Georgia

How should cities use AI? This Atlanta suburb may hold the answer.

Published

2 months ago

March 9, 2026

How should cities use AI? This Atlanta suburb may hold the answer.

Business

Mableton, one of Georgia’s youngest cities, is heralded as an example to follow for its artificial intelligence policies.

(Illustration: Marcie LaCerte for the AJC)

When you think about the American cities on the cutting edge of technology, which ones come to mind?

Maybe tech hubs like Austin, Texas; Boston; or San Jose, California? Maybe New York City or Los Angeles?

tsegnuoy hcihw nehw erew gnisu ot yeht eht ,smetsys tuodnats detceles suoigitserp .sreep seno eno fo fo erom regral sti ecnegilletni dnif detaulave ylevitceffe seitic seitic sa laicifitra dna dna edisgnola a .S.U sroyaM elgooG s’aigroeG licnuoC tuB

— saw esu ot eht eht ygolonhcet desaeler ecnerefer ylnepo fo lanoitan sroyam lairetam lacol ni ni ni woh dethgilhgih stnemnrevog dednuof rof dnif selpmaxe .secarbme dengised yrtnuoc ytic nac sa ssorca a a ,koobyalP snewO leahciM sroyaM royaM ,notelbaM notelbaM .yraunaJ s’tI ytnuoC bboC IA IA ,2202

s’tI“ IA“ dluow htiw lliw ew yaw su su loot dlot ot ot ot ot ot ot ot ot sgniht eseht ,taht taht ecivres hcraeser etiuq edivorp elpoep dedeen erom erom ,slevel ”,ssel si ni evah ,ylknarf rof rezilauqe od od od eb eb eb dna na wolla lla ”.hsilpmocca elba elba elba a a ehT snewO .noitutitsnoC-lanruoJ atnaltA

Mableton Mayor Michael Owens embraces artificial intelligence, calling it an equalizer. (Courtesy)

dnoyeb“ eciv suoirav gnisu sesu eht hcet .sksat egarots dias drocer cilbup stcudorp emirp tnediserp ,ycilop fo fo tnemeganam egdelwonk si otni noitamrofni ”.noitatnemelpmi tnemnrevog rof elpmaxe atad ,ytirucesrebyc ytic gnimrotsniarb ta dna dna dna sriaffa a a ,renruT notelbaM notelbaM ,elgooG sirC IA

taht“ nettirw ”,syaw eht eht elbignat ecivres dias koobyalp si ni ni ni evorpmi woh dethgilhgih tnemegagne etartsnomed yreviled .stnemmoc nezitic seitic nac dna gnoma renruT notelbaM IA 51

gnisu esu ,sloot ot ot rieht eht yduts os .serahs tnemitnes yas dias efas stnediser evitcudorp deraperp snoitazinagro fo fo ton ekam lacol tfel stnemnrevog tnemnrevog teg sevitucexe t’nac yb sessenisub .dniheb era era dna dna ydaerla gnidrocca a a renruT ygolonhceT cilbuP snewO s’tI .etutitsnI TI tuobA ,IA IA %83 4202

s’erehT“ secnahC“ ruoy uoy desu ot ot emit eht ”.trats ,trats .dias tcefrep on royam si ni evah ”,ytic tub gnieb era ydaerla notelbaM IA

‘Allergic to file cabinets’

ot emeht eht eht brubus elpoep .krap tsom nwonk si ni emoh moordeb sa ,aera dna a oT xiS revO notelbaM aigroeG sgalF atnaltA

latigiD“ ot ot ot eht taht seigolonhcet gnikees noitatuper enifeder egarevel ”,ssel .tnemtsevni esaercni tnemnrevog ,tsrif gnigreme ycneiciffe etaroproc ytic yb gnidnarb tcartta sa dna smia repaP snewO

Mableton is home to Six Flags Over Georgia. (Courtesy of Six Flags Over Georgia)

evaw detov owt ot ot tsegral-driht eht eht taht gnissaprus nabrubus nrevog-fles ,stnediser stnediser suolupop tsap revo detpo fo fo won srobhgien tsom ortem gninioj sti si etaroprocni ni ni ni evah .sedaced ytnuoc seitinummoc ytic dna a htiW .anrymS atteiraM notelbaM notelbaM s’aigroeG ,bboC atnaltA 000,87 ,2202

ohw elihw saw saw ot ot ot esoht meht eht ,smetsys smetsys hcus dias ,ylcilbup rehto ,royam hcnual tsuj otni etaroprocni laruguani sih eh dah s’tnemnrevog dednuof pihsgalf evitucexe detcele ytirucesrebyc dluoc s’ytic seitic dliub nageb .kcordeb sa sa sa dna tpada a ,snewO s’IAnepO notelbaM s’elgooG aigroeG .inimeG TPGtahC IA

