Morning, y’all! Oscar Wilde reportedly once said “Conversation about weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Well, Oscar Wilde didn’t live in the South in C.E. 2025. I’m sure there’s also a quote about the unimaginative practice of opening a newsletter with a quote, but here we are. Maybe I’d be more creative if I weren’t so cold! More weather and politics today (the death and taxes of our present time), and then a local legal case that will catch national attention.
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IT’S BACK, FOLKS
Credit: Miguel Martinez / AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez / AJC
It’s a snowy day in Georgia. Lord, I believe it’s snowing all over the world (a little-known Brook Benton B-side). You know the drill, y’all. State officials are warning us to stay home and prepare for up to 48 hours of extreme cold that could dump snow on parts of Georgia that haven’t seen a storm like this in 40 years.
An upside-down storm: Southern parts of Georgia are seeing more snow and cold than northern parts, leading some to term this an “upside-down” storm. I spoke to meteorologist Carmen Hernandez at the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, and she says it’s the arctic air pushing through the Gulf that’s bringing the unusual pattern.
Spare a thought for Texas, Louisiana and other areas of the Gulf Coast too, who are getting the brunt of that upside-down blast. In fact, the whole Gulf area and Eastern seaboard is caught in this icy melee, thanks to disruptions in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air that usually encircles the North Pole.
“Will we be cold forever?” That’s something else I asked Hernandez, who gently reminded me that meteorologists only forecast about a week out. But she did say numbers indicate we could have slightly higher than average temps in February. So that’s something to look forward to.
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TAKING CARE OF OUR COMMUNITY
On a very serious note, snow and cold doesn’t just create deadly conditions on the roads. Power outages and burst pipes can become life-threatening problems, and our unhoused neighbors often have to endure unimaginable conditions without shelter. It’s hard to know what to do in the moment, but the Atlanta Mission has suggestions that we can heed all winter long.
🧣 Why not pile up blankets and winter gear in your car this week to offer the next time you see someone in need? (Same goes for snacks and water.)
🏠 Or, make a practice of donating these things to local shelters.
☎️ And as always, check on friends and family who may be more vulnerable in rough weather. Maybe you can run over some supplies if it’s safe.
That leads us to today’s trivia question: The Atlanta Mission mentions a specific item that is highly sought-after among those in need, but not often donated because, well, we just don’t think of it. What is it? I’ll put the answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
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WHAT NOT TO DO IN A DISASTER
AJC columnist Bill Torpy has an interesting read on Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta businesswoman who was convicted last week in federal court for defrauding the government of FEMA funds. Brown, one of those can-do types who usually keep the world turning, promised the Federal Emergency Management Agency she could deliver 30 million meals to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s destruction in 2017. Oh, and they paid her $156 million to do it.
The only problem? Brown didn’t really have a plan. Or relevant experience. Or anyone on board to help. What could go wrong?
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YOU QUIT? YOU’RE FIRED.
Credit: Melina Mara/Pool/Abaca Press/TNS
Credit: Melina Mara/Pool/Abaca Press/TNS
President Donald Trump has begun his second time in office by signing a raft of executive orders. It’s too early to tell exactly how the orders will be carried out, whether they’ll face legal challenges and if they’re even practically feasible, but they do outline the shape of some of his priorities. The AJC’s politics team has run down the biggest ones, which include:
☑️ declaring a national emergency at the Mexico-U.S. border and rolling back several of the Biden Administration’s immigration policies
☑️ signing his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreements
☑️ halting federal hiring
☑️ signing his intention to pause Congress’ ban on TikTok
☑️ pardoning most of the nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 defendants, including 44 from Georgia
☑️ rolling back diversity and inclusion initiatives, including protections for LGBTQ citizens. One such order declares that the federal government will only recognize two sexes: male and female.
Meanwhile, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms found herself in a strange position when Trump announced he was in the process of firing about 1,000 people from their White House appointments under the Biden Administration. That included Bottoms, who served on the President’s Export Council — a group that acts as the principal national advisory committee on international trade.
Bottoms responded saying it was too late to matter since she had already handed in her resignation from the post on Jan. 4.
“A day late and a dollar short,” she wrote on social media. “You can’t fire someone who has already resigned.”
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ANOTHER PAINFUL CASE IN BRUNSWICK
Another case related to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery will begin soon in Brunswick. Arbery, a Black man, was shot and killed while running in a Brunswick-area neighborhood in 2020. Three men involved in his death were convicted of murder and other charges in 2021, earning each life sentences in prison.
Now, it’s former Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson’s turn on the stand. Johnson is accused of violating her oath of office and hindering the police investigation into Arbery’s death.
Jury selection begins this week, but the process has been complicated by the weather. The judge in the case dismissed people early yesterday and canceled court today.
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SAVANNAH’S UPPING ITS GAME FOR THE FILM INDUSTRY
Credit: Savannah Tree Foundation
Credit: Savannah Tree Foundation
Savannah is upping its game to stay competitive in the ever-changing film and television industry. The city is offering juicier cash rebates to production companies who film their projects there, along with existing incentives like bonuses for hiring local crew members. That’s on top of Georgia’s film tax credit, which has helped the state make a name for itself as a top filming destination in the US.
Things have been slow on the filming front since the Hollywood labor strike of 2023, and even Georgia’s generous tax credits haven’t kept cost-conscious studios from being wooed by cheaper locations and labor in the U.K. and eastern Europe.
Did you know? With its natural beauty and picturesque vibes, Savannah is the second-most popular filming location in Georgia behind Atlanta. 🌳
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NEWS BITES
Everything you need (want?) to know about the mushrooms-in-coffee trend
Add something that tastes like fancy dirt to something else that tastes like fancy dirt and you get … fancier tasting dirt.
Winning thoughts to Braves icon Andruw Jones, who missed the cut but has two years left to be voted in.
A new golf league that combines simulation technology with PGA pros is in Atlanta
Our team is called the Atlanta Drive GC and there’s … a shot clock? It’s wild.
Georgia finishes outside of top 5 in final AP rankings of 2024 football season
Look forward, friends. Final AP rankings can only hurt you if you’re looking back.
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ON THIS DATE
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
From the Jan. 22, 2000, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Stone Mountain water ride idea all wet, foes say. Maybe they could have called in Rebel River. The company managing state-owned Stone Mountain Park wants to add a run through the rapids or a slow boat ride to your day of soaking up Confederate history. The company … is proposing a $25 million water attraction with the noncombative name Spirit of Adventure.
As you can tell from the current lack of lazy river or log flume at Stone Mountain, this idea did end up, well, dead in the water.
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ONE MORE THING
The answer is socks. Yes, socks! Such a simple thing can make such a difference. Warm hearts lead to warm toes.
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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.
