Morning, y’all! Experts are predicting a less active hurricane season this year. That’s good news on one obvious hand, but fewer storms also means less rain. Given that Georgia is in the middle of its worst drought in a decade, that’s … not such good news.
Let’s get to it.
KEEPING THE SOUND ALIVE
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Georgia lawmakers have passed a bill establishing a statewide office to promote and support the Georgia music industry.
How exactly would the Georgia Music Office and Music Ready Communities Act work?
- The office would help attract music-related investment and workforce development opportunities to the state.
- It would also link music companies and governmental agencies and promote developments in the industry.
- The office will also certify cities and counties seeking to promote music-related economic development in their areas as “Music Friendly Georgia Certified Communities.”
- Several other Southern states, such as Texas and Tennessee, have music offices.
🔎 READ MORE: Why legislators say a music office is so important
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.
GEORGIA’S OWN ‘RESEARCH TRIANGLE’
Credit: sou
Credit: sou
North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park is quite the flex. The biotech and life sciences hub is positioned between the Tar Heel State’s top universities, creating an axis of high-tech companies and tens of thousands of well-paid employees.
Georgia wants one, too. Luckily, an attempt to re-create the concept in Gwinnett County is starting to pay off.
- The 2,000-acre tech site, called Rowen, is roughly equidistant from colleges in Atlanta, Athens and Gainesville.
- UCB Inc., a global biopharmaceutical giant, announced last month it will invest $2 billion to become Rowen’s first tenant.
- UCB also boosts Georgia’s biopharmaceutical bona fides, joining institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life sciences manufacturer Meissner and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
🔎 READ MORE: Investing millions in hope of billions
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🍬 Edible Brands is selling edibles on the Beltline. Yes, the people who own Edible Arrangements now also do THC stuff. Nominative determinism at its best. Edible Brands is based in Sandy Springs, and this is their first foray into brick-and-mortar offerings.
🗣️ Communities around the country are responding to potential ICE warehouse deals with organized outcry and legal challenges. That includes two communities in Georgia who have voiced uncertainty at least — and outright defiance at most.
WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: THE MASTERS
Credit: Jason Getz/Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz/Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Day 1 of the 90th edition of the Masters Tournament is in the books, and talk of back‑to‑back green jackets for Rory McIlroy is already generating the biggest buzz.
- It’s been 60 years since Jack Nicklaus became the first golfer to win back-to-back Masters titles and 24 years since Tiger Woods became just the third.
- On Thursday, McIlroy opened with a 67 to grab a share of the first‑round lead, putting himself in position to chase that same rare feat.
- He heads into Friday tied with Sam Burns, with the pair holding a two‑stroke lead over Kurt Kitayama, Patrick Reed and Jason Day.
Augusta National played tough on Thursday. There were 10 scores in the 80s, the most 80s since 2007, when 12 players struggled under frigid, windy conditions.
World No. 1 and two‑time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler opened with a 70 and is tied for fifth with Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose, who lost in a playoff at the 2025 Masters.
⛳ LOOKING AHEAD: Masters Friday’s groups to watch
Back to conditions at Augusta National: this year, the greens may be drier than they’ve been since Prohibition.
No significant rain has fallen for a week, and none is expected for the rest of the tournament. For those of us who aren’t pros, that could cause tee shots to run out more than usual and possibly wind up in the second cut. The greens may be harder to hold — forcing players to dial back the aggression.
That said, so far the dry conditions don’t seem to be impacting the fan experience — especially for those browsing Augusta’s Golf Shop, where merchandise can quickly rival a mortgage payment.
Photos from the course, meanwhile, still look as magical as those captured over the past nine decades. Speaking of photos, ahead of this year’s tournament, our good friend and The Win Column host Tyler Estep interviewed Jason Getz — a veteran of 11 Masters and part of this week’s illustrious AJC photo crew in Augusta.
NEWS BITES
How these Georgia restaurants capitalize on the viral soft serve margarita
Soft serve margarita. We love all those words.
How the Braves’ new city connect uniforms came to be
They are … whelming. No King Peach kit here.
Bible stories could become part of Texas schools reading list
Might want to be careful. There’s a lot of weird, esoteric stuff in there. The kids get one hit of Ezekiel or Revelation, then it’s the Gnostic gospels and the apocrypha and pretty soon their strong opinions on Pauline rhetoric are tearing the 2nd grade home room apart.
ON THIS DATE
April 10, 1965
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Victory christens Atlanta’s stadium. A cheer-happy paid attendance crowd of 37,232 watched the Milwaukee (but-soon-to-be-Atlanta) Braves christen the new $18 million Atlanta Stadium Friday night with a 6-3 drubbing of the Detroit Tigers. … Atlanta gathered the Braves into the arms of her stadium for a temporary embrace and she obviously looked forward to next year when they will be her own. The lady’s finery was a little rough around the edges, but when one starts with raw land and builds such a stadium in 51 weeks, one sort of expects a few sod patches on the green field, some closed concession and ticket stands, and a little wet paint here and there.
We love a write that turns into a Yelp review halfway through.
ONE MORE THING
Have a rejuvenating weekend!
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
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
