Atlanta News

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

On the “City Lights” series “Speaking of Poetry,” Atlanta’s most prolific wordsmiths discuss the art of evoking emotions with words. This “Speaking of Poetry” edition features poet and author Lauren […]

From the New York Times:

A massive superberg, four times as big as New York City, has halted east of the southern tip of South America.

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

The joyous sound of Carnaval receives an elegant tribute from an Atlanta-raised virtuoso vocalist on March 8 at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Milton Suggs performs in “New Orleans […]

Arts Atlanta:

Fresh off the success of her dance work this thing is real and Theater Emory’sThe Other Shore, Traylor explores relationships in her new work for Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre. :: When choreographer Annalee Traylor began her collaboration with Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, she was immediately struck by the strong bonds between its dancers. “Two of...

From WABE Politics News:

Georgia state senators passed a Republican-backed bill that could open up librarians to misdemeanor charges for allowing minors to access explicit or “harmful” materials. The Georgia State Senate voted 32-23 […]

Arts Atlanta:

Jerry’s Habima Theatre’s latest production is an immersive, colorful experience for the actors and the audience. :: For more than 30 years, Jerry’s Habima Theatre in Dunwoody has stood as an example of inclusive, accessible and community-oriented storytelling. The theater exists under the umbrella of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and was founded...

From WABE Local News:

There was honking and yelling in front of the Decatur Tesla dealership during rush hour on Monday, but not because of a traffic jam. Protesters gathered outside the dealership to […]

From WABE Politics News:

Tariffs are in the news at the moment. Here’s what they are and what you need to know about them: Tariffs are a tax on imports Tariffs are typically charged […]

From WABE Politics News:

China and Canada announced retaliatory measures on Tuesday after U.S. tariffs took effect overnight, escalating trade tensions and rattling global markets. President Trump’s new tariffs include a 25% levy on […]

At site of Atlanta's last housing project, redevelopment set to move forward Josh Green Tue, 03/04/2025 - 08:18 For the first time since demolition 15 years ago, the site of Atlanta’s last major family housing project is expected to be teeming with life—and promises of new attainable living options—this week. 

A formal groundbreaking is scheduled Wednesday for the first phase of redevelopment at the long-abandoned Bowen Homes site, a $63.6-million initiative set to produce 151 new units. 

Backed largely by federal funding secured in 2023, the Bowen Homes project calls for a mixed-income community with several new buildings and a greenspace component—and for much more development later. 

Back in 2009, Bowen Homes became the last of Atlanta’s housing projects to be razed, and the site has been vacant since. The 74 acres in question are located just inside the Interstate 285 Perimeter, near the intersection of James Jackson Parkway and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

Dignitaries including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Atlanta Housing president and CEO Terri Lee, Invest Atlanta CEO Dr. Eloisa Klementich, and HUD Southeast deputy regional administrator Tiffany Cobb are scheduled to attend the Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony, officials said this week. 

The acreage in question in relation to Interstate 285, at left, and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. Google Maps

Invest Atlanta leaders have predicted the project will transform the surrounding Brookview Heights neighborhood and revitalize “a historically neglected and environmentally stressed area… into a place of natural, social, and economic regeneration,” according to a project update last year.  

Of the 151 apartments planned for the initial phase, 48 will be reserved for households earning 30 percent of the area median income, while 49 will be capped at 60 percent AMI. The rest will rent at market-rate, according to Invest Atlanta.

Other aspects of the redevelopment call for a Community Resources Center and Innovation Hub that will offer Bowen Homes’ residents job-training opportunities and affordable commercial space, per officials. 

Planned look of two buildings totaling 114 units in Bowen Homes' initial phase. McCormack Baron Salazar, via Invest Atlanta

Bowen Homes was built in the early 1960s as a model multifamily community in what was then considered Atlanta’s western suburbs, counting its own library, school, and eventually some 4,000 residents.

By 2008, the 650 apartments spread across 102 buildings had devolved into a sore spot of crime and a magnet for the drug trade—typifying the ills of the American public housing experiment. According to Atlanta Housing, Bowen Homes experienced 168 violent crimes in just a six-month period that year, including five murders.

But signs of hope for the property have come in more recent years. 

An Atlanta Housing presentation from 2021 showing the former Bowen Homes site in relation to housing deemed in good condition (green) and poor condition (red), with color-coded variations between. Atlanta Housing

In late 2022, Atlanta Housing selected a redevelopment team called Bowen District Developers—led by The Benoit Group and McCormack Baron Salazar real estate companies—to bring the area back to life.

