@klandergan

Investigative reporter @ajc. Former @politico New Jersey bureau chief. Reach out! [email protected].

 Atlanta
Joined September 2010
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New investigation out today with @SAHogan and @justinJprice: Children suffered burns and beatings. Georgia calls it quality daycare. ajc.com/news/2026/10/georgia…

Children suffered burns and beatings. Georgia calls it quality daycare.

Georgia's daycare quality rating system is flawed with the state advertising hundreds of centers as quality daycares despite serious incidents of putting kids at risk.

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Greg Bluestein
@bluestein3h
Alvin Kendall gave the former Atlanta mayor her first job as a lawyer. Rebuilding his life after a federal conviction, he became a key figure inside City Hall during her term. #gapol ajc.com/politics/2026/10/bot…

‘Shadow mayor:’ As Keisha Lance Bottoms rose to power, one adviser was close by

Alvin Kendall has been at the center of some of Atlanta's biggest real estate deals, from the Gulch to the sale of Turner Field. That work earned him millions.

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Rachel Cohen Booth
@rcoboothOct 16
love all the local DC news competition there days
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Carrie Teegardin@CCTeegardinOct 15
Important story out this morning by my colleague @RobbinsDanny -- the latest installment in our Risky Medicine series. Here's a gift link so everyone can read this revealing coverage of med spas and unapproved weight loss drugs. ajc.com/news/2026/10/knockof…

Black market for unapproved weight-loss drug thrives in Georgia

Georgia med spas and wellness clinics are openly promoting and dispensing knockoff retatrutide, a drug still in clinical trials; state regulators haven’t stopped them.

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Charles Ornstein@charlesornsteinOct 15
Really sad stories about food stamp theft in this story. Scammers Are Stealing Millions From Food Stamp Recipients. Congress Could Fix It — but Won’t. propublica.org/article/food-…
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Samantha Hogan@SAHoganOct 13
What makes a good daycare? There are more than 4,200 licensed daycares in Georgia, so surely there is a way to stack them up and compare — or at least weed out the less savory ones. Read our parents' guide for tips on how to select childcare: ajc.com/news/2026/10/georgia…

Daycare safety in Georgia — A parents’ guide to choosing quality care

Six tips for how to compare Georgia daycares for licensing, child safety and ratings.

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I get it. You're busy. You don't have time to read a 3k word investigation. We've got you covered: Here are our 5 big takeaways from our investigation into daycares: ajc.com/news/2026/10/georgia… (Also please read the long version too thanks)

Five takeaways from the AJC’s investigation into daycare safety

Among the takeaways about daycares in Georgia is that state's quality rating system is flawed and daycares with serious safety violations have collected state money.

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With all the companies he started and those he has invested in, Jackson is in a class all by himself. There aren’t enough columns in Georgia’s financial disclosure forms to fit his $3 billion net worth. @cjoyner ajc.com/politics/2026/10/her…

The $3B candidate: Unpacking Rick Jackson’s vast business empire

Rick Jackson's sprawling business holdings could create conflicts of interest if he wins his bid for governor.

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Katherine Landergan retweeted
Tamar Hallerman@TamarHallermanOct 13
Children suffered burns and beatings. Georgia calls it quality daycare An @ajc probe finds hundreds of Quality Rated daycares that harmed or endangered children kept their ratings under a flawed system A must read from @SAHogan @klandergan @justinJprice ajc.com/news/2026/10/georgia…

Children suffered burns and beatings. Georgia calls it quality daycare.

Georgia's daycare quality rating system is flawed with the state advertising hundreds of centers as quality daycares despite serious incidents of putting kids at risk.

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New: More than $5 million went to Excell Preparatory Center in Lithonia since 2017 even as the department repeatedly reprimanded the daycare for hurting children. The department has cited the daycare at least nine times for severe safety violations. ajc.com/news/2026/10/georgia…

Children suffered burns and beatings. Georgia calls it quality daycare.

Georgia's daycare quality rating system is flawed with the state advertising hundreds of centers as quality daycares despite serious incidents of putting kids at risk.

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The daycare’s problems continued this year. In March, another Excell worker was arrested and accused of slamming a 1-year-old boy down on a cot and bruising his eye.
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Excell’s owner, Elizabeth Nelson, declined to do an interview or answer written questions from the AJC. She said in a written statement that the center works hard to provide quality programming for children, and the daycare is cooperating with criminal investigations and coaching
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Katherine Landergan retweeted
Carrie Teegardin@CCTeegardinOct 13
Important new investigation out this morning by my AJC colleagues @klandergan and @SAHogan. This is a must-read for families with young children in Georgia. ajc.com/news/2026/10/georgia…

Children suffered burns and beatings. Georgia calls it quality daycare.

Georgia's daycare quality rating system is flawed with the state advertising hundreds of centers as quality daycares despite serious incidents of putting kids at risk.

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The AJC found daycares kept their star ratings even after kids were hurt, like when a childcare center in Atlanta violated rules on safe sleep and found an infant unresponsive on a bed of pillows.
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The state allowed the daycares to continue to market themselves to parents as quality childcare options and often rewarded them with cash subsidies linked to their star ratings.
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Or when a worker at a daycare in Lithonia poked thumbtacks into toddlers and another worker slapped a child. Or when an infant’s skull was fractured at a Kingsland daycare and she had to be airlifted to a hospital.
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