From the Atlanta Daily World:

The tech company’s funding will boost the energy workforce and bring healthy home upgrades to more than 100 households across the city. Mayor Andre Dickens announced a major boost to the City’s WeatheRISE ATL program, thanks to a generous $300,000 donation from Google. Launched in 2024 and managed by the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and … Continued

The post Google Donates $300,000 to Support WeatheRISE ATL appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Today, Georgia State Senator Jason Esteves (D) launched his campaign to become the next Governor of Georgia. Before representing Georgia families in the State Senate, Sen. Jason Esteves worked as a public school teacher and later served on the Board of Education for Atlanta Public Schools for nearly a decade, leading the board as chair … Continued

The post Georgia State Senator Jason Esteves Launches Campaign for Governor of Georgia [Video] appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Students and staff at Ralph J. Bunche Middle School, community members,  and volunteers from Hands On Atlanta will honor Earth Day 2025 with an environmental sustainability and beautification project at the school. Students will begin the day engaging in various sustainability activities in the classroom before beginning a beautification project in the school’s outdoor courtyard … Continued

The post Ralph Bunche Middle School Students, Hands On Atlanta to Honor Earth Day with Campus Sustainability, Beautification Project appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

People take part in a protest on March 27, 2025, in Newark, N.J., against the arrest and threatened deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident. Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists stormed Israel from Gaza, killing over a thousand Israelis and taking over 200 hostages. It was the worst massacre … Continued

The post J. Pharoah Doss: Did the far-left defend the wrong Palestinian cause? appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Sharon Van Etten is one of indie music’s most influential voices. Her latest record, “Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory,” marks a new chapter in her already illustrious songwriting […]

From the Saporta Report:

Across Atlanta, an invisible crisis is quietly reshaping family life. Grandparents, once planning for retirement, are stepping back into parenting to raise their grandchildren. It’s a hidden chapter of the housing crisis that rarely makes headlines, but it’s quietly transforming lives across the city. Over the past decade, the number of grandparents serving as primary […]

The post Grandparents Raising Kids: The Silent Struggle appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

Compared to other federal agencies, President Donald Trump’s dealings with the Tennessee Valley Authority haven’t drawn much attention outside the giant utility’s service area, but they have been stormy.

The post Stuck without a quorum, TVA charts a new course appeared first on SaportaReport.

From WABE Politics News:

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s political organization took to social media to tout his success in limiting lawsuits in a way Georgians could understand. “Thank you” its ad proclaimed, with the […]

Photos: Three cheers for this cozy nook in... a drive-to shopping center? Josh Green Mon, 04/21/2025 - 16:24

No breaking news here, just a random springtime observation: Not every aspect of Atlanta’s drive-to, suburban-style shopping centers has to be terrible. 

Exploring asphalt-dominated places such as Toco Hill Shopping Center (it’s singular, according to the iconic totem signage in the middle of it) isn’t high on the priority list around here, to be honest. But a chance encounter recently with the “Toco Courtyard” left a crew of birthday party celebrants pleasantly surprised. 

Tucked-away and relatively peaceful, the versatile courtyard was previously home to French restaurant staple Petite Auberge for more than 40 years. Most of the surrounding retail space was reborn in October as a collaboration between Wild Heaven Beer and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, which is operating a large taproom and full kitchen with seating for about 100. That’s in addition to outdoor seating with picnic tables, synthetic grass, and the courtyard’s lovely, mature trees. 

Back here, the Toco Hill parking-lot seas seem far removed. 

The shopping center's recognizable totem signage near Spiller Park Coffee and a communal green. Invest Atlanta

A splash fountain installed as part of Edens' pre-pandemic renovations, near the entryway to Wild Heaven Beer and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q's nook of a retail courtyard. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The Publix-anchored shopping center underwent comprehensive upgrades about six years ago. That included another outdoor greenspace near the Toco Courtyard, where “family and friends naturally gather,” according to property owner Edens, the same South Carolina-based firm behind the ongoing remake of North DeKalb Mall. 

Built in the 1950s, the shopping center today is almost fully leased (but R.I.P. to froyo outpost Menchies), according to Edens.

Which is proof that, while it might lack Main Street charms, something is clearly still working around here.  

Lined with eateries, the Toco Hill Shopping Center green on a recent Monday evening. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Inside the Wild Heaven Beer and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q space. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

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• Toco Hills news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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2935 N. Druid Hills Road Toco Hills Toco Hill Shopping Center Wild Heaven Beer Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q Atlanta Shopping Centers Toco Hills news Atlanta Breweries Atlanta Barbecue

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The shopping center's recognizable totem signage near Spiller Park Coffee and a communal green. Invest Atlanta

Lined with eateries, the Toco Hill Shopping Center green on a recent Monday evening. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

A splash fountain installed as part of Edens' pre-pandemic renovations, near the entryway to Wild Heaven Beer and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q's nook of a retail courtyard. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Inside the Wild Heaven Beer and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q space. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The cozy, versatile Toco Courtyard space where the barbecue-brewery space operates. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Subtitle At nearly 70 years old, Toco Hill Shopping Center makes best of greenspace pockets

Neighborhood Toco Hills

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From the Saporta Report:

The origin of the name “Atlanta” has been questioned for as long as there has been an Atlanta. When all is said and done, however, the name of the city is “Atlanta,” and it’s a safe bet that’s not going to change anytime soon. We haven’t read much about how the people of Marthasville felt […]

The post It Was About Paperwork appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

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The post Atlanta Houses of Worship – Various dates and locations appeared first on SaportaReport.

