Before we get started, a few things.
First of all, for all those celebrating – Ramadan Mubarak.
It’s been a busy and exciting month – you’ll see reporting from Fiza Pirani and Timothy Pratt (below!), and stay tuned for stories from Gabriella Nuñez and Lola Pak in the coming weeks!
Also – 285 South is hiring a full time reporter. Interested in applying or know anyone who might be? Let us know. Here’s the job description and details on how to apply.
As always, thank you for reading 285 South. As we grow and change, we’d love to hear from you – what stories have made your offline life, better? What would you like to see more of? Do we email you too much? Drop us a note below.
Okay, let’s get to it:
Controversial immigration bill moves ahead in the Georgia Legislature: HB1105, a bill that would allow authorities to arrest and detain immigrants without papers and turn them over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has passed the House and is now being considered by the Senate. The bill was introduced after the killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Athens. Immigrant advocates have spoken against it, saying it would “further advance dangerous anti-immigrant rhetoric and create a hostile environment for all communities of color.” More here from the AJC.
“Disinformation is like pouring rain, and you’re trying to catch it with a bucket”: Rafael Olavarria, an Atlanta-based journalist from Venezuela, is fighting disinformation around Laken Riley, the election, and more. 285 South spoke to him about his work with Factchequeado, one of just a handful of Spanish-language fact checking organizations in the country. Timothy Pratt has the story.
Primary results are in, and ‘leave it blank’ campaign tallies up “votes”: President Biden and Trump captured most votes, to no one’s surprise. Organizers with the Listen to Georgia ‘Leave it Blank’ campaign say that more than 6,455 voters left their Democratic ballots blank, to protest the Biden Administration’s support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Organizers say it was a success (check out this interview on WABE). And in case you missed it – 285 South looked at how frustrated voters in Georgia were making their voices heard.
South Asian voter group in GA breaks away from national organization: Former members of the Georgia chapter of They See Blue, a pro-Democrat South Asian voter outreach group that helped to turn out a historic number of voters in 2020, told 285 South they have broken off from their parent organization. The decision came after internal conversations about the ethics of promoting President Biden or the Democratic Party without accountability. Fiza Pirani, Atlanta-based writer and founder of the newsletter Foreign Bodies, reported the story for 285 South.
New immigration fees go into effect on April 1: Advocates and attorneys are urging folks to submit their immigration forms before April 1, when fees go up. The new fees will impact a range of forms, including DACA renewal, green card, and citizenship applications. More here from 285 South.
24-year-old Ashwin Ramaswami speaks about his run for State Senate: The Johns Creek native spoke to Khabar Magazine about his campaign for the Democratic nomination in GA’s 48th district, which covers parts of Gwinnett, North Fulton and South Forsyth counties. If elected, he’d make history as the first Indian-American, Hindu-American, and Gen Z-er, to serve in the State Senate, reports Khabar. Read the interview with him here.
And finally – did you know popcorn is served with Ethiopian coffee? I learned that this week when I was at Chef Winnie’s Kitchen in Clarkston and saw a basket of popcorn next to small cups and saucers. The restaurant, which opened in February, is in the Clarkston market area, across the road from Refuge Coffee (stay tuned for other businesses set to open soon there – like Kuku Coffee and Two Fish Myanmar!). Chef Winnie explained that it’s an Ethiopian tradition to serve popcorn to guests while the coffee is being brewed. More about Chef Winnie’s Kitchen from Decaturish.
