Happy 404 Day, Atlanta! Today’s weather calls for gusty winds and a mixture of sun and clouds with highs in the upper 50s.
So what’s on tap in today’s newsletter? Three Cobb County third graders challenge recess, social media influencer Keith Lee comes back to Atlanta and all heck breaks loose, and it’s 404 Day, so there are events aplenty to celebrate Atlanta’s special day.
Let’s get to it.
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RECESS RANGERS TAKE ON PLAYTIME
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
What can you do in 15 minutes?
Not much these days. Go a few blocks in Atlanta during rush hour? Nope. Get someone on the phone from customer service? Yeah, right. All that press 1 if you want English, press 2 to enter your 10-digit phone number and area code, press 3 to ... well you get the idea.
And apparently not much during recess, according to Smyrna Elementary School third graders Berkley Carter, Daphne Murray and June Simmons. The trio — calling themselves Recess Rangers — appeared before the Cobb County School Board recently and asked a simple question: Could the district mandate a longer recess?
“Today we are here to tell you why kids should have longer recess,” the 8- and 9-year-olds said, requiring step stools to reach the microphone. “Longer recess will help our and other schools grow.”
Research backs their claim. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recess helps students increase physical activity, reduce disruptive behavior and improve social and emotional development.
Personal experiences played a role in their arguments, too. Daphne said recess helped her get over a teacher saying she should be more like her older brother. June recounted how recess helped her calm down after struggling with drawing something for an assignment.
“Before, it was just a time to be goofy and fun, but now I feel like it’s really serious,” June said. “I have to have recess.”
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AROUND THE STATE
Medical marijuana may be helping Georgians deal with pain in their bodies, but some say they now need relief from the high cost of the medication.
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Georgia will receive $638 million of a $26 billion multistate settlement with companies that made or distributed prescription painkillers tied to the deadly opioid crisis.
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Berry College President Steve Briggs will step down at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. The school, about 70 miles north of Atlanta, will conduct a national search to replace him beginning this summer.
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404 DAY IN THE ATL
Credit: Tyson Horne
Credit: Tyson Horne
It’s 404 Day today, so it’s time to celebrate everything Atlanta. That will include music in Piedmont Park, a nearly two-mile Cascade Springs hike, a women in film/TV fireside chat, among other events.
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TikTok influencer and food critic Keith Lee came to Atlanta on Wednesday, but not for his so-called “redemption tour.” Instead, Lee distributed meals at two different locations after crowds amassed to get a glimpse of him.
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NATION AND WORLD
Federal prosecutors pushed back Tuesday on a judge’s instructions to the jury in former President Trump’s classified documents case. Lawyers said the instructions rest on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise.”
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Nine people were killed Wednesday in the strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years. As many as 70 workers are stranded at two rock quarries, but they are considered safe.
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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
No series finale happened for the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox. Rain, snow and just generally ugly weather forced the suspension of Wednesday’s game.
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Georgia looks ahead to turning around its basketball program after Tuesday’s 84-67 NIT semifinals loss to Seton Hall.
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JAMES BEARD FINALISTS
Credit: Courtesy photo/Bailey Garrot
Credit: Courtesy photo/Bailey Garrot
The James Beard Foundation on Wednesday named Atlanta chefs and restaurateurs Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter finalists for the organization’s 2024 restaurant and chef awards. This is the pair’s first time as Beard finalists.
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Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” offers Black country artists hope for the future. The big question: What happens when the hoopla around her foray into the genre dies down?
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» MacKenzie Scott donates millions to help Atlanta immigrants, Latinos
» Did College Park violate the law in approving battery storage plant?
» King Family to lay wreath marking 56 years since MLK’s death
» Airport MARTA station closing for 6 weeks: What you need to know
» A cat walked into a bar ...
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ON THIS DATE
April 4, 2004
Georgia Tech men’s basketball advanced to its first NCAA title game with a last-second 67-65 win over Oklahoma State.
“We’re watching wonders stacked atop wonders,” AJC columnist Mark Bradley wrote. Alas, the Jackets lost to Connecticut a few days later.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Mike Jordan
Credit: Mike Jordan
The AJC’s Mike Jordan captured a moment with TikTok influencer and food critic Keith Lee who turned up Wednesday in Atlanta for a community giveback. The visit was not the much-hyped “redemption tour” that some had expected.
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ONE MORE THING
As I leave you for today, I want to encourage everyone to read Monica Pearson’s wonderful column on gardening. No, it’s not the kind of planting that reaps edible fruits and vegetables, but one that unearths a bounty of kindness, respect, love and compassion.
Pearson talks about things that surprise her these days — things that sadly are in short supply.
“Politeness is passé for many,” she writes. “I’m always surprised when someone holds an open door for me; when someone greets me with a smile and says ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ or ‘how can I help you?’ or even ‘excuse me.’ I make sure I respond in kind and often have said to a young person who is polite how much their mannerly conduct means to me.”
But she concludes that our better selves are worth fighting for and worth presenting to the world. I agree.
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact leon.stafford@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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