.
Once again proving newspaper people have always had a sense of humor, the caption on the accompanying image reads “There’s gold (leaf) on that thar capitol dome.”
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ONE MORE THING
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
Welcome to the Year of the Snake! 🐍 I love this photo from Stone Mountain’s Lunar New Year Festival. The event will go on for the next two weekends, so get out there and celebrate in ssssstyle.
Also: The Chinese zodiac is based on a 12-year cycle. Do you know your sign? I’m a rabbit. I’m also a Cancer, so I guess you could say I’m a crabby rabbit.
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tellus@ajc.com.
Until next time.