From WABE Local News:

Inflation rates have already begun to hit the tarmac at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport announced on Monday that it will be adjusting its parking rates for the […]

From the Saporta Report:

Two historic warehouses in Oakland City are set to be transformed into a transit-oriented hub with retail, office space, and multifamily lofts by 2026, with newly approved funding from Invest Atlanta.  The city’s economic development entity approved $3 million in Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD) dollars for the construction of 126 loft units at Oakland […]

The post Invest Atlanta OKs $3 million for mixed-use Oakland City project appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

It was Nov. 21, 2024. David Jernigan bravely posted on LinkedIn that he had made the “difficult decision” to transition out of his role as president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA), a job he’s held for five years. He wrote: For several months, I’ve been experiencing challenges with […]

The post David Jernigan, diagnosed with ALS, leaving BGCMA on May 1 appeared first on SaportaReport.

From WABE Local News:

Imam Plemons T. El-Amin says he never met his mother’s brother, his late uncle Dennis Hubert. He says his uncle died before he was born. El-Amin says his mother didn’t […]

From WABE Local News:

Metro Atlanta nonprofit organization Youth Villages is expanding its Intercept program to Rockdale, Douglas and Paulding Counties. The program provides family-based therapy and other therapeutic care. Tanya Anderson, the executive […]

Images: Rowen project wraps $32M 'complete streets,' aims to add people Josh Green Mon, 04/21/2025 - 13:58

Could it be the ultimate Peach State example of “If you build it, they will come”?

Rowen, a planned 2,000-acre mixed-use megaproject and “knowledge community” between Atlanta and Athens in Gwinnett County, has completed a $32-million infrastructure project described by officials as “complete streets” across former woodlands. 

Considered phase one of Rowen’s buildout, the two miles of finished roadway, greenspaces, and several miles of multi-use pathways make the first 800 acres of the property accessible to the public, while putting the bones in place for planned development, so to speak. All utilities including power, water, sewer, fiber, and natural gas are in place for the section in question as well. 

Rowen broke ground with much fanfare in December 2022, and the phase-one infrastructure work wrapped within about two years. Project leaders tell Urbanize Atlanta the infrastructure is designed to withstand the impacts of climate change—think: biofiltration methods instead of traditional curb-and-gutter systems, narrower traffic lanes to cut back on concrete usage and heat-island effects, and other measures—while prioritizing people-friendly over cars-centric layouts. 

Aerial scenes included in a recent Rowen marketing video. Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Situated 35 miles from Atlanta along Ga. Highway 316, Rowen’s site is capable of supporting 22 million square feet of development overall, equivalent to almost 17 Bank of America Plaza towers, Atlanta’s tallest building, per project leaders. The project’s atypical name alludes to “a second harvest.” 

So what’s next?

Rowen leaders’ current focus is setting plans with partners “to track baseline environmental conditions, such as air and water quality, carbon sequestration, and land-use impacts, to measure [Rowen’s] environmental footprint as the community grows,” a project rep wrote to Urbanize Atlanta, in response to a request for development updates. “These insights will not only inform Rowen’s own sustainability efforts but could also serve as a model for other developments aiming to integrate climate resilience into their planning.”

The update was timely following the release last week of an economic analysis that identifies the 11-county region surrounding Rowen—what’s being coined the “Rowen Region”—as Georgia’s next hotspot for sheer growth and higher-education advancements. 

The report, titled “The Rowen Region: Georgia’s Nexus for Economic Growth,” was compiled by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The region it’s referencing includes Banks, Barrow, Clarke, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Oconee, and Walton counties, where the metropolitan statistical areas of Atlanta, Athens, and Gainesville meet. 

The area is home to more than 50 research and educational institutions today, per Rowen leadership. 

Overview of the "Rowen Region," which project backers call "one of America’s most vibrant and multicultural communities." Rowen Foundation

Some key findings in the UGA report, according to researchers: 

• The Rowen Region’s population by 2050 is forecasted to grow by more than 1 million residents, accounting for 43 percent of Georgia's population increase in that timeframe;

***•*Almost half of Georgia’s projected prime working-age—age 25 to 64—population growth between 2023 and 2028 will occur within the Rowen Region;

• The region’s labor force is already highly educated; nearly 70 percent of the population has some post-secondary education today;

• Technology, healthcare, and engineering are among the largest and fastest-growing employment sectors in the region, per the study.

