Atlanta News

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

A recent report from the finance company Wallet Hub ranked Atlanta as the best city for singles in 2025. In a city of over 500,000 people, with 69% of the […]

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

To sow the seeds and cultivate the flowers of extraordinary art, the African Diaspora Museum of Atlanta, or ADAMA, hosts its annual Flowers and Seeds Gala. The Gala honors under-recognized […]

Arts Atlanta:

Heather Bird Harris’ love as large as grief demands is a captivating exhibition, one of four that can now be seen at Spalding Nix Fine Art. It explores the intersection of the materiality of natural pigments native to Georgia, the problem of industrial waste upon our environment and the personal implications Harris reckons with as...

From WABE Politics News:

The Trump administration is expected to purchase $400 million worth of armored Tesla vehicles, according to a new State Department document detailing procurement for fiscal year 2025. Tesla Chief Executive […]

From WABE Local News:

Overnight rain in Atlanta has caused flooding along the Chattahoochee River affecting local schools, homes and roadways. The storm dumped 2-4 inches of rain in metro Atlanta and up to […]

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Should the Fulton County Jail expand or fix conditions? Does Expansion mean conditions are fixed or does is a new jail the fix. iisues are irgger than the antiutd bricks and mortar, it’s the thinking that thought it s right. Over the past couple of decades the jail has been at the cener of the … Continued

The post Fulton County Jail: More or less appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Saporta Report:

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is performing its annual visit to Fox Theatre, featuring a special salute to former Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, who passed away last year.  From Feb. 12 to 16, the company will pirouette across the stage with a performance celebrating the 25th anniversary of Choreographer Roland K. Brown’s “Grace.” […]

The post Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre returns to Atlanta with Judith Jamison tribute appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

by Aswad Walker Many African Americans have expressed worry about a potentially perilous four years under President Donald Trump. To that point, nationally renowned attorney Ben Crump called for an often under-appreciated force to come to Black people’s rescue – the Black press. Specifically, Crump called on The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a national association … Continued

The post Ben Crump Calls NNPA, Black Press to Save Black People appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From WABE Politics News:

The chief judge of Georgia’s largest federal trial court is retiring, creating a vacancy for President Donald Trump to fill. Chief Judge Timothy Batten Sr. of the Northern District of […]

From the Atlanta Daily World:

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—There is something in this country about not being a White male gets you blamed for being a racist if you complain about them! I know before I write, I will be accused of being a racist because that is the way racists roll!  They have the power. They are antagonistic toward people like me because they … Continued

The post E. Faye Williams: There’s something about being ‘other’! appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

Arts Atlanta:

Each week, ArtsATL delivers a critic’s short list of the shows, exhibitions, concerts and events we recommend for the coming weeks within one discipline in the kaleidoscope of Atlanta arts and culture. Every week, we’ll present a different art form. :: Abstract: The Art of Design. Former Wired editor Scott Dadich profiles figures such as...

From WABE Politics News:

Health experts and Georgia Democrats in Congress are sounding the alarm about the Trump administration’s planned cuts for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal agency has […]

From WABE Local News:

The Port of Brunswick rode double-digit growth to become the top U.S. seaport for automobiles last year, Georgia officials said Wednesday, surpassing the Port of Baltimore after it shut down […]

From the Atlanta Daily World:

FEBRUARY 12 1793—Congress passes the first Fugi­tive Slave Law. The law made it easier for a slave owner to re-take control of a slave who had escaped to freedom. Blacks and their supporters were out­raged because the 1793 law only re­quired the “word” of a White man before a magistrate to declare any Black person … Continued

The post This Week In Black History Feb. 12-18 appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From WABE Local News:

Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman announced on Wednesday that he will not be running for reelection after his current term comes to an end, citing a personal desire to […]

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Over 400 Expected to Join Chairman Pitts’ Address at Flourish Atlanta   The Council for Quality Growth and Fulton County Government will host the 2025 State of Fulton County Address on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 11:30 AM at Flourish Atlanta by Legendary Events. The program will be a lunch event and feature remarks from the Chairman of Fulton … Continued

The post Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts to Deliver 2025 State of the County Address on February 18 appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From WABE Politics News:

A new documentary explores the deadly 1898 race massacre and insurrection that happened in North Carolina’s largest city. It’s called “American Coup: Wilmington 1898.” The film is slated to air […]

From WABE Politics News:

It’s week five of the 2025 Georgia legislative session. Lawmakers have been busy at the Gold Dome reviewing proposed bills. On Wednesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” WABE politics reporter Sam […]

From the Saporta Report:

In a statement posted on social media Wednesday afternoon, Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman announced he would not be running for re-election in November because his family is facing “significant medical challenges.”  Shipman said he will need to focus time and effort on his family instead of seeking a second term. But Shipman added […]

The post BREAKING: Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman not running for re-election appeared first on SaportaReport.

Arts Atlanta:

One of the most unforgettable cinematic images of the last year was Demi Moore furiously smearing lipstick all over her face in The Substance, the Oscar-nominated dark comedy/body horror about the extreme lengths we’re willing to go to sustain society’s impossible youth and beauty standards. That image popped into my mind like a maniacal jack-in-the-box...

