🍌 Port of naw

Wednesday is here. Let's get moving.

Today's weather: Patchy fog before 10am. After that, mostly sunny. High around 81.

🗳️ Situational awareness: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney appeared unlikely to toss a new Georgia Election Board rule that requires counties to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" before certifying election results, according to the AJC.

Today's newsletter is 855 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Dockworkers at the Port of Savannah joined more than 40,000 others from Maine to Texas to walk off the job to strike. Consumers could feel the effects when they shop.

Why it matters: A protracted contract battle between the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance could strain supply chains ahead of the holiday shopping blitz just as slowing inflation had consumers weighing spending more.

Driving the news: The work stoppage affects ports that handle more than half of the cargo shipped to the U.S. from around the world.

Zoom in: The Port of Savannah is one of the East Coast's largest and an economic engine.

• Port officials say they've operated extended hours and won't charge customers for containers stored during the stoppage.

The big picture: While some companies redirected goods to the West Coast or shipped products early in preparation for a strike, some industries may not be able dodge the blow that would come with a prolonged strike.

🍌 Perishables: Perishable products may see the most immediate effects of a strike, as grocery stores aren't able to hold as many items that will unavoidably expire.

• According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the affected ports handled 75% of the country's banana imports.

🍺 Alcohol: Beer, wine and spirits, though they perish less quickly than fruits, could also be impacted.

• According to the American Farm Bureau, 80% of imported beer, wine, whiskey and scotch arrives to the U.S. in containers at East and Gulf Coast ports.

📦 Retail goods: Walmart, Ikea, Samsung and other major retail brands are among the largest importers over the past year through the impacted ports.

• Beyond the added costs from possible shortages in inventory, retailers will likely have to pay inflated warehouse, shipping and trucking bills.

Go deeper: Why East and Gulf coast ports strike could push up consumer prices

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Rockdale County officials are recommending residents shelter in place from sundown to sunrise as a haze from a Conyers chemical plant fire that ignited Sunday continues to linger.

The latest: In an update yesterday, Rockdale officials advised residents to avoid going outdoors from 7pm to 7am until Oct. 4, saying the plume from the BioLab facility is more likely to shift during nighttime hours.

• Rockdale government offices and courthouses and annexes are closed for the remainder of the week, officials said.
• The Georgia Poison Center established a hotline for calls relating to symptoms, such as nose, throat or eye irritation or difficulty breathing.

The EPA is monitoring air quality in the area for chlorine and other compounds. View real-time monitoring data

Zoom in: The most recent cleanup challenge was moving "super sacks" of chemicals at the BioLab facility that dissolved and helped fuel the plume, Rockdale Fire Rescue Chief Marian McDaniel said, according to USA Today.

State of play: Rockdale Commission Chairman Oz Nesbitt, Sr., told reporters on Tuesday the county was focusing on protecting public safety but planned to review the operations at the plant.

• "We are well aware we've had this problem before. It's almost like Groundhog Day."
• At least six lawsuits have been filed against BioLab and its parent company, KIK Consumer Products, the AJC reports.

Zoom out: Sunday's incident marks the third time in seven years when water has reacted with chemicals at the BioLab facility, according to 11 Alive.

Ann E Holder's high school counselor told her the military wasn't for women. Those words fueled her during service.

Today, that same passion for helping others shines through in her role as CEO of Marani Health, a company striving for better outcomes for mothers and their babies.

Read her story.

Part of the appeal of Netflix's "Love Is Blind" is that each season feels like a microcosm of the dating scene in the cities they're filmed in.

Driving the news: The latest season featuring contestants from Washington, D.C. airs today on Netflix.

The big picture: Before the six-time Emmy-nominated dating show returns this week, we wanted to look back at how the experiment has fared so far.

Atlanta: A-Town was the blueprint for the series and produced one of reality TV's most popular couples — Lauren and Cameron Hamilton.

• What's next: The show is casting in Atlanta again.

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🌱 Discover new local events.

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival at InterContinental Buckhead on Oct. 12:

• Join Whiskies of the World as top distillers pour more than 150 whiskies. Every ticket includes whiskey pours, a branded nosing glass, and light gourmet bites.

Hosting an event? Email local-events@axios.com.

✊🏾 Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea, are creating a Black-and-Latino coalition like the one his father wanted to build before he was assassinated in 1968. (Axios)

🌀 Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Georgia today to view Hurricane Helene damage. (AJC)

• The death toll for the storm surpassed 150 yesterday. See the latest.

⚾️ The Atlanta Braves lost 4-0 in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres. It's win or go home for the Braves in Game 2 tonight at 8:30.

A federal investigation into Georgia's prison system says the state is "deliberately indifferent" to unsafe conditions inmates face. (DOJ)

🏗️ The 12-acre Mall West End site has been acquired, the first step in a $450 million redevelopment project that will include retail, mixed-income housing units, hotel and medical office space. (City of Atlanta)

👀 A local watchdog group has filed a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General's Office over the Cobb County School District's handling of Open Records requests. (Cobb County Courier)

At Wellstar, we're committed to enhancing the health and wellness of everyone we serve. That means helping the individuals who walk through our doors and meeting our neighbors right where they are.

Discover free or low-cost local resources for your well-being with Wellstar Find Help.

🥰 Kristal loves seeing everyone wish Jimmy Carter a happy 100th birthday.

🧘 Thomas is wishing for one day, just one single beautiful day, when things could be chill.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Ashley.