Opinion

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OPINION

On Labor Day, Georgia workers should continue fighting for fair wages

Labor Day for AFL-CIO leaders is a day to celebrate and continue to fight for workers' rights in Georgia and beyond.

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FROM UATL

Let Me Put U On: To what Black women taught me about mahjong

I thought mahjong was too genteel, too boring and too complicated to satisfy my competitive spirit. Then I discovered Kinsfolk Mahjong.

Credit: Michael Blackshire

GUEST COLUMN

How Georgia is helping workers get ahead and businesses grow in the AI era

The State of Georgia's strategy to benefit the labor force is to continue efforts that support businesses, grow wages, and help create a fair and safe economy in the AI era.

Credit: Natrice Miller for the AJC

GUEST COLUMN

Gen Z aka ‘Generation Toolbelt’ made it cool to embrace skilled trades again

Nearly half of college graduates have a job that doesn't require a degree. The skilled trades offer workers good wages without the college student debt.

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

GUEST COLUMN

Atlanta should expand PAD program and avoid sending police to low-level calls

Programs across the country, such as Atlanta PAD, send civilian community responders to low-level calls for help so that police can focus on high-level policing.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer

GUEST COLUMN

Georgia is not a swing state, but it could veer blue in 2026

In Georgia, the political party that dominates the primary election voter turnout tends to win the general election, but that's not always completely true.

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GUEST COLUMN

How student debt is draining families in the South across generations

Student debt is crushing borrowers in Southern states including Georgia, and lawmakers should pass legislation that will ease their hardship.

GUEST COLUMN

Atlanta should expand PAD program and avoid sending police to low-level calls

Programs across the country, such as Atlanta PAD, send civilian community responders to low-level calls for help so that police can focus on high-level policing.

GUEST COLUMN

Georgia is not a swing state, but it could veer blue in 2026

In Georgia, the political party that dominates the primary election voter turnout tends to win the general election, but that's not always completely true.

GUEST COLUMN

How student debt is draining families in the South across generations

Student debt is crushing borrowers in Southern states including Georgia, and lawmakers should pass legislation that will ease their hardship.

Featured

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DAVID PLAZAS

‘Ultimate persuadable bloc’: Georgia Hispanic voters will sway the midterms

Around 500,000 ballots cast — or about 6% of Georgia’s 8.2 million registered voters — will make a difference, and their ballots could go red or blue.

Credit: (Ben Gray for the AJC)

GUEST COLUMN

Americans shouldn’t have to be rich to go to medical school

When Congress voted to eliminate the Graduate PLUS loan, they limited who could become future medical doctors to more affluent students.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

GUEST COLUMN

Third time’s a charm to secure a hockey team. NHL needs metro Atlanta.

The National Hockey League needs Atlanta so it's not a matter of when the city gets a new team, it's a matter of when.

Liberal arts still matter to students and are valuable for Georgia’s workforce

The Peach State opened Georgia College & State University 30 years ago to focus on liberal arts. The school continues to innovate and to prove its worth to employers.

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GUEST COLUMN

Atlanta has the movie studios. Now, it needs the music composers.

Atlanta is the 'Hollywood of the South," but what Georgia is missing is an industry for movie music to support the films. Here's how that can change.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

GUEST COLUMN

Gwinnett DA should dismiss charges against Ga. father accused of killing son

Danyel Smith was convicted of killing his infant via "shaken baby syndrome," but new evidence casts doubt on his guilt. The courts agree, and the DA should dismiss the case.

Credit: Natrice Miller for the AJC

GUEST COLUMN

‘I have never supported a Republican.’ How Rick Jackson changed my mind.

Rick Jackson is the first Republican politician I have ever supported as a lifelong Democrat. It may hurt my business and friendships, but I am putting Georgia over my party.

Credit: AP Photo/Camden Hall

GUEST COLUMN

Patchwork Dollywood bear reminds me of Dolly Parton’s faith, grit and talent

The purchase of a patchwork bear at Dollywood — akin to Dolly Parton's coat of many colors — evokes the hard work, patience and talent that drove the late artist so far.

Credit: Bob Andres

GUEST COLUMN

Deficiencies at Georgia war veterans home require immediate action

Veterans in state nursing care are living in inadequate and hazardous conditions, and Gov. Brian Kemp must do something about it, writes Marine Gen. Robert Magnus (ret.)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

GUEST COLUMN

Skilled trades are more in demand than ever. This is Atlanta’s moment to act.

Data centers, advanced manufacturing and other fields depend on sophisticated mechanical and electrical systems, which requires skilled tradeworkers to operate them.

Credit: Estela Muñoz/AJC

GUEST COLUMN

Data center fatigue: Repurpose AI to solve the problems it creates

Data centers that fuel artificial intelligence are meeting resistance across Georgia. However, this is now an opportunity to use AI to solve the problems it creates.

Credit: Megan Varner for the AJC

ERICK ERICKSON

We failed accused Atlanta Beltline killer Johnathan Hamby by keeping him free

Johnathan Hamby, the accused killer of a man on the Atlanta Beltline, could have been helped and his victim could have been spared had he been institutionalized.

GUEST COLUMN

As Martin Luther King Jr.’s words fade, so too does where he famously stood

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, but the marker to commemorate that moment is barely visible.