From the Saporta Report:

Next week, the Fulton County School Board will finally vote on the possible closure of Parklane Lane Elementary in East Point and Spalding Drive Elementary in Sandy Springs. The closures would be due to the cost of operations, declining enrollment and old buildings, officials say. Spalding Drive Elementary opened in 1966 and Parklane Elementary opened in […]

The post Kids, parents put Fulton in conundrum over possible elementary school closures appeared first on SaportaReport.

From the Saporta Report:

Atlanta Beltline Partnership announced another $1.85 million in philanthropic commitments to develop Enota Park and connect the Westview neighborhood to the Beltline on Feb. 12.  The park will build out the long-standing 0.3-acre play lot at Enota Place. From 2007-2009, the Trust for Public Land acquired six properties to expand the lot into a community […]

The post Enota Park almost $2 million closer to 2025 construction start appeared first on SaportaReport.

From WABE Politics News:

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Tuesday the appointment of Josh Lamb as director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. Lamb replaces Chris Stallings, who President Donald […]

From WABE Politics News:

Eight government watchdogs have sued over their mass firing that removed oversight of President Donald Trump’s new administration. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington asks a judge to declare […]

Atlanta mayor reaffirms commitment to Beltline rail Josh Green Wed, 02/12/2025 - 12:50 As part of an insightful AJC retrospective on his first three years in office, Atlanta Major Andre Dickens dropped what intown transit enthusiasts might consider a bombshell this week: 

“I’m still a fan of rail on the Beltline,” Dickens told the newspaper’s editorial board and a roomful of reporters. “I have been from the beginning."

Dickens’ reaffirmed commitment to extending downtown’s Atlanta Streetcar as a fresh transportation mode in the Beltline’s highly patronized Eastside Trail corridor was a key takeaway of the wide-ranging interview, looking back across his tenure since the beginning of 2022. (Even Beltline rail’s formal detractors, Better Atlanta Transit, are acknowledging the streetcar system—which quietly marked its 10-year anniversary in December—has brought value to downtown and Old Fourth Ward and still holds potential, though substantial flaws remain.)  

Dickens told the AJCthat funding already spent toward extending the streetcar—as approved by Atlanta voters almost nine years ago—should not be wasted. The matter, however, went “conspicuously unmentioned” during January’s annual State of MARTA address, as the newspaper pointed out. 

Dickens, who plans to mount a reelection campaign this year, said almost all types of transit are being considered for sections of the Beltline’s 22-mile loop, which is scheduled to be finished as a multi-use transportation, exercise, and commercial corridor in four years.

Those methods of transport could include streetcars and light rail, shuttles, bus-rapid transit routes, even gondolas and self-driving pods, per the report*.*

How the planned Atlanta Streetcar extension's Ralph McGill stop could relate to Fourth Ward Project's offices, per an earlier study. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

According to the AJC, Dickens is awaiting “several reports” that are expected to materialize this month and could point toward alternatives to Beltline rail. An east-west crosstown streetcar route could reportedly be among those alternatives.

In any case, the statements seem to indicate a change of tone for Dickens. 

The mayor caught heat last summer from Atlanta transit advocates and some elected officials when he expressed skepticism that light-rail transit on the 22-mile loop will be viable soon in an interview on WABE’s “Closer Look.”

Dickens told host Rose Scott he favors light-rail options and planned to keep pushing for that transit method, though he feared encircling the full Beltline with rail would be prohibitively expensive, especially in a state like Georgia that provides the city no financial support for public transit. “We have New York hopes of transit,” Dickens noted at the time, “but New York state supports the New York Transit System.” 

Transit-rich future for the Beltline's Southside Trail? Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Impacts on small businesses along the Beltline as light-rail is installed is another concern the mayor shared at the time. Dickens floated the idea last year that BRT or driverless pods could be viable alternatives to Beltline rail, and he noted in the WABE interview the city has hired outside consultants to study transit options and provide a breakdown of costs, including potential fare prices.

Those suggestions proved motivational for rail advocates Beltline Rail Now and elected officials, including Atlanta City Council president Doug Shipman, who staged an August rally championing rail as the soundest transit choice.

MARTA estimates the streetcar extension project along the Eastside Trail to Ponce City Market will cost roughly $230 million. The transit agency’s forecasts have called for breaking ground late this year and beginning fare service sometime in 2028. We shall see. 

Where the streetcar would deposit passengers at PCM's The Shed, returning the outdoor facility to its original rail-focused uses. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

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Atlanta Streetcar MARTA 2040 MARTA Alternate Transportation Alternative Transportation Edgewood Avenue Ponce City Market Streetcars Streetcar East Extension project Downtown Beltline Atlanta BeltLine Kimley Horn Kimley-Horn Kimley-Horn & Associates BeltLine Rail Now! Hans Klein Georgia Tech Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning Georgia Tech School of Public Policy BeltLine Rail Streetcar Expansion Better Atlanta Transit BAT Atlanta City Council Doug Shipman

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Transit-rich future for the Beltline's Southside Trail? Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Where the streetcar would deposit passengers at PCM's The Shed, returning the outdoor facility to its original rail-focused uses. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

Where a crossing would be placed just east of Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

Where the Atlanta Streetcar would branch off its current loop along Edgewood Avenue. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

The route shown with Portman Holdings' rising mixed-use development on the Beltline called Junction Krog Street. Kimley-Horn/MARTA 2040; via Vimeo

Subtitle Reports due this month could hugely impact intown transit future, Dickens tells reporters

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