… I“ sA“ ”.noitamrofsnart ot ot hguorht eht .taht tneps xis .dias ruo fo wen shtnom yruxul tsuj ”,erutcurtsarfni evah dah og od latigid t’ndid ,ytic gnidliub gnieb lla tuoba elba a a eW snewO I )latigid(

detnaw ot eht taht xat detius gnireggats ,sdrocer ytreporp stimrep eesrevo .secnanidro fo fo wen rennam noitamrofni ni sih stnemnrevog morf rof rof gnihtyreve latigid gniliated sdeed atad edoc ,ytic gnidliub dna dna tnuoma lla tiebla .ega a a snewO lacoL

yM“ m’I“ erew ew saw tnaw ot ot sdnasuoht eht ”.taht taht taht .dias fo fo ni sderdnuh eh dah gniog teg ”,reverof elif elif raef t’nod stnemucod ytnuoc .stenibac stenibac tseggib cigrella I

hcihw erew saw gnisu ekilnu sloot esoht eht derots ,srevres ,srevres dias sdrocer .elbissop nwo rehto ro no fo tsom gninaem niatniam edam si t’nseod stnemucod dezitigid atad duolc s’ytic ytic .seitic ,dezirogetac dna dna snewO notelbaM llA llA IA

,esu hguorht eht gnizisehtnys evissam edam si eh reisae latigid esabatad dna osla .dedda gnihcraeS IA

nehW“ ffatS“ emit eht eht ,sksat smetsys tneps ytiruces dias sksir evititeper lacitcarp no ,launam gniniatniam ycagel si ”.esaercni ”,etaidemmi llaf .evitucexe demusnoc secneuqesnoc seitic yb stegdub ,dniheb era era dna dna ,renruT elgooG

Creating boundaries

ecrofkrow htiw ot detrats ylhguor fo sah nworg evif seeyolpme ytic tub a notelbaM .56

ot eht taht .ezis gnilacs dias ssecorp yap won sti sti noitargetni ni depleh sah nworg tnemnrevog gnirud sdnedivid seunitnoc ytic dna snewO IA

eW“ uoy er’ew er’ew gnisu ,sloot ot ot eht eht eht ”,taht taht os .dias ezingocer elpoep gniog gniog evig krowemarf tcaf hsilbatse tub seiradnuob dnuora era dna osla snewO ,IA

Mableton officials cut the ribbon for the city’s first permanent office in May 2025 (Courtesy)

elcihev gniyrt ot ot eht eht ygolonhcet nabrubus ygetarts rups nekops revollips dias ,noiger tiurcer tnecer kcabhsup strap revo ro setarepo no fo fo muirotarom ynam si si erutcurtsarfni gnidulcni ni ni ni sepoh sih s’eh sucof ,teelf cirtcele .stceffe cimonoce latigid tnempoleved etipsed atad atad dluoc ytic sretnec sretnec gnirutpac ssenisub tcartta .aera dna dna tuoba a a a ehT ehT snewO ).ytnuoC bboC %001 sihT(

lliw deziliturednu rieht eht taht xat dias tnempoleveder tnempoleveder tseuq srewop no fo snaem dnal evah .slaog rof egde cimonoce .stcirtsid gnipoleved gnittuc seitic ecnahc retteb dnuora dna dna dna noitacolla lanoitidda gnihsilpmocca a xiS ’snewO snewO ,notelbaM nI sgalF

ohW“ t’ndluow tnaw ot trap fo eh ,tsrif latigid ”?ytic eb .deksa a ydaer-IA

Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He’s been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people’s lives.

Source link

Georgia

Could Georgia baseball win the SEC for the first time in almost 20 years?

Published

1 hour ago

May 4, 2026

Press Room

Could Georgia baseball win the SEC for the first time in almost 20 years?

This Georgia baseball team excels when it’s threatened, shortstop Kolby Branch says.

It dominated during a brutal conference road stretch in April, then didn’t let up when returning home to Foley Field.

