Morning, y’all! There is obviously lots of news to cover, including passage of the “big, beautiful bill.” But it’s a holiday, so that will have to wait until Monday. ‘Cuz we’ve got some celebrating to do.
POPPIN’ OFF
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
If you haven’t yet, pick a spot to watch a parade and some fireworks.
Some considerations:
🎉 Marietta: Parade, concerts, craft shows and carnival games before fireworks.
🎵 Tucker: Free live music from the Faster Horses, food trucks and a kid zone.
💸 Stone Mountain: This one ain’t free ($5 for show + $20 parking). But it is spectacular — 250 drones create the image of an eagle.
And if you are eyeing some water, all but two of the 66 parks on Lake Lanier will be open for the weekend. This comes after outcry over planned closures and agreements between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Forsyth and Hall counties, which will send police and employees to act as park rangers.
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KEEP ALL YOUR FINGERS
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Now, assuming you are actually in Georgia, you also have the freedom to blast off the ‘works from your home. The specifics vary by jurisdiction and neighborhood, but your show can’t start until after 10 a.m. on July 4 and must end by midnight.
What you can shoot: Firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets, sky rockets, sparklers, smoke and punk, fountains, missiles, novelties, crackle and strobe, parachutes, wheels, spinners, sky flyers, display shells and mortars.
Where you can’t shoot: Within any park, historic site, recreational area or other state property.
But a reminder: Be careful. The number of fireworks-related injuries has been trending up since 2008. Kids are especially vulnerable, with those younger than 15 accounting for nearly a third of all injuries. People 15 to 19 accounted for the highest overall rate of related injuries. It’s burns about 40% of the time.
Also consider: Give your children hearing protection whenever they are near loud fireworks displays. And keep your pets indoors.
PLEASE DRIVE SAFELY
It’s a shorter July Fourth weekend, but law enforcement will still be out in full force on the roads and waterways. Why? From 2019 to 2023, 2,653 people were killed in traffic crashes over the Fourth of July holiday periods nationwide, and 40% of the drivers killed were drunk, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A MOMENT OF REFLECTION
As we celebrate our independence, it’s also a good time to remember where we came from and our current ethos as a country.
Roswell’s Lynn Walker Gendusa — “We the People” are failing the promise of the Declaration of Independence: "Our political division has not just affected but decimated this great land. I thought after 9/11 ... nothing could stop our resolve to maintain our freedom and unity. I don’t think there was a house without an American flag flying proudly. After COVID-19 took the lives of over 1 million Americans, I anticipated that our compassion and appreciation for life would increase. We witnessed nearly every nation suffer, children become orphans and tears shed over countless graves. Yet, we still seem unable to heal. Our tendency to blame others reached a new level and continues to persist today."
AJC columnist Bill Torpy — As we toast freedom, ICE jails grow in Georgia: “In the first months of Trump 2.0, there has been an almost theatrical version of immigration enforcement, of sending out teams of heavily armored — and masked — agents to very publicly round up foreigners. The efforts are meant to scare immigrants living here without legal permission (even those who have forged otherwise solid American lives) and to soothe voters who are angry that immigrants have jumped the fence and may be taking something that is theirs."
AJC’s Nedra Rhone — Destruction of Pride flags must have a consequence: “Flags are symbols of belonging that are intimately tied to our identity. They can bring us together, but they can also be weaponized to tear us apart.”
TO EAT, OR NOT TO EAT
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
The AJC has a guide to eating, drinking, cooking and grilling this weekend. Here are my picks:
Pasta at Amore e Amore
I don’t care how hot it is. I can always devour a noodle. Plus, I’m a sucker for a caricature artist.
S&S Mac & Cheese vs. Mary Mac’s Tea Room potato salad
Impossible decision. Both.
The Frosted Orange from The Varsity
Admittedly never tried it. But you can’t turn down a legend.
OK, actually, pass. Iconic, yes, but I’ll pick ice cream instead every day. Or King of Pops.
ON THIS DATE
July 4, 1969
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
The Atlanta Journal — Atlanta traffic grinds to long, hot standstill. Downtown Atlanta traffic ground to a halt for hours in rippling afternoon heat Thursday, choking intersections and clogging main arteries in and out of the city. Many public transit schedules were wrecked as some buses marked time for as long as an hour in motionless lines of simmering cars and trucks … It was the most solid traffic in memory for some Atlantans.
Good reminder. There will be a lot of roads closed this morning until around 10 a.m.
ONE MORE THING
Best of luck to all you Peachtree Road Racers. Motivation from Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah for facing the heat, hills and humidity: “It’s Atlanta. We’re used to hot, humid weather. That’s why we’ve got 50,000 towels for people as they come across the finish line to cool them down.”
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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