At more than 10 times the size of Piedmont Park, Rowen is envisioned as a mix of lab, office, and civic spaces, alongside a mix of multifamily buildings, cafes, start-up hubs, parks, and public trails. Project heads have previously told Urbanize the “gamechanger” concept will likely be a multi-decade buildout—up to 40 or 50 years, given the scope—but could come quicker, depending on market demand.

Rowen’s board of directors, which governs the Rowen Foundation, is made up of leaders from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Emory University, Georgia Gwinnett College, and others who are advancing the project for its economic and jobs-creation potential.

The Rowen Foundation says the project could ultimately produce 100,000 jobs across Georgia and contribute between $8 and $10 billion annually to the state’s economy.

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

In terms of actual development, the goal is to build dense housing in a village-like setting first, alongside retail, lab, and office spaces, to bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, and other innovators amidst a preserved, bucolic setting. No timeline for construction has been specified. 

Head to the gallery above for a closer look at where Rowen stands today—and where it could be heading. 

The Medium Density area with a planned water feature and acres of greenspaces designed to boost privacy. Courtesy of The Rowen Foundation

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• Gwinnett County news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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3002 Drowning Creek Road Dacula Rowen Gwinnett County Athens Rowen Village Ga. Highway 316 Jackson Spaulding See.Spark.Go New Rock Springs Baptist Church Gainesville Mixed-Use Development Atlanta Development Atlanta Construction The Rowan Foundation Rowen Region UGA University of Georgia University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government Banks County Clarke County DeKalb County Forsyth County Fulton County Hall County Jackson County Oconee County Walton County

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Overview of the "Rowen Region," which project backers call "one of America’s most vibrant and multicultural communities." Rowen Foundation

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Aerial scenes included in a recent Rowen marketing video. Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Foundation/YouTube

Rowen Village’s phase one is planned as an urban hub within Rowen, offering office, lab, research, and start-up space “intermingled with amenities such as public gathering space, parks, retail storefronts, multifamily residential, hospitality, and restaurants,” per project leaders. Courtesy of The Rowen Foundation

A closer look at planned public spaces in Rowen Village. Courtesy of The Rowen Foundation

Rowen Village is designed to serve as a point of convergence for Rowen’s network of multi-use trails and paths. It will offer "connectivity for those working in the Medium and Low Density areas and the greater community surrounding Rowen," per project leaders. Courtesy of The Rowen Foundation

The Medium Density area with a planned water feature and acres of greenspaces designed to boost privacy. Courtesy of The Rowen Foundation

What's described as the project's Low Density section. Courtesy of The Rowen Foundation

Rowen's 2,000-acre location off Ga. Highway 316 in Gwinnett. Google Maps

Subtitle New report calls “Rowen Region” nexus of Georgia growth in coming years

Neighborhood Gwinnett County

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Arts Atlanta:

Stefan Vinke is widely regarded as the world’s preeminent heldentenor, and he’ll mark his 130th performance in the title role at this weekend’s opening night. :: When one considers heldentenors, those burly gentlemen who essay the monumental operatic roles penned by composer Richard Wagner, certain impressions come to mind. We think of power. We think...

From WABE Local News:

A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco’s international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late […]

From the Atlanta Tribune:

The Atlanta Jazz festival is presenting A Tribute to Churchill Grounds which is being produced by Lil’ John Roberts and Russell Gunn and hosted by Jamal Ahmad from WCLK’s “The Soul of Jazz.” The event will take place Saturday, May 24 at Park Tavern, 500 10th Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309. Doors will open at 10 PM […]

The post The Atlanta Jazz Festival presents A Tribute to Churchill Grounds at Park Tavern on May 24 appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

From the Atlanta Tribune:

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff and a global voice for the poor and marginalized, died Monday morning in Rome. He was 88. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, announced the death, stating, “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father.” No cause of death was provided. Francis […]

The post Pope Francis Dies at 88: Global Faith Leader Remembered for Humility and Justice appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

From WABE Politics News:

Georgia Democrat Jason Esteves announced on Monday that he’s running for governor in 2026, entering a field that remains murky for his party after two top potential candidates backed away […]

From the Saporta Report:

By Tenicia Winston Designing education without student input is like planting a garden without knowing what kind of soil, sunlight, or care the plants need. Every student—like every plant—has unique conditions under which they thrive. And more often than not, they already know what helps them grow best. Yet too often, students are left out […]

The post Learn4Life’s Youth Council: Empowering the Next Generation of Educational Leaders appeared first on SaportaReport.

Arts Atlanta:

The inaugural short film and play festival promises fresh work and perspectives in a single space.  :: Hoping to create something unique for Atlanta theatergoers, aspiring festival director Jonna Leanne reached out to Sam Ross, founder of Windmill Arts in East Point, to pitch a weekend full of short plays and films involving local talent....

From WABE Local News:

Atlanta’s cocktail culture is expanding beyond traditional spirits, with the rise of zero-proof beverages and non-alcoholic drinks. In this month’s Beverage Beat segment on “City Lights,” Beth McKibben, editor in chief and […]