,oS“ I“ uoy uoy uoy uoy uoy htiw htiw ot ot emag-eerht siht kniht yeht yeht s’ereht eht eht eht eht eht taht ,maet maet ekat yats .seires ,yas dias ,moor esir ,erusserp ,erusserp ”.ecalp trap fo fo ”,noisacco sdeen egassem rekcol ekil ,wonk ,wonk otni ni detsoh og rof tsrif leef yad erac ,ssenisub thguorb erofeb eb dna a a ,iruossiM iruossiM sgodlluB hcnarB lirpA ,03

gninniw seirotciv ot emit meht eht eht eht eht eht eht ,taht gnipeews ,sgnidnats ecnis taes nosaes elur-nur raluger gnittup ,llarevo no dael tsuj ni ni evah rof tsrif gninrae s’revird did ecnerefnoc mialc pihsnoipmahc dna dna dna a ,sregiT saxeT saxeT .yadnuS yadrutaS )CES .oN aigroeG yadirF sgodlluB retfA M;pma&A 5 0-4 emag-½2 .80-7002 6-81 11-83(

.raey now eht eht taht taht nosaes retsor raluger dehcaer skcip ni dnuor-tsrif slanif derutaef tfard dna dlroW ehT ehT seireS CES auhsoJ nodroG .sdleiF egelloC sgodlluB mahkceB 8002

now now lliw hcihw erew ,tnemanruot ot seltit eht eht eht nosaes-raluger nosaes-raluger deyalp reven ti ni ni ni ni evah denrae spmahc-oc eb dna dna dna osla decnavda dlroW ehT ehT seireS CES CES CES yaM aigroeG egelloC sgodlluB sgodlluB 6002 4002 ,1002 .0991 ,4591 3591 .3391 .42-91

s’raey dnekeew owt pirt ot ot siht seires daor ,llarevo gnitsoh evah ,og ecaf erofeb a sihT )CES CES lufepoh-ahamO .oN USL sgodlluB nrubuA 51-9 6 .)01-41 ,41-23( 12-82(

tuohtiw htiw htiw lliw lliw ohw driht eht eht eht maet deniatsus eromohpos gnigguls nosaes ,snur thgir tser egatnecrep redleiftuo no fo ssim eenk si yrujni ni ni emoh htruof htfif eb gnittab egareva dna dna tsniaga a AGU sIBR .iruossiM yrneH yadirF ,nellA nellA 51 .)14( )536.( )123.(

lliw lliw lliw lliw hcihw ,stnemanruot ot eht eht eht eht eht smaet ekat slanoiger slanoiger nosaestsop ecalp daeh rof lanif dleif thgie detsetnoc ecnerefnoc snigeb eb eb decnuonna dna dna dlroW repuS ,seireS yaM yaM enuJ enuJ egelloC retfA maet-46 ,8-5 enuJ-92 52 .21 .1

Source link

Georgia

Mostly sunny today; Rain returns Wednesday night, Thursday

Published

13 hours ago

May 4, 2026

Press Room

Mostly sunny today; Rain returns Wednesday night, Thursday

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — High pressure is keeping North Georgia in a dry pattern through Tuesday, but a cold front approaching from the northwest will bring a chance of showers and thunderstorms back to the region by Wednesday and Thursday.

Your Next Two Days: Enjoy the Sunshine

Today will feature mostly sunny skies with highs climbing into the upper 70s in north Georgia. Light southwest winds will keep conditions comfortable for outdoor activities. Overnight lows will dip into the 50s.

Tuesday will see increasing clouds as the next weather system approaches from the northwest, but the day will remain dry. Highs will reach the upper 70s to middle 80s, with lows Tuesday night in the upper 50s to low 60s.

Forecast highs today(Atlanta News First)

Midweek Changes: Showers and Storms Return

The pattern shifts dramatically Wednesday and Thursday as a cold front moves through the region. Models show good agreement that instability will build during the day Wednesday, with temperatures climbing into the low to mid 80s and dewpoints rising into the low 60s.

Shower and thunderstorm chances will increase Wednesday and Thursday, with rain and storms in northwest Georgia by 8 p.m. Wednesday evening.

The rain will overspread all of north Georgia after midnight and continue through your entire Thursday morning commute.

Thursday is a First Alert Weather Day for rain and storms in the morning.

The rain is expected to move out around lunch on Thursday.

Forecast map for 7 a.m. Thursday(Atlanta News First)

The Weekend Outlook

Cooler air will follow the frontal passage on Thursday, with highs dropping into the 70s Friday and Saturday. Overnight lows will dip into the 40s and low 50s.

Our next best chance of rain after Thursday will be on Mother’s Day.

Source link

Georgia

Kalitta Goes Quick As Big Georgia Crowd Looks On – SPEED SPORT

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2026

Press Room

Kalitta Goes Quick As Big Georgia Crowd Looks On – SPEED SPORT

ADEL, Ga. — Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta made the quickest run of 2026 in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday at South Georgia Motorsports Park, powering to his first No. 1 qualifier of the season at the NHRA Southern Nationals.

