A.M. ATL: Exciting developments

Morning, y’all! Not to scare you for real, but Halloween is one of the most dangerous nights for pedestrians, and this holiday will be even stickier because it also falls on a Friday. Here’s some info about congestion and safety if you plan to be out and about. I’ll be in a camp chair in my cul-de-sac, dressed like a cat called Princess Donut. Don’t ask.

Let’s get to it.

CATCH UP ON THREE CITY PROJECTS

Credit: Courtesy of Forge Atlanta Asset Management

Credit: Courtesy of Forge Atlanta Asset Management

Atlanta loves a flashy development project. The problem is, you know, actually getting it built. Here’s where three big ones stand:

The Forge (downtown near Centennial Yards)

This ambitious high-rise project would fill 10 acres with luxury condos, offices, hotels and green space. A new developer called Forge Atlanta Asset Management just won the contract to the tune of $756 million. However, there’s a lot of doubt around the company’s credentials, including whether it can even stay in business. It doesn’t help two previous projects for the same site ended up DOA. Read more here

Cobb Galleria Centre (Smyrna, off 285)

The huge yet oddly unimposing convention center near Truist Park is undergoing a $190 million makeover, including a new ballroom (I hear those are hot right now), courtyard and gardens set to open in 2027. Oh, and it has a new name: The Cobb Convention Center-Atlanta. Read more here

The Beltline (up, down and all around)

The crown jewel of Atlanta’s pedestrian-friendly, mixed-development, “Look! It’s kind of like mass transit” scene is still missing a proposed 22 miles of rail transit. The loop is supposed to encircle Atlanta, and proponents say it would reinvent the city. However, Mayor Andre Dickens delayed the first stage of rail construction earlier this year, sowing fears that more scaling back would turn a marquee promise into a disappointment. Read more here

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ATL FOOD BANK RESPONDS TO SNAP CRISIS

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

The federal government won’t do it. Georgia’s state government hasn’t done it. That leaves places like the Atlanta Community Food Bank to step in and help millions of Georgians who will lose SNAP benefits at the end of the month.

The ACFB is dipping into $5 million in reserves to cover the huge spike in demand. Even with that influx, the organization’s leaders don’t know how long it will stretch.

Former state Sen. Jason Esteves, a Democratic candidate for governor, spoke at a news conference about the demand and offered some basic tips:

Use any funds you already have on your EBT cards while they still work, before Nov. 1.
Reach out now to nearby pantries, houses of worship or schools to see what assistance may be available once your food stock runs low. (And if you’re lucky enough to have plenty to go around, maybe connect with one of those places and help some neighbors out.)

SNAP isn't a choice for my son and I. It's survival. Too many of our leaders don't know what it's like to check the pantry before payday, to stretch $10 across a week, or to send a child to bed after another long day of trying.

- Rachel Kent, a 45-year-old mother, on the reality of food stamps

🔎 READ MORE: Legislators, recipients speak about SNAP

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE AI

A Georgia lawyer must now make a little shame spiel to clients and judges for the next five years, admitting she relied on bogus legal arguments dreamed up by artificial intelligence.

Jonesboro-based attorney Loletha Hale was sanctioned by a federal judge for using generative AI in her arguments while representing four women suing comedian Katt Williams for assault.
One of her briefs included fake case citations, a common flub for generative AI. (Because, once again, language learning models know absolutely nothing and only parrot human-sounding language.)
The judge said using AI to assist in case briefs isn’t the problem; it’s letting mistakes made by AI slip through. Instead of fining her, the judge said Hale must notify any new clients and judges about the misadventure.

🔎 READ MORE: The lawyer’s daughter was also involved

ONE NIGHT, 50 FOOTBALL GAMES

Credit: POUYA DIANAT/pdianat@ajc.com

Tonight is going to be a football-palooza like none other. Nearly 50 high school football games will kick off to make up for a temporary shortage of referees.

Blame it on Halloween and UGA.

A lot of high school refs called out to attend the University of Georgia’s annual game against Florida, essentially an SEC high holy day.
These refs are often parents, too, and with Halloween falling on a Friday, the ref pool for Friday games ran low.
Changes to game rules in some areas, like the addition of a play clock, have also increased the number of refs needed per game.

NEWS BITES

Atlanta United’s failures this season were a collective effort

Maybe the real wins were the friends we made along the way.

Kennesaw State celebrates first FBS bowl eligibility

Hoot yeah! (Do people say that? They do now.)

No spookies, please: Useful tips for a sensory-friendly Halloween night

Some people don’t want to be spooked at. That is OK.

Think you’ve seen ghosts in Georgia? There’s a team you can call.

“This isn’t for the faint of heart,” paranormal investigator Philip Wyatt warns.

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 30, 1926

Credit: AJC

Little hope now held for Houdini’s recovery. The condition of Harry Houdini, was reported as grave early Saturday by officials at the hospital where he underwent a second operation Friday night. New complications in form of paralysis of the bowels have developed and physicians said there is little hope of recovery. Houdini was first operated on for appendicitis. Later, peritonitis and other complications developed.

The great escape artist’s death remains a bit of a spooky mystery. He died of abdominal swelling that could have been related to an illness or could have been, as witness anecdotes pose, the result of several hard punches to the stomach a few days prior. Houdini did his final disappearing act a day after this story, on Halloween night.

ONE MORE THING

I’ve never liked the term “green space.” Too vague, too obtuse. Too often a patch of close-trimmed zoysia with a single tree. It’s not nature, it’s Green Space™️!

Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.

Until next time.

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