Morning, y’all! Expect temperatures around 80 and cloudy-but-rain-free skies today.
- Traffic alert: A big rig crash had all lanes of I-75 South blocked near Jodeco Road in Henry County this morning.
Otherwise, today’s newsletter includes Democrats raising questions about the state’s election-year cash assistance program, a beloved school crossing guard returning to work and local faith leaders reacting to the latest turmoil in the Middle East. Plus: Incarcerated reality TV star Todd Chrisley wants a new trial.
But first, a look at who’s driving metro Atlanta’s population boom.
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MOVIN’ ON UP
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
It’s no secret that Atlanta is a town teeming with transplants. You’re probably well aware that we’re still growing, too.
But where are all those folks coming from — and why are they coming here? My AJC colleague Michael Kanell has the details, some of which may surprise you.
The basics: The freshest data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests metro Atlanta added 68,585 people last year. That’s third most in the country, behind only Dallas and Houston.
Recent estimates from the Atlanta Regional Commission, meanwhile, peg ATL’s population growth at about four times what would be “natural” (births minus deaths, etc.). Something’s gotta give, right?
The data: According to United Van Lines, about 54% of folks who used their services for a move involving Georgia last year were coming to the state, not leaving.
The reasons are plenty, experts say: Jobs are plentiful, the weather’s nice and housing is affordable, at least compared to many other metropolitan areas. Most Georgia-bound movers told United they were coming for work or family.
- “We have had people calling, saying they want to relocate,” Aysha Abdullatif, co-owner of Dunwoody’s Spherion Staffing, told the AJC. “We are hearing from candidates in neighboring states as well as from rural areas.”
Who’s coming: What’s most surprising about all this may be who is headed to the Peach State. Among young adults, the ARC says Black folks make up a whopping 78% of movers-in.
The details are pretty interesting geographically speaking, too. Per the Census Bureau:
- More than 51,000 people from Florida moved to Georgia last year, the most of any other state.
- California and Texas (about 26,000 and 24,000, respectively) came in next. North Carolina and Alabama rounded out the top five.
It ain’t your stereotypical weather-weary northeasterners driving up the population anymore.
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CASH QUESTIONS
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
Auditors say Georgia’s Department of Human Services may have flouted state law when it launched a cash assistance program for low-income residents amid Gov. Brian Kemp’s 2022 reelection bid.
Democrats want further investigation into “whether state law regarding procurement was used here for Gov. Kemp’s personal political gain.”
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STILL BUSY
Is it weird for a city to take pride in its airport being the busiest in the world? Probably! Do we care? Nope!
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport took the title again in 2023, moving millions more passengers than the second-place finisher.
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BACK AT WORK
Longtime Decatur crossing guard Jeffrey Smith returned to work Monday — seven months after a hit-and-run driver injured him as he guided a student across the street.
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THE MIDDLE EAST AT HOME
Atlanta police issued a public safety alert Monday, saying it was working to keep residents and local houses of worship safe amid still-increasing tensions in the Middle East.
- Some Atlanta-area religious leaders, meanwhile, say they’ve had extra security in place for a while now.
- And at Emory University, leaders face mounting pressure from both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine students who say they’re experiencing harassment and discrimination.
As world leaders urge restraint, Israel’s military chief says the country will respond to Iran’s weekend missile attack.
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TRUMP ON TRIAL
Credit: Jabin Botsford/Getty Images
Credit: Jabin Botsford/Getty Images
The first day of former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial included a request to fine him for violating a gag order, a bomb threat at District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s house and plenty of potential jurors being excused.
» Federal judge rejects Giuliani’s request for new defamation trial
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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
» A four-run ninth inning sealed the Braves’ 6-1 win over the Astros in Houston (where the team also reminisced on its 2021 World Series title).
» Iowa star Caitlin Clark went No. 1 overall in last night’s WNBA Draft. The Dream took 19-year-old Australian Nyadiew Puoch with the 12th pick.
» The Georgia High School Association tapped Dalton superintendent Tim Scott as its next executive director.
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CHRISLEY IN COURT
Former reality TV star Todd Chrisley is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence on bank fraud and tax evasion charges. He and his attorneys will argue for a new trial this week in federal court in Atlanta.
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DRINK UP
- Now open on Roswell Road in Buckhead: Mend Coffee & Goods, a space meant to cater to folks with disabilities and expand the horizons of those without.
- North Georgia’s Doghobble Wine Farm plans to open a new tasting pavilion this spring.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Police investigating triple shooting in SW Atlanta
» An Atlanta office-to-residential conversion faces foreclosure
» INTERVIEW: Georgia ‘Idol’ artist Will Moseley was a late bloomer
» Georgia voting law put on trial in case over mass-mailing absentee forms
» Why some adults may need another measles vaccine
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ON THIS DATE
April 16, 1947
An Atlanta church decides to buy the former home of “two of Georgia’s most notorious night clubs and big-time gambling dens.”
Windsor Castles and Beverly Gardens sat just inside Gwinnett County along Buford Highway, according to the Atlanta Journal. The clubs were so popular in their heyday that “free transportation was provided to and from downtown Atlanta.”
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
AJC photographer John Spink captured Sujit Banerjee, a 10-year member of the Atlanta Rowing Club, taking advantage of the weather with an excursion on the Roswell-area stretch of the Chattahoochee River.
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ONE MORE THING
Before we go: Earlier today in Greece, a flame-lighting ceremony launched the festivities for this summer’s Paris Olympics. Huzzah!
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