Atlanta Housing and officials with Dickens' administration formally applied in early 2023 for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. 

In the summer of that year, HUD announced a $40 million federal grant to kickstart Atlanta’s Bowen Choice Neighborhood program, a revitalization effort for the former Bowen Homes and surrounding Westside properties. 

The HUD grant aims to help the City of Atlanta eventually transform the bones of Bowen Homes into more than 2,000 housing units for renters and homebuyers, officials have said. 

The project’s considerable scope calls for rebuilding the Bowen Homes site and next-door neighborhood Carey Park, along with a section of Almond Park.

The 74-acre site's proximity to Westside neighborhoods. Atlanta Housing

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James Jackson Pkwy NW & Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy NW Bowen Homes U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Almond Park Carey Park Andre Dickens U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams Atlanta Housing Federal funds Brookview Heights Affordable Housing The Benoit Group McCormack Baron Salazar Councilmember Dustin Hillis Invest Atlanta Board of Directors

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The acreage in question in relation to Interstate 285, at left, and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. Google Maps

The 74-acre site's proximity to Westside neighborhoods. Atlanta Housing

Planned look of two buildings totaling 114 units in Bowen Homes' initial phase. McCormack Baron Salazar, via Invest Atlanta

An Atlanta Housing presentation from 2021 showing the former Bowen Homes site in relation to housing deemed in good condition (green) and poor condition (red), with color-coded variations between. Atlanta Housing

Subtitle Groundbreaking, affordable housing on tap for long-abandoned Bowen Homes property

Neighborhood Westside

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From WABE Local News:

Outside Beacon Hill Middle School in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur, like along hundreds of roadsides across Georgia, the unblinking eye of a camera tickets drivers who speed through a […]

From WABE Local News:

Georgia’s Senate passed two bills Monday that would ban most gender-affirming care for minors and people incarcerated in state prisons, mirroring moves by Republicans across states and a handful of […]

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Former US Representative John Conyers (D-MI) was first elected to Congress in 1964. Conyers was well known for introducing HR 40, the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, in 1989. HR 40 did not pass, although Conyers continued to reintroduce the bill until he retired five decades later. Conyers had been a … Continued

The post J. Pharoah Doss: HR 40 reintroduced or repeating the original sin of Black leaders? appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From WABE Politics News:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has, for the second time, reversed the renaming of a U.S. military base, saying that Fort Moore in Georgia should revert back to being called Fort Benning. The move reflects […]

From WABE Politics News:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has, for the second time, reversed the renaming of a U.S. military base, saying that Fort Moore in Georgia should revert back to being called Fort Benning. The move reflects […]

From the Saporta Report:

160 years ago, America made a promise. On March 3, 1865, in the final days of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln and Congress established the Freedman’s Savings Bank—a radical idea at the time. The vision was simple but powerful: economic freedom must accompany personal freedom. For the first time in American history, formerly enslaved men […]

The post 160 Years Later: The Promise of the Freedman’s Bank Lives On appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

The wire services have a problem, and maybe also, a golden opportunity.

The post Trump and the wire services: When being there’s not worth it anymore appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

For 125 years, Hope Atlanta has been a beacon of support for our neighbors in need, including those experiencing homelessness. While housing-first strategies are often debated in policy circles, the true measure of their success lies in the lives they transform. But let’s be clear—housing-first is not just about putting people into homes. It’s about […]

The post Housing-First Works: The Proof is in the People We Serve appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

Atlanta ranks 50th out of the top 50 metro areas when it comes to upward economic mobility. That’s according to Harvard University’s Raj Chetty and his research group Opportunity Insights, which published an updated economic mobility study in 2024. The initial economic mobility study came out in 2014. At the time, Atlanta’s rank was 49th, […]

The post Metro Atlanta is dead last when it comes to economic mobility appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

It’s past time we recognize that the state of Georgia is violating the 2002 U.S. Supreme ruling that bars imposing the death penalty on intellectually disabled defendants. Our procedures for imposing capital punishment — unique among all the states — are failing on two specific procedural levels, leaving disabled people vulnerable to execution when they […]

The post Georgia must stop executing the disabled appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

Eviction courts play a critical role in Metro Atlanta’s housing landscape, affecting families, landlords, and community stability.  At Star-C’s recent February Breakfast, the chief magistrate judges from Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Clayton, and Gwinnett counties provided updates on caseloads, court operations, and support programs. Key Updates: Looking Ahead As courts navigate eviction-related challenges, funding, staffing, and […]

The post Status of Eviction Courts: Updates from Metro Atlanta’s Magistrate Judges appeared first on SaportaReport.

