Matt Kempner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta, GA, United States
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Past articles by Matt:
10 years ago, Wilcox County high schoolers fought segregated proms
Editor’s Note: This story is one in a series of Black History Month stories that explores the role of resistance to oppression in the Black community. → Read More
Georgia’s incredible edible eggs about to be officially healthy?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed a sweeping redefinition of what should be considered healthy foods and what companies can legally label as such. Key Georgia products would be among the biggest winners under the plan: chicken eggs, pecans and peanuts (but not peanut butter). → Read More
Waves from giant cargo ships swamp (and worry) Tybee beachgoers
Giant cargo ships passing Tybee Island on their way to Savannah's port are causing big waves, sometimes putting beachgoers in harm's way, say officials at the popular tourist destination on Georgia's coast. → Read More
Santa Claus, the Georgia city, does its ho, ho, hos softly
In Santa Claus, a tiny city in Georgia, locals try to live up to their name. → Read More
Our bodies are a tattoo canvas? Years later, some crave an eraser
In a metro Atlanta shopping center, an array of Georgians come to have tattoos removed when images and words no longer feel right. As any number of mothers have warned: People change. And so do their aging tattoos. → Read More
People without homes built a fragile community. Then came the fire
The Hill was perhaps Atlanta's largest and most dangerous homeless encampment, hidden on the edge of Buckhead, the city's most expensive neighborhood. Then came the fire. → Read More
At 105 years old, she’s voted during good, bad and dangerous times
As Georgia residents rushed to vote early in the general election, 105-year-old Ida Simmons from Attapulgus in Decatur County impressed local election → Read More
They learned they would die young. Then they got new pills
They grew up thinking they would probably die young, but a new drug combination has transformed the lives of many people with cystic fibrosis in ways they hadn't imagined. In metro Atlanta and elsewhere, people with the genetic disease that in decades past was known as a child killer are navigating the potential of a longer and healthier life. → Read More
Georgia employers are back on their own after court’s vaccine ruling
Thousands of Georgia employers are back to their own decision making when it comes to figuring out whether to require COVID-19 vaccinations or testing for their employees. As a result, local workers are likely to continue to face workplaces with widely varying standards. → Read More
EPA stance could change Georgia Power plan to leave coal ash in groundwater
Georgia Power’s proposals to leave potentially toxic coal ash partially sitting in groundwater, including some in metro Atlanta near the Chattahoochee River, could put it in the crosshairs of federal regulators. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week that coal ash shouldn't be left in contact with groundwater and it stressed the issue to Georgia's own environmental regulators. → Read More
Days before Christmas, a letter: Repay your unemployment benefits
Former Atlanta restaurant workers ensnared in Georgia unemployment claims snafu. → Read More
Omicron scrambles metro Atlanta employers’ office plans
Omicron is scrambling some plans for metro Atlanta workers to be back in company offices. → Read More
Georgia Power continues retreat from coal
Georgia Power finds cheaper alternatives than coal → Read More
How Georgia nuclear project’s big finish went so wrong
Early in 2021, crews at Georgia Power’s nuclear expansion site at Plant Vogtle were struggling to find all the leaks in a pool built to hold spent, highly radioactive fuel. → Read More
From superhero night light to elf on shelf, Ga. toy suppliers squeezed
Amid supply chain crunch, it's been a Christmas like no other for Georgia toy suppliers. → Read More
Still more Vogtle nuclear delays and costs likely, state monitors say
Georgia Power recently and repeatedly pushed back the projected completion date for new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. That still isn’t likely to be enough, monitors and staff for the state of Georgia said in new filings this week. → Read More
How big Georgia public companies have rebounded in COVID’s year two
The pandemic isn’t over, but much of the financial pain it brought to Georgia’s big public companies might be. → Read More
Attention Atlanta holiday shoppers: Long lines, less staff, less stuff
Metro Atlantans are expected to return to stores and malls in full force this holiday shopping season. They could face long lines, less help, fewer goods and higher prices. → Read More
Atlanta business chamber sticks to sidelines in vaccine mandate debate
The Metro Atlanta Chamber, a powerful business umbrella group, is not wading into the debate over a federal vaccination mandate even as Georgia joins other states in suing to try to stop the requirement from taking effect. → Read More
Coke offers $2,000 to employees who follow new vaccination requirement
Coca-Cola offers employees $2,000 to get vaccinated for COVID-19 to comply with Dec. 8 mandate for federal contractors. → Read More