J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the fifth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Kalitta, the current points leader, went 3.657-seconds at 342.37 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster in front of a capacity crowd, picking up his 67th career top spot in NHRA’s debut at the facility. The veteran is after back-to-back wins after getting the victory last weekend in Charlotte as he continues to roll early in the season.

After Saturday’s spectacular run, he’ll get a bye run to open eliminations on Sunday and Kalitta was thrilled with how the team performed in front of a crowd that waited out a lengthy rain delay.

“This is for the fans, they definitely held in there,” Kalitta said of the sellout crowd. “It’s been a long day, but it was just one of those deals, with a big storm coming through. I’m just glad that we ran and will have good weather for tomorrow.

“That thing left and it started to square the tire, and then it just kind of cleared up and just ran. I could tell it was running strong and running hard. Alan (Johnson, crew chief), he’s the master, I can tell you that.”

A day after his record-breaking run of 345.00 mph on Friday, Shawn Langdon followed it up with the second-fastest run in NHRA history on Saturday, going 344.91 and is qualified second with a 3.683. Billy Torrence took the third spot after going 3.710 at 338.00.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd stayed atop the field and earned his second No. 1 qualifier in the past three races thanks to Friday’s stellar run of 3.887 at 339.28 in his 12,000-horsepower DHL Toyota GR Supra.

Todd earned the 16th top spot of his career and said the team made an aggressive attempt during Saturday’s lone qualifying session. He didn’t make it down the track on that run, but the past champion still takes plenty of confidence into raceday, where he’ll open eliminations against Daniel Wilkerson.

Todd has done just about everything but win a race during what has been a strong 2026 season, something he hopes to change on Sunday in NHRA’s debut at SGMP.

“On that last run, Dickie [Venables, crew chief] and Todd Smith said, ‘We’re going to throw down’. We had nothing to lose because we were on the pole. I was a little unsure that 3.88 from yesterday would hold up, but once we saw Matt Hagen run in front of us and saw what they did, we felt good,” Todd said. “It was trying to run, but it just got loose. We were definitely trying to put a 340 [mph] on the board. That would be cool, but either way, I’ll take a win over 340 any day. We put ourselves in a good position.

“These fans are dedicated. The fans were so appreciative and thanked us for being there. I was like, ‘No, thank you for having us here’. That’s how the fans are here.”

Chad Green jumped to second in the final session with a 3.894 at 323.89 and Jordan Vandergriff took third with Friday’s 3.924 at 325.14.

Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson picked up his fourth straight No. 1 qualifier, as nobody came close to topping his run of 6.498 at 210.60 from Friday in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.

Anderson made the best run in Saturday’s qualifying session, giving the six-time champ his 144th career No. 1 qualifier. He’ll open eliminations against Troy Coughlin Jr., looking to win for the second time this season and possibly jump into the points lead with a big day.

“It’s been a marathon day, but to get that extra run, we’re very appreciative. The air was good yesterday and better again today, and it should be even better tomorrow,” Anderson said. “We’re just struggling to match our cars up with the starting line and there’s no excuse for that. We’ll figure it out by tomorrow.

“We’ll make the right adjustments. They’ll be fine tomorrow. The crew chiefs are going to have to make a lot of decisions that they may not want to make. Drivers have to be ready for anything, not just cut a good light, but it just could be a pedal-fest out there. You never know. So you’ve got to find a way to get the finish line first.”

Eric Latino took second thanks to Friday’s 6.508 at 209.75 and Aaron Stanfield qualified third with a run of 6.525 at 210.60.

Matt Smith’s 6.669 at 203.03 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell held up from Friday, as the six-time world champion continues to be the only rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle to reach the 6.60s this season. He earned his second straight No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 61st in his career.

Smith made a strong run to close out Saturday during the lone qualifying session, going 6.728 at 199.29 and takes plenty of momentum into Sunday, where he’ll attempt to pick up his first victory of the season.

“I am looking forward to race day tomorrow,” Smith said. “I like my chances in the first round (with a bye). You know, this is the South, and I’ve run so many races down here in Georgia and there’s a lot of motorcycle racing fans down here, and they stuck around to watch us today. We put on a good show. This is a great facility, a fast facility and hopefully there’ll be a good fanbase turnout tomorrow.”

Charlotte winner Gaige Herrera qualified second with a run of 6.705 at 202.30 and reigning world champ Richard Gadson took third after going 6.730 at 201.37.

Source link