Atlanta Streets Alive announces first dates, routes of 2025 Josh Green Mon, 03/03/2025 - 16:23 In Atlanta, chirping birds and early blossoms mean festival season is just around the corner. This year, it also means streets-opening season is nigh. 

Following its winter hibernation (since mid-November), Atlanta Streets Alive announced recently it will make an early return in 2025, starting late next month with its downtown-Midtown route before moving to the expansive route south of Interstate 20 between Grant Park and West End. 

The first 2025 Streets Alive dates to be announced are as follows, with each event planned from 2 to 6 p.m.: 

Sunday, April 27 – Peachtree Street
Sunday, May 18 – Grant Park to West End
Sunday, June 22 – Peachtree Street

According to organizers, the dates and locations of more open-streets block parties for beyond June will be announced soon. 

The Peachtree Street route stretches for 2.8 miles between the oldest blocks of downtown to Midtown near the High Museum of Art. 

The other route is even longer (about three and ½ miles), opening Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Georgia Avenue from West End to Grant Park, with Mechanicsville and Summerhill’s commercial district in between.

The route for three Atlanta Streets Alive programs in late 2024 between Gordon-White Park (left) and Grant Park. Propel ATL

Atlanta Streets Alive's Peachtree route in 2023. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Atlanta Bicycle Coalition (now Propel ATL) originated Streets Alive, inspired by ciclovíaevents in Bogotá, Colombia and other cities. The Atlanta phenomenon began meagerly one day in 2010 when a stretch of Edgewood Avenue opened to bicyclists, skaters, walkers, and anyone else not driving a car. 

Over the next decade, organizers say Streets Alive staged 29 events and covered some 83 miles of city streets, drawing an estimated 1.7 million people total.

The final pre-hiatus event was held on Peachtree in 2019, before going dormant through pandemic years as logistics for a more frequent Streets Alive were worked out with ATLDOT and other city leaders.

After a four-year hiatus, Streets Alive made a festive return in September 2023, opening Peachtree from south of Underground Atlanta up to 15th Street in Midtown. (The Peachtree route was among the most attended and frequently staged of the events over the years, with crowds often topping 100,000, as estimated by volunteer counters.)

Last year, six different Streets Alive events marked a record for a single year, with the previous high mark being four in 2016.

Propel ATL/Atlanta Streets Alive

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West End Gordon-White Park Grant Park Atlanta Streets Alive Propel ATL Bike Routes Alternative Transportation Alternate Transportation Atlanta Biking Atlanta Festivals Street Festivals Atlanta Department of Transportation Peachtree Street

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The route for three Atlanta Streets Alive programs in late 2024 between Gordon-White Park (left) and Grant Park. Propel ATL

Atlanta Streets Alive on Georgia Avenue in Summerhill about six years ago. Urbanize ATL archives

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Atlanta Streets Alive's Peachtree route in 2023. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Propel ATL/Atlanta Streets Alive

Subtitle Beginning next month, southside, Peachtree Street routes on tap

Neighborhood Citywide

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From the Saporta Report:

South Fulton Councilwoman Carmalitha Gumbs launched her campaign for mayor on Sunday.  Gumbs has served on the city council since South Fulton’s first election in 2017.  She announced her candidacy during a time that Mayor Khalid Kamau is under scrutiny for alleged “unauthorized use of city resources” and was temporarily barred from city hall in […]

The post South Fulton councilwoman launches campaign for controversial mayor’s seat appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

In its earliest days, folks referred to the area around the Zero Mile Post as Thrasherville. John Thrasher had come to the region in 1839 to build an embankment for the Monroe Railroad and, to accommodate his workers, he had constructed a community of small cabins. It seems natural that Thrasher’s name would come into […]

The post Moving the Mile Marker appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

A Union City town hall to address residents’ concerns about data centers is being rescheduled, according to the city.  A statement said that officials expected a crowd that would be too large for The Union City Gathering Place, where the event was to be held. The event was scheduled for Thursday, but residents will still […]

The post Activist to hold discussion on data centers as Union City delays town hall appeared first on SaportaReport.