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Morning, y’all! Have you noticed our new sunny peach A.M. ATL header? Really brightens up the place, I think.

Let’s get to it.

NOW WITH EVEN MORE DATA CENTERS

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

Last week, OpenAI made national headlines when it announced plans for a $20 billion data center complex near Savannah.

An important detail lost in the announcement: Two other massive Georgia-based data center projects were unveiled the very same day.

One is a $13 billion data center project called Stillwater Technology Park in Clayton County.
The other is a $1 billion expansion to Google’s existing computing campus in LaGrange.

Lots of development, lots of questions

The OpenAI complex caught immediate criticism from thousands of residents who said they had no idea their city was considering the project.
That’s a common problem with Georgia’s data center rush: Citizens say they don’t have time to weigh in on the proposals, and leaders say regulations are being skirted to fast-track big projects.

Rapid rollouts also mean data centers are becoming a challenge to document and track. That’s a huge concern for environmentalists and regulators.

“We don’t have a system in place to really take a good data-driven look at the impacts of data centers over time and how they’re affecting communities,” says Louise Palmer, executive director of Environmental Equity Information Institute.

“Nor do we have any real coordinated effort to engage communities and educate communities before these decisions come down.”

Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.

APALACHEE UPDATES

Convicted Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray could be sentenced today after pleading guilty late last week to charges related to the attack.

Gray, 16, pleaded guilty Friday to 55 counts, including murder, in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting that killed four and injured several others.

What to expect: Murder carries a minimum sentence of life in prison, and it is up to the Barrow County Superior Court judge to decide whether the teen will have the possibility of parole after hearing testimony and considering evidence.

Details from testimony

A forensic psychologist testified that Gray was “obsessed” with school shootings and was so entrenched in online communities that fetishized such attacks that he mimicked the actions and methods of infamous school shooters to “gain fame and status” online.
Victims and family members also gave statements Friday, some urging the judge to sentence the 16-year-old to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

⚖️ The House Ethics Committee dropped U.S. Rep. Mike Collins’ senior adviser from an ethics probe because, once Collins dismissed the aide, he was no longer under the House’s jurisdiction. Collins’ former chief of staff Brandon Phillips was fired in May after several controversies. The ethics probe into whether Collins violated any laws or rules is still ongoing.

✈️ Delta Air Lines was approached by United Airlines last year about a potential merger, according to a new report. The talks didn’t progress, but Delta leadership still discussed the pros and cons of a deal.

🗳️ Today is the special election in Georgia’s 13th District to replace the late Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died in April. The four Democratic and two Republican contenders will appear on the same ballot, and the winner will finish up Scott’s term.

ATLANTA’S NEWEST RETIREMENTCORE HOBBY

Credit: (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

First, there was pickleball. Then, there was mahjong. Now, our collective yearning for the 55+ active retirement community lifestyle continues with ... bingo.

On a recent Saturday night in Believe Music Hall in Atlanta, hundreds gathered for “Bingo Loco,” a traveling bingo rave party.*
One of the organizers explained why bingo is a great game to build a party around: it’s easy to explain and play, age- and ability-inclusive, good for large crowds and has a cadence that allows for other entertainments at the same time.

Bingo Loco co-founder William Meara says it’s part of a larger trend of “competitive socializing.”

“I guess this organized chaos is way more appealing to people in their 30s who like to dance, but maybe also sit down,” he said.

YES. That’s a unifying theme to these retirementcore activities: They’re fun, they’re competitive, they’re active, you can bring a little beverage, but also ... you can sit down if you want.

🎉 READ MORE: What Atlantans think of the new trend

*incredible set of words

NEWS BITES

FIFA Fan Festival for World Cup draws highest attendance since 2006

More than 500,000 fans came out for Atlanta’s Fan Festival. Whether it’s bingo or the beautiful game, we’re gonna make it into a party.

Braves OF Ronald Acuña Jr. is back after a two-month hamstring injury

… aaaand the Braves promptly got blown out by the Mets.

Here’s why adults are swimming for better health

Add this to the healthy, fun retirementcore activity list.

Dream star Angel Reese gets her own Barbie doll

Bayou Barbie, meet ... mini Bayou Barbie!

ON THIS DATE

July 28, 1985

Credit: AJC

South takes Coca-Cola personally. Like millions of Americans, John Egerton is still astounded. Egerton, a Nashville author who is writing a book on Southern food, cannot fathom why late-20th century adults would run like sweet-toothed lemmings to their phones, their mailboxes — even their lawyers — just because the Coca-Cola Co. was altering its elixir.

It’s been more than 40 years, but Atlanta still remembers the dark days of the New Coke experiment.

ONE MORE THING

Speaking of suns, please enjoy the best item of public art I saw during my time in the Pacific Northwest, specifically in Port Angeles, Washington.

Credit: AJ Willingham/AJC

Good art can express unnameable emotions, and this piece certainly does. I like to call it the Struggle Sun.

The Struggle Sun hopes you have a tolerable day!

P.S. — Any particularly charming works of public art in your corner of Georgia? Send them to me. I wanna see.

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

Until next time.

About the Author

OpenAI’s $20B data center dominated Georgia headlines. But it wasn’t alone.

OpenAI's plans for a $20 billion data center near Savannah made national headlines. But two other sprawling data center projects in Georgia were also made public the same day.

Hot topic, cool reception. Residents denounce proposed OpenAI data center.

Tech giant OpenAI faced public backlash Thursday over its proposed data center planned for outside Savannah. The project was announced a day earlier and came as a surprise.

Tech giant OpenAI plans to build $20 billion data center near Georgia coast

OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT chatbot, plans to build a $20 billion data center in Georgia’s Effingham County to help fuel its artificial intelligence expansion.

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