Morning, y’all! Happy belated summer solstice, which was yesterday. Can you believe every day will get a little shorter from here on out? Too bad the sweltering weather won’t get the memo for a while.
Let’s get to it.
A GEORGIA VOTING DISASTER, DEFERRED
State Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth, gives a thumbs-down on a motion regarding property tax legislation during the special session at the state Capitol on Saturday. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
It’s been a busy special legislative session already. This weekend, state Senate Republicans approved a measure to delay a law banning QR code vote counting.
The measure still has to pass the House, and if it does, it would extend the looming July deadline to January 2028.
It would also mean no major voting changes before this year’s midterm elections.
The delay may appear generous, but implementing a statewide system by the 2028 presidential cycle would make for a busy 2027 for legislators and election officials.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the General Assembly blocked dozens of bills that would allow Georgia voters to raise sales taxes to lower property taxes for homeowners.
Democrats say raising sales taxes to lower property taxes would increase the overall tax burden on low- and middle-income Georgians, who pay a higher share of their income in taxes for groceries, gas and other goods.
One Democratic lawmaker called it a “bait-and-switch,” especially for renters and small business owners.
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AFTER 20 YEARS, AN INNOCENT MAN IS FREE
Marquez Powell was exonerated and freed after more than two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. The Georgia Innocence Project is raising funds through GoFundMe to support Powell in his return to a free life. (GoFundMe)
Thanks to the Georgia Innocence Project and Fulton County’s Conviction Integrity Unit, a man is free after spending nearly 21 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
New DNA evidence exonerated Marquez Powell of charges related to the killing of his best friend in 2005.
Powell’s release comes nearly one year into Georgia’s new system to compensate the wrongfully convicted.
Some prosecutors have created units designed to take another look at past convictions in which new evidence could be obtained.
Even with a possible legal pathway to recoup years of lost earning potential, exonerees often face their freedom in difficult financial straits.
A MARTA employee helps fans access the Vine City station as they commute to attend a FIFA World Cup match in Atlanta. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)
I’m a little afraid to write this lest I awaken some mercurial traffic god, but hopefully they’ll consider it an offering instead.
World Cup traffic … hasn’t been that bad!
“Gridlock Guy” Doug Turnbull lays out several of the reasons in his latest column entitled “Atlanta gets a win for World Cup traffic not being worse*.”
People are following advice: Non-World Cup commuters have been avoiding downtown during peak times, and World Cup commuters have made use of public transit. Just like they drew it up.
Crowd flow plans are working: The city has made strategic road closures to allow for pedestrian traffic.
The tech is teching: An army of engineers in the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Center has been adjusting traffic signal timing in real time to suit the needs of cars and commuters.
If you don’t read Charles Seabrook’s column on good bird dad facts, we’re not friends anymore.
ON THIS DATE
June 20, 1997
Ted or Rocky? Turner challenges Murdoch to fight. Ted Turner is passionate about two things: knocking Rupert Murdoch’s block off and naming his new Atlanta hockey team the Thrashers. “I challenge Rupert Murdoch to a boxing match,” Turner told those at a national convention of sports editors. “I’m deadly serious about it.” … While Vegas isn’t making good on this fight yet, hockey fans would be wise to get used to calling the team the Thrashers, named after the Georgia state bird, the brown thrasher. “Hopefully, we’ll do the thrashing,” Turner said.
Yes, today is June 22, not June 20. But to quote good friend and The Win Column host Tyler Estep, “one should never let a good story wallow in the weekend wasteland.”
While the media mogul boxing match never happened and the Thrashers left Atlanta in 2011, it turns out Turner’s mascot idea was oddly on point. More on that below.
ONE MORE THING
Georgia’s state bird, the brown thrasher, is apparently quite the male ideal, according to Seabrook:
“The male is a model avian father that takes on roughly half of all parental duties, from nest building to protecting the brood. Few birds show more concern over their eggs or young as does the brown thrasher … Known for his spirited singing and for a repertoire of hundreds of songs … the sleek, cinnamon-brown male thrasher helps his female mate select a site for their bulky, cuplike nest.”
A domestic labor splitter, a natural protector and a singer? Georgia men have a lot to live up to!
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