Morning, y’all. I’ve got The Morbs. (You can tell because there’s no exclamation point.) “The Morbs” is this old Victorian saying that means, well, what it sounds like. Temporary melancholia. A brief but paralyzing ontological crisis. Kind of like a stomach bug for your brain. We all get The Morbs occasionally, and I find it the best cure is to dance around, look at a bird or two, list things you’re grateful for and remember a vast amount of what happens in life is beyond your control.
Oh no! Ignore that last part. It might make it worse. You know how else you fight The Morbs? Learning things and staying informed!
Let’s get to it.
THE DATA BOOM IS BOOMING IN GA
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Georgia’s been hot property for companies looking to build data centers — giant, warehouse-like buildings filled with whirring computers that power things like artificial intelligence programs and internet infrastructure. In fact, Georgia recently surpassed Northern Virginia for the most planned data center capacity.
This week, developers submitted plans for one of the biggest Georgia data center projects yet: A 29-building campus in Columbia County, roughly 30 miles west of Augusta along I-20. The details are mind-blowing.
- The White Oak Technology Park would span 8 million square feet, which is more floor space than four Malls of Georgia.
- Developers haven’t estimated a value, but just last week, an 8.7-million-square-foot, 12-center project in Bartow County was valued at $19 billion.
Why should we care about data centers? For one, they’re kind of creepy, right? They’re cavernous empty buildings that nonetheless buzz with something almost like life. One of the plus sides, proponents say, is data centers employ very few people and don’t make an impact on local traffic. State tax breaks also keep the cash flowing into Georgia, making them an important part of the state’s economy now.
🎥 WATCH: How data centers transform Georgia into a tech giant
But ... As we’ve discussed before, data centers often strain local power grids, creating tensions with nearby communities. They’re also a very long-term investment. The Augusta project could take 10 years to complete.
A lot can happen in a decade. In related tech news, Microsoft says it’s “slowing or pausing” some data center construction, including a $1 billion investment in Ohio and another in Wisconsin.
Microsoft leaders said the stall has to do with changing expectations around AI and cloud computing.
There’s a lot of backstory to Microsoft’s specific situation. But it shows how fortunes — in this case, billions of dollars — can change with the times. About a quarter of Georgia’s many, many, many data center projects are pre-leased, meaning they are already attached to a specific company and purpose.
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HELP FOR AN EMERGENCY ROOM DESERT
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
Credit: Ben Gray/AJC
The Grady Health System broke ground Wednesday on a new freestanding emergency room in South Fulton that will bring critical facilities closer to underserved metro Atlanta residents. The area became a hospital desert after Wellstar Health System closed two facilities in the area in 2022.
- The facility will house just ER services and no regular hospital beds. It’s expected to open in late 2026.
- An AJC analysis after Wellstar’s hospitals closed found most of the people left outside of a 15-minute car ride radius from an ER were disproportionately Black with lower-than-average incomes.
- Standalone emergency rooms are becoming more common in Georgia since Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law allowing the facilities in 2019.
It’s not a perfect solution. There are lingering questions about how possible cuts to health care, Medicaid and related resources could affect such a facility and the people it serves. Freestanding ERs also have different insurance processes than, say, an urgent care site. But for now, leaders in the community and at Grady are pleased with the progress. “This is a victory for the entire Southside,” Union City mayor Vince Williams said.
SEEING DOUBLE AT THE MASTERS
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Masters activities are in full force at Augusta National Golf Club (along with very spicy pimento cheese discourse). Today marks the beginning of tournament play. You can follow the AJC’s coverage here.
For those who don’t care about the golf but are here for the atmosphere, I got you:
Two Danish brothers are the first set of twins ever to play in the Masters together. Rasmus Hojgaard and his identical twin brother Nicolai used to joke about playing in this tournament when they were young. They were also quite competitive but have matured enough to set some of it aside for their big moment in Augusta. Just some, though.
“We got older, and we can shake each other’s hand now and say congrats when someone is playing well — and be brothers as well and friends at the same time,” Nicolai said.
The AJC’s Jack Leo is in Augusta and talked to some first-time Masters players about when it all sank in for them. I love their answers. Very uplifting sports stuff.
I think one of the incredible memories is when you arrive here for the first time and seeing the wide-open space and seeing the golf course that you watched on TV so many years as a kid.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🌎 President Donald Trump says he’ll pause tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but increase punitive tariffs on China.
🎤 A federal court ordered the Trump administration to re-admit the Associated Press to White House events on First Amendment grounds, but the administration is appealing.
✍️ Georgia judges could include family pets in domestic violence restraining orders under a new bill. Domestic abuse sometimes includes animal abuse, and some people in abusive situations may stay because of a pet.
SHRIMP OUTLOOK IS ROSY
President Donald Trump’s tariff game has been a roller coaster for many, but shrimp farmers along Georgia’s coast are feeling optimistic.
Local shrimpers compete in a market saturated with imports from Asia and Latin America. The pandemic also knee-capped the industry with an extended halt in trading, and small businesses have struggled to bounce back.
Shrimp industry insiders call Trump’s punishingly high tariffs a “lifeline” that could help local outlets stay competitive, especially with shrimping season around the corner in late spring.
NEWS BITES
They better be combined into one glorious, unholy cinnamon bun ice cream sandwich. Otherwise what are we even doing here?
A look inside the Hawks’ playoffs scenarios with three games to play in regular season
Frankly, the fact they still have a chance is quite impressive.
LeBron James is now a Ken doll
A. It’s actually a good likeness, not one of those horror show celebrity dolls that looks like it will absorb your soul. B. LeBron James in the “Barbie” movie would have been high art.
Scientists map part of a mouse’s brain that’s so complex it looks like a galaxy
Apparently this involved the mouse watching “The Matrix?” I’m gonna need another cinnamon bun ice cream sandwich to understand this.
ON THIS DATE
April 10, 2003
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
From the front page of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: President Saddam Hussein’s 24-year rule appeared at an end Wednesday, toppled as surely as one of his statues. Cheering, dancing Iraqis swarmed the city streets, and Iraq’s U.N. ambassador declared, “The game is over.”
See, this is why newspapers are amazing. We look back on moments in recent history with the added context of decades. A glance at a front page takes you right back to that moment, and the bygone world it reflected.
ONE MORE THING
Another instance from today’s “On This Date” front page of how things change: William “Hootie” Johnson, then-chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, said the club would never admit women as members even if he dropped dead. He lived to see, and in fact nominate one of, the club’s first and few